Volunteer in a mountain cortijo nr Granada, Spain
Description
Stop Press: We have some spaces between now and May 11th.
We need people from now until end of September 2013 minimum 2 weeks.
We are an English couple who have lived in Spain for over 20 years. We are in our late 40's. Our business is on-line so we can work anywhere as long as we have an internet connexion. We spend our time between Granada, the coast and our cortijo in the mountains. We are mainly interested in some help up in the mountain house. We have 30 000 m2 with about 100 olive trees, 100 almonds almost all the fruit trees you can think of, a vegetable plot, about 5 springs, solar powered electricity, solar water heating. 10 X 5m swimming pool. It is 1200 metres high, The nearest village is 5km up a non asphalt road. We have no children.
We need people from now until end of September 2013 minimum 2 weeks.
We are an English couple who have lived in Spain for over 20 years. We are in our late 40's. Our business is on-line so we can work anywhere as long as we have an internet connexion. We spend our time between Granada, the coast and our cortijo in the mountains. We are mainly interested in some help up in the mountain house. We have 30 000 m2 with about 100 olive trees, 100 almonds almost all the fruit trees you can think of, a vegetable plot, about 5 springs, solar powered electricity, solar water heating. 10 X 5m swimming pool. It is 1200 metres high, The nearest village is 5km up a non asphalt road. We have no children.
Area
Province of Granada
Type of work
Help with Eco project,Farming,
General Maintenance,
Building,
Gardening
Work
The most important thing is that you like gardening and pottering about.
Here are some examples of the work. Skim the dead insects off the swimming pool, sweep up the terraces, weed the flowerbed, weed the vegetable plot, plant out lettuces, go with me to collect mulch on the tractor, plant trees and bushes, repair the irrigation system, pick peaches and other fruit, staple paper bags around the apples to stop the birds eating them, paint a wall, varnish a door, clean out the barbecue, cut the grass on the lawn, pick walnuts, crack almonds and walnuts for the muesli. Pick broad beans. Plant seeds. Help with fencing. Let the chickens out. Shut the chickens up. Collect horse manure. Milk goats. Teach us something we don't know. We have two horses which have recently been broken in, anyone who knows a lot about horses is welcome to ride them.
Here are some examples of the work. Skim the dead insects off the swimming pool, sweep up the terraces, weed the flowerbed, weed the vegetable plot, plant out lettuces, go with me to collect mulch on the tractor, plant trees and bushes, repair the irrigation system, pick peaches and other fruit, staple paper bags around the apples to stop the birds eating them, paint a wall, varnish a door, clean out the barbecue, cut the grass on the lawn, pick walnuts, crack almonds and walnuts for the muesli. Pick broad beans. Plant seeds. Help with fencing. Let the chickens out. Shut the chickens up. Collect horse manure. Milk goats. Teach us something we don't know. We have two horses which have recently been broken in, anyone who knows a lot about horses is welcome to ride them.
Languages spoken
English Spanish
Accommodation
There are 2 self contained independent apartments for the volunteers and we shuffle the people around to get the best combination.
There is normally a tent set up with a mattress inside if anyone needs more privacy. For breakfast we normally eat our delicious healthy muesli which has our own nuts in. For midday meal we try to eat stuff that we have grown ourselves with either fish or meat. In the evenings in the summer we have gazpacho or other ways of eating the abundance of really nice tomatoes, pepper, aubergines etc that we grow. We often cook outside on the barbecue. We have a wood oven for pizzas, bread and roasting etc. If you have special dietary requirements you must tell us when you contact us.
What else ...
The cortijo is about 5km from the nearest sleepy village which has a population of about 1000. We have a 1mega internet connexion both up and down. As the electricity system is solar you have to be careful to switch off lights and not waste electricity. We have 2 mountain bicycles. There are lots of interesting walks all around the mountains. It would be very unsuitable for a city person who hates the countryside.
Andalucia is very hot in August, as we are 1200 metres high it is much more pleasant than lower down.
