Family-friendly permaculture homestead and co-living community in Castlemaine, VIC, Australia

Infos

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  Description

  We are a small permaculture homestead and share-house with a focus on regen agriculture, natural building & communal living. We are in the early stage of our journey, as we build our house and set up the homestead infrastructure. Long-term, our plan is to be semi-self-sufficient, and to grow almost all of the food we need to feed ourselves, and the friends/housemates who will live here with us. (We are a residential homestead, not a commercial farm).
  Currently it's just two adults and one child living here, but soon it will be a thriving and bustling co-living community and homestead that we are excited for you to be a part of creating! From April 2024 onwards there may be up to 13 housemates living here with us including kids, in our purpose-built hempcrete passive house.
  
  ***NOTE: There is no public transport to our property, but we are 5kms from a train station. You will need a bike or car. We have one spare bike***
  
  ABOUT US
  We are (so far)
  - Dan (he/they, 32) - Jo’s Dad, eco-architect, bush wanderer, bird watcher, lover of reading, philosophising, bike-riding and group facilitation.
  - Nicola (she/her, 33) - Jo’s mum, children’s therapist, enthusiastic community events organiser, lover of dancing, yoga, singing, bike-riding and growing waaay too many zucchinis.
  - Jo (she/her) (2 years) - enjoys sultanas and peanut butter toast (like every other toddler ever, right?), dancing, singing, bike rides, bushwalks, jumping on the trampoline and giving house tours to guests.
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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  S’occuper des animaux

  Aide dans une ferme

  Baby-sitting et jeux créatifs

  Aide à la maison

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

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  Qu'est-ce que c'est ?
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  ABOUT OUR HOME
  In our home we excel at tasty home-made food, deep conversation, laughter and play. We love having an open and welcoming house where friends or family can pop in, kids can roam and play, and guests feel at home. We enjoy spending time at home with our housemates and friends doing wholesome things like garden working bees, baking, potluck dinners, board game nights, music jams, dance sessions and swims in the dam.
  
  Communal food is a big part for us, of what makes our house feel like a home. We take turns cooking and share dinner together each night that we are home. Most of our shared meals are easily vegan, but we welcome vegetarians, vegans, freegans and 'ethical omnivores'.
  
  When you visit us, you'll become part of our household and community, as a temporary housemate.
  
  You'll learn about natural building, sustainability, communal living, permaculture gardening, group facilitation/communication, planting and managing orchards and keeping animals for semi-self sufficient living. It'll be fun!
  
  We have also both travelled extensively ourselves, mostly cycle-touring or hitch-hiking, across Asia, Africa and Europe, so we also have plenty of travel tales to share and are keen to hear yours. :)

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  Projets impliquant des enfants

  Ce projet peut impliquer des enfants. Pour en savoir plus, consultez nos directives et conseils ici.

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  Aide

  We are open to receiving help in a variety of areas, depending on your skills and preferences, physical capacity, and what needs doing at the time.
  At the moment our main need is help with setting up the house and homestead so it would be simple but tasks such as painting oil onto floorboards, weeding, cleaning, childcare.
  
  We will generally try to work together with you, so we can chat and exchange knowledge and stories while we work. We like to make it fun, listen to music and have a dance while we work! However, there may be some days where we have other things that need our attention, and so we wont be able to work together.
  
  Other tasks:
  ~Gardening: planting trees, shrubs or seeds, weeding, watering, harvesting, etc.
  ~Childcare - looking after our 2 year old daughter
  ~ Basic building work like painting or sanding
  ~ Basic woodworking such as building a compost toilet or chicken coop
  ~ Preserving & cooking: baking bread, making jam, dehydrating fruit, making fermented foods,
  
