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Experience sustainable living on a small organic farm in the Vorarlberg Alps! Surrounded by mountains, fruit trees and thriving wildlife, you'll help with planting, mulching, meadow care, harvesting and creating habitats for biodiversity. Discover hands-on permaculture and regenerative farming at a ‘Natur im Garten’ award-winning project. Perfect for nature lovers eager to learn, contribute and embrace peaceful mountain life!
30 hours of help per week
Cleaning: Help clean the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms and common areas.
Kitchen Hand: Help prepare, finish and serve meals.
Building & Repairing: Help with a wide range of repairs or building.
Farming: Plant crops, sow seeds and help in outside tasks.
2 days off per week
Private Room: You will have a bed in a private room. In other words, a room just for you.
Shared Dorm: You will have a bed in a shared room, which means you will share the same room with other travelers.
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.
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
Fluent English or Fluent German
Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers
Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa
This is my private home and organic farm at 760 m in Dafins, Vorarlberg that I share with volunteers. My parents created this place; I maintain it with a strong biodiversity focus: 40+ fruit tree varieties, berries, a pond, dry stone walls, deadwood hedges and wild bee habitats. I host volunteers for support in caring for it all, and to share knowledge and give back to nature.
I work my normal job from home, so I’m around but not always available. Depending on the group we meet in the morning (currently 8:30) to plan the day, or – once everyone knows their tasks – people get going on their own. Tasks run through our own Tasky app and WhatsApp groups. I like to share small lessons along the way: gardening, composting, permaculture, yoga.
Responsibilities: each volunteer owns a few areas (e.g. Garden Captain, Worm Carer, Bathroom Angel, Laundry Hero). Some rotate within the group. If you’re away or sick, hand your tasks to someone else.
Hours: 30 per week, spread as you like in agreement with me; Sat/Sun normally free. Cooking for the group counts; cooking only for yourself, eating and meetings don’t.
Room: private (occasionally shared when the house is full); towels, bedsheets and soap provided.
Food – self-catering, not hosted meals: I buy organic staples weekly (rice, millet, flour, bread, butter, vegetables, fruit, yoghurt, milk, eggs, spices), plus what the garden gives, and you cook from that for yourself or the group. Note what’s low on the kitchen shopping list. Meat, chips, sweets etc. aren’t included – buy them yourself or join my weekly shopping trip. Baking a cake for everyone: I pay the ingredients. Well-equipped kitchen.
You need a valid visa and health insurance for Austria. Detailed info document follows before arrival.
Rhythm: 30 hours per week, spread as you like in agreement with me. Weather decides a lot – outdoor work when it’s dry, indoor projects on rainy and snowy days.
Garden and farm (main focus): watering in the mornings after a few dry days; spraying trees with plant extracts (nettle, comfrey, horsetail, worm tea) and iron solution; mulching and weeding; planting trees and seedlings; snail hunting with a headlamp after rain; preparing the organic food-waste barrels from the organic store (fermentation with plant charcoal and stone powder); feeding and maintaining the worm compost; seasonal work such as winter mulch management, garlic extract in January, harvesting fruit, berries and walnuts. Deadwood hedges are left alone February–June because birds breed inside.
House (shared via responsibilities and the Tasky app): keeping kitchen and baking area clean, emptying compost and waste bins, taking out garbage the evening before pickup, vacuuming, refilling supplies, cleaning gutters and drains, bringing firewood to the heating room, checking the water softener, cooking for the group.
Rainy/snowy days: shoveling snow, cleaning and maintaining garden tools, tidying garage and workshop, processing walnuts, emptying the worm compost, creative projects (garden plan, plant signs, wild bee housings, bird fat balls, social media, tutorial videos), meal prep.
Safety: ear and eye protection, gloves and FFP2 masks are available – please use them when needed. Tools go back clean, the same day, to the same spot.
No smoking and no alcohol anywhere on the property – also not on the street outside. For many people this is one of the reasons they come here.
Communication: I value honest feedback and better ideas. If something feels wrong, tell me directly. My office is off-limits; if the door is closed, knock – if I don’t answer I’m in a meeting and will come to you later.
Commitment: if you become unhappy or something serious happens in your life, you’re free to leave at any time. I’d just ask you not to commit and then leave early because something more interesting came up – I need to be able to plan with you.
Work: take ownership of your responsibilities and think along – if you see something that needs doing, do it. Some tasks might not be your favourite – that’s part of sharing a house and farm. Mistakes are fine – rather try and ask than hold back.
Signs: around the house you’ll find short signs (kitchen, dishwasher, washing machine, drying rack, cleaning, quiet hours). Please read and follow them. Quiet hours: 21:00–7:00.
Kitchen: phones away while cooking and at the table while others eat. Clean up after cooking; knives cleaned and put back right away, not in the dishwasher; cut only on wooden boards; sink sieves stay in place. Stove off before you leave. Separate the compost bins.
House: in winter, air rooms 5–10 minutes with windows fully open, then close them. Lights off when leaving a room. Fires in the stoves only after I’ve shown you how. Bathroom fan on when showering; never leave a running bath unattended. Take a house key when you go out.
Emergencies: find me immediately rather than fixing things yourself. Tell me if you’re sick or injured.
Before leaving: clean your room and bathroom, wash your sheets and put fresh ones on for the next guest.
