Rural family home, garden, and forest.
Manitoba
Our home is surrounded by forest and bordered by a creek. The house is a ~3000 sq. ft. ranch-style house with 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, workshop, home theatre, small home gym, an indoor swim spa, and more. Outside we have a wood-fired sauna, garden, bicycles, and many trails to enjoy and maintain. There is a small town across the creek and through the forest.
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In the morning, I do yoga and eat breakfast before heading to work. During the day, we complete projects and maintain the property. In the evening, when I return home, we cook a meal to share.
We have plenty of projects inside and outside: maintaining trails, chopping wood, gardening, landscaping, cooking, baking, renovating, woodworking, construction projects, and more. Current and future projects include building a cat house, dog house, bat house, bird house, greenhouse, insect hotel, compost system, outdoor gym, and more. Inside there are many projects and renovations.
Learning about the local flora and fauna is an eternal process. We try to find ways to deter pests and noxious weeds while attracting beneficial plants, animals, and insects. Our yard and garden include many fruit trees (apple, apricot, plum, cherry), berries (blackberries, blueberries, currants, honeyberries, raspberries, saskatoons, seaberries, strawberries), flowers, vegetables, and other plants. We are always planting and propagating more, with a special interest in native, edible, and medicinal plants.
There are a lot of creative opportunities here. There is more work to do in the warmer months and more flexibility with what you would like to do. In winter, there is a lot of wood to chop, snow to shovel, and interior projects to do. We also have many neighbours and relatives with farms who we sometimes help.
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My partner tragically left us in the spring of 2023. It has been an adjustment to life without his presence. My WWOOFing journey has helped ease the burden of his loss, for which I am most grateful. He loved to experience the culinary and cultural traditions around the world. Mealtimes often bring to mind how much he would have enjoyed the food and company.
I have a dog and 2 cats. I have 3 adult sons, my eldest is living with me at present. He works casually at the cidery and has experience in adventure tourism and carpentry. My middle son is a web developer working in Quebec and my youngest son lives in Boissevain with his wife and 2 sons.
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Internet access is available. Cell reception is limited, especially in the summer with the foliage. There is a home phone.
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Viticulture
Forestry
Flower farming
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Bakery
Methods or systems
Permaculture
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
1.1
Hectares
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2.8
Acres
Geraldine
Member since 2022
Languages spoken:
English
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
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Sat
Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 2 days
Manitoba
Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, Portage la Prairie train station
Reviews
Charlie
Canada
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October 2025
Very nice stay at Géraldine's, mostly in the company of her son Drew with whom we can talk about everything. Working at the cider house was very interesting, and it was really nice to join Ilda (Géraldine's sister) and chat for the meal. They both cook wonderfully 😍. Thanks again!! Special mention for Mable and Léo their two adorable dogs!
Charlie & Arthur
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Ruth
Israel
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September 2025
We had the privilege of staying with Geraldine not once, but twice — we just had to come back because she’s been such a highlight of our time in Canada. Geraldine is so much more than a wonderful WWOOF host; she’s warm, generous, endlessly kind, and quickly became a dear friend. Her home is full of heart, delicious food (she’s an amazing cook!), and endless opportunities to learn. We gained hands-on experience in carpentry, jam-making, and harvesting delicious fruits like raspberries, chokecherries, tomatoes, and apples — all in a place that’s so beautiful, natural, and full of life.
With Geraldine we shared unforgettable adventures — from dressing up as pirates for Rivers Day to enjoying the Winnipeg Folklorama. We also loved joining her kind son Drew at the cidery, and meeting her extended family, who welcomed us with such warmth. And of course, her pets made everything even more special: Jam the cat “helped” with carpentry, Pearl the cat joined in apple picking and leaf-cleaning, and sweet Leo stole our hearts (and came with us to the cidery!).
Meals were another highlight — not only is Geraldine an incredible cook, but she let me experiment in the kitchen, and I was always amazed at how prepared she was for the wildest recipe I could think of. Our stays with her have been, without doubt, one of the best things that’s happened to us in Canada. If you get the chance to stay with her, don’t hesitate — you’ll leave with new skills, beautiful memories, and a full heart.
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Clémentine
Canada
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April 2025
Great experience at Roseisle sauna with Geraldine and her sons who are all really nice and welcoming ! There is a lot to do to have fun at this season : carpentry, maintaining trails in the forest, heating the sauna, cooking, helping at the cidery :p The creek around is beautiful and there is also opportunities to see northern lights.
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Julian
Canada
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April 2025
We spent the last three weeks at the Roseisle Sauna Farm and had a wonderful time. During the day, we cooked for ourselves as Geraldine was at work, but we were free to use the kitchen. In the evenings, we cooked and ate together. The food was varied, with great care taken to accommodate vegan and vegetarian diets, and we especially enjoyed learning how to make sourdough bread. Our main tasks, supervised by Andrew, included chopping, splitting, and stacking wood, as well as making fire starters. We also planted vegetables and herbs and took care of dishes, organized the workshop, and went for walks with the dog. A highlight was when Andrew took us to the Cidery twice – a lovely experience. We had plenty of free time, which we used to bake, train with the sports equipment, and enjoy the sauna. We also went hiking with Andrew and Lance, and one evening, we saw the Northern Lights. The home theater made the movie nights with Andrew especially enjoyable.
The animals – Leo, Pearl, and Jam – were incredibly sweet.
We would also like to highlight how much Geraldine helped us with our car insurance. She was extremely accommodating, for which we are very grateful. We’re really happy with our stay, learned a lot, and felt very comfortable after a short adjustment period. Thank you for the wonderful time.
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Lucy
Germany
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March 2025
My one month stay at Roseisle Sauna went by way too fast. I had such an amazing time that I nearly lost the track of time. From the beginning on I felt welcome and over time it really felt like I was living at home. It was a pleasure meeting Geraldine, Andrew, Lance and their pets Leo, Pearl and Jam. Everyone was so kind and welcoming. Everyday after waking up I would eat a tasty breakfast. The work I had to do then was easy. Daily tasks were done fast and afterwards I would have time to either help around with other projects or do my own things like baking and drawing. In the evening I helped preparing delicious meals, since Geraldine always had the best recipes in stock. I was never hungry :)
In the evening you could watch movies and series or play videogames. Given my stay in mid-February it was pretty cold on some days, but with the right clothes you stayed warm. There was a lot of snow luckily so we could do activities like cross skiing, snowshoeing and taking walks with Leo in the snow.
In general we did many activities for example the flower arrangement and the live music events. I met many nice and generous people and had great conversations. I am very grateful for being able to experience all of this. Thank you very much for taking such good care of me and showing me around. I had so much fun! I would love to come back in summer or fall someday.
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Victor
Belgium
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January 2025
I spent one month in December 2024 in at Gerrie's and it was really nice and cosy. Geraldine is so warm et welcoming, her cooking is incredible and the place is really confortable, with spa, video games, music, films, trail and overall a wonderful sauna.
The only bad point is maybe the loneliness. During the day, Geraldine go to her work and Lance and Andrew do their jobs, so you're kind of alone. There are some tasks to do, but it's often quick done, boring or you need help to do this.
Apart from that, I spent really good times with Geraldine, Amelie, Lance, Andrew, Leo the dog and Jam and Pearl the cats.
Thank you Gerrie to have taken so much care of me !
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