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Cook a healthy vegetarian lunch for a group of 4–8 volunteers, five days a week, on an organic farm at 760 m in Vorarlberg – from organic staples and whatever the garden gives. Mainly cooking and kitchen; with lower priority the position also includes part-time household chores and outdoor garden work. Well-equipped kitchen with gas stove, brick oven and Vitamix. 30 h/week, weekends free, hiking from the front door. 4 weeks minimum.
30 hours of help per week
Cooking: Choose the menu, pick ingredients and cook delicious dishes.
Kitchen Hand: Help prepare, finish and serve meals.
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.
Free Hiking Tours: We’ll take you on excursions and hikes around town. For free!
Bikes at your disposal: You can use our bikes any time you want.
Yoga classes: Take free yoga classes at our place.
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
Intermediate English
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, shared with 3–7 volunteers: 40+ fruit tree varieties, berries, a pond, dry stone walls, deadwood hedges and wild bee habitats.
Your role: about two thirds cooking – a healthy vegetarian lunch for the group (4–8 people), five days a week, from organic staples and the garden; plus keeping the kitchen in order and the shopping list up to date. With lower priority, the position also includes part-time work inside (household chores) and outside (garden work). Cooking for the group counts as working time. You don't need to be a professional, but you should be confident cooking tasty, healthy food for a group.
Hours: 30 per week, spread as you like in agreement with me; two days off, normally Sat/Sun. Stay: 4 weeks minimum, ideally arriving at the start and leaving at the end of a month.
Room: private (occasionally shared when the house is full); towels, bedsheets and soap provided.
How the house runs: I work my normal job from home, so I'm around but not always available. I set the priorities; when a volunteer manager is here, they hand out the tasks and follow up, otherwise everything goes through me. Everyone also owns a few small house responsibilities (e.g. Bird Feeder, Pond Refiller, Laundry Hero); some rotate. Tasks run through our own task app and a group chat.
Food: I buy organic vegetarian staples weekly (rice, millet, pasta, beans, bread, butter, vegetables, fruit, yoghurt, milk, eggs, spices), plus what the garden gives. You cook the group lunch from these; all other meals everyone prepares for themselves. Meat, chips, sweets etc. aren't included; buy them yourself if you like.
You need a valid visa and health insurance for Austria. Detailed info document follows before arrival.
Cooking (main focus): planning and cooking lunch for 4–8 people, Monday to Friday – vegetarian, built on grains, legumes, vegetables, eggs and dairy, with herbs, salads, fruit and vegetables from the garden; using what's there and avoiding food waste; writing what's running low on the shopping list (I shop once a week); taking care of leftovers.
Kitchen: keeping kitchen, counters and pantry clean and organized; running and emptying the dishwasher; refilling jars (salt, oil, jam); emptying the compost bins into the right places. Everyone cleans up after their own meals – you are not the group's dishwasher.
Also part of the position, with lower priority (about a third of your time): household chores inside and garden work outside, such as harvesting, weeding, mulching and watering, depending on demand and priorities. Now and then: making jam or compote from garden fruit, drying fruit, sprouting, a cake for the group (I pay the ingredients), or meal prep for me when nothing else is waiting.
Equipment: gas stove, small oven, brick oven, pressure/rice cooker, Vitamix, grain mill, dehydrator, KitchenAid.
Rhythm: 30 hours per week, you track your own time. Now and then there may be a chance to learn something extra outdoors – that's not guaranteed, so please don't count on it.
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.
