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Hello and thank you for visiting my profile! Would you like to come help me with my reuse recycle farm idea? Come see the Rocky Mountains and some of Western Canada. Sometimes I do road trips and take the workawayers. My farm is located JUST outside Edmonton which is a city of over 1 million people. There is ANYTHING you want to do here. Festivals, bars, pubs, nightlife, shopping, cinema, theatre, sports, spectator sports (hockey / football), gymnasiums, ice skating. Edmonton has the biggest urban park of any city in the world I think. There is amazing hiking in the river valley. We have the biggest shopping mall in North America and possibly the best in the world. We have lots of spring downhill skiing in the Rocky Mountains just a short drive from my farm. I can possibly take you to shoot guns, throw axes, ride motorcycles, go snowmobiling and dog sledding. You shouldn't be bored in this place. When working you will be cleaning and organizing because it's still cold out. When it warms up we will be planting trees, raspberry bushes and a huge garden. If you're able to you could help with renovations and building. Expect hard dirty work but good food.
March 31, 2019 volunteer update:
– A 24 year old French man (Nicolas) is here on my farm now. He is really interested in improving his English. He's a very friendly and soft spoken man. He wants to stay until April 10.
– 27 year old Matteo from Italy is here. He is a University researcher taking time off to learn English. He is into meditation and cooking.
– There's a 31 year old woman here from Taiwan. She is very fluent in English. She's doing the cooking. She's a very conscientious, friendly woman. She's extremely friendly and sociable.
– 19 year old German by the name of Marlon is here now. He speaks English very well. He's very friendly and jovial.
– 27 year old Guillame from France is here now and he wants to stay until the end of April.
– A German girl who likes children will be coming on April 1. She will probably be helping my wife with cooking and child care.
– A 19 year old German speaking Austrian guy will be coming April 9 to June 25. His flight is booked.
– A 20 year old Dutch / Greek girl is DEFINITELY coming from April 10 to June 25.
– A German girl might come in May and June.
– A 19 year old Swiss Math Physics genius is definitely coming on May 15. He booked his flight.
The workawayers are usually hanging around the farm playing billiards, watching movies, watching satellite TV, having tea, doing Skype, using WIFI, practicing English, eating food, having drinks. If you want to come join the group let me know. There will be access to a vehicle to get a ride into Edmonton.
Gardening
Building
Babysitting / child care
General Maintenance
Cooking / shopping
Farmstay
Other
Help with Eco project
Help in the house
Language practice
Help with Computers / internet
Learn about recycling (and reusing). There are many things to know about it. Expect to learn LESS about farming because we have already planted 350 trees and you will just be watering them. You won't learn anything from that. We do plant a huge garden every year. But you can learn about all the reusing and recycling we do here. If you're an environmentalist you will benefit from this knowledge. Let's save the planet! I am an AVID recycler and this is my passion. You can learn all about recycling
learn perfect English from university educated professional anglophones
Matt is a teacher and will have lessons for you in English (he also speaks German, some Spanish, French, Russian so that will help translate)
Experience REAL Canada
You might be able to join me on a trip to see the Rocky Mountains, hot springs, waterfalls, canyons, hikes
See BOTH rural and urban life in Canada
Learn about and meet Native Indians
possibly visit Native Indian reservations and learn about the history of Native Indians in Canada and also North America. (remember that Matt used to be a history teacher).
possibly go dog sledding if you pay for it. I provide transport and bagged lunches
Possibly go whitewater rafting if you pay for it. I provide transport and food
Possibly go canoeing if it's summer (this is free as I own canoes)
live on a farm with a true Canadian family with young cute children
use power tools and practice carpentry
drive vehicles (even if you don't have a driver's licence or ANY experience) I can teach you to drive.
drive equipment and machinery
Learn about mechanics and how to keep machinery running in cold weather
Possibly ride motorcycles
Possibly ride snowmobiles
Probably try snowshoeing in the deep snow because we have snowshoes here for you to use.
get exercise by working so hard
Eat good healthy food
Learn about organic gardening with NO pesticides or fertilizers
Party and have outdoor fires with other helpers. We sometimes have more than 4 helpers here. Make friends!
On Friday and Saturday nights I MIGHT be able to drive you and other helpers into the nightclub district of Edmonton to go out for beer and dancing. Then I'd drive you back to the farm at 2:00 A.M.
Get free use of WARM clothes for the Canadian winter. I will provide the warm clothes.
Get free travel advice because Matt has been to over 55 countries and most places in Western Canada.
Cleaning, organizing, dusting, moving furniture around, placing ads on internet to recycle items, shovelling snow in winter, mowing grass in summer, doing dishes, watering trees, planting trees, gardening (all menial unskilled tasks) The only learning you will be doing is English language practice, how to clean, mechanics and also learning about recycling. Don't expect to learn much about organic farming because you'll just be watering 350 trees that are already planted and gardening.
