updated   Last minute

Escape to an eco-friendly cave house/heaven in our off-grid place in Andalusia, Spain

  • Favourited 5665 times
  • Last activity: 17 Apr 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: at least 2 weeks

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    Hi everyone,

    We're looking for a helping hand at our place ! We have some free spots on our calendar and would love to welcome a volunteer to join us.

    In September, we'll need someone to house-sit and watch our dogs and cats . If you're interested in volunteering and potentially house sitting in September, send us a message!

    Sometimes, finding yourself lost brings you to this place. Our home gives the gift of getting alone. Allowing you to put yourself in decreased sensory input. To hear yourself again. Visitors in years gone by have found this time alone has simplified the heart and pathed the way for the journey ahead. Disconnect to reconnect and clear your mind in hectares of Spanish landscape.


    While we offer hosting from two weeks, we're ideal for those searching for an extended stay…a couple months sounds like a treat!


    We live a content and uncomplicated life, with an emphasis on zero waste. If you're up for the task and ready to take on the adventure, we would love to hear from you!

    We are particularly interested in candidates who specialize in beekeeping, gardening, animal care, massage or anyone who demonstrates how they can contribute to our experiences. So let us know!
    We always guide and support in tasks such as house sitting, animal care, vegetable gardening during the spring and summer, as well as general property maintenance and household chores.

    So have you stumbled upon your perfect mountainside retreat?
    Picture this. A hot morning beverage watching the sunrise over the mountains. Stargazing under a sky unpolluted by light. Pure air and extraordinary beauty amid a harsh climate. This is our Natural Earthship positioned on top of a cliff completely off the grid with solar power and our own water well. We are 35 minutes away from town and enjoy 18-hectares, 13.2-acre property at an altitude of 1017 meters.
    Expect intense heat in the summer (pleasant in the evening), and chilly weather and rainfall in the winter.
    Be cautioned - this is a remote place! Except for internet and the passing shepherd, this can be lonely. Despite the isolation, it is still a comfortable place to stay.
    However, please note that this is not a cheap vacation spot. It has required a significant amount of enthusiasm, energy, time, effort, sweat, tears, frustration, and patience from many to make what it is today. As such, we expect those who share this experience with us to show respect and treat each other and the property with love, nor harm to what we have worked so hard to create.



    It seems many people have a romantic idea about a self sufficient house or way of living. It surely is something beautiful, but not easy for those without experience OR who don't know what to expect. Some key points:
    Inside the cave is 20º C. The wood for the fireplace doesn't grow in the woodshed (as some people seem to think) and isn't for free either. So that when finally the winter arrives and we get to burn the firewood, we do it with respect, weighing seriously if it is really necessary to throw another piece to the fire and not just because it's nice. Because you never know how hard or long the winter is gonna be and if you will have wood enough.

    There are tasks that need to be done everyday, it doesn't matter if it rains, snows or it is 40º C. that's life in a self sufficient house in the middle of nowhere.

    *If you decide to contact us, what we really need to know is what you expect from this experience and what you're willing to offer as a volunteer and as a person.

    **Also, please be advised of the minimum age limit of 22. This because even when I explain everything here I sadly have to keep on playing the mother role with the people between 18 and 22. Of course not with all of them, but sadly with most of them and I'm simply very tired of that!!

    So now, if you did read until here, welcome to our profile! :D

    We consist of Hilde, who at 50 years of age chooses to live as a hermit, preferring solitude for personal introspection. Alain, on the other hand, is a 57-year-old extrovert who loves to make others laugh with his humor.
    We have 4 dogs, 3 cats, some chickens, and bird of prey.
    We left the rat race to start a new life in Spain, with the aim of creating a beautiful and self-sustaining community through perm culture tailored to the dry climate.
    In our free time, we enjoy playing board games such as Munchkin, Carcassonne, the Village, Santoska, Star Trek Catan, and poker without any monetary bets. We look forward to getting to know you!

    In the event that someone fails to honor the agreed-upon timeframe for their stay, barring any unforeseen circumstances such as death, they may need to find their own way back to the bus station.
    Lack of holding this commitment reflects poorly on you, and we will be sure to leave a negative review as a result. Once we have accepted someone we do not give back word or not turn up to meet you!! We expect the same from You .

    If you find this offensive then you are probably this type of person!

    If you do not find it offensive then you are the one for us!! (Reliable).

    If you apply to us, put "happiness" in your answer. So we know you read it all . You can also put in "
    Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious " without copying and get extra bonus points

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Art Projects
    Help with Eco Projects
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Animal Care
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
  • UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN goals
    No poverty
    Zero hunger
    Good health and well-being
    Quality education
    Gender equality
    Clean water and sanitation
    Affordable and clean energy
    Decent work and economic growth
    Industries, innovation and infrastructure
    Reduce inequality
    Sustainable cities and communities
    Responsible consumption and production
    Climate action
    Life below water
    Life on land
    Peace, justice and strong institutions
    Partnerships for the goals
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    You will be learning how to live off grid, in respect with nature.
    Enjoying the silence and embrace nature .
    You will learn cave drilling, building, cooking, electricity, water management, energy management and gardening.
    Can you teach us something, be welcome.

  • Help

    Help

    We are looking for people to help us. We love to teach you new skills. But the main gain is to meet people to let them discover this fabulous region and our style of life . Workawayers should have their own health insurance cover whilst staying with us. EU citizen a EHIC card

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent
    French: Fluent
    Dutch: Fluent
    Spanish: Intermediate

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    Accommodation options include a small single-person cave atop the hill or a larger, studio-style cave complete with a bedroom and small kitchen for cooking.
    An outdoor shower with sun heating and an eco-toilet are provided.
    Basic local food supplies are included and are vegetarian and healthy (locavore), but additional food must be obtained via bicycling as the nearest shop is 17km away with limited supplies.
    Guests are required to bring their own eco-friendly soap, shampoo, and detergent for washing, as not doing so will result in no washing.
    Sleeping bags and work gloves are also required for hygienic reasons, but extra blankets can be provided.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    Transport : There is a bus to Orce from granada every day except Saturday. On Sunday it is a late bus , but you have to look first from Granada to Baza and then from Baza to Orce. Sometimes you have to switch bus in Baza .
    Hitchhiking is difficult to here, but not impossible . We can pick you up at the bus stop .
    All other possibilities can be discussed depending from where you are coming .
    We will help you to find the most easy way by plane, train , bus or all other forms of transportation.

    The big attraction of the cave houses is the fact that you feel in a cave house like in the nature. "In a cave house is cool in summer and warm in winter. " In the winter the cave maintains 21°C with one log burner and in the summer the same but without the log burner . :-)

    We are in the UNESCO Global Geopark of Granada within the Badlands typical of the region. The Andalusian village of Orce may be small, but is nevertheless of remarkable importance in the search of the first traces mankind in Iberia.It is certainly worth a Google to discover the heritage of the site. We are also here to teach what we know!

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Can host digital nomads

    Can host digital nomads

    We have starlink, superfast.

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    We life remote, so you need a van with some ground clearance. Electricity and water can be provided. Watch out , when it rains , the road is impassable for the cars, even 4x4 , ( only the Lada Niva manages it :-) )

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    Two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    25 hours a week, defided as needed .

Host ref number: 268774241491

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