Come stay with our family and be connected with nature in Koper, Slovenia

Details

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  Description

  Our family decided to step away from the city life and start a new one connected with nature. Finding this place was a true blessing. After some time it became obvious that this would be the place where we can start our new life journey.
  
  our vision is to bring back to life THIS amazing abandoned farm and build an ecosystem that provides the food, shelter, water and energy needs for our family and guests.
  
  Permaculture is one of the key philosophy as a base of living, offering all knowledge to live a sustainable life.
  A lot of time is used to reflect on ourselves and to understand and learn the nature's rhythm-circle of life.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  love, peace, sustainability, permaculture, community . In the free time after lunch and in the evenings we share with one another our knowledge, talents, sing by the bonfire, play social games, walk on the slack line, go swimming, climbing, go for night walk with torches, read, watch movies,.... You are welcome to share your talents, skills, stories…

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  The property that we will stay was abandoned. A lot of work has been done since the two families arrived but now we finally came to the point where the renovation of the house started.
  
  Our biggest dream was to renovate the property in the respect of the local heritage and in line with permaculture ethics.
  
  The house renovation is focused on preserving the original structure and use only natural materials. We love to use old techniques as well as new approaches in the natural building scene. An important rule to us is to reduce, reuse and recycle.
  
  The materials of choice are local stone, earth, lime, wood and also materials like hemp and other plant base materials.
  
  A great opportunity for all who wants to learn about natural building.
  
  We need all sorts of help with the renovation and around the property:
  
  Some of the activities are:
  -building new walls window openings
  -removing old plaster
  -new lime and clay plastering
  -carpentry
  -natural water system filtration
  -and many other things
  
  Around the property:
  -clean the terraces of the ex vineyard and prepare it for no dig garden use
  -planting vegetables, flowers, trees, spices, ...
  -clean the surrounding area (taking down pine trees, shrubs)
  -built up dry stone walls
  -build up a wood terrace for chill out area
  -fix up the main road to the property
  -clean the path and surrounding of the local waterfall Veli vir
  -help locals with different daily tasks
  -organise workshops
  -have fun
  
  To do all that we need many helping hands.
  Our work is really diverse, so we are not looking just for specific profiles, but we are searching for volunteers who have enthusiasm, motivation and will to learn new skills. Of course volunteers with skills in construction, wood, gardening, etc are super welcome.
  We will organize meetings with locals about the help they need.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Italian: Intermediate

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  Accommodation

  Our property is fully off the grid. This year we finally managed to install a solar system for electricity production and the rain water collection and purifying system. We use dry toilets and we compost the waste.
  
  It is very important to understand the limits of our energy and water supply. But we see this as an opportunity to teach volunteers about sustainable systems and the importance of awareness. It is always so amazing to discover how little we need if we change/adapt a bit our habits.
  
  We offer some space in the house with some mattresses and of course there is the option to put a tent.
  The toilet is a dry one (compost toilet) outside the house.
  
  We offer vegetarian food. We all help with cooking. Cooking is one of the really important everyday tasks that helps connect with each other. We really try to pass our knowledge to everyone who wants to learn and of course we can not wait to learn new techniques from all over the world.

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  What else ...

  Adriatic coast with its many beaches is less than 30 minutes by car from any village in Istria. Same distance away are world level climbing area of Osp valley, historical coastal town of Piran and UNESCO World Heritage site Škocjan caves. There are numerous trekking and cycling options in Slovenian and Croatian Istria. Towns of Ljubljana, Venice and Julian Alps with Triglav national park are 1 to 2 hours away. For our volunteers we've organized charity discounts for some of Slovenia's most interesting activities, such are Soča Valley's canyoning and rafting or hiking in caves of Škocjan.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can possibly accept pets

  This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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