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Gardener and Carpenter in Small Vancouver Island Community

4.5
(3 reviews)3

The experience

Live peacefully in large lovely home with host. Sleep well, eat well. Hike. Swim. Socialize. Cook. Work is widely varied: landscaping (build low rock walls around gardens, planting, raking, pruning, cleanup, build fence, plant/build); basic gardening and farming (weeding, tilling soil, adding nutrients, watering, trimming, harvesting, planting); Garlic production on Small Scale in raised beds. Carpentry skill much needed.

What you offer

18 hours of help per week

Cleaning: Help clean the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms and common areas.

Building & Repairing: Help with a wide range of repairs or building.

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

Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens

What you get

3 days off per week

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

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.

Free Tours: We’ll take you on tours and rides around town. For free!

Free Hiking Tours: We’ll take you on excursions and hikes around town. For free!

Get free drinks or beverages.: Drink up! Get free and tasty drinks for yourself.

Free Events: Get free entrance for the best events in town.

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

Pick Up: We will pick you up when you arrive, and take you to our property.

Language lessons: Take free language classes at our place.

Use our equipped kitchen: Feel free to use our kitchen and make your own delicious food.

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

Dedicated Workspace: Specific space for you to work remotely

Requirements

Intermediate English or Fluent English

Between 19 and 65 years old

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

Travel insurance

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

Informal household in small Vancouver Island community needs help with two acre property with lawn, gardens, vegetable and flower farm growing, building garden beds, constructing trellis, fence, box beds, moving/placing soil and landscape rock to build garden beds; lawn mowing, edging, planting, raking, cleanup, mulching. Harvest and Processing garlic from garlic beds and fruit from fruit orchard in August-Sept.

Activities & Shift

Rise, eat, go outdoors and work in gardens, vegetable beds, lawn, etc. There are no shifts. This is an orchard and small scale garlic and vegetable farm. There are baby trees to transplant in June. Lawn care is constant (new sod). Watering the raised beds by hose/hand or design/build a watering system with on site supplies. Rake, hoe, weed, water, plant, mow, edge....Build useful stuff like fence, trellis, gate, garden boxes, greenhouse shelves... with wood if you have carpentry skills. Harvest and process FRUIT FROM ORCHARD (plums, pears, apples) in large quantities in August-September.

Rules

Be a respectful, mature, reasonable, contributing guest and member of the household, indoors and outdoors. Keep your room and your own bathroom clean. Clean and tidy up the communal areas you use: kitchen, hallway, living room, dining room. No outdoor shoes or dirty feet in the house. Quiet after 10 p.m. No drugs. Minimal use of alcohol. No pets. Prefer non-smoking because of severe risk of fire in summer.