Asturias is a beautiful part of Northern Spain, great for hiking! We have mountains and the sea is nearby.

This is a combined listing for two projects participating in our small animal welfare organisation, 25 km apart in the East of Asturias.

1) Small farm:
I live in a farmhouse with 2 ha of land, taking care of a varying population of our own dogs plus dogs to be rehomed from the local shelter (9-13 dogs)
We also have two donkeys - Yoana, who was born here and Jack from the donkey paradise. The neighbourr's horse was alone in a small meadow, so she is with us as well now.
There is a lot to be done in and around the house: cleaning (first of all, dog hairs...), repairs, fencing, the vegetable garden and the other gardens..
Ongoing work - and the most important is of course taking care of the dogs and participate at the shelter on Saturdays (walking the dogs there). It would be good if you have a driver's licence!
I prefer volunteers staying for 1-3 weeks.
1-2 volunteers is our max. as I am renovating the second house.

Accommodation (see photos)
Spare bedroom. In summer you can pitch a tent in the dog-free meadow.

2) The Donkey Paradise en Arobes: El Paraíso del burro - 25 km from Ceceda and 8 ha of land
This project, set up by Dutch Marleen, welcomes volunteers preferably for longer periods as getting to know the 20+ donkeys does take some time. The vast area of land, the stables, the "cabaña" and the vegetable garden also need attention. This year she hopes to complete some building work, so building experience is very welcome!

The "paradise" started 2 years ago as a home for old, retired donkeys. There are also 2 horses, a mule, 5 dogs and several cats.

Accommodation: Spare bedroom in the main house, caravans for volunteers.
Tents in summer. Marleen can accommodate 2-4 volunteers

Contact:
Please state in your e-mail which project you would like to spend your time volunteering. You can also combine your stay of course, as we are only 25 km apart.

We always welcome enquiries by e-mail - do not just show up at the gate though!

Volunteers need to speak English and they must like the outdoor life as the fincas are quite remote (1 and 3 km from the village).

Asturias is in the North of Spain, between Galicia and Cantabria (and then Basque country). This region is called the Costa Verde and as you can imagine it looks more like Scotland than what most people expect when thinking of Spain.
It's an ideal area for hiking, mountain walking (Picos de Europa!), mountain climbing, canoeing and of course we also have beaches (no sun guarantee though).

Oviedo is at 30/55km and Gijon at 60/75km. Of course you can arrange to take a few days off to go hiking in the Picos or walk part of the Camino de Santiago - we are very flexible.
You will find stories about the volunteers our blog - send us a message and we will send you the various links where you can read more!

We think volunteering and hosting should be a fun experience, positive for both parties.

Asturias (N-Spain)

Work is never ending - anything ranging from helping with the donkeys or the dogs, to maintenance and building, cooking and cleaning, working in the vegetable garden, cutting fire wood, fencing, concreting...

Winter workers welcome although no guarantees about the weather

A special mention for the apple picking period in October - tons of apples are to be picked! In 2010 there was enough to finance a new roof for one of the donkey stables. We are hoping for a similar result in 2011!

English, Dutch, Spanish, some German

Ceceda: Spare room Donkey paradise: Caravans for volunteers Both: garden for camping there is space to park your campervan

We live in the Northern part of Spain (Costa verde - the green coast) which is more like Scotland than like Spain. Don't forget to pack wellies, hiking boots, water proofs and some good fleece sweaters!

We find it very important that people are familiar with animals, if you apply for volunteering, please specify your experience of being around animals.

We really live out in the sticks, so it's perfect if you are not looking for any pubs or shops around the corner. The work can be dirty, only wear things you don't mind getting wrecked - anyway "fashion" is unknown in our little villages.

The work can be physically demanding (even if we are pretty "old" ourselves - 50+). At the fincas we speak English (Dutch, German) so if you are looking for a place to improve your Spanish, we would refer you to Spanish hosts.

It is always a puzzle to accommodate volunteers - we try to send you a reply as soon as possible, but we expect you to do the same! We don't expect we are the only hosts you contact, but please mention that in your e-mail.