Wwoofing at Asleeping Dragon:
We offer CULTURAL EXCHANGE WWOOFING here at Asleeping Dragon, to registered members of the WWOOFing Aotearoa/New Zealand/International Organization.
How it works in New Zealand
WWOOF Volunteers
Live with families and get hands-on experience with organic practices including cooking and preserving, companion planting, worm farming, composting and a whole lot more. Volunteers often say they like "giving something back to the country I am volunteering in".
Hosts
Hosts like the "world coming to me" by opening up their homes and sharing their lifestyle with others. WWOOF New Zealand now includes properties that are not completely organic, but still operate under the desire to be sustainable. All hosts have valuable experiences and a lot of knowledge to share. In order to make it easier for volunteers to search for a host that best matches the skills they can offer, we have split the hosts into two categories: WWOOF hosts and Cultural Exchange(CE) hosts.
Cultural Exchange Hosts offer social, humanitarian and conservation experiences that fall outside organic farming practices. We offer Cultural Exchange Wwoofing here in our home to anyone looking to take time out of their day to day life, perhaps experience a different pace in life - and to reconnect with the Earth by spending time working with the land. Learning to take care of gardens, meditation areas, clearing weed infested area's and creating magical spaces for other folk to experience in years to come.
A place to come and reconnect with the Earth. To give back and receive at the same time :)
We are a CULTURAL EXCHANGE with organic home gardens - NOT an organic farm - You'll get to do Gardening/general property maintenance. Sharing of general cleaning duties and cooking. Dog Exercise.
We ONLY TAKE Long Term stays, 3+ weeks (after initial trial). We are a Smoke/Drug Free environment.
There is an Email Application Process that has to be done before we accept any WWOOF placement.
Please check the calendar on our WWOOF Profile for availability.
A Sleeping Dragon has been established as a working/retreat space for individuals to come and spend time working and being with the land. To re-establish ones connection to the Earth, to help nurture and take care of the land by weeding/planting/cleaning/creating and playing on the land.
We are NOT a commercial Organic Farm. However, we have worked closely with Environment Bay of Plenty Regional Council in the past, on sustainable options for weed and pest control, using more bio-agent and organic control methods rather than chemical use. There is NO chemical use on our land, however we are surrounded by a large, full-working commercial farm that does use chemicals. We have 8 steep acres that are slowing being converted back into regenerating native bush. We are currently on an old fashioned - non chemical, active Gorse Removal program preparing for next Autumns Native Tree Planting project.
In the 15 years we have been here, there has been substantial growth in both the native plant, bird, insect and mammal population here. Close monitoring of what is living and visiting here is an on going program we are working on as well.
Wwoofer/s wanting to just slow down and spend their non-wwoofing time, writing, reading, creating, meditating, developing their spiritual growth, chilling out, just hanging around and getting to know a quieter kiwi lifestyle would suit staying here rather than wwoofers wanting to party or be out every night.
We're located on the Gateway of Beautiful Coromandel Peninsula and the Stunning Bay of Plenty, with 180-degree views of Pacific Ocean and Waihi Beach. There are plenty of local legends to share with you and Donna has wide interests including spirituality, handicrafts, and design work. Both David and Donna work 5 days week in our 7 day business, so the Dragon, and our dogs, needs folk to come and spend time with it... We also tend to have quiet evenings after a full day at work.
We have 1 cat that lives full time indoors, she is getting quiet old and very talkative. 2 dogs that are full of energy and can be a little overwhelming to start off with. Especially Frankie, our smaller dog, he is quiet nervous around new folk, and so can tend to be over excited at times, so if you are nervous or don't like dogs, then this would not be a good place to come to.
There is plenty to do here and lots of activities in the surrounding areas too! We are a NO SMOKING and DRUG FREE Environment. Wwoofer/s will need to be able to work unsupervised, once shown what needs to be done of course. Wwoofer/s need to be self motivating and willing to show initiative to the work that needs to be done here. Basic understanding of English both written and spoken is necessary and we're happy to help you learn more :) We have found the more you engage with us, the greater your experience, however if your a reserved, shy person, then we respect that too. It takes effort from both sides :)
Wwoofer/s have their own room, or will share with another person from the same sex if traveling solo. You share bathroom, lounge and kitchen with us all. We provide 3 basic meals per day for return of 4 hours work, 5 days on and 2 days off negotiable. We are non-vegetarian. You will also have limited access to fast Internet, and we have an old pc everyone uses to check emails when you need to, if not traveling with your own.
As shared above, we only take Registered WWOOF members and only Long Term Wwoofers, 3+ weeks after the initial 3-day trial, so that our home doesn't feel like a train station all the time, with folk coming and going and also helps the wwoofer become part of a kiwi family, rather than just visiting...
It may suit having your own transport as the property is rural, the nearest village and beach is a 3km walk down hill, which is fine going down, coming back can be a little tiring! However, we are able to meet you at an arranged time to pick up when you first come and drop off to nearest bus stop when you leave, if needed.
We also like to be able to do 2-3 emails of contact before placement is decided, so we get to know you and that all parties feel comfortable before you come. Sounds like you, then drop us an email, we will send you our general wwoofing application, outlining what we've shared here and asking a series of questions for you to answer so we can get to know you more before we decide if it's a fit for everyone. Please feel free to ask more questions, let us know more about you and lets see where it goes from there. Hope you have a wonderful, safe and blessed experience in our country while you are here! Blessings!
Sadly due to our finances at present, we are unable to host any wwoofers who have Vegan/Vegetarian or any Special dietary requirements. Once our garden is back to producing a larger range of vegetables we'll be able to review this. We apologize for this.
As stated above we offer this only to REGISTERED MEMBERS of WWOOF Aotearoa New Zealand - to become a member or find more information please visit
WWOOF Aotearoa New Zealand
.