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Join our family for autumn prep at our mountain farm in Uvdal. The main focus is outdoor physical work preparing and stacking firewood for winter, or indoor painting on rainy days. Our two sons, who are 16 and 17, have their school holiday, so the whole family will be together with Helen and Ken. You have a private bedroom and a shared bathroom. Great internet, sauna access, shared family meals, and mountain hiking right outside are all included.
25 hours of help per week
Painting & Decorating: Help with painting or decorating the property facilities.
Building & Repairing: Help with a wide range of repairs or building.
Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens
2 days off per week
Private Room: You will have a bed in a private room. In other words, a room just for you.
Breakfast: You are entitled to a free breakfast, every day of your stay.
Lunch: You are entitled to a free lunch, every day of your stay.
Dinner: You are entitled to a free dinner, every day of your stay.
Free Laundry: You can use our laundry room freely.
Free Hiking Tours: We’ll take you on excursions and hikes around town. For free!
Pick Up: We will pick you up when you arrive, and take you to our property.
Use our equipped kitchen: Feel free to use our kitchen and make your own delicious food.
Fast Internet Access: High-speed internet for you to work remotely
Dedicated Workspace: Specific space for you to work remotely
Intermediate English
Between 20 and 80 years old
Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers
Travel insurance
Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa
We are an active family of four: Helen, Kenneth, and our two teenage sons (16 and 17). Having lived abroad for 12 years before returning to Norway, welcoming international guests is a core part of who we are.
We split our time across three private family properties: our coastal home in Nøtterøy and Tønsberg, our main ancestral mountain farm in Uvdal, and our historic summer farm (seter) in Uvdal. All properties are used strictly for our private family life.
Our hosting experience is focused on genuine cultural exchange and sharing the Norwegian lifestyle. We love bringing people together and usually open our home to three to four volunteers at the same time to create a warm, multicultural community. We already have a volunteer from Canada joining us for this period, and we are looking forward to welcoming two or three more helpers to create a great group together.
During autumn weekdays, our sons attend school, while during their school break the whole family will be together. You will mainly be spending time and helping alongside Ken and Helen. In Uvdal, tasks focus on assisting Ken with a roof over the hot tub, replacing a few windows, and replacing a door (Ken handles all machinery and power tools). A lot of our time will be spent preparing firewood for the winter. If it rains, we shift to indoor painting or other seasonal preparations before the Norwegian winter arrives.
In exchange, we provide a comfortable private room, shared family spaces, fast internet, and all daily wholesome home cooked meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner).
We spend 5 hours a day, 5 days a week on shared activities, typically from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM with a 1 hour lunch break. This adds up to 25 hours a week. Evenings are completely yours, and you get two full days off to relax, enjoy our sauna, or explore the mountain trails.
October at our Uvdal mountain farm offers beautiful autumn colors but crisp and unpredictable weather. It is essential to pack warm layers like wool, sturdy hiking boots that can take dirt, and waterproof clothing. Practical clothes are an absolute must when living so close to nature.
The Norwegian autumn demands flexibility, so we adapt our schedule to the weather. Since this short stay spans across two weekends, we might shift our active days around. For example, if it rains on a Tuesday, we might take the day off indoors and instead do our outdoor tasks on a sunny Saturday. No matter how we rearrange the days, we always stay strictly within the 25 hours a week limit. This flexibility simply lets us make the most of the good weather.
Our main priority in good weather is firewood. Together as a team, we will lift, carry, and stack large amounts of pre cut wood into our woodshed. This physical task is essential to keep our family and elderly parents warm through the freezing winter.
We never stay outside in heavy rain. On wet days, we shift to indoor projects. You will assist Ken with replacing windows by holding materials while he handles the power tools, or help Helen with interior painting.
Our 2 sons are on their school break, so the whole family will be gathered at the farm. A volunteer from Canada is already joining us, and we hope to form a small group. This creates a wonderful dynamic for sharing home cooked meals, cultural stories, and relaxing around the fireplace after an active day.
We welcome our helpers as part of our family and value mutual respect, open communication, and shared responsibility:
Cleanliness: Please keep shared areas (kitchen, living spaces, and bathrooms) clean and tidy after use.
Smoke free properties: We are a non smoking family and maintain a strictly smoke free environment indoors and outdoors at both our properties, so we kindly host non smoking guests only.
Punctuality and commitment: We ask that everyone shows up on time to work together during our scheduled family project hours (10:00 AM to 4:00 PM including the 1 hour lunch break).
Respect for quiet hours: Please respect quiet hours in the evening so everyone can rest, especially since we have school age teenagers and early morning routines.
Communication: If you plan day trips or weekend travels, please let us know in advance so we can coordinate and plan family meals accordingly.
