**Do you want to experience a real farm? **
We offer a Holistic farm with the opportunity to visit us throughout the year, learn more about our large market garden or how to take care of cows, chickens, pigs or some of our other animals. If you like to build things and learn for life then we are the right place for you, looking forward to your application
We are a certified organic farm in Sweden’s southernmost region, Skåne.
We are a family of three generations whom in different degree participate in the daily routines of the farm. Our operation is priority on our 3 home farms that side by side too each other.
The oldest farm from 1842 is where I live with my family, the second farm that my parents in-law live and we have the garden and orchard. The third farm is where interns are staying and we have a Airbnb house together with most cows and sheep during the winter.
I’m Johan with a background in Horticultural Management and the one the trainees have the most contact with. Then we have my wife Linnea who is a Landscape architect working with green structures and urban planning. We also have our three children Lukas 14 years, Stella 12 years and Carl 8 years. And then we have Linnea’s parents.
Lena a Limnologist and expertice in river restoration as well as garden manager and Jean professor of entomology and responsible for the farms equipment and buildings.
I often say that we have all of the classic farm animals besides horses, that’s right, plus we have some more unusual such as Yaks and Carp. We sell meat, skins and eggs from our animals and have an active role in the preservation of our different breeds, and we sell live animals to other farms.
-We have a large marketgarden and greenhouse where we grow throughout the year, we grow the food that we ourselves eat to the greatest extent possible and the surplus is sold to restaurants. We have a great diversity of old varieties as 100 different potato varieties, 20 kinds carrot and beetroot, peas and other legumes and lots more.
-We have a large orchard plus we plant fruit trees in our pastures and edges of fields. We have more than 300 different varieties, many of them old Swedish but also some newer suitable for organic growing and varieties for cider.
-If you have fruit trees, you should also have bees, currently we have 50 hives but aiming for 100 in a few years. We sell the honey raw without any additives. Each harvest from our four apiaries is a different type of honey as Canolahoney, Lindenhoney and Autumhoney . We also sell beehives, beeswax and pollen.
– We also have a forest and the farm is self-sufficient in wood and with 11 different fireplaces heating our houses it takes a lot. It is not only from the forest but also from the pastures that we restore we get timber for firewood.
-We are actively working to preserve the cultural landscape of meadows and pastures, many of these are threatened by encroachment and we need to work both with a chainsaw and grazing animals. During the summer, all our sheep, goats and cows on the various nature reserves manage the landscape by grazing and keep away the forest that would otherwise take over.
-We are a farm that is constantly working to improve ourselves, we always have many different construction projects at the time so for the handy, or who can paint or putty windows, or casting, there is always something to do. We run the farm according to organic and sustainable principles, we want to produce meat, vegetables, eggs and fruit in a way that leaves the earth we use in better condition than when we started. We work with biodiversity and our farm has got to be a home for several Swedish endangered native breeds such as Linderödspig, Blekingeduck, Granemålacow.
We have trainees during all of the year, we have room for 6 interns during the winter and summer. We have several housing solutions, the basic idea is that all interns shall have their own bedroom. In the intern apartment there are two rooms, we also have two mobile rooms in the farm of Tiny houses.
Our trainees have a apartment with kitchen / living room, bathroom, bedroom and changing room. The diet follows the season and what we produce on the farm such as meat, vegetables, root vegetables, fruits and other foods. Interns clean their own room and shared space, together with washing their own clothes
We try too sit down together and have a meal or fika together ever week if it is convenient . Smoking and drinking are permitted in moderation, but of course no illegal drugs
The working day varies in the number of hours depending on the type of work and the weather, usually 8 hours a day not including mealtime. Most interns are of during the weekend, only thing that goes on is basic feeding and water for some animals about 1 h day, the time a intern spends on this can be saved or taken out the following week.
We are looking primarily for people who are able to stay at least 1 month to 12 months possibly even longer. What work we have to do varies by the season and if you have any special area that you are extra interested in just let us know. If you have any questions about this, write them in your application. Does this sound appealing?
Please send your application to us where you include: When you want to come and how long you want to stay. What skills you have that may be suitable for the farm.
What languages do you speak Any allergies or dietary preferences CV and preferably a photo
The better and more complete your application the greater the chance that you get a positive response!! Keep in mind that once we say yes to you, we say no to a lot of others. Just as you can count on staying with us throughout the agreed time, it is also important that we can count on you to stay here at least that long. Should however your circumstances or motivation change, you must contact us immediately so that we together can come up with a solution.
The first week on the farm is a trial period where you get to know the farm first hand and we can see how good a match we are, if you feel we were not the right farm for you or we feel you are better of on another farm no hard feeding the goal is to find a good match between intern and host farm.
Review from our intern:
Cameron
Bokeslund Garden Reference Letter
Working at the Bokeslund Organic Farm was the best experience of my life. I landed in Sweden at the beginning of August and was immediately put to work upon my arrival. My first day was spent painting the inside of a barn as heavy rain fell outside the large wooden doors. I didn’t have a chance to put on my work boots, and ended up spending the next seven hours splattering paint over my new(ish) Nike’s. By day three I was ready to quit. But I didn’t. In fact, by the end of my first week, I was in love with the farm, the work, and most importantly, the gracious family that took me in. And I do mean family. The farm is essentially the product of three, and sometimes four, generations of Swedes. Johan, his wife Linnea, and their two children, Lukas and Stella, live in Farm #1. The grandparents, Jean and Lena, live in Farm #2. Me and my international friends lived in Farm #3, the WWOOF house. A previous WWOOFer used the term ‘autonomy’ to describe life in Skårne. Some other words that come to mind are freedom, independence, adventure, and sheer joy.
