Are You A Grey Nomad Looking For A REAL Experience?
A Register To Match Needs With Grey Nomad Skills?
April 3, 2008Brisbane Connecting Up Conference 19-20 May: Great Line-Up
April 6, 2008I have just spoken with Liz Howland, the ‘ideaslady’ behind a Grey Nomads Skills Register. Rather than publishing lists we have decided to trial asking for Expressions of Interest.
See below for electrical work at Augathella, near Charleville, AND work for volunteers in Bourke.
FYI previous PWF articles about Grey Nomads working in remote regions have aroused a lot of interest. What a wonderful way to tour the country – think of the wonderful hospitality and authentic experiences either helping out as a volunteer in remote communities or negotiating a rate for work on properties you would never otherwise have access to.
How Will The Remote Area Work Register Work?
1. If you have a skill, are planning a trip, and would like to do a bit more than just drive through outback NSW or SE Queensland send us an Expression of Interest and Liz can put you in touch with a range of peopleand jobs.
2. If you are someone with needs in a remote region – anywhere in Australia – let us know. We’ll publish your Expression of Interest and get back to you if we are contacted.
Wanted: Electrician to install air conditioner
The Augathella region is beautiful, Liz says, and not a badly affected drought area. Property owners can afford to pay for services and the people are wonderful. Anyone with skills looking for work in the area could leave a flyer at the Post Office and country word-of-mouth would do the rest…sounds terrific to me.
Specifically a property here, a few kms down a bitumen road from Charleville, needs an air conditioner installed.
Wanted: Volunteers in Bourke
Not all country areas can afford to pay – but a traveller working as a volunteer could have the best tourism experience by helping out, getting to know outback people and experiencing a different dimension of life in Australia.
Liz says there are some churches in Bourke that desperately need a coat of paint, some electrical work, and building repairs.
Expressions of Interest
Contact Liz Howland E: elizabethhowland@hotmail.com or M: 0408 605003
OR
Gail Plowman E: gail@pigswillfly.wpengine.com or M: 0408 514380
5 Comments
Liz and Gail
This is a great site you have here. Good work.
We would like to put to you an idea that is in progress. We plan to establish a series of caravan/mobile home parks where the member residents are shareholders of the company that builds, owns and operates the park.
We plan to lease an existing caravan park in order to easily create a core group who are willing to assist with the planning of future expansion. In the short term the internet will be used for communications and planning, creating a ‘virtual village’.
These future cooperatively owned parks could be seen to act as Base Stations for volunteers especially in environmental conservation and bush regeneration.
We are`aware that besides the Grey Nomads who are targeted,there are many persons with backgrounds in volunteering in Australia and overseas who find themselves ‘technically homeless’ and with only the prospect of trying to exist on the pension.
Our format is that residents will pay $100 per week as rent and receive a share of food produced in the community gardens.
Members are encouraged to form working groups doing something that benefits the community for a couple of hours a day. The balance of the day (say 21hrs) members may do their own thing or develop their skills with persons of like interest in horticultural or light industry or crafts. Basically keeping healthy by keeping busy doing something worthwhile.
Eventually, these ‘base stations’ will become sustainable communities and a ‘destination’ rather than transist places. Caravans will be replaced by well designed, affordable cabins or other accommodation built mostly by some of the members as their voluntary activity. The need for owning a personal motor vehicle is replaced by the ‘car pool’
A member may move within one location or between locations without having to sell and repurchase. As members eventually age, they will be cared for by other more able members. This means we can age in place with our friends.
Governance will use an online ‘participatory decision making process’ called http://www.1062.org, thereby allowing all members to have equal input and avoids heiracal power structures.
What do you think about this concept of affordable hoousing?
Hope to hear from you
Sincerely yours
John Waters
Mob: 0409 646 993
Eml: sustainlife@hotmail.com
Thanks for this John – I’ve passed your comments on to Liz.
Hi, We are a fun mature couple getting married early December and after a honeymoon are keen to get on the road and work our way around Australia/
Nev is an electrician and has done deckhand work/bus driving/ caretaking.
I am in sales and also done nanny work /waitressing /sales manager at storage units.
We are flexable and will stay at places a while to work .
we love the idea of being a camp host at a national park for a while as long as we can swim !please call 0448047989 or email me,
Thanks
chris
Hi Christine, thank you for the phone call follow up to this post and good luck with the wedding and the big trip. I do hope someone gets in touch with you through your comment here. I’m sure you’d be a great couple to employ.
Hi there
We are a young family living on a cattle station, 1.5 hours north west of Charters Towers. We are looking for some willing grey nomads to come and live on our property for as long as they wish. In return for helping us with odd jobs (maintenance, gardening, etc) we will pay for your food, etc and provide accommodation if needed. Please contact us on 47704433 if you are interested. Thanks