Before you start reading:
****
We welcome WWOOFers all year round. <3 First available room from the 25th of October onwards.
***
Welcome to Buters Eko, an organic vegetable & flower farm on the baltic island of Gotland, about 25km from the main city (Visby).
Gunnar, owner of Buters, took over after his parents, who were dairy farmers. Year 2015 he made the decision to sell the cows and convert the property to a vegetable farm and hasn't looked back since.
He's self-taught and continues learning about what works best for the climate and the soil he works with.
The farm is around 55 ha of fields & 75 ha forest, but the main activity on the farm (the vegetable growing) is comprised to about 3,5 ha.
During season we offer people to come pick their own flowers and vegetables, which is so much fun!
We water the fields & wash the vegetables with water from our pond for which we've just installed a state of the art UV filter.
We have a little farm shop but sell mainly to wholesalers who redistribute to restaurants and grocery stores on the island. This means a lot of packing is required during harvesting times!
The daily business is taken care of by Gunnar and additional hired help during the busiest times.
Aina lives in a tiny house on the farm, grows flowers, helps out with planning & social media & is the person who will be replying to your messages.
At this point in time 2 cats call the farm their home. Gunnar's cat Leo as well as Aina's cat Hector. Aina also has 3 chickens :) In summer, the neighbours' cows graze on the fields that we no longer have use for.
There are 4 spare bedrooms in the main house for Wwoofers though only 1 bathroom to share between us - though there is an "emergency toilet in the basement 😅. There's lots of space for potential new projects, a workshop for woodworking and repairs.
You'll be helping out with daily tasks on the farm for 5,5 hours a day, 5 days a week, usually off on weekends except for July & August when we sell vegetables outside our local bakery in the morning & gladly accept help from Wwoofers. (If that's the case you obviously get another day off during the week)
After 3 summers of welcoming WWOOFers we have settled on the following schedule:
Start the day at 7:30 with a quick cup of coffee and some porridge
8:00-10:00 Helping out with any task that need doing at the farm, often weeding (in summer) or harvesting (august-november), or staying in the warmth of the house and doing some baking or other food prep (during winter or terrible weather)
10:00-11:00 time for our (now iconic) luxury breakfast.
11:00-14:00 more farm tasks: this can be anything from continuing weeding, harvesting, washing vegetables and preparing orders, painting one of the many buildings on the farm (something we started with this year), filling the farm shop, preparing for markets, etc
14:00 lunch + rest/time to explore this beautiful island we call home.
That said, we're pretty flexible. Should the general consensus be that days should start earlier or later, we can adjust accordingly :)
Food is provided for/paid for by Gunnar (within reason!). Items that we do not grow ourselves are put on a communal (online) shopping list that Gunnar gets when he is in town. Focus is on eating home grown foods as much as possible of course.
We are very flexible regarding mealtimes and diets, are open to sharing meals but cooking your own meals is completely fine too should you prefer that.
It's a very peaceful place to live, and the Wwoofing community certainly brings some more energy & fun in the mix!
Organic methods: We don't use chemicals except one permitted by the Krav certification to combat cabbage larvae.
We cover the flowerbeds with grass clippings and leaves from the garden to reduce water need and weeds from growing.
We have a Bokashi compost and a "soil factory" to produce a part of the soil needed for the next growing/seeding season.
Certifications: Krav-certifierad
Current projects:
- Early spring: sowing, watering, transplanting, planting out, repairs & improvements.
- During the growing season our main task is to keep the weeds in check so our vegetables can develop as they should.
Harvesting, keeping the farm shop well stocked, packing orders, and making deliveries will be part of every day.
As on any farm there is always room for organising and tidying so brainstorms and initiative taking are very much appreciated!
People with cooking skills who want to stock the freezer and fridge with ready to go meals get first dibs!
Internet access available.
Transportation details:
The nearest busstop to go into Visby is called Tofta Bjers (6km from the farm) or Eskelhem / Eskelhem bygdegård (a 30 min walk from the farm).
The bus into town from there takes 28 min.
It's 24 km from the farm to Visby.
The nearest town (Klintehamn) is 13km away. The bus there from Eskelhem bygdegård takes about 30 min.
Bikes are available!
Getting to the island:
Ferries are to be booked via destinationgotland.se. We recommend you to not use any other website.
Book the "boatbus" at the same time as your ferry to go from Stockholm or any of the airports directly to the boat terminal. Yes, trains might be cheaper but are often delayed. It's just not worth the risk of missing the ferry.
Tell us what your favourite breakfast is in your application so that we know you've read this!
PS: We always pick you up from and drive you back to the airport or boat, no need to worry about public transportation on arrival and departure days <3
Read more
Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Flower farming
Methods or systems
Holistic management
Host type
Production farm
Certified organic
53.8
Hectares
|
133
Acres
