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Creating a sustainable permaculture food forest

4.5
(3 reviews)3

The experience

Do you enjoy working outdoors and care deeply about soil health and the quality of the food we eat? Do you have experience with permaculture and regenerative agriculture? Or you care about what you eat? If so, we'd love your help in our food forest!

Every day, we work in the garden and forest—clearing bushes and wild brambles, improving the soil through mulching, feeding the animals, cleaning stables, and maintaining the pathways.

What you offer

6 hours of help per day

Kitchen Hand: Help prepare, finish and serve meals.

Animal Care: Help look after and take care of animals.

Farming: Plant crops, sow seeds and help in outside tasks.

Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens

What you get

2 days off per week

Private Room: You will have a bed in a private room. In other words, a room just for you.

Shared Dorm: You will have a bed in a shared room, which means you will share the same room with other travelers.

Tent: You will sleep in a tent at a camping site.

Breakfast: You are entitled to a free breakfast, every day of your stay.

Lunch: You are entitled to a free lunch, every day of your stay.

Dinner: You are entitled to a free dinner, every day of your stay.

Free Laundry: You can use our laundry room freely.

Bikes at your disposal: You can use our bikes any time you want.

Permaculture Course: Take part in our Permaculture course for free.

Fast Internet Access: High-speed internet for you to work remotely

Requirements

Fluent English or Fluent French

Between 20 and 35 years old

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

Academy Course Eco Certificate for Volunteers: Basic Concepts

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

When it comes to the work, we’re excited to learn about your unique skills and interests, and we'll do our best to align them with our project to make the most of your talents. What matters most to us is that you're motivated and ready to contribute! We're confident that there’s something within our project that will spark your curiosity and inspire you to get involved.

We’re looking for individuals who are independent, eager to get their hands dirty, and comfortable working outdoors with tools. If you're ready to dive into meaningful, hands-on work, we’d be thrilled to have you join us!

Our garden is lovingly managed using the principles of permaculture. While we embrace the wild growth of a variety of plants and herbs, we keep certain areas in check, especially where nettles, wild brambles, and maple seedlings tend to take over. Since we don’t use herbicides, we carefully remove these by hand (with gloves) to maintain balance.

At our place, you’re invited to try new things, explore your interests, and learn how to live in a more sustainable and self-sufficient way. Having lived in diverse cultural settings for over 20 years, we’re excited to share our experiences with you. You’ll gain insights into what’s culturally appropriate and expected in different environments, which could be valuable when traveling or living abroad in the future.

On our small farm, there’s so much to learn—whether it’s growing your food, preserving the harvest, or understanding the many aspects of sustainable living. What matters most is that you take the initiative to learn and get involved. We’re here to guide you, but the experience is yours to shape!

Activities & Shift

A significant part of the daily tasks involves gardening, maintaining the land, feeding the animals, and managing the firewood. Please note that this work requires good physical condition, as it can be quite demanding. Our typical workday starts at 9:30 am in the winter (8:00 am in the summer) and usually wraps up around 2-3 pm. There’s also some time in the early evening to take care of the dog and feed the animals.

In the autumn and winter, the focus shifts primarily to forest work, including collecting and chopping firewood, planting trees, and preparing the garden for the coming spring. As the weather warms up in spring, we begin preparing the vegetable garden—sowing, planting, and weeding according to permaculture principles—while also working on the development of the food forest. During summer, we continue tending to the plants and trees through irrigation, weeding, and planting.

Depending on your personal interests, there are also plenty of opportunities to get involved in or learn about:
- Animal care and management
- Engaging our children in age-appropriate outdoor activities
- DIY projects around the property
- Building a compost toilet
- designing a yoga walking path in the forest
If you're a carpenter or have skills in craftsmanship, you can lend a hand with:
- Constructing eco-friendly huts in the forest for the children
- Building our own pizza oven and outdoor kitchen
And much more!
There’s always something exciting and meaningful to contribute to, and we’d love for you to bring your unique talents and passion to our project!

If you're up for a fulfilling and active day, we would love to have you on board!

Rules

We love for volunteers to integrate into our daily family life. We appreciate it when you have an interest in living more sustainably, which also means being mindful of water, electricity, and other resources—even though we currently have plenty.

We are also conscious about what we eat, which is why we cook only vegetarian or vegan meals. 🌱✨Therefore, we prefer to host vegetarians to avoid ongoing debates around meat, protein, or nutrition.

HABITS & LIFESTYLE:
- We welcome only non-smokers into our home. If you don’t already follow an ecologically conscious lifestyle and are not vegetarian, you may find it challenging to adapt to our way of living.
- We also ask that guests limit their use of mobile phones and avoid television or computer games during their stay. Phones are not allowed during work hours, so we can stay present and connected with the land and each other.
- We value a peaceful and grounded atmosphere. Moderate alcohol use is acceptable, but drug use is not permitted.
- Our home is a space for positive energy, healthy routines, and mindful living – and we truly appreciate those who share these values and contribute to this environment.

RULES:
- We ask all volunteers to respect the house rules and take part in proper recycling.
- Meals are served at specific times (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). If you arrive outside of those hours, the kitchen will be closed.
- Volunteers are expected to cook dinner twice per week (outside of working hours) and always help with the dishes, keep the sink empty, and leave the kitchen clean. The kitchen is a shared space, and everyone is expected to keep it tidy — even on your days off.
-For safety and maintenance reasons, swings, trampoline, and zip-line are not for adult use and are off-limits to volunteers.