*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️. Please read this regarding CASH payment*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️ I need someone to be a lead hand. If you are committing to at least the ENTIRE summer, speak fluent English, are VERY trainable (good attitude and willing to learn), are very strong and have a valid international driver's licence I might be able to negotiate cash payments for you (on top of free accommodation, entertainment and food). This would ONLY be if you are someone who meets the criteria I'm searching for. None of the workawayers I have hosted as of yet would fit the criteria for a cash stipend. Most of them don't want to stay for many months and even if they did most of them wouldn't have the driver's licence, language skills or work skills to be the lead hand. They are thus only receiving accommodation, food and entertainment for free. Are you are the right type of person I'm searching for? Do you have nothing better to do than hang out and work on my farm for the entire summer? If so then you might be able to turn this workaway into a PAID workawayer position. I would pay for any hours over the 25 hours per week. If ANYONE does MORE than 25 hours per week I will pay them cash for the extra hours.
English, Deutsch (German), poquito Espanol, Russian, un petit Français
You can stay in my home in an unfinished basement. It's like a dorm style shared HUGE room. You would probably have a Queen sized bed. If you need a private room it can probably be arranged. I have a bunk house next to the garage but the internet is a little slow out there. You will often be coming upstairs in our home to have meals and to relax in the evenings. There is unlimited internet, satellite television. There is a BIG recreation room with a billiards table and fireplace.
I will provide all food for the workawayers. If you are doing the cooking you can cook whatever you want and we will pay for it. You could cook one meal per day or all 3 meals if you like. We're not that frugal to limit what you cook. If my wife is cooking she usually cooks 1 big meal per day. Lunch is usually leftovers from the previous nights dinner. Breakfast would just be oatmeal, banana, bowl of cereal and toast. You will not starve. There is a camping stove and full sized barbecue outside in the yard if you prefer to live like you're camping. I will put lots of rice, beans, canned goods, pickles, grains, cereals, in shelves and you can help yourself to as much as you like.
My farm is located just outside of Edmonton which is a city of over 1 million people. I go into the city almost every day. I can also provide free accommodation for you in the city if you want to stay in the city for a day or two. There is the biggest mall in North America (West Edmonton Mall) close to my farm. There is lots of nightlife in Edmonton as it's a University city. I will show you around the city as well. I sometimes take road trips into the Rocky Mountains to go hiking. I've been showing them around the city of Edmonton on their days off. We have done cycling, skating, hiking, sledding, sightseeing, Or we've been hanging around the farm playing billiards, watching movies, having tea, doing Skype, using WIFI, practicing English, eating food, having drinks. Most of the time you will be on the farm working. When you're not working you can watch movies, satellite TV, use the high speed internet to Skype or WhatsApp your friends. Or just go for walks out in the woods/trees. Maybe use our big recreation room to play billiards or sit by the fireplace with a book and read. We have a library of books in our home. If you enjoy playing with children you can play with our 2 toddlers. They love it when people read books to them.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
More than two
25 hours per week. Anything over that would be paid.
He could come back to my farm anytime if he likes. Muchos Gracias Ernesto. Have fun with your continued travels.
(Very good )
I found them to be well mannered and thrifty.
The young kids are adorable and smart.
Meals were always cooked at home by Matt's wife and/or other volunteers.
Wake up times and bedtime are strict, as well as meal times. On the other hand, Matt gave us a lot of freedom to manage our… read more own working hours and days off.
Work at the farm was varied, as well as in the city. During the winter months, my main task was helping Matt to manage his project about reutilization of items. It snowed so much and we also had to shovel that.
It was, of course, a perfect opportunity for practicing my english too.
I learned about mechanics, driving automatic vehicles, and ways to reutilize items.
They provided us with plenty of food, allowing us to have healthy meals every day. Free unlimited WIFI, satellite TV, library and board games.
Volunteers slept in very comfortable queen sized beds, in shared spaces such as the basement of the house.
Because we also went to the city for volunteer work, there were several opportunities every week to have fun and sightseeing around Edmonton.
I had the chance to practice driving Matt's big farm truck on the roads close to the farm. Matt gave us the keys to the car to go sightseeing.
I have gone ice skating on a frozen lake, and hiked in some of the many parks around the city. I saw the Northern Lights on a lucky night. Also went tobogganing (sliding) on snow covered hills.
I've visited the huge West Edmonton Mall, went to the new year's eve celebrations, visited the legislature of Alberta, a war museum, and the awesome ice castles that light up at night.
This experience allowed me to meet and live with amazing people from all over the world and learn about their different cultures, language, and world views.
We shared experiences that I'll never forget.
It was a very positive experience for me as a whole and I feel lucky to have found Matt, Teresa and their young children as my first Workaway host.
