Availabilities:
We are now full for the season 2026, you are very welcome to apply next year the season 2027!
Dear Wwoofer =)
Thank you for taking the time to read the description of our farm and the thing we are trying to create. The idea of being a part of a positive change of society and climate with the knowledge and techniques available is a great inspiration for us. We like to share that mission with people that have the same motivation and who like to contribute to the future in a practical way. After running and growing this project the last four years we have concluded that it is possible to run a sustainable business - around all locally and ecological produced vegetables, products and services - this far north and live a simple life from it during summers. But important to mention is that on a small scale it comes with a lot of work.
Combining farming and hospitality has been the key factor to make our small farm work. It comes with a great variety of tasks. Almost all tasks can be learned and done by the people that come to us for community service or internships if some time is invested in it. Experience shows that the richest exchanges happen when one stays a longer period (at least a month): there is then room to learn, get to know the business, be involved, and contribute to the process with new ideas. This is the reason why we favour stays of at least 3 weeks.
You will find at the end of this description a link to a document you can download. This document explains with more details the organisation of the farm, the work and gives some practical informations. If you are interested by visiting us, we recommend that you to read it.
THE FARM:
Our farm is an Organic vegetable garden, a café, restaurant and a small garden store to sell our vegetables and locally produced goods in the middle of Dalarna. The farm was first erected in the 1860´s and has been changed and altered through the years as needed. Now we have the opportunity to put our ideas into it. Our goal is to create a meeting place around good healthy food, healthy living, and learning, that has a positive effect on the world. The farm is located in the beautiful Insjön village. The homestead is 3000m2 and 2/3 of it is cropland. On the other third there are several houses:
The main house (our living quarters)
A big barn (with a garage and a social area)
A log house (main quarters for wwoofers)
An old stable and storage barn.
The homestead is close to communication by train and bus (Insjön Station). The placing in the middle of the village also makes it close to all convenience stores, small restaurants, nice lakes and hiking grounds in beautiful nature.
THE BUSINESS:
Vegetable growing is the base for the project that provides us, our customers and our restaurant with healthy food from the end of May to the beginning of October. We sell vegetables and other local products and food in our garden store.
Although the farm is the base of the project, the work in the summers is mostly organised around the opening time and activities of the service of our customers and guests (opening season of the café/restaurant 2026: 12th of June to the 15th of August).
During summer, the café is open for lunch and afternoon coffee Wednesday to Sunday, and for dinner on Friday and Saturday.
For lunch, we serve galettes (a thin buckwheat pancake) with different savoury fillings.
For dinner on Fridays evenings: we serve a different dinner every week, according to a theme around food (Mexican, Italian, Tapas and Wine..). Friday evenings has been very popular these 4 last years.
We also host events where local artists come and play and sing.
ORGANISATION OF THE WORK:
We have set out to create a healthy life by working outdoors during the part of the year when it is possible. The different seasons come with different possibilities and needs and the life on the farm change with it.
From April to mid June: In the beginning of the season, when the café and store are not opened yet, the work is organised around the preparation of the farm: raising plants, preparing beds, building projects and planting the garden, erecting poly and fleece tunnels and educating the kids in the local school about plants and easy biology.
This part of the year is the most physical where we are digging, building and carrying all things that should be in place for the season.
From mid June to end of June: As the farm is opening, the work starts to revolves around the café, restaurant and garden store. We are still planting the garden and finishing building projects.
End of June to mid August: Now everything is at full swing at our garden. Tourists that visit the area come for lunch or for events in the garden. This is the most busy time where more than half of the years turnover happens. Our place really lives up during this period and becomes a meeting place. We can welcome up to 130 people in the duration of a day. This time of the year is all about the service that we provide for our community, customers and guests.
Mid August to mid September: We start to harvest for our winter storage and make the preserves for winter and early spring. We start to empty beds and prepare the fields for winter.
ORGANISATION OF THE LIFE:
April: The first wwoofers that arrives for the year stays in the main house, because the log house is still too cold. The small room is situated on the second floor of the house, aside our room. The room as a double bed, so we welcome 1 (or 2 people that live together) at the time. The meals can be taken together, and you will share the bathroom, kitchen, and life with us.
May to September: The woofers live in the log house, situated just aside the main house. There is a fully equipped small kitchen in the lower floor. The house can host up to 3 woofers (2 beds in the upper floor, 1 bed in the lower floor). There is an outdoor shower (with hot water) and a dry toilet. There is an internet access available in the log house. You will find pictures of the log house in the document attached.
Woofers are responsible for their breakfast, lunch and dinner. The food can be prepared and eaten in the log house. We provide the basic food, and you get a small allowance for extras every week. There are 2 days free of work every week (Saturday and Sunday or Monday and Tuesday depending on the season), which is a good opportunity to explore the area: visit the surroundings villages, bath in a lake, hike... or just enjoy the peacefulness of the garden and rest!
MORE ABOUT THE FARM:
Organic methods: Our soil is sand based, topped with compost, manure and organic material in mostly a No Dig way. This gives a good place for root vegetables (potatoes, carrots, onions, beetroot, parsnips…), different salads, peas, beans, rhubarb, zucchini, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and tomatoes, cucumber, and chili in the greenhouse. A good organic cover in the autumn and mulching with broken down material between crops together with a rotation of crops give a good yield and a low number of pests and snails. We interplant flowers to attract insects for pollination, which also gives a beautiful impression, both inspiring and soothing.
Development of our own line of products: The store was opened in spring 2023 and we are still working on our selection of goods to build a more attractive shopping place. In parallel of finding new suppliers, we have started to develop our own products. This project started in the summer 2023, with the making of kimchi (Korean version of sourcroute made with Chinese cabbage), persillade (pesto made with parsley) and apple butter. For this coming season, we would like to sell in the store our own rhubarb sirup and pickles. We are also planning to produce our own rhubarb chutney.
You will find via this link more informations about the organisation of the work and the farm: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7whg8q013fuh4w1dk1gst/Welcomingbook-2026.pdf?rlkey=tr826qyv6yp46w55hrcqpf3e3&dl=0
(copy and paste the link in your browser)
Thank you for reading the full description! Please feel free to contact us if you would like to join the adventure! :)
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Poultry farming
Flower farming
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Bakery
Mechanics / tools / technology
Methods or systems
Holistic management
No-till farming
Permaculture
Host type
Production farm
0.4
Hectares
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1
Acres
