Harmony House

Hello travellers!

We’ve recently built a wonderfully energy efficient passive solar house, complete with off-grid solar for all our energy needs, rain water collection for all our water needs, and a worm farm waste management system for natural black and grey water processing. We’ve put a lot of work in to achieve a fossil-fuel-free, all-electric, household, with as small an environmental footprint as possible.

We’re also lucky to live in a beautiful rural/coastal area near Inverloch, Victoria, approximately 1 hour 45 minutes south-east of Melbourne. We are close to some of Victoria’s most famous wildlife and wilderness attractions, including the Penguin Parade at Phillip Island, the Koala Conservation Reserve, and hiking and camping at Wilson’s Promontory (not to mention numerous local beaches and fishing spots only 10 minutes away!).

With our house complete, we’re now working to progress the landscaping aspects of our project. We’d be very appreciative of a helping hand or two to help complete: a natural habitat pond, the installation of a watering system, garden beds, vegetable gardens, and a small orchard.

If all this sounds of interest, we’d love to hear from you! We’re ready for an immediate start, and can accommodate stays of anything from a week to a couple of months - let us know what works for you. We have a private onsite caravan for guests, complete with kitchen, shower and toilet, with optional additional use of a secondary private bathroom.

(To find out more about our house and our project in general, feel free to have a look at the following:

- A blurb we did for Sustainable House Day at [https://sustainablehouseday.com/listing/harmony-house/]. This is the shortest overview, and there’s a short video on that page as well (yellow button) showing some of our house features, including our robot lawn mower ‘Humphrey’.

- A case study on us at the YourHome site [https://www.yourhome.gov.au/case-studies/Inverloch-Victoria], which has a bit more information.

- And also our house website [https://harmonyhouse.com.au], which has the most information.)

(NOTE FOR 2023: If there's anyone with experience building fences, please apply, as that's one task I seem to be having trouble ticking off the list! :)

We are friendly and positive people, passionate about sustainable living, and love meeting interesting people. We believe with good communication that everyone's needs can be met, so look forward to discussing the best possible homestay experience for you.


Reviews

5.0
7 reviews7

Staff & Host

5.0

Hours & Tasks

5.0

Hostel

4.5

Learning & Fun

5.0

Japan

5

They are really welcome to staying together. They provided a great time for us. For example, having dinner with communications, watching movies on every Friday and Sunday, and exploring in Inverloch.
We also had a great experiences in working hard outside with Richard and living with a cat called Charlie who really loves people. Thank you for sharing this wonderful life in nature!

1 day ago

Austria

5

The family were absolutely amazing hosts. I got a home away from home and I loved that they included me in their family life. They’re very flexible and you will definitely get what they’re promising you. The food was amazing and I enjoyed interacting with Kerryn in the kitchen. Being her sous-chef was probably one of my favorite parts of the stay. Richard’s communication is amazing and he’s got serious planning skills. The daughters were such sweethearts, I really enjoyed spending my free time with them! The property and the house are amazing! I loved my stay here, thanks!

7 months ago

United Kingdom

5

We had a great experience - Richard and his family made us feel very welcome, and we made lovely memories. Richard is a flexible manager and wanted to ensure we still enjoyed time off. The workload was varied, we learnt a lot, and it felt like we made a good contribution to the project. Do be prepared that the work can be quite physically demanding. We really enjoyed the food, and liked socialising over dinner. Our worldpackers experience at Harmony House will stay with us so we’re very grateful - thanks to Richard and his family :)

9 months ago

Kazakhstan

5

I had a truly wonderful experience in Harmony house! Richard, Kerryn, Lyra and Kayley make you feel like home straight away.
Richard is a great manager when it comes to work - the instructions and tasks are clear, the hours are flexible, and Richard is always there to help you out if you need.
The house has a wonderful location, only 10 mins away by car from the beaches, and in a very harmonic setting.
Whenever you want to go to the town or the beach, Richard will be happy to give you a lift and give his best advice for sightseeing around.
Totally recommend! <3

10 months ago

Australia

5

Richard and his family were very hospitable, work hours were flexible and the scenery and peace here is one of a kind. This trip was unique and one I'm very grateful for and I recommend Harmony House to other travellers alike.

about 1 year ago


Richard replied

Hope everything works out fantastically for you in your future journeys, and look forward to seeing you again sometime. Enjoy your upcoming trip to Bali!


Perfect for you if you're looking for

Contact with nature

Rural

Beach

Wilderness