  EXCHANGE
  
  ~We prefer a minimum stay of 7 days, with a preference for 2 weeks or more so that there is some stability for our child Jo.
  ~ We expect an exchange of 20 hours per week, (4 hours x 5 days) with fresh local organic food and high quality, insulated, private accommodation included.
  ~ If you provide your own accommodation (caravan, tent, etc.), we can negotiate a reduced exchange that feels fair
  ~ Typically we would work between 8am-12pm each weekday, resting in the afternoon, with just a few household chores in the evening. However, this schedule can be flexible if you have other commitments or activities you would like to fit in, or what our schedules are like. For example, you could do a full 8 hour day and then have the next day off, or do evening babysitting instead of morning.
  ~ We can provide food to suit most dietary preferences such as GF or vegan. We call ourselves 'ethical omnivores', so we do eat mostly vegan or vegetarian food but do also occasionally eat local, organic, free-range meat or dairy
  ~During your stay with us, you would become like a temporary 'housemate'. This means that we would hope that you would help to prepare communal meals, wash dishes, and clean up after yourself, just like any of our housemates
  ~ Washing up and cooking dinner are included in your volunteer hours (preparing your own breakfast and lunch is not)
  ~ We tend to go to bed quite early (9pm) and wake up early (6am), so we prefer to get started early in the day and keep the noise down late at night
  ~ We tend to eat dinner together every night around 6pm, and would expect you to join us if you are home that evening. You are welcome to do your own thing for breakfast and lunch. Just let us know if you'll be out for dinner.
  
  WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR:
  
  We are looking for people who are excited about putting energy into the home and garden to make it functional, productive and beautiful. We are looking for others who share our values around permaculture, nature connection, self-aware communication, and living lightly on the earth.
  
  Ideally we are looking for people who are:
  ~ Genuinely interested in living with and learning from other people, including children and young people, and excited about being part of an active permaculture ‘homestead’.
  ~ Have practical skills to contribute or are keen to learn: gardening, cooking, communication, creativity, building or fixing things, facilitation, animal care, etc.
  ~ Clean and tidy, but tolerant of occasional chaos and mess (the reality of living with kids!)
  ~ Have a 'can-do' attitude, willing to give things a go, ask questions and make mistakes

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Allemand: Courant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  We love learning new languages and connecting with people all over the world.
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  Hébergement

  We have guest accommodation for up to 2 people in a tiny house called Geo. It is well insulated, with a nice big window. It has a fold up double bed, kitchenette, fan, and fold-up desk, as well as a compost toilet and hot shower. We have bedding available or you can bring your own.
  
  We also have a large bell tent available that can accommodate up to 8 people, it currently has a queen mattress and one single bed.
  
  There is plenty of flat space for camping if you would like to bring your own tent or caravan. From June 2024 onwards we will have an additional tiny house available that can house up to 4 people (2 x double beds).

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  Autres infos...

  ~Our property is a 10 acre bush block on Djaara land just 5kms from Castlemaine centre
  ~ Castlemaine is a thriving, creative, alternative small town in regional Victoria, just 1.5 hours by train or car from the city of Melbourne.
  ~ Our land backs onto gorgeous conservation bushland, with kangaroos bounding past, birds singing, wildflowers blooming, and so much room to wander and explore in the nearby forest.
  ~There are lots of bushwalking trails and cycling trails nearby in the Muckleford forest
  ~ The Castlemaine area has lots of historical sites from the gold rush and historical architecture
  ~ There are lots of lovely places in nature to swim such as our very own big dam, also 'The Res' on Golden Point Rd, Glenluce, or Vaughan Springs
  ~ Castlemaine town centre has everything you need and more including shops, restaurants, pubs, live music, a library, community gardens, yoga & pilates classes, circus classes, permaculture courses, art classes, secondhand stores and a public swimming pool, sauna and spa.
  
  TRANSPORT
  ~ There is no public transport to our place. But we are just 5kms, or a 15-25 min bike ride from the train station. If you don't have your own vehicle, a taxi from the train station to here costs about $20.
  ~ Once here, you are welcome to borrow one of our spare bikes to get around town. (We don't have a car).

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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 good internet access via mobile phone data, and from April 2024 onwards we will have high speed WiFi connected. There is a library close by in town with free WIFI.

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  We have plenty of flat land and space for parking a caravan, campervan, or tiny house.

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  Possibilité d'accueillir les animaux

  We can accept friendly, gentle dogs. No cats and no vicious dogs.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Plus de 2

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  Nombre d'heures attendues

  Maximum 4 hours a day, 5 days a week.

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