Helping Hands for General Farm Maintenance
Volunteer
Farm Hands / Labourer
Start Date: 20/02/25
This Farmer is flexible with dates
Burnie
Tasmania
Hello! My farm is on the edge of Tasmania's beautiful Tarkine on the northwest side of the island state. I am on the outskirts of the historic village of Waratah, which has a waterfall in the middle of the main street (google it!) and also has a rustic pub, well-appointed post office, petrol station with small grocery store, weekly foodbank/op shop, and numerous community activities such as indoor bowls, badminton, and craft group. The whole area in general is very scenic and centrally located to a lot of tourist destinations.
I am embarking on the "adventure" of restoring my 40-acre pepperberry farm after an absence of a year and a half. After two summers abandoned to nature, the grass is tall and rank, the bracken needs slashing, there is fence maintenance, fallen trees need chopping up for firewood, and lots of tidying in my extensive fruit and vegetable gardens. There is some cleaning up of junk, and other odds and ends I'm sure I'll think of later! Unfortunately I don't have a tractor and slasher, so I am on the lookout for alternatives. I am considering putting up some internal fencing for a few sheep to munch the grass.
The main income stream on my farm is the native mountain pepperberry harvest, processing, and marketing. Harvest this year is shaping up to be good, and picking this bush tucker generally begins around April. I have some work to do with getting the harvesting equipment, drying facility and packaging area set up to function more smoothly. I also need to build a new website and computer skills aren't my strong point, so advice in this area would be welcome!
As much of the work is ongoing over the next few months, I am envisioning a series of helping hands coming for short periods of time, perhaps overlapping, perhaps not. There is plenty of room for parking RVs/caravans, with power and water available. I have a caravan with solid annex which is available for accommodation, and we could also make arrangements with a bed or two in my small house. My farm is fully off-grid and rain water in tanks supplies water needs. I enjoy cooking and am happy to provide main meals/smoko.
Handy Skills include:
*chainsawing
*handyman skills
*splitting and stacking firewood (I have a petrol blocksplitter)
*gardening
*brushcutting/whippersnipping
*fencing knowledge
*website building know-how
*positive outlook on life
Over the eastern boundary fence is a large lake, the dam wall was built by hand with bluestone in the late 1800's. The lake is stocked with trout and is a popular fishing destination with the locals. It is also teeming with platypus, and I see more than one every single time I go for a walk to the water's edge. The local wedge-tailed eagles frequently circle over my farm and call their distinct voice. There is plenty to enjoy in quiet moments or days off!
Thank-you for your time. Your kindness is appreciated so much. Hopefully I will get to meet some of you!