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13 May 2024
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Description
Me and my neighbours live in a remote area 35 minutes outside of the town of Lillooet, in a small community called the Yalakom.
There is a strong history here of creating an intentional culture that is different from the mainstream way of living. This culture includes evening potlucks, musical events and practicing music, drumming around the fire, food security through homesteading and farming, environmental protection work and more. There is a micro-hydro system that is community-run and gives half of the residents power, the rest on the sunny side uses solar power. Community water comes from various creeks in the mountains.
The 'Yalakom Valley' is the traditional hunting grounds of the Northern St'át'imc people and specifically around Moha, resident deer herds migrate through every year. You can spot mountain goats, wolves, many bird species, ponderosa pine, thick fir, mice, cactus, saskatoon, and rabbit brush. One of the neighbours calls this spot the 'Golden Triangle' as it is located where the coastal mountains, Chilcotin plateau, and interior desert of BC meet.
So, valley people are like a family. Our group lives in an area sometimes called the Moha bowl, beside large fields of alfalfa and my neighbours and I work together on various tasks, specifically farming and gardening. We are a fun bunch, all different ages and in different stages of life.
Megan - I work in town as a project manager at the local Community Connect Innovation HUB. I'm an organizer and an adventurer, who came to this place to learn more about community. I will host the accommodation and coordinate the volunteer work.
Diana, Thomas, Sula - A young family next store at a property, which has a beautiful garden and orchard of fruit trees. Sula is 8 months old, and both Thomas and Diana are experienced farmers, outdoors people and great cooks.
John - Another neighbour who is working to be fully food self-sufficient at his farm. Recently this includes growing and harvesting grains. He has lived in the valley for over 50 years and has lots of knowledge to share. And next to John is:
Daniel & Toby - Dan is an organic composting guru, is self-studied in micro-biology and regenerative agriculture. Toby is the Library Director in Lillooet, is a facilitator and likes to spend the weekends in the vegetable garden! They also have milking goats and make goat cheese.
We are the group that will be working together to host you and introduce you to our community. This is a unique opportunity because you get to be with different people on different days, all within a 5-minute walk. There are various projects we are all a part of and are hoping as a team we could provide you with volunteer opportunities that suit your interests.
An additional intention is to bring more people from around the world into the community, with the hope that some will be interested in the lifestyle and the culture of the place. We have community-wide gatherings regularly and use a group chat called 'The Valley Chatter' to communicate and share resources.
If you like it here and meet a community member you jive with, there is potential to stay longer term at people's properties, separate from the team on this work away page. Other projects are going on with people, for example, building projects that may interest you.
Many of my neighbours are looking for helpers that 'fit' with our community and want to be a more permanent part of the scene. Maybe that's you! Some neighbours are also looking to rent out small cabins to the right person, so maybe you can stay longer and find work in the community!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
The culture here is very much focused on being in connection with place and with land. This means there is a lot of focus on enjoying the beauty, farming, growing food and having amazing healthy meals. The community is also that of a family and quite small... everyone knows each other's names, who has someone staying at their place, and who is dating whom. You get to come to be a part of this family for the time you are staying.
The Yalakom community is self-sufficient and creative. Get inspired by the place, learn an instrument, join weekly African drumming practices, come to the Yalakom singing group, and enjoy the evening dinner culture. The neighbours like to have dinners together and we also plan events. For example, last year one community member led the way in building a giant timber-frame stage where we can now host events and parties. There were various music-focused events there last year. Also, if you are around in June this is when the community has its annual Summer Solstice gathering (June 21st), which is a family-friendly tradition.
If you want to experience rural BC, which in the year 2024 seems to be a mixture of farmers/ranchers, hippie homesteaders, and suburban millennials gone country - then come stay in the Yalakom!
There is also a strong Indigenous population in the area if you want to learn more about their culture - we can try and point you in a direction.
Help
The type of work for this summer is focused on the following:
Main Work Priorities:
- Gardening and composting **
- Assisting with animals (milking goats and feeding chickens)**
- General landscaping / weed whacking **
- Clearing forest debris and other forest fire preparation tasks
Potential Other:
- Help with cooking
- House or fence fix up
As stated in the description, we will try our best to tailor your volunteer experience to your interests. However there is a definite focus and need for farming and gardening-related work as well as animal care.
How it will work is you contact us and say you're interested, what dates, and we can try out best to describe to you what it will look like and who is going to need a hand for that time period.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: FluentThis host offers a language exchange
Interest in getting better at Spanish
Accommodation
Private bedroom with a queen size bed in a trailer. This includes a bathroom with hot water and shower, a shared kitchen with Megan, shard living room and an outhouse. This will be your sleeping residence, (until you make friends and move somewhere else in the valley!?!?). The trailer get's quite hot in the summer as it is metal and there is not much shade. The deck out front of the trailer can sometimes get up to 40 deg C. You are also welcome to sleep outside on the lawn (Megan does this in the summer months). There is blankets and different mattresses.
There will be light breakfast available and a large fridge for you to put extra food. When you volunteer with someone, they will be taking care of your meals. So if you go help John & Dan at the farm for the day they will make sure you are fed. Megan will also keep the fridge stocked up with plenty of fresh garden vegetables if you want to make your own meals.
Megan works in town during the week days, so you will likely have alone time during the days, have company in the weeknights (if you want), and on the weekends.
What else ...
Please keep in mind this is a REMOTE community. The nearest town is Lillooet which has maybe 2000 people. Between where you will be staying and the town is a tire-popping, knarly BC logging road. The workaway experience is good for someone that is okay with being remote for a period of time, or you will have to communicate with the neighbours to catch a ride into town if you don't have a vehicle (the valley chatter is good for this). Megan and Toby go into town quite often but do a working day. When you arrive, we will pick you up from Lillooet.
If you like hiking, you have easy access to the alpine from many places in the valley. Just start walking up :) Explore the rivers, enjoy the quiet of the place. There are a couple of neighbours that would love to go for a hike in the mountains with you. If you like art and music, Megan has a large cabinet of art supplies you can help yourself to or could plan an art night together. Additionally, there are a couple of community meetups for African drumming, singing, and meditation that you can attend if you are interested. Once in a while there are community events in town to attend.
Megan will be the host of the accommodation aspect, and I might not be around all of the time. This arrangement may be best for someone who enjoys alone time and/or feels brave enough to connect with the neighbours if they want social time. The reason Megan is hosting is because of the room space and coordination time, but is not at home as much as the neighbours. Again, we are all within a 5 minute walk.
This is our first year doing work-awayer as a team so you will be part of the learning journey with us.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Internet can be spotty, the spot is out of service and we use satellite internet. If there are 2 people on the internet it can be slow for video calling. May need to arrange specific times when you can have private internet use.
Space for parking camper vans
Lots of space to park a campervan or any vehicle
Can possibly accept pets
Open to having pets but some conditions may need to be discussed.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