What you can do on your days off: As most of the workawayers don't have their own transport we have often taken everyone out on excursions. In the past we have taken people down to the beach and a few times we have let everyone stay in a house we have in Granada.
Andalucia is very hot in August, as we are 1200 metres high it is much more pleasant than lower down.
What you can do on your days off: As most of the workawayers don't have their own transport we have often taken everyone out on excursions. In the past we have taken people down to the beach and a few times we have let everyone stay in a house we have in Granada.
My Photo Album
Pictures of the cortijo Click to enlarge
Host ref number: 26273942294c
Feedback left about host
Alex always seemed to be in a good mood and was always happy and cheerful. She is a good worker and during her 2 weeks here she performed many tasks such as shovelling horse manure, planting vegetables, cleaning, preparing food etc. She got on well with all the other workawayers. I would recommend him to other hosts.
Lucy was a very good workawayer. She spent about 3 weeks with us both on her own and with a group of other volunteers.
She performed many tasks such as shovelling horse manure, planting vegetables, weeding, cleaning, preparing food etc and she did everything very well. She has a pleasant personaity and she got on well with all the other more
She performed many tasks such as shovelling horse manure, planting vegetables, weeding, cleaning, preparing food etc and she did everything very well. She has a pleasant personaity and she got on well with all the other more
Robbie was a very good workawayer. He is very strong and he can even walk on his hands. He knows how to use the rotovator, petrol strimmer and other tools. He is an above average worker and can handle heavy tasks and works on his own initiative. He is very good company, has a friendly personality and a pleasant Welsh accent. He got on well with more
Hannah helped us with the olive harvest and the preparation of the pig after slaughter. She is a good worker. She got on well with the other workers, has a pleasant personality. She has a good knowledge of music from the 1960s to the present day and was a good DJ when background work music was required. I would recommend her to other hosts.
I had an absolutely wonderful time working up in the mountains at Sarah and John's cortijo. I was there for almost 3 weeks in December, helping with the olive harvest. Overall, Sarah and John have completely understood the purpose of Workaway and really have perfected the whole experience. The work was a perfect amount, and varied from more
John and Sarah were our first workaway hosts and we felt like we were very lucky! Every day was different, and we came away feeling like we'd learnt a lot of new skills. We ate like kings; perhaps the secret ingredient is eating the vegetables which you have grown. We definitely plan to return (if they'll have us!).
We spend a pleasant 2 weeks with Joe and Lizzie. Joe had worked as a professional chef and the combination of our ingredients and his cooking skills led to many enjoyable meals. They were also very good at incorporating the food that we had available into the meals such as chestnuts. They would make a very good team for looking after people in more
Joe was a good workawayer. He was good at making bread and cooked us some good meals. He was the one to choose for slightly more complex or critical tasks. I was happy with the way he worked. I liked the fact that he is interested in what we are doing and I imagine that one day he will set up his own vegetable garden or even a rooftop garden. The more
Sam is a pleasant person to have around, he is positive and cheerful and got on with everyone very well. He has a good sense of humour. He undertook all tasks with enthusiasm and he was a good workawayer.
Ligita was with us for almost 4 weeks. She was the first person ever to use the video presentation method with her profile. After seeing her video I didn't hesitate in choosing her immediately. Fortunately the fun loving, slightly cheeky girl that appeared in the video was no disappointment. She is very cheerful, extrovert and fun to be around. more
Sarah and John were perfect host! Everything was very high level: food, conversations, knowledge they shared with us, place, work, everything. John was the one always messing around in a garden with us, always having those extremely funny comparisons with something. Remembering his trying to pronounce my name correctly still makes me smile. Sarah more
Allyce stayed with us for just over 3 weeks. She was a good workawayer and carried out all the tasks very well. She got on with all the other volunteers very well. I would have no hesitation in recommending her to other hosts.
Evelien was our first Dutch volunteer. I had difficulty pronouncing her name and hopefully she didn't mind to much. She was a good worker and did all her tasks well. She was always cheerful, is pleasant to be with and has a good sense of humour. She took advantage of our bicycles and went for several strenuous excursions so she must be very fit.