(Very good )
(Excellent )
Debo decir que en mi primera experiencia en Workaway tenía miedo y pensé que sería difícil porque mi inglés cuando llegué era horrible. Fueron cuatro semanas y tanto Matt como los otros voluntarios me ayudaron, y he mejorado significativamente. He ido a parques, castillos de hielo, patinaje, centros comerciales y lugares turísticos. He conducido un SUV y un camión grande a través de la hermosa ciudad de Edmonton, acompañados por grandes personas y compartiendo costumbres, cultura e idiomas. La granja de Matt es muy cómoda y cálida, la comida es abundante y buena (soy vegetariano), tiene muchos libros, películas y juegos de mesa. Estar en la granja de Matt fue una de las mejores experiencias de mi vida, y gracias a Matt por darme la oportunidad de ser parte de esta hermosa experiencia.
(Excellent )
Valerie, you are only 18 but you are wise beyond your years. You strike me as a very responsible person and that's why I just gave you the key to my wife's car to drive around and even into the city to go to entertainment and even pubs and clubs. I never hesitated because you seem so responsible. You're a good safe driver. Come back again soon! Matt
(Excellent )
Although Felix is from Germany he speaks English quite good. He basically took on the role of cook at the farm and he did a great job of it. Every night he made a… read more big feast. The other workawyers were so happy. He made the most amazing pizzas from scratch with hand made dough. Come back again soon Felix!. Matt
(Excellent )
I stayed at the farm for only a week but in this short time span I got to do a lot of different jobs (chipping ice, shoveling snow, loading different kind of stuff, computer related jobs…). Which was good for me because I like to try and discover various things. If I had to find a downside for this workaway experience I would… read more say the tasks are not so much fulfilling, this is labor work after all. But Matt always try to get you to do one that you’d like. And as mentioned in the previous reviews, he’s quite flexible on the hours of work. Don’t worry if you don’t have working equipment, Matt has them for you. When I was not working I had a great time drinking tea and talking with Theresa and Matt, they know quite a lot about various subjects. Matt also took me and the other workawayer here to see the city. We’ve been to the observatory (first time for me looking at the sky with a telescope!), downtown and to West Edmonton Mall as well. He even taught me about auto mechanics, a subject I know nothing about. I should also mention the recreational room, a really cool room with a pool table, a space to watch movies (he’s got a lot of them) and last but not least an acoustic guitar. The last thing I have to write is about the meals. I am a vegan and I know it can be a hard time for hosts to change their habits but here they made an effort to accommodate me. Which was really appreciated. All and all it was a good cultural exchange.
Je ne suis resté à la ferme qu'une semaine, mais dans ce court laps de temps, j'ai pu faire pas mal de choses différentes (briser de la glace, pelleter de la neige, charger toute sortes de choses, jobs informatique…). Ce qui me convenait puisque j'aime essayer et découvrir différentes choses. Si je devais trouver un inconvénient à cette expérience workaway, je dirais que les tâches ne sont pas tellement enrichissantes, c'est du travail de main d’oeuvre après tout. Mais Matt essaie toujours de vous faire faire ce que vous voulez. Et comme mentionné dans les avis précédents, il est très flexible en ce qui concerne les heures de travail. Ne vous inquiétez pas si vous n'avez pas d'équipement de travail, Matt en a pour vous. Quand je ne travaillais pas, je prenais plaisir boire du thé et discuter avec Theresa et Matt, ils en savent beaucoup sur de nombreux sujets. Matt nous a aussi emmenés, moi et l'autre volontaire, voir la ville. On est allés à l'observatoire (c'est la première fois que je regardais le ciel avec un téléscope !), au centre-ville et au West Edmonton Mall également. Il m'a même donné des leçons sur la mécanique auto, un sujet dont je ne connais absolument rien. Je devrais aussi mentionner la salle récréative, une pièce vraiment cool avec une table de billard, un espace pour regarder des films (il en a beaucoup) et une guitare acoustique. La dernière chose que j'ai à dire concerne les repas. Je suis végane et je sais qu'il peut être difficile pour les hôtes de changer leurs habitudes, mais ici ils ont fait un effort pour m'accommoder. Ce que j’ai fortement apprécié. Tout cela a été un bon échange culturel.
(Excellent )
The work was varied. I enjoyed getting to do such a multitude of different tasks. This included feeding cattle (at his father in law's ranch over Christmas), shovelling snow, electrical work (installing lights in a barn), using a gas powered snowblower, using a hydraulic wood splitter, chopping wood, using a winch to pull vehicles out when they get bogged, cleaning, organizing, driving vehicles (regardless of only holding a learner's licence). Plus learning a little bit about mechanics. Matt let me do the work that I wanted to do. Other volunteers that enjoyed (or were skilled) in different tasks were able to do tasks they liked (such as electrical work, cooking and child care).
