Creating Home

One of the most valuable parts of our project has been an unexpected treasure. For the last 15 months we have had travelers stay and work with us in exchange for room and board. From, probably, well-known websites such as workaway.info, wwoof.org, and helpx. So far all of our visitors have been from workaway and what an enriching experience it has been!

In the beginning we weren't sure if having people living in our house with us, very closely, would be manageable. We are already a family of five. Our youngest wasn't even two yet and having a family with lots of little ones can be chaotic. Our children were also not immediately keen on the idea of 'strangers' living with us. However, we were starting to work on this big piece of land and raise a family on our own without any extended family, and to be honest, not many friends yet either. It wasn't impossible but it also felt like not much progress was being made, even though B and I put forth a lot of effort into moving our lives forward.

When our first workawayers arrived, we didn't quite know how the whole exchange should work, especially as they were new to this as well! Together, we figured out what was expected from us and from them to start to create a dynamic that worked for everyone. Since then, we have had so many beautiful people come and share their time with us.

Because we lived so closely, I would often feel anxious about being 'watched', especially when I was losing it with the children. The intricacies of a family are full of big emotions, most of which are able to be sorted through, felt, screamed, yelled, cried, hugged, laughed and resolved in the orbit of our family and in our home. There was definitely a transition period for us to become comfortable with such living arrangements but the wonderful people that we hosted never judged us on those moments and instead commiserated with tales of their own families growing up or the feelings they had of uncertainty and failure.

I have also been able to see our family through their eyes when I've become frustrated and insecure over motherhood or feeling the setbacks on our build. It is easy to become so focused on getting things right that when they don't go to plan, it feels like a failure. Having help and staying strong in our connection as a family has led us to moving on from our mistakes and allow us to see the bigger picture of our lives and, furthermore, what we are trying to accomplish for our environment.

Because we lived so closely, we formed a bond with our treasured travelers. They were often on a soul searching or mind opening journey, a step away from their 'normal' lives as they were helping us build our dream. Many of our travelers extended their time at our house and worked days and hours longer than was required. We always worked together and created a bit of a commune.

What has been our greatest experience, aside from learning different languages, eating great food and learning new games, has been the deep conversations and the different perspectives on life. We have learned so much as a family about life, about ourselves, about our environment and have gained and shared skills that will be so valuable in our lives. It has been an incredible honour to know you. Thank you, Alex, Ruby, Rose, Adrien, Thibault, Maxime, Marine, Johan, Silvana, Paul, Chris, Solene, David, Grace, Stephen, Helena and Pedro, Fenny, Kanter, Benito, Amy and Max and Lottie! We hope you have cherished your time with us as much as we have. Looking forward to meeting and growing with our future treasured travelers!