Dear nomads, freelancers, travellers, holidayers from this marvellous Earth

We are Marc & Alejandra and are seeking to get in touch with those of you who would like to experience life in a sustainable and very inspiring setting with stunning landscapes and wildlife in Australia. Due to personal and working commitments we are away at least half of the year and we would like to offer our place in exchange for a fair contribution to one of the various projects we run. Short or medium-term stays can be accommodated.

We are located on the premises of Mt Murrindal co-op in the valley of W Tree, East Gippsland, Victoria. W Tree has a small vibrant community of about 85 people by the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, 20 kms north of Buchan, 80 km from Lakes Entrance and 90 kilometres from Bairnsdale. The valley is the home of two eco villages and one Tibetan Buddhist centre. Mt. Murrindal co-op is one of those eco villages. Located in the Southern edge of the valley it was established in 1981, year in which Bill Mollison, father of permaculture, stayed in our co-op designing a permaculture plan.

Mt Murrindal is a housing cooperative. Its main goal is sustainability based on the complementarity between resilience and efficiency. The co-op has 50 hectares. It consists of 5 houses built around a veggie garden and an orchard, surrounded by the Australian bush with little pockets of Gondwanian rainforest.

This is a very old land where wildlife lives without predators. Kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, emus, rosellas, kookaburras and king parrots can be seen from the house. Koalas live 20 km up the road while lyrebirds can be heard at all times.

We live in sacred land, a land protected by the ancestors of those who walked it since the beginning.

THE HOUSE

The property consists of two houses.

House three is a fully furnished house & office in the bush. Featuring two-bedrooms; two bathrooms; big kitchen; large dining room and living room; storage room; laundry area; large co-working space; meditation room. All with amazing views of gardens and wildlife.

House four is a fully furnished house. It has three-bedrooms (one can easily be turned into an office); two bathrooms; a kitchenette; a comfortable living and dining room; a storage room and a laundry area.

Depending on availability, you will get to stay in one or the other.

REQUIREMENTS:

We are ideally looking for a solo, couple (or family) wanting to experience life in a sustainable community setting.

Our way of understanding the exchange with our surroundings involves a giving-receiving dynamic. We devote time to nurture the place and the community (give) to be able to enjoy the beauty of the place and take part on community activities (receive). We base our giving and receiving in the Andean concept of AYNI (reciprocal exchange), which helps us seek balance.

GIVING: in exchange for the stay, we ask you to contribute with your skills to one of our projects. We ask for 8 hours a week* of your professional expertise in any of the following:

- Website design and development: There are two running websites that need some improvement. They run on Hugo and are hosted on netlyfy.

- Editorial: there are two self-published books available on amazon. We need help with the out-lay of the new languages they have been translated into. Few updates need to be integrated in the already available versions.

- Ux & Ui: we are currently working on a tool (web platform and app) to enhance sustainability. It is in the process of being implemented in a circular economy project through a 'library of things'. We need help with the user experience and user interface.

*There are other 2.5 hours a week that need to be allocated to co-op contribution: veggie garden, infrastructure or other ongoing activities. Responsibilities for these are shared and agreed with the other residents.

We would prioritize:

- Professional expertise: (ample) proven experience in any of the areas you are willing to contribute in exchange for the stay.

- Good communication skills.

- Independent: meaning that you know exactly what you are doing and can do with a fair (not excessive) guidance and input from our side.

- Energy consumption awareness. We run on rain water, solar electricity and wood heater (in winter). Therefore, we request to consume what you need with awareness.

RECEIVING:

- As a benefit to investing time in the Veggie garden, you will enjoy the produce. About 70% of what we consume comes from our garden or community food coop.

- Enjoy shopping in the community food cooperative, 5 minutes away from our place.

- Library

- Community social activities: the bigger community (W Tree) hosts several activities. Some are weekly, some fortnightly and some monthly.

- Support from and exchange with the other active members of the co-op and our friends from W Tree who will treat you as family.

- Beautiful landscapes and places to visit within the community and in the surroundings: national park, beach, caves, rivers.

- An opportunity to rediscover yourself through the healing and inspiration imprinted in this land.

If you are interested in further details and talking through a possible stay, please do reach out.

Warmest regards

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