Family farm
Vestfold og Telemark
Our farm is located in Dalen in West-Telemark, we (Daphne and Daniel) are living together on Underdal with, (half of the time ) Daniels kids : Johanna (11) Kari (9) and Lambert (7)
Daphne, born in the Netherlands, came to Norway three years ago, she lived a year in an off grid cottage and had always dreamed of being a farmer.
She moved in, in Underdal in 2023 and Daniel and Daphne married in 2024.
Daniel, born in Germany, started farming over 20 years ago in Sweden. There he maintained a large production regarding that he relied on his horses to do what modern farmers use motorized vehicles for. Horsemanship has been a cornerstone in Daniels's life and still is. In 2011 he came to Norway. After renting different homesteads in Telemark he ended up on the farm Underdal.
We decided last year to cut of the electricity on the farm. Because we like to be as self sufficient as possible :) That means that we cook on fire and keep the house warm with fire.
Tokke is a small mountainous area reaching from close to sea level to immaculate eminence. Here the aim is to build a sustainable life, living of the land, with our animals. We gain a lot of our knowledge from studying the new settlers in the states and early farming culture in general, as we see a big value in self- sufficiency. Telemark is a region with a rich history related to the work we do, so we are proud of being able to keep a lot of these traditions alive. Daniel and Daphne are working with a museum of cultural history from spring to fall, where they also maintain fields with grains, potatoes and flax. At the farm we have permanent covered beds where we focus on intercropping and to a certain extent establishing perennial plants. We also plow some fields with the horse and grow vegetables the traditional way. Surrounding the farmyard there are pastures where the animal's grass and a forest where we get materials and firewood. As for the animals we have a small number of sheep and hens, three horses, three cats and two dogs. The sheeps are ranging free in the mountain during the summer, and we spend the first part of September bringing them home again. There's no tractor at the farm so the horses are helping a lot with different tasks, for instance haymaking, plowing, harrowing, pulling timber and transport.
A homesteader must acquire a lot of different skills, so by working with us you can expect to learn a lot depending on the season. Some things we do throughout a year: shear sheep, butcher, tan hides, process wool, work with textile, fish with nets, make firewood, do forest work, carpentry, woodcraft, haymaking, collect seeds, forage mushrooms, berries and medicinal plants. Daniel is also very passionate about folk music, building instruments and playing.
A big part of the farm life is preserving what we harvest. As an example, we make jams, tomato sauce, tinctures, ferment vegetables and dry spices.
We welcome people who are enthusiastic about farming and a self- sufficient lifestyle. Whom enjoy physical labor and can work independent. As there are usually many different tasks throughout a day. Also you should not have a "9 til 17" mentality; sometimes we work until the evening if we have to finish things. But of course we make sure that you get enough rest! 😉 The kids can take up a part of our time, but they are often with us helping with what needs to be done. The haymaking period is usually the most hectic but social period, we appreciate lots of help then (July). There are as well friends in the area that work in similar means, that we cooperate with every now and then.
The accommodation we offer is a loft with haybeds. We also have an outside house with a dubble bed or a caravan (dubble bed).
Want to follow us on instagram?
undedal.farm.norge
Organic methods: We are have a lot of our inspiration and practice from Wolf D. Storl and Masanobu Fukuoka.
Certifications: We rarely sell anything, so we don't need a certification.
Internet access available
Read more
Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Poultry farming
Horse or donkey farming
Sheep or goat farming
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Meat processing
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Traditional crafts
Food justice / sovereignty
Methods or systems
Biodynamic agriculture
No-till farming
Permaculture
Regenerative agriculture
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
Former WWOOFer
10.5
Hectares
|
26
Acres
Accommodation
Daniel
Member since 2013
Languages spoken:
Dutch, English, German, Norwegian, Swedish
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 63%
Response time: typically within 3 days
Vestfold og Telemark
Modalen 480, 3880 Dalen
Reviews
Anuk
Germany
•
August 2025
Dear Daniel, dear Daphne,
I wish there would be more places like Underdal and more people like you!
