Decorated Farmhouse

The farm is actually two properties. The decorated farmhouse where the volouteers are staying and where I and my siblings grew up. And the nearby property that was added when my brother extended the farm. Both properties are formally merged to one economic unit.


The decorated farmhouse
There is a variety of work available, painting the outside walls, cement and restore old windows. Clean the attic and other spaces used as storage. clean windows. Clear the flower beds. Cut the grass. Do a proper floor scour as back in the days. There is cats living at the farmstead they are allowed to be inside the house but are more of outside cats but they need some love. There are also sheep's, heifers and bulls who we feed and water.

The volounteers live in my house. It is everybody's responsibility that daily cleaning tasks are performed.

As you live in my house it us important you understand that I becomes a part of the volouteers group.

I was born on this farm and it has always been a part of my life. First helping my parents and now living there whenever i can. I work as a teacher at the university of Uppsala in the electric engineering master program. When I am not working I sing in a choir and dance Salsa, Bachata, Lindy hop. I also play many instruments and hope we can jam.

At the farm there first of all my brother Åke that is the main farmer, his wife Maria, the farmhand Anders that been with us for 30 years. There is also the milker Jesper.

My sister is not living on the farm but will help with supervising of tasks whenever she can.

The main stay is at the upper floor in the main building. There is a bathroom there, also a kitchen but it is mostly used as a room for volouteers. Downstairs there is a main kitchen, also two volouteers rooms that can be used in the summer. We cook together and go for weekly grocery shopping so there is always Ingredients for cook with. There is cats living at the farmstead they are allowed to be inside the house but are more of outside cats.

To get to the farm you just book a ticket to Söderhamn or to Uppsala (if I am in Uppsala.) I have space in my apartment where you can stay until I am able to go to the farm. I discovered that I have to meet the new volouteers first. Every time I let the volounteers staying at the farm receive a new volounteer there have been miss understandings that created problems.

Söderhamn has direct trains every 2 hours during the day and 2 direct busses. It is very convenient to travel to Söderhamn from Arlanda but booking system is confusing. Don't even try to do it without talking to me, you will just end up booking the wrong ticket.

50% do not understand that Arlanda is on the way to the farm and closer to Uppsala than Stockholm.

Everyone wants to visit Stockholm most do it before or after the farm stay. I suggest you do a break and go back and forth, it takes less than 3 hours. If you are not yet 20 the cheapest ticket is three commuter trains. A 24 hour ticket in Uppsala and Stockholm county is 220 SEK, The ticket Söderhamn Gävle is 30 SEK, So for 280 SEK you are back and forth and the subway and busses in Stockholm is included the whole day. The first train leaves 7:04 am from Söderhamn. And you need to take the return bus from Gävle 22:30, Uppsala 21:12 and Stockholm 19:38.

If you are 25 or less the best option is the red SJ departures within 24 hours, trains with lot of space have last minute tickets mostly avaliable for departures Tuesday to Thursday and Saturday, a single ticket is usually less than 200 SEK.

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Reviews

4.5
(157 reviews)157

Staff & Host

4.5

Hours & Tasks

4.0

Hostel

5.0

Learning & Fun

4.5
About the experience in: Söderala, Sweden

Slovakia

5

This was my first ever volunteering experience and I'm happy I was here.✨ The environment is calm, beautiful countryside with cows and sheep around. The farm has a big potential and it's a lot of work there. I'm glad I could contribute a little bit. I enjoyed picking apples and making juice and cider from it, weeding and planting. It wasn't hard work and we were flexible when it came to working hours. I was lucky to be on a farm with other guys and I would say we made a pretty good team. Olle as a host is a very kind, sociable and helpful person and we were never bored with him.

4 days ago

About the experience in: Söderala, Sweden

Hong Kong (SAR)

5

A wonderful first-time volunteering exp!! Host: Olle is that generous & energetic professor you can imagine🕺🏻 🎶 I loved how he'd always been appreciative and never failed to compliment us :) Vibe: Nice weather, peaceful scenery, and a cozy house (esp w/ great conversations over meals & two cutie cats 🥰) Tasks: A manageable amount & new everyday — I helped w/ digging & weeding, planting vegetables, harvesting fruit, making cider, pruning, woodchopping, and even got close to the cattle for some minor feeding tasks~ Indoor chores like cooking & cleaning were always equally shared :)

10 days ago

About the experience in: Söderala, Sweden

Czech Republic

5

Olle is a great host! Gave us very easy tasks, explained well, opened to communication. He loves his volunteers and younger company. He was away on weekdays, but always made sure we have enough of everything when he was leaving and always was on a call when we needed help. He is great cook and even better musician. Really kind and social person to be around!

16 days ago

About the experience in: Söderala, Sweden

Germany

4

We had a really nice stay and felt welcome from the beginning. He was kind and had a good sense of humour, and the cats were lovely too! He also showed us around Uppsala, gave us some great experiences during our stay, and helped us with our further travels. I especially appreciated how kindly he reacted when I thought I had accidentally broken something. The working hours were sometimes a little unclear and a few comments were unusual, but we never felt genuinely uncomfortable. Overall, it was a great experience and we would happily come back!

17 days ago

About the experience in: Söderala, Sweden

Germany

4

It was a very nice time, the tasks were very appropriate and the atmosphere was very pleasant. The other Volunteers made it a good time. If I would have been alone for the time it would probably have been more boring and lonely on the farm when the host is away for work. The rooms are great (not overly luxurious but more than enough) and the bathroom situation was a little bit interesting. It is all very manageable but could be awkward if you don't get along well. You could always ask the host about things but the working hour and what was part of the work wasn't always very clear.

17 days ago


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