Hei! We have a productive, professional farm, with a communal, self sufficient lifestyle. Vegetables, fruit and 90 sheep. We are certified organic, and there are also some agroforestry, permaculture and biodynamic practices, The aim is to do useful work; to eat well; to learn and grow together; to make team spirit and friendship happen :)
We are Erik and Julia. Erik has been a full time, certified organic farmer since 2010. Julia works outside the farm.
We are typically three to five people on the farm team., and we eat breakfast, lunch and dinner together. There is a big communal living area., and everybody has a private bedroom in the farm house. This summer, we have an availability for wwoofers in June, in August and in September.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The 3 main themes on this farm are: *** SUSTAINABLE (AND PROFITABLE!) FARMING *** COMMUNAL LIVING AND COLLABORATIVE DECISION MAKING. *** CULTIVATING A PRODUCTIVE AND ECO-FRIENDLY LIFESTYLE (as opposed to consumerism). I prefer to welcome volunteers who have a genuine enthusiasm and curiosity for all of these topics and ideally also some familiarity with this lifestyle. In my experience, these are the persons who really thrive and love it here, which of course is very satisfying and inspiring for me :)
So I prefer that BEFORE you message me, you should think about how these three topics are relevant for you, and PLEASE write some words about this in your message to me :)
The minimum stay is 3 weeks, but if you have very limited experience with farming and community life we require up to 6 weeks minimum stay.
THE FARM EXPERIENCE YOU CAN LEARN ABOUT AND CONTRIBUTE TO:
-- VEGETABLE crops (approximately 0,3 hectare or 1 acre) are grown together with FRUIT TREES (approximately 2000 apple and plum trees) in an agroforestry system based on permaculture design principles. There is both work with hand tools and with tractors.
-- BUILDING / CARPENTRY / SAW MILL. We built a sheep barn in 2014 (see pictures), and a hay barn in 2018-19. Next projects are a tiny house and a garage. There is a saw mill to make building materials with trees from our forest.
-- MAKING HAY happens in middle of June and again in August.
-- MAKING FOOD and PRESERVES. We mill grains and bake all the bread ourselves. We also make yoghurt with local milk. In August and in autumn we start making many pickles, jams, sauerkraut, beer, cider, chutneys. The farm is normally self sufficient on vegetables, herbs, berries, fish and meat.
-- SHEPHERDING. Lambs are born in the sheep barn in April and early May. The sheep are in the valley in May to early June, then they go up to the mountain at 500-800 meters (1500-2500 feet) altitude. We bring the sheep down from the mountain in September and October.
THE COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE:
-- The HOUSE WORK is divided equally between all adults on the farm.
-- The ORGANISING WORK. I really enjoy it when the day is organised so that everybody knows when the meal times are and who is responsible for them, and that everybody knows when they are supposed to be working outside, or do house work, or when they can relax. I often do the majority of the organising work, because I am usually the person at the farm with the most experience, but the system only works if everybody on the farm is willing to take some responsibility for helping us to be well organised. So I expect everybody who apply for a Wwoof position on Orra farm to be willing to contribute to some of the organising work.
-- The FARM DIET. I love to eat and cook tasty and nutritional food, and I try to cultivate a lifestyle that supports a harmonious, energized body and a peaceful mind. I find it hard to cater for vegans, but vegetarian diets are easy to accomodate, as long as you don't mind that there could also be served fish or meat (everything from the farm) on the same table. I have noticed that I have less energy and peace of mind if there is all the time coffee, sugary foods and alcohol in the farm diet, so I prefer that these items are not on the table everyday.
ABOUT ME:
When I am not farming, I do lot of reading, so the farm library has many books about organic farming, social activism and personal development. There is also a big section on building with natural materials, cooking books, different crafts and lots of english language novels. I occasionally play guitar or sing (there are instruments in the house), and I try to do yoga, pilates or reflexology excercises twice a week. I am also studying and trying to practise empathy and non-violent confrontation in the spirit of Gandhi and Marshall Rosenberg. So if anybody shares these interests or practices, they are of course especially welcome to Orra farm :)
Read more
Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Sheep or goat farming
Forestry
Wild foraging
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Green Building
Food justice / sovereignty
Mechanics / tools / technology
Methods or systems
Biodynamic agriculture
Holistic management
Permaculture
Regenerative agriculture
Host type
Production farm
Certified organic
Former WWOOFer
20
Hectares
|
49.4
Acres
