Family home and garden - rural

British Columbia

7 reviews • Updated 5 months ago

We are both in our late 60s and early70s, early retirement from forest industry in order to enjoy off grid living on 40 acres (16 ha)and starting a trial permaculture small fruit orchard. We now have a very nice u-pick berry orchard with, Haskap, Saskatoon berries, Sour Cherries, Josta berries, Aronia, Chokecherries, Seabuckthorn and Purple Raspberries among others We live in a 32' yurt with a strawbale above ground basement. Our electricity is provided by solar and wind power. We live in an area of fairly extreme conditions, near minus 40 in winter and up to +35 in summer, frost occurs some years every month. A challange to grow anything with great success, but when living outside a box makes any challenge a welcome project, if it is not somewhat of a challenge, it is hardly worth doing. This year's projects include planting some more haskap, area has already been prepared by pigs and will get a final rake over from our chickens. planting garden and greenhouses, one is a star dome, building a chord wood chicken hotel for our working laying hens, chipping/mulching small trees for our mulch that will be used for our row covers, starting another orchard area with a couple of loaned pigs using wooden pallets for containment, dismantling pallets for other projects including firewood for our rocket stoves. Also on project list is converting a 15 ha wilderness on a small lake just 3.5 km east from us into a permaculture showcase. Presently we have a converted school bus with cooking facility if inclined to do some of your own cooking, we can supply food, has a small propane camper fridge. We also have a small wall tent with wood stove for someone who wants to have a more rustic living quarters. A 28' long motorhome round out our wwoofer accommodations. We have also 2 small ponds for garden, orchard and cooling off. This is a great place for someone who enjoys walking barefoot. For this coming season we require 2 wwoofers starting in the 1st week of April, wwoofing season ending with October. Hope to see you this spring. We also heat with wood,so some cutting and chopping will be done now and then. Kayaks, paddleboards, 2 scooters and a huge wilderness is available for your recreation. we have 2 dogs, one 8 year old male and an 8 month old female. 2 huskies, down to 8 laying hens spending the summer in mobile chicken coops and 2 cats. Mobile chicken coop was finished by April wwoofer. We will also use a Gypsy trailer for the farmers market where we sell our vegetables, fruit, jam, jelly and herbal balms and maybe some handcrafted items. Will host a market in town when getting new wwoofers. Hope to see some friendly and energetic wwoofers this coming season. Working hours are after breakfast which is 8 am, until as long as you like, 30 hours per week is what you may expect, longer if you desire, especially if it is a special desirable project. Organic methods: No chemicals and no herbicides. Certifications: We are not a commercial o system operation, growing mostly in a permacualture setting. Current projects: Planting garden, orchard, permaculture with seabuckthorn, building chicken coop, have new bee colony, getting 2 piglets to be our rototiller for new orchard area. Internet access available

Learning opportunities

Vegetable farming

Fruit or nut farming

Beekeeping

Wild foraging

Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas

Beer, cider, wine, or juice making

Bakery

Natural cosmetics fabrication

Green Building

Renewable energy production

Methods or systems

Biological pest control

Hydroponics

No-till farming

Permaculture

Host type

Self-sufficiency property

16.2 Hectares | 40 Acres

Accommodation

2 WWOOFers

Camper / RV

Yurt / Tipi

Cabin / Mobile-home

Children not accepted

Pets accepted

Meals

Omnivore

Vegetarian

Length of stay

1-2 weeks

3-4 weeks

Over a month

Dieter

Member since 2017

Languages spoken: English, German Response rate: 100% Response time: typically within 2 days

November 2025

Open

Planned visit

Closed

MapLibre | Protomaps | © OpenStreetMap

British Columbia

Reviews

Daniel

Canada • September 2024

Thank you Dieter and Jude for my first wwoofing experience! You are both really warm-hearted person and I enjoyed my stay with you! The life in Near Heaven is more rual then most people are used to, but it is interesting to experience the off-grid life! The little yurt is really cosy. The work is easy and there is always something to do and depending on the time of the year a lot of berries to eat!

Florian

Germany • January 2023

I spent a little over 4 months at Dieters in 2021. He is a great guy with a lot of Knowledge and heaps of Stories. I learned so much, may it be working with the Chainsaw, how to set up hydroponics or converting a Bus into a tiny home, with every job done I always felt a sense of growth and accomplishment. His farm is quite rural so you wont have any Internet connection (except for the yurt WIFI), which in my opinion really helps with clearing your head and just get away from all the trouble of modern life. These 4 months realy changed me as a Person and my outlooks on life. Thank you for that Dieter! Hopefully I`ll be able to visit you some day!

Josefine

Germany • June 2022

MY experience from my stay at "Near Heaven" is mixed. I was happy with the tasks I had to do. We were quite handy and allowed to use dieters tools. However Dieter, as nice as he might be, had another occupation for the most part when we were working. Therefore, I felt very alone while working, when we were split up for tasks. Dieter did not mind daily phone calls with your loved ones. Also part of my tasks was taking care of the chickens and the piglets. In general, I was very involved in the upkeep of the farm. A nice day was the excursion with kayaks and the hike we did in the afternoon another day. What I didn't like about my stay were mainly the living conditions. Because when I was there, no shower was available for the woofers. So we had to ask Dieter to drive us to Mackenzie to take a shower. You live in your own little house, which is nice, but it doesn't have running water or a power supply. The toilet is an outhouse, separately a few meters away from the small jurt I was living in. The jurt itself is heated with a fireplace, but the capacities of the fireplace aren't that high, which is why it does not last the night. At the time I was there it was still freezing at night and I was cold in the morning. Also the place is pretty isolated and you won't meet a lot of people without going to the market. Since I wasn't in a mental position to keep up with this challenging experience, I have ended my stay of 4 weeks early.

Ina Maria

Austria • May 2022

I really enjoyed my three and a half weeks "Near Heaven". Life here is so manifold in its semplicity. You are surrounded by pure wilderness and a super passionate host, that sees a possibility and a challenge in any problem. I learned so many differnt things here, that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Thank you, Dieter, for sharing all your knowledge and passion!

Reply from Dieter

Thank Ina for the very nice review. Wishing you all the best in your future.

Vicky

Canada • August 2019

Dear family Dittrich, My first wwoof experience was amazing since the beginning until the end. Friendly welcome with a glass of wine, I had a guided tour of the stunning property. Lovely llamas, pigs, chickens and dogs. Impressive hydroponic system. Delicious berries ice cream, jam and sauce! Comfy off-grid wwoofer accommodations. The vibe at Near Heaven is peaceful and relax. My daily routine was based on feeding and talking to animals. Watering vegetables and flowers. Cooking ice cream, jam and cheesecake. Finally going out for the dogs run by scooter. Thursday. ..market day! Perfect moment to meet locals and make new friends. On the other hand, Dieter always has projects going on so you never get bored. I will remember my stay forever. Thanks again for sharing a little piece of your paradise with us. Vicky -Sunshine

Lena

Canada • November 2018

Living and working with Dieter and Judy was great pleasure and we really enjoyed our time in Mackenzie. The work was varied, we learned a lot about organic farming and Dieter had a lot of confidence in us when we had to deal with the tasks he gave us. But it wasn't just about the work... We will never forget about hot chocolates at the wood stove, playing cards in the evening, going for a ride with the dogs and (for sure) our Halloween! Thanks for everything! Lena and Corinna