What an absoutely fantastic time I had with John & Sarah, I had no idea what to expect as this was my first workaway experience and it was amazing, I couldn't have wished for a better welcome & 'induction' to the Workaway experience.
John & Sarah were friendly, caring and great company, and Sarah is a great cook so we were fed marvellously. The more
John & Sarah were friendly, caring and great company, and Sarah is a great cook so we were fed marvellously. The more
Norma was one of our longest staying volunteers. We were sad when she left after spending almost 5 pleasant weeks with her. Although she is over 50 years old she is very fit and strong and also she has more sense of fun, enthusiasm, cheerfulness and good humour than most women half her age. We were very happy with her as a workawayer and would more
Chelsea and Spencer have a very high level of expertise with horses. Chelsea is obsessed with horses and is always talking about them so we have learned a lot from her. When they arrived we had two mares and a foal who were all almost wild. The only time they would have anything to do with humans would be if you bribed them with oats. It only took more
Working for John and Sarah was our first experience with work-away, and I have to say it has made memories we will never forget. They are such an honest and open couple. They make conversation easy and enjoyable to engage in. I'm no green-thumb, but John is a great teacher in the garden. Sarah too! She showed me how make cheese and yogurt. I think more
Working with John and Sarah was really more than I could have ever expected. They were friendly and open, always incredibly interesting and engaging in conversation. This was my first workaway experience and it really changed my life in many ways, I could not imagine a better first experience. It makes me excited to see what's up ahead!!! The more
I couldn't have asked for a better experience for my first workaway - I had a brilliant time.
John and Sarah are both excellent company and treat their guests very well, supplying great accommodation and delicious food. They've fully embraced the ethos of workaway and integrate all the volunteers into their lives so that you really feel like part more
John and Sarah are both excellent company and treat their guests very well, supplying great accommodation and delicious food. They've fully embraced the ethos of workaway and integrate all the volunteers into their lives so that you really feel like part more
Ashley spent two weeks with us. He is good company, easy to get on with, cheerful and a good worker. He has a good brain and enjoys intelligent conversations about diverse topics. I would welcome him back and recommend him to other hosts.
Sarah was with us for a about 2 weeks. She is cheerful, enthusiastic, a good worker, friendly and pleasant. She makes good humous and her home-made lemonade filled me with awe. (Sarah would have said totally awesome)
We spent a pleasant 3 weeks with Ben. He progressed from fitting together IKEA furniture at the start of his stay to designing and making his own bespoke rustic wooden furniture from almond tree prunings by the end. His bench is now placed half way up a steep hill and anyone who sits on it has a great view. So far everything I have wished for more
I'll never be able to forget this experience
I have been very happy to share the whole time with these new friends
John had always great ideas about the work and it was funny and never too hard
Sarah is an excellent cook,
I loved all her recepies!
Both of them were very patient with my difficultwith the english!
I really want to go back some day more
I have been very happy to share the whole time with these new friends
John had always great ideas about the work and it was funny and never too hard
Sarah is an excellent cook,
I loved all her recepies!
Both of them were very patient with my difficultwith the english!
I really want to go back some day more
Elizabetta has a lovely Italian accent, she is always smiling and cheerful and is a pleasure to have around. Her level of English is advanced, she manages to contribute and follow the conversation when native English speakers are talking together around the dining table which is a very difficult thing to do. She is a good worker and coped very more
My time at John and Sarahs was amazing, great company, great food, great house and amazing mountains!
The work was very varied which was great and was everything from DIY to gardening, fencing, and looking after animals.
John and Sarah were great hosts, and can give a lot of good advice about Granada and the area for when you leave or have a day more
The work was very varied which was great and was everything from DIY to gardening, fencing, and looking after animals.
