Help with reviving farmland and walking goats at a satoyama in Kumano, Japan

Infos

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  Description

  Hello Workawayers, this is Alena from Germany and and my Japanese husband, Kenjiro. We have been living in the beautiful Kumano area of Japan for over 10 years now. We moved out of Tokyo and to Kumano in 2011 because we fell in love with this remote Japanese countryside and its natural and cultural heritage. This is on the Kii Peninsula where the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trails are located. I am a Kumano Kodo guide and a Forest Therapy guide and I am offering guided walks along the Kumano Kodo trails. This is why I am away from home for several days often. My husband works at a nearby Shinto.
  
  We are living in a small settlement near Hongu Town and recently we took over a 50 years old farmhouse with farmland and paddy fields. We want to revive the farmland and the fields and grow organic vegetables and we look for help. Our two goats, Willy and Billy, like to go for a walk on the farmland in the morning and in the evening to find their food like different kinds of grass, leaves, herbs etc. and we look for help with that too, especially on the days when I am not at home.

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Jardinage

  S’occuper des animaux

  Aide dans une ferme

  Aide à la maison

  Home sitting
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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

  Apart from the language exchange and an introduction to Japanese village life, which is so different from visiting and staying in Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, we are happy to introduce the following unique experiences:
  - We are living in a small village in the mountains that is considered a "satoyama", a village at the edge of the forest. Together with us you will be re-discovering the wisdom of a traditional landscape that is fast disappearing in our modern times.
  - As we live near the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trails and I, Alena, am a Kumano Kodo guide. I am happy to introduce the stories, old and new, of the land, the people and the pilgrimage tradition reaching back over 1,000 years.
  - I am a trained Forest Therapy guide, both in the Japanese way of guiding and in the ANFT way of guiding and I am happy to introduce you to this healing practice.
  - My husband is a Shinto priest and I am an Buddhist and we are happy to share our spiritual practices.

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  Aide

  in the short term, we seek help with reviving the fields and paddy fields (at the moment they are covered with plastic sheets, stones and logs. We need to remove them and take the covers of. Then plough the fields, improve the soil quality by natural means and plant vegetables in spring.
  We also like help walking our 2 goats, Willy and Billy, ideally twice a day, in the morning and in the evening. We walk them to the fields where they feed on weeds. As part of the job is pet sitting, you should be a pet friendly person and ideally have some experience with pet sitting.
  
  Longer term we also have some DIY projects around a 100 year old barn next to the house which we want to convert into usable space for hobbies, resting and storage.

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Allemand: Courant
  Anglais: Courant
  Japonais: Courant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  I am happy to host Workaways who want to practise English and/or German. And I am happy to teach some Japanese phrases and words to Workaways who would like to pick up some Japanese. My new concept for language learning while walking the Kumano Kodo trails together is "Walk & Talk"...:)
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  Hébergement

  Our house has a large kitchen, a lounge library, my "office", a room with flooring and two rooms with tatami. We would like to offer Workaways a tatami room and sleeping on a futon in traditional Japanese style.
  
  We will provide a simple breakfast (bread, jam, eggs and coffee/tea) for those who help up to 15 hours a week and ingredients for cooking a simple lunch and dinner for help up to 25 hours a week.

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  Autres infos...

  There is a local bus from Hongu to our village and we are happy to provide pick-up/drop off on arrival and departure day and we can take you to the local groceries store. We have two folding bikes and a motorbike that you can use (the latter only if you have a valid International Drivers License).
  
  Our house is right by the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail. On your days off you can walk he Kumano Kodo Nakahechi route. The nearest bus stop is in walking distance at the entrance of the village where you can catch a bus to nearby Hongu Town. There are several restaurants and cafes. There are also many onsen hot springs for you to explore in the area, including Yunomine Onsen, Watarase Onsen and Kawayu Onsen.

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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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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Un

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