My weekends were spent traveling around Scandinavia, which, for an American from the Southwest desert, was an amazing experience. Copenhagen, Malmö, Lund, and Stockholm are all reachable by train; and all but Stockholm are less than two hours away. The towns are beautiful, as are the people. The opportunity to travel was a huge bonus for me, and the hosts were very accommodating to my requests.
I don’t want to get too detailed in regards to the work me and my WWOOF buddies did because every person will have a unique experience. Jobs can range dramatically over the course of a year and are dictated by the needs of the dynamic farm. I will say, however, that I can now hold a conversation about an array of farm-related topics including cattle ranching, crop harvesting, bee collecting, forestry, sheep-care, and gardening, in addition to many others. And finally, what made this whole thing so transformational for myself was, how the labor, knowledge, and lifestyle associated with the farm so easily translated into other aspects of my life. By the time I left in November, I had realized that I would never have an experience quite like it again. I truly feel that I am an overall better and more accomplished person because of my time with Johan and his family.
I don’t want to say much more because it is up to you to have your own adventure. Oh, and everything written by the previous reference still holds. The food is fantastic, the family is wonderful, and Skåne is beautiful.
If you can, do it.
Tharald
Just finished 4 weeks at Bokeslundsgården, and actually had a great time. Sure, there was work to do but I also learned a lot! I also didn’t feel that the work was too much or anything was unfair, especially since the conditions were pretty well described in both the farm description and reviews.
Honestly this is the favorite of my 3 wwoof stays so far, exactly because I was trusted with responsibility and because everyone was so friendly and open to teach me. I also want to add that there was a genuine feeling of being a part of the farm and I really felt that my suggestions and inputs were heard.
I understand that the experience I had can be overwhelming to some, but I think it would be a loss to evict bokeslundsgården from wwoof. For me it was the perfect ”reality check” and practical learning experience to support my own plans to become a farmer.
John
An incredible place to learn and thrive. The possibilities are almost endless here, whether you want to learn how to work with animals, forestry, beekeeping, carpentry, gardening, or grow veggies and fruit trees. You’ll get a good impression of what animal keeping and farming is truly about. You gotta put in a lot of time and effort, but you’ll be rewarded with a lotta freedom and delicious, fresh veggies. It also offers a pretty unique insight into how an organic, but commercial farm can survive and who it’s customers are.
Sometimes the tasks can seem monotonous as the animals enjoy routine and the bleeding weeds like to grow, but everything worth keeping requires maintenance.
As the farm collaborates with agricultural research, it continues to push the limits on what possible in Sweden. Can we grow sweet potatoes, banana trees, chilies, and wasabi? Let’s try!
I ended up staying three months longer than expected, which I think speaks for itself.
Johannes
I was here in august and september. It was a nice time and i saw and learned a lot. Johan, Lena and Jean are nice people with a big knowledge. In the morning and in the evening we had to take care of the animals. Feeding, give them water and colecting eggs from them. Then during the day we had a lot to do with the vegetables. Harvest, clean and package it, but we also did some seeding. I found it very interesting, because they grow so many different vegetables and fruits on the farm. Also some exotic in the greenhouse. Johan also took us to the different places and restaurants where he sell his products. He is very passionate about promoting and selling his products. You can see it on his nice accounts on facebook and instagram. All wwoofers on the farm had their own room, that was nice. I also liked that we had free weekends. So i had the chance to explore Skane a littlebit. I think if you are interested in agriculture and farmwork and not only to look for a place to stay for free, it is the right place for you. You will learn a lot.
At the end i want to say thankyou for the nice time and that it was allowed to me being at Bokeslundsgården.
Jordan
I had the privilege to live and work at Bokeslundsgården for two months during summer 2021, and got to glimpse firsthand the hard work and dedication that it takes to run a successful farm like this. I have worked on several farms in various parts of the world, and I have yet to find one run by people as knowledgeable and passionate about what they do as here at Bokeslundsgården. Johan not only takes every opportunity to explain what is happening and why, but he does it with such enthusiasm that you can tell he genuinely enjoys teaching his trade to those willing to learn.
I would also like to add that I am vegan and an advocate of animal rights, so at first I was a bit concerned about what it would be like to work on a farm that farms animals. I found that after speaking with Johan about his views on the treatment of animals, he is very mindful about how his animals are treated and always seems to go above and beyond to do treat them ethically in any situation. I realize that animal agriculture is a part of life, so I have great respect for those who can manage to do so ethically. (I also found it quite easy to maintain a vegan diet here, FYI).
It is a lot of work to volunteer here, so I would only recommend Bokeslundsgården to those who want to learn from the best, and not those who are just looking for a free place to stay while traveling. If you are looking for knowledge, a quiet and simple life, and friendly and welcoming hosts look no further!
Joseph
I highly recommend Bokeslundsgården to anyone wishing to WWOOF in Sweden. While much of the summer was spent gathering vegetables for CSAs and restaurants, there was also plenty of opportunity (although never enough!) to talk to Johan, Lena and Jean about the farm, their experiences, and their vision. Johan has an enthusiastic energy and love of the farm and plants that can be contagious. Lena is always around and willing to answer almost any question you can think of throughout the day that relates to the goings on of the farm, both from an operational standpoint and a scientific, biological standpoint. Even though Jean claims to only be the ”hardware” to Johan’s and Lena’s ”software” that keeps the farm running, he could always be counted on for some equally good conversation around land and water use both locally and globally. Talking to people who are practicing the prioritization of saving native animal breeds that naturally enhance soil health was more valuable than reading 100 academic papers on it (at least those conversations will make those papers more relatable for me). I could go on, but I am running out of space.
Anyway, I can highly recommend this farm to anyone, including those with little to no experience on a farm. There will always be a variety of things to do and you will be learning for quite a while.
Bokeslundsgården 