John and Sarah were great hosts, and can give a lot of good advice about Granada and the area for when you leave or have a day more
Jamie was a great workawayer. He is physically strong and it was very useful that he is good with a sledgehammer. He was always ready for work at the agreed time and carried out all tasks very well. I liked the fact that he went exploring in the vicinity of the cortijo and discovered some excellent walking routes. He also encouraged the other more
Vicky and Lee were excellent workawayers. In order to rate them in comparison with all the other volunteers it would be necesary to break the scales and give them about 14 out of 10. Vicky took several of our ideas which we had talked about for a long time and turned them into reality so we had Apple Mint jelly, Quince jelly, Rose hip syrup, more
We've just had 3 weeks with Sarah and John picking olives. It's been absolutely fabulous! John and Sarah were immediately including and we felt like part of the family from the word go. Their place in the mountains is idyllic. We walked out of our cozy little house onto the terrace with sweeping views down the valley to the plain beyond. To a more
John and Sarah were so nice and hospitable!! I enjoyed every minute of working, cooking, eating, and talking with them and the other work-awayers! As my second work-away experience, it was by far my favorite and one of the highlights in my trip to Spain! Sarah is an amazing cook and both Sarah and John are great for interesting conversation! We more
Bri (pronounced Bree) is a very good worker. She gets on with well with other people and is a good source of amusing and intelligent conversation. She is a medical student which could come in handy in many different situations. I would have no hesitation in recommending her highly to other hosts.
John and Sarah were great! They made us all feel right at home and made my first experience as a workaway a geat one.
Katie is a great worker, we went to get some logs and she carried twice as many as anyone else and didn't even seem to break into a sweat. Is she some kind of superwoman? She is cheerful, talkative and popular with the other workawayers. If I wanted to make certain that something was done right I would choose Katie to do it. I would highly more
Tsana and Laura both have good jobs and if they had wanted to they could have spent their summer holidays sipping cocktails in a plush hotel, lazing on some exotic sun-kissed beach or one of many other extravagant locations. However we were very pleased that they decided to spend some time with us. They were both great company and fun to be with. more
This was our first work away, and I have to say we completely lucked out! We had an amazing time with John and Sarah at their beautiful home. Not only did we enjoy the work, their home, but their company was second to none. Although the work was fun, and we have now become pro painters, we particularly enjoyed our chats over dinner, swapping our more
We spent a great week with Sinead and Sarah. As well as being good general workers we discovered that they are good painters. They painted everything in sight and made the place look good for our party. We also put up a fence which required digging in many fence posts. They have excellent senses of humour and we spend many hours giggling about more
Lucy spent 2 weeks with us in August 2011. During this time we were visited by 2 separate lots of friends with families as well as other workawayers. She managed to fit in well with all the many varied situations, got on well with everyone and did well in many different roles. When things were too hectic to even tell her what to do she went off more
I spent a very good two weeks with John and Sarah. They were very friendly and welcoming and the accomodation was very comfortable with beautiful views across the cortijo. We ate together twice a day and the food was delicious. I especially enjoyed waking up each day and picking a fig from the tree just outside my window :)
The house was very more
The house was very more
John and Sarah were one of the very best workaway experiences i have every had! They were welcoming and friendly and always made us feel welcome. The work was diverse and John made a point of moving around tasks so that nothing ever got too tedious. The food was great and the land was beautiful. Truly a life to admire!!!
Thanks so much guys!!
Thanks so much guys!!
Caitlin is a good worker, gets on very well with other people, has a good sense of humour, is extrovert and is fun to have around. After handing back to me some money I dropped on the floor which she could easilly have kept I know she is honest. I would have no hesitation in recommending her to other hosts.
Ashley was with us for 2 weeks in Feb 2011. We started off with snow and ended up with sunny weather. Some adjectives to describe Ashley are: hardworking, conscientious, friendly, easygoing, pleasant, likeable, stable, dependable etc. She got on well with the work on the land and seemed to like gardening. I would have no hesitation in recommending more
My stay with John and Sarah was my first Workaway experience and I would have to say the standards have been set high! We had very comfortable apartment at the Cortijo and the work was great! Sarahs cooking was amazing and we were fed VERY well! John and Sarah both know the area very well and even took us on a couple day trips. I am going to miss more
Kevin and James were excellent workawayers. I spent 5 minutes explaining to them the basic concepts of olive tree pruning and in about 20 minutes they had understood perfectly. They went on to prune over 100 olive trees in the next 2 weeks. They are strong and fit and can provide lots of raw muscle power to any task. They are well brought up lads more
John and Sarah were wonderful hosts. Even if they hadn´t fed us, we could have survived on laughs alone. Thankfully, that wasn´t the case. The food was delicious, the company very enjoyable. The work was fun and interesting. A great couple. A fantastic experience!
