Communal living / cohousing
Essex
We love our wwoofers! We book in volunteers for stays from April to the end of October. We do fill up for the summer months and it's advisable to book in advance. Volunteers normally come for two weeks. If you have volunteered with us before however, it may be possible for you to stay for longer.
We are an intentional community with about 45 adults and 10 children living in an old converted Friary. Sixty acres are used for growing wheat, oats, potatoes, woodlands and for grazing. Ten acres are used for vegetable gardens, orchards and soft fruit. We keep rare breed cows, sheep, pigs, hens and bees. We can host four wwoofers max at any one time.
We host two or three families maximum per year. This requires some payment for the children and one parent or guardian who is tasked to look after the children while the other volunteers. Due to the different situation of wwoofers with children, we offer families the option of coming for one week only.
Please make sure you have arranged your onward travel home, or to your next wwoofing place before you arrive here.
Organic methods: Use of our own composts
Certifications: We only produce for our own consumption, so there is no advantage in getting certified.
Current projects: sowing, planting, weeding, mulching, both no dig and ploughing, arable farming, animal care (we don't usually ask Wwoofers to work with animals), cleaning, painting, cooking, harvesting, processing. We are improving our hedging, planting flowering hedgerows.
We are also interested in expanding our solar power.
Internet access available. You may need to share a room with someone of the same sex as guest rooms fill up in summer, but we can try to accommodate other needs where possible.
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Pig farming
Cattle farming
Dairy farming
Forestry
Beekeeping
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Bakery
Renewable energy production
Methods or systems
Permaculture
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
28.3
Hectares
|
70
Acres
volunteers
Member since 2010
Languages spoken:
English, French, German, Indonesian, Nepali, Spanish
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 5 days
Essex
All travel details are available on our web site. Manningtree Train station then river walk or taxi or lift. Coaches to Colchester. Local Bus 93 between Colchester and Ipswich stops at our gate. Stansted best airport. Harwich Ferry from Netherlands but we
Reviews
Nathan
France
•
October 2025
Such a rewarding two weeks at this wonderful community. Varied work (Apple juicing, planting, weeding, havesting, etc), loads of healthy food and great conversations with lots of interesting, kind and talented people. The volunteers even got to take part in the monthly open mic session at the local pub - a superb finish to the fortnight.
Comfortable accommodation and plenty of time for great walks, swims, runs etc in the beautiful Dedham Vale. Would love to come back.
Thanks to Dorit and all the community for such a warm welcome. They have so many volunteers but still take time to get to know you individually. Thanks and best wishes. Nathan
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ANA L
Portugal
•
September 2025
We had incredible days, meeting so many special people, our 45 hosts. The work is interesting, without much difficulty. Our meals together were incredibly educational and relaxing. Everyone was very patient in explaining the tasks, and I overcame many personal challenges. I highly recommend [Host].
Alexander
United States
•
June 2022
I had a wonderful 2 week stay at Old Hall! Everyone is very nice and welcoming, the work is fun and reasonable, the food is good, and it is very cool to take part of the community life! I met many interesting people and felt very comfortable there almost immediately. During a stay here one has the ability to learn a lot about organic farming, especially in the context of a community, enjoy quiet and peaceful time on a beautiful property in the idyllic english countryside, take nice walks to surrounding villages, and play a part in a group effort at sustainable and organic living/farming. Ill miss Old Hall and hope to go back someday!!
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Evelyn
Germany
•
May 2022
Old Hall is a great place to be. Everyone is super friendly, you get to meet many different people, do a lot of gardning, which I love, and become a part of the community for the time being.
I had a great time and can only highly recommend Old Hall for WWOOFers!
Fran
United Kingdom
•
August 2019
What a beautiful place to spend a fortnight! This converted monastery and its grounds provided pretty much everything I needed. In fact, I rarely left over the course of my holiday - with a room to myself, lunch and dinner cooked every day and breakfast and snacks (including delicious freshly baked bread) which you could help yourself to anytime. Everyone was very welcoming, and there was such a range of different activities to do from food growing, feeding the animals, milking the cows, to my personal favourite, cheesemaking! I worked for about 5-6 hours a day, but the work was varied, there was always opportunity to take breaks, and it was almost always with other people - so you came away from the day feeling like you'd exerted yourself and often learned something new. Plus, luxuriously, dinner and activities usually ended quite early so it was easy to go to bed early without feeling like you could miss out on something (which is just what I wanted after long days outside!). It was the first time I've WWOOFed and I'd definitely recommend Old Hall if you're looking for a sociable and active holiday but with lots of opportunities to chill out too.
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Richard
South Africa
•
June 2019
I spent two wonderful weeks at Old Hall, I felt extremely welcomed by the community and felt that I was able to contribute with the many varied tasks that were available. People had time for me, for my questions or simply just to stop and chat in a hallway, or over lunch/dinner and the many teas. Similarly, work was well instructed and often led by a community member so that it felt like a shared project. The gardens are a treat and the accommodation was completely comfortable, not to mention the amazing meals. I learnt new skills here, and developed new relationships and a new understanding about how a community works and succeeds together.
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