I came with backpack and hiking shoes, stayed one week and left with flowers in my luggage, in my memories and in my heart (and a bit of hay) ;)
Short words here for a week that is worth a book, but I hope that more wwoofers can get their own experience in Underdal.
So also in the future you know, you can find me where the hay is… ;)
Tusen takk Daphne, Daniel, Paddy, Eros, Tyril, Gipsy, Tyfela and co.!!
P.s.: Give Paddy (the dog) a hug from me, I’m already missing him.
Read more
Gaspare
Italy
•
April 2025
Underdal farm was such a wonderful and amazing experience. Farm is incredibly almost self-suffiency and their hard work there is really inspiring. No such enough words for Daph and Daniel who were caring and gentle for the entire time we were there. We learnt a lot of stuff and we had also a lot of fun with their kids, dogs and all the animals of the farm. Also you'll contribute to a sustainable life style that is really important and not so common to meet. 10/10 no doubts :)
Read more
Lena
Germany
•
February 2023
I had a great experience of staying at Underdal for three months in wintertime. When I arrived in autumn, another Wwoofer and I mostly worked in the wood to create grassland or chopped firewood. Besides that, we worked in the stabel and also helped in the household with cooking and cleaning. Especially in the snowless periods, there is always something to do outside. The Advent season was very cosy and I learned a lot about the family's traditiones and how to bake all kinds of norwegian pastry. The farm was covered in snow for the majority of my stay and so I shoveled some snow, helped renovate the inside or learned how to cull and felt wool, knit or play swedish and norwegain folksongs on the recorder. I loved the musical vibe in the whole house. Daniel doesn't only have musicial talent but also has a lot of knowlege about handcrafting, historical topics, the environment and a lot more, so you can always have interesting conversations with him. Lisa can teach you a lot about baking, crafting or medicine. In my application I wrote, that children get accustomed to me very quickly. With Lambert, Kari and Johanna, I rather had to get accustomed to them first, but now that I got attached to them, I miss them already <3 I felt inculded into the family and their life right from the beginning. Sometimes I still sing the grace before meals and I bake my own bread now. The longer I stayed, the longer I wanted to stay and get to know the place, language and people. tusen takk for alt!
Read more
Korvin
Germany
•
October 2022
We‘ve spent three amazing weeks of October in Underdal. We did many different interesting things we‘ve never done before and could experience first-hand some old traditional ways of work. All the time we felt like a part of the Høstberger family which - although sometimes quite overwhelming (three turbulent kids can be exhausting) - was very nice for us.
While we were there, work at Underdal had quite the variety of forms: some days we worked a lot, some less, sometimes in the evening. The landscape around the farm was very nice in the autumn and the house has a very nice old style interior. All in all, we would love to come again and can very much recommend this! (If you are there, take a look at Korvins painting ;) )
Korvin & Raban
Read more
Juri
Germany
•
July 2019
Our stay in Underdal was great! It was an experience totally different from everyday life, because Daniel tries to make as much as possible on his own. If you want to stay you might need to be open to live on a much more basic from what you may be used to. However, it is worth the experience as Daniel is very talented guy, who can teach you a lot of things from agriculture and handicrafts to playing instruments or nordic culture. We are very thankful for this amazing time and we are going to keep it in our memory.
P.S.: Just be aware that the children might be challenging at times ;)
Read more
Maya
United States
•
July 2019
Staying at Underdal was a slice of heaven. While things could be chaotic at times, I had a phenomenal time and learned a lot about everything. From working at the museum, visiting the shop in Dalen, fencing in the mountains, and working with the horses to playing music by a bonfire and cooking over a wood stove, Underdal was everything I could have hoped for and more. I can’t wait to visit again. Tusen takk for everything, and see you all soon :)
Read more
