Building projects and forestry in the majestic Rocky Mountains, Canada

Infos

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  Description

  1. Our project:
  If you enjoy using your hands, building things with wood, being in nature and the outdoors and using your body this is the spot for you. We are located between Golden and Radium Hot Springs in the Columbia Valley surrounded by the mountains in all directions - the Rocky Mountains to the East and Purcell Mountains to the West. We're self-building a wilderness retreat, and eventually our own home, that will be made with as many natural materials as possible and for some buildings taking a more alternative approach via strawbale, rammed earth, earthship and passive building.
  We've attached a couple of pictures to give you an idea of the look and feel of what we're going for (these are marked as "project plan ideas").
  
  We have a large garden which is constant work and we utilize berries and medicinal plants which grow throughout the property to make jams and topical ointments.
  
  The garden uses permaculture principles to work with nature and produce food for the whole year which gets processed for winter keeping after the season is over.
  
  We have a year-round creek and the land is surrounded by forest that goes into the backcountry and mountains with some trails to explore.
  
  2. What does a normal day look like:
  Adam is typically out working in the early morning and comes back to eat after a couple hours. Mateja during this time works online for her second job. Around 9:00-9:30am we have breakfast and talk about the day and activities/expectations. Then we work until lunch and sometimes mix up activities so it's not too repetitive. In the process we explain why we have chosen to build or plant in a particular way (using green wood vs dry, rotating crops, planting struggles when you live by a forest and how to overcome them, water harvesting etc). After lunch break, we generally go back to work and finish up in the late afternoon. Dinner seems to usually fall around 7pm and after we're done we all part ways for the rest of the evening where you're free to play games, read a book, get online or hang out at the creek.

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  Entretien général
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  Beautiful setting in to mountains, hikes, swimming lakes, surrounded by nature and a great place to get away from the mayhem.
  
  Activities & education opportunities: We provide lots of guidance and education but we do hope that each individual will show a desire to also learn on there own - which is something we do regularly by research. We also expect you to ask questions, lots of questions if you're at all unsure.
  
  Adam worked for a builder and is a jack of all trades. He's spent the last few years learning about alternative building and together we can create more sustainable structures and learn as we go. The area we live allows us to build what we want making it a bit of a blank canvas which is a great way to learn and try new techniques.
  
  Our project is all about being self-sufficient in a modern world and the great feeling that a community brings.

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  Aide

  The following are some of the tasks we do all the time. These are simply part of life on the property:
  - Weeding the garden, planting, harvesting
  - Cleaning up wood in the forest and chopping firewood
  - Helping prepare wood for building (sanding, painting etc)
  - Landscaping
  - Brush cutting and lawnmowing
  
  Other than that we are constantly building with wood. In 2024 we are building an outdoor communal kitchen as well as a sauna and working on water infrastructure.

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  Langues parlées

  Anglais: Courant
  Croatian: Courant
  Slovenian: Courant
  Allemand: Débutant
  Espagnol: Débutant

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  Hébergement

  Your accommodation - We have a larger "cabin tent" and two dome tents for our volunteers. We live in a small rustic cabin and most of the time, we all enjoy meals outside overlooking the mountains and soaking up the sun. Food - Mateja cook's everything from scratch with a focus on farm to table. We have a European approach to food which is about sharing and getting together. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided which is a great time for everyone to relax and share stories. When she's not in the kitchen you'll find Mateja milling logs for building which she's learnt in the last year or pulling logs out of the forest.
  
  The land is quite raw at the moment, meaning there really is no power or typical town/city services like town water. The exception is the seasonal small cabin where we live and the garage do have electricity. There is power to charge laptops/phones/tablets/cameras (so don't worry) and we have Starlink internet. Cellular service is very limited and often we have zero cell signal.

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  Autres infos...

  Around the area:
  Providing you have a car, the Columbia River and wetlands is just down the road where you can paddle or visit one of the many swimming lakes just 20min away, towards the famed Bugaboos. There's a couple of great small local cafe's selling locally produced food just a few minutes drive away and a honey farm next door.
  
  Without a vehicle, sightseeing is a little more difficult. As there is no public transportation it is challenging to get around however there are endless hikes and mountain adventures right from our front door.

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Possibilité d’accueillir les digital nomads

  We have wifi around our little summer cabin with a good service distance. Until we build more structures there is limited space to work but it can be done.

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  Yes we have loads of space and a campground not far to dump greywater etc

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Plus de 2

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  Nombre d'heures attendues

  Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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