Wwoofing / Internships

We are actively looking for wwoofers / interns at present for September through to December, and late January onwards. If you are interested in learning about permaculture, homesteading, self reliance, gardening, orcharding, working with animals (including learning to hand milk if you are interested) and hopefully some building then read on. Long and shorter stays are both possible but longer stays provide an opportunity for broader experiences and deeper learning.

We love sharing what we do and value help and input from people wanting to learn and experience something different, particularly those who want to change the way that they live.

To facilitate this we have a range of wwoofing / internship type arrangements available starting at various times of the year. This can range from short stays through to longer term arrangements for several months on a help and learning for board basis. We are open to single people or couples coming. Actual tasks vary according to the time of year but include garden and orchard work, harvesting and processing, helping with the animals (including learning to hand milk if wanted), work on the broader farm and possibly building work.

For local folk we are also open to day wwoofing as a way to exchange time for learning.

Our focus is on self-reliance, producing nutrient dense food, using permaculture principles and concepts to manage and look after the land in a regenerative way and to support ourselves, living simply and preparing for a low energy future. We are organic (not certified) and have a productive garden, orchards, woodlots, and a range of livestock including Dexter cattle, Arapawa Sheep, Wiltshire Sheep, Geese, Ducks, and Chooks. We are gardeners, seed savers, permaculturalists, Gail used to work for Kōanga in a variety of roles but left last year, John is a green woodworker and we make our livelihood from the land.

The closest settlement of significance is Rawene. We have access to the Waima River (we have kayaks and a canoe), the Hokianga Harbour is not far away, and the views are stunning. There is always heaps to do and we would welcome help and additional input on our land. We are also keen to make learning opportunities and experience available to people who want to learn how to live simply and self reliantly. We try to give a very rounded homesteading experience. It’s best if people have their own transport.

We spend much of our time working here on our farm but see the importance of and value our links with the broader community. Among other things we host and participate in occasional music evenings and seasonal celebrations and are involved in the local garden group and environmental group.

Email [email protected] if you are interested

This is what one of our recent wwoofers, Lacey, said in her feedback “Gail and John have been hosting WWOOFers on their farm for 15 years so they are perfect both for the nervous first time WWOOFer or also the experienced WWOOFer looking for something more advanced. They teach a ton about permaculture and do many workshops in the community and could easily charge money for this as a permaculture course but they don’t because they want all people to have access to this knowledge! Not suitable for people just wanting a free vacation because that would waste their time, but if you are serious about learning a new way of life then Winding River Homestead is the place to be!”

And here’s what Elise, who stayed with us for several months, said “I highly recommend spending some time with Gail and John. Their combined knowledge, experience and passion for permaculture, organics, sustainable/ simple living, politics and community is second to none! My goals for the internship were to learn more about permaculture (having completed a permaculture design course previously) and gain some hands on experience in the garden. Well… I got a lot more than I bargained for. Not only did I learn practical skills – my perception of permaculture and outlook on life have been completely expanded and rearranged! For the better. I thoroughly enjoyed the work, the company, the location, getting involved in the local community and the FOOD! Thank you for a great summer, wish I could have stayed longer and hope to see you again soon!”