When I wasn't working we were doing many fun activities. Matt took us out to many pubs and even a nightclub for drinks. We heard live music from a few different bands. We went on a distillery tour and sampled local gin, vodka and whiskey. As well as the distillery tour Matt took us to see a legal weed store (as it's now legal in Canada). During my stay we also did snowmobile riding, cycling, downhill tobogganing, clay pigeon shooting. We took a tour of the mountains and went all the way to Banff and up the ice field parkway (one of the world's most scenic drives). In Banff we went swimming in hot springs and also visited a cave. Matt took us to 2 native reservations, West Edmonton Mall, 2 museums, the ice Castle and the Edmonton river valley. We visited a space observatory, glass greenhouse pyramids (Muttart Conservatory), the University of Alberta and the oldest building in Alberta (Catholic mission). As well as this we visited the Alberta Legislature which offered a free educational walking tour. I stayed on his father in law's cattle ranch for a week over Christmas where I got to cut down my first real Christmas tree. We exchanged gifts for Christmas. New Year's eve was spent watching the fireworks over the Alberta Legislature.
During my stay I saw many animals such as deer, bison, muskrat, beaver, rabbit, coyote, donkey. You can hear coyotes howling at night near the farm house. One day we woke up and 3 moose were in the back field only about 100 meters away from the house.
Overall it was an amazing cultural experience for me. My stay on Matt's farm was excellent.
(Excellent )
I had a wonderful time at Matt’s farm. Matt and his wife Teresa gave us lots of food. They have 2 cute toddlers. Breakfast, lunch and supper was provided. Desserts are included after every supper with tea. I felt very comfortable in the farm house. There is a huge recreation room with a fireplace and billiards table as well as a movie/film watching room. Matt has a huge library of movies and books to use. The WIFI is unlimited so I could skype and whatsapp my family in Chile. Matt took myself and the other volunteer to West Edmonton Mall. We also went to bars for drinks. He took us for a drive to see all the sites of Edmonton. The highlight of my stay was that Matt took myself and the other volunteer out to the Rocky Mountains! We went to the hot springs and bathed in 40 degree water in the middle of the snow peaked mountains. It was amazing! We also drove up the icefield parkway to see the best scenery in Canada and even all of North America. Matt drove me to the airport which was appreciated. Generally speaking Matt will take care of everything once you arrive. He can provide warm clothing. He has a LOT of stuff and he even gave me some records, books and a coat for my wife back in Chile. Also, I received constant English lessons because Matt is always speaking loudly and clearly. We stayed in a dormitory style room with a big Queen sized bed. The work for me was outside in the cold but that didn’t bother me. We worked together to wire up some lights in his farm shop as I am a certified electrician. If you are in Western Canada you should stay at Matt and Teresa’s farm.
Daniel is learning English but is very understandable. I think he will really want to interact with English speakers throughout his trip so that he can learn the language.
He is a good billiards player (but not as good as Mark and I) Ha Ha Ha
(Excellent )
(Excellent )
(Excellent )
J'ai passé presque deux semaines chez Matt en hiver. Matt est vraiment un quelqu'un debien et essaie vraiment de vous accueillir du mieux qu'il peut. Il est vraiment gentil avec nous et fait toujours des blagues, vous sentez que vous pouvez lui parler en tant qu'ami. Il m'a amené à une soirée, à une visite de distillerie et m'a déposé au centre commercial lors de mon day off, même si le trajet est long.
C'est un gars passionné, il en sait beaucoup sur l'histoire et essaie vraiment d'apprendre de maculture ce qu'il ne sait pas déjà. Il a également pris le temps de m'apprendre à conduire un peu ce qui est très apprécié, de même qu'il nous a apporté des boissons et des desserts lors de longues parties de billard avec les autres voyageurs.
Sa femme et ses enfants sont également adorables et tous ces éléments réunis créent une ambiance vraiment agréable dans la maison. De plus, il héberge de nombreux vacanciers, ce qui est vraiment bien pour créer des liens et partager avec d'autres personnes. La nourriture était vraiment bonne en quantité et qualité et vous ne pouvez pas vraiment souhaiter plus que ce qu'il ne vous offre.
Le seul inconvénient est que le travail n’est pas vraiment intéressant et peut être physique (pelleter la neige pendant des heures), mais vous pouvez le limiter à 3 heures et demie par jour, ce qui est tout à fait équitable. Matt est aussi très flexible avec cela et vous pouvez vraiment faire votre propre emploi du temps à condition de respecter vos 25h / semaine. J'ai aussi fait une heure supplémentaire et récupéré de l'argent, ce qui est toujours bon pour les jeunes voyageurs fauchés!
Je lui souhaite le meilleur pour sa ferme, qui est en train de devenir un lieu de prédilection pour les workawayer's près d'Edmonton!
(Excellent )
(Excellent )
(Excellent )
(Excellent )
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