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Living the dream in Margaret River!

World, Oceania, Australia, Cowaramup

APPLY NOW

APPLY NOW

Travel dates

About the workproject

We need 1 volunteer

My husband Paul and I are owner/operators of Homestead Health. We are on 8 acres of natural bush in the Margaret River Region of Western Australia. We live and work in a 3/4 acre clearing, where we produce organic fruit, vegetables and medicinal herbs. We sell the plants we grow, in addition to our seeds and organic herbal capsules. Our property hosts a number of rare and endangered Australian Native animals, and thousands of native Australian Grass Trees, from which we produce planters and garden ornaments. We are located in the heart of the Margaret River Region, famous for its surfing, wineries, and natural beauty.

Homestead Health is nestled between hundreds of acres of cow paddocks, away from the main town. Most of the property is in it's natural state, although we have cleared tracks through the bush for those who enjoy quiet contemplation surrounded by nature. Our main activities are centred around the main property, where we have a number of greenhouses, garden beds and growing areas. We specialise in growing tomatoes, chillies, capsicum, corn & sunflowers. We also have small amounts of other fruits and vegetables for personal use. We grow and sell a veriety of fruit trees, mostly from seed, and most days are focused on tending to the daily requirements of our plants. Duties vary according to seasonal requirements, spring is mostly digging and preparation of garden beds, seed raising, and transfering seedlings to larger pots. Summer is more maintenance, harvest, seed saving and dehydrating. Autumn sees us preparing our annual onion and garlic crops ready for winter. It's very physical work.

I am also undertaking a Bachelor of Horticulture, so am able to pass on a great deal of information to anyone interested in learning in this area.

About the host

Ellen (53)

Host since

2019

Languages

English

Last seen online

3 months ago

Paul & I have been working full time for the past three years, at getting to the point of self-sufficiency. We love growing as much of our own food as possible, are building up our own water storage, and off-grid power system, and gradually expanding our homestead operations. Homestead Health is our business, but it's also our lifestyle. If you would like to see more of what we are doing, please see our facebook page at facebook.com/homesteadhealthaustralia, or our webpage at homesteadhealthaustralia.com

Project dates

Open for offers, contact us


Work to be done

  • gardening
  • help in the house
  • teaching projects
  • eco projects
  • animal care
  • art projects

Expected workhours

  • 5 hours a day
  • 5 days a week

Work exchange deal

  • private room

Our home is a homestead-style rammed earth property, our lifestyle is simple. Water is precious here, so showers are short, and every bit of water is saved and recycled. Our philosophy on life is to take everything back to basics and everything we do reflects that. You will have a private room with queen size bed and extendive wardrobe space. There is limited internet, but certainly enough for keeping in touch with friends and family and basic entertainment purposes. Some parts of the house are not completely finished, so if you love painting, and decorating, we're happy for you to do some of that too!

  • shared meals

Our meals are rich and hearty, and contain a large portion of what we've grown ourselves. You are more than welcome to join us for meals, or provide and prepare your own. We can cater for gluten intollerance, but as we generally have very "farmhouse" meals, strict vegans may not feel comfortable here.

  • no money is involved

We are on an incredibly tight budget in a world renowned tourist destination. Budget accommodation is very difficult to find. As such we are happy to provide accomodation and meals, but are not in a postion to provide payment at this time.