General help at a Farmstay near Shimla, India

Infos

• 

  Description

  Michael (British) and Devanshe (Indian) have a farmstay project going on at their ancestral farm in the Indian Himalayas (2100 m). We grow apples and other fruits & vegetables, we have our own cows and chickens. The farmstay rooms are available either as self-catering units or sharing as part of the family with other guests. There are two families living on the farm. The farm has apple orchards below the house, with great views down the valley below, while there are deodar forests above the house with tracks leading up to the local peak (3400 m), with views of the Great Himalayas. The farm is remote from any urban-style facilities - Shimla is 2.5 hours away by car. There are lots of opportunities for trekking, milking cows, reading, making jam or juice and other farm-based activities.
  
  FROM 2023 ONWARDS we welcome help in our yogashala (if we have yoga retreat guests) as well as on the farm stay. Tasks can vary from cleaning, painting, picking rubbish from the mountainside, gardening, landscaping, jam making and other everyday chores.
  Of course, hosting volunteers sometimes depends on the task-skill match or need-based requirement. We prefer people who don't mind getting their hand dirty,

• 

  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  Aide dans une ferme

  Aide à la maison

  Accueil / tourisme

  Entretien général
• 

  Objectifs de développement durable de l’ONU que cet hôte essaie d'atteindre

  ×

  ...

  ...

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  Qu'est-ce que c'est ?
• 

  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  You will be living as part of an extended Indian family and interact with local village / farm workers.

• 

  Aide

  From 2023 onwards we welcome help in our yogashala as well as on the farm stay. Tasks can vary from cleaning, painting, picking rubbish from the mountainside, gardening, landscaping, jam making and other daily chores around the house.
  
  Of course, hosting volunteers depends on task-skill match as well as need based requirement.
  
  Someone with previous house keeping experience ( or someone who won't mind daily house-hold chores) will be appreciated.
  
  Help with building / carpentry skills / lifting / digging / clearing land/ landscaping. Someone strong & used to physical work.
  
  WHEN WE HAVE GUESTS :
  We need someone to help out in the house, in the garden (weeding, watering), interacting with guests (if they want to), see if they need anything and so on. You need to be sociable yet independent, and enjoy rural life.
  We don't need a cook, but some general help around the house and in the kitchen is required, especially related to guests - fetching things, moving things around, tidying up, telling us when something needs doing, laying & clearing the dining table etc.
  
  WHEN WE HAVE NO GUESTS:
  Help out with other chores such as painting, clearing land, chopping & stacking wood, and so on.
  
  The hours are flexible, but should average five per day. In summer we could start at 7:00am & put in an hour before breakfast with a longer break during the day.
  There will be days when very little goes on and others when there's lots to do. Sometimes we might all go off on a shopping excursion, a hike picnic, a wedding, a festival... It depends. Most volunteers do more than five hours but that is their decision. If you feel you are working too much, take a half day off.

• 

  Langues parlées

  Anglais: Courant
  Hindi: Courant
  Espagnol: Intermédiaire
  Français: Intermédiaire
  Italien: Intermédiaire
  Japonais: Intermédiaire

• 

  Hébergement

  Comfortable basic room with separate basic shared bathroom.

• 

  Autres infos...

  We don't have wi-fi. We can help you purchase a local sim card for your phone.
  
  Directions to get to the farm:
  
  There is a local bus which goes past the house (surprisingly) every day, so you can get to and from Shimla independently, but you'd have to stay there overnight as it takes a few hours. There are local towns with temples etc to visit (Kiari, Hatkoti, Kotgarh, Sarahan...). There is a small ski resort at the top of the valley (Narkanda).
  
  To get to Rukhla by bus from Shimla
  
  Buses to our side leave from the Lakkar Bazar bus stand.
  
  Buses timings (roughly): 7.15, 7.45, 8:30 & 12.40 (direct / goes past our gate).
  Ticket cost 120 rupees.
  Time taken: about 4 hours.
  
  * 07.15 am government bus- at Lakkar Bazar bus stand office, get a ticket to Bali Dhar (between Kiari and Reoghati: Reoghati is the final stop), and find out which exact bus to get on. They don’t have names or route numbers, so you have to ask, and check with the driver. BALI DHAR
  
  The bus may stop for 30 minutes or so at Kotkhai, but don’t wander off in case it only stops for 10 minutes that day.
  Give us a ring and we will pick you up if we're free.
  
  If you feel like walking, three roads meet at Bali Dhar: the one you came up on the bus, the one the bus will continue going up, and one down to the left. Take that one and walk 3 or 4 kms through the deodar forest. We are the first group of buildings you come to after leaving the forest. The first group of buildings anyway. Ask for Rukhla.
  
  * The 7.45 bus is a private bus run by Justa company. Pay for the ticket on the bus. The bus driver will shout Kotkhai! Kiari! Ask to get out at BALI DHAR, as above.
  
  * The 8:30am bus (MEHAK bus) (Solan-Simla-Kotkhai) arrives at Kotkhai at 11:00am. At Kotkhai take the 12:00pm bus to KIARI-BALIDHAR which goes past our farm gate & village RUKHLA.
  
  * The 12.40 bus is a government bus (but could leave any time between 12:30 & 2:00pm) - and goes straight past our gate in Rukhla, and is a shorter journey. The final stop is Reoghati, so ask for the Reoghati bus via Keeth and tell the driver Rukhla.
  Note: The last 10 kms or so is rather excitingly narrow.

• 

  Informations complémentaires

  • 

    Accès Internet

  • 

    Accès Internet limité

  • 

    Nous avons des animaux

  • 

    Nous sommes fumeurs

  • 

    Familles bienvenues

• 

  Espace pour garer des vans

  You can park by our apple grading shed. There's a toilet available close by.

• 

  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Un

• 

  Nombre d'heures attendues

  5 hours a day average, spread out during the day. (max 25/week)

Feedback (13)