I spent 3 weeks helping harvest olives with John, Sarah and two other workawayers. The work was fun and I enjoyed my time spent up in the mountains!
Charlotte spent most of December with us doing the olive harvest.
We picked 1450 kilos of olives between 5 of us. She is pleasant, cheerful, friendly, sociable, enthusiastic, easygoing and got on well with us and the other workawayers. She is better at the more methodical, delicate tasks rather than heavy brute force work. She was a good more
We picked 1450 kilos of olives between 5 of us. She is pleasant, cheerful, friendly, sociable, enthusiastic, easygoing and got on well with us and the other workawayers. She is better at the more methodical, delicate tasks rather than heavy brute force work. She was a good more
Alice spent most of December with us doing the olive harvest and also some garden clearance.
We picked 1450 kilos of olives between 5 of us.
She is a very good worker and had no problem with fitness and stamina in the more demanding tasks.
She worked very well even when unsupervised. She likes working outside.
She is not a "yes" woman and she is more
I spent 3 weeks with John & Sarah, primarily olive picking but a few other assorted tasks. They are both generous with their time, knowledge & hospitality, and I enjoyed my time immensely. You get the feeling that they genuinely love the idea of workaway & try to combine the work/free time aspects to get the perfect balance. Food, drink, banter & more
Tom was a brilliant workawayer. He was with us for 3 weeks doing gardening work, property maintenance and picking olives. He started work as agreed at the appointed time without even having to be asked. He worked really well all the time in a variety of tasks. Even if I had been paying him I would have been happy. If anyone had asked me to give more
Coline came with her Brazilian friend Dina. We got on very well with them. There are enthusiastic hard workers, good fun, likeable and pleasant I would have no hesitation recommending them highly.
When Ayana first arrived I though she must have come to the wrong place or that she hadn't understood our profile. She was immaculately dressed with wedge heels and sparkly make up. I didn't expected her to last more than one day. Thankfully my first impressions proved to be false, she worked in the garden and did all the other tasks very well and more
John and Sarah were fantastic hosts. I really enjoyed my time as a workawayer with them both. Their beautiful cortijo is set in the lovely Mountains on the edge of the Siera Nevada. It is the perfect place to relax and reflect on life.
After two weeks of workawaying, I left Sarah and John feeling happy, healthy and fulfilled. They are both more
After two weeks of workawaying, I left Sarah and John feeling happy, healthy and fulfilled. They are both more
Hadley scored top marks in all categories: Hard worker, easy to get on with, cheerful, good cook, good with children, works on own initiative. A perfect workawayer. We spent a pleasant 2 weeks with Hadley and she would be welcome back anytime.
I liked the way Morten got enthusiastic about some of my more odd projects such as making a frog pond. He has a very good level of English, gets on well with other people, is cheerful, works hard. I would recommend him.
I had an absolute brilliant time with John and Sarah, who are relaxed and have a great sense of humour. Liked the conversations at dinner. the times we went to La Peza, the bicycle rides (and walks) in the mountains. The place itself is beautiful. John is a great "boss" - cheerful and enthusiastic about the projects. The work was varied and more
John and Sarah were amazing to work for, so welcoming and laid back.Tthe day I arrived was a BBQ with a group of their friends from all over the place followed by five days of helping in the garden and cooking outside on the open fire. the accommodation was luxurious, I had my own self contained flat under the house with some great views over the more
We have enjoyed having Tiffany as our first ever workawayer. She is a hard worker, good cook and has a sociable, pleasant personality. No negatives at all.
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