Help in the garden then swim in the sea in Triscina, Italy

Details

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  Description

  In 2014 I travelled with Workaway and would like to give something back. I live in a beautiful setting in a quiet village next to the sea, with an enormous garden full of fruit trees. The beach is at the end of the garden but there is currently no easy way through. For now go out the gate and down the road and you're there. We are next to Selinunte archaeological site and within easy reach of all West Sicily has to offer - kite-surfing, ancient towns, modern cities. There is good transport access from the nearest big town (Castelvetrano 10 km away) and I can pick you up and drop you off there if you don't have your own transport.
  
  Workawayers must like cats. Please confirm this in your message. If you don't like them you won't enjoy the experience as I look after abandoned cats. I only offer one week stays.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  This is very much real Sicily, although it is a tourist destination in the summer if you visit outside that time you'll find a small welcoming community and learn about real working-class lives.
  
  Travellers can learn Italian and Sicilian, meet local people who work the land, build walls and keep sheep. You can learn Sicilian cookery. In September we pick grapes and make wine, though unfortunately 2023 had almost no grapes. In November there is the opportunity to pick olives and see how oil is processed, In December and January to pick oranges and make marmalade. At the end of June the figs are ready, there are also pears, quince and loquats.

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  Help

  Unfortunately the garden also has 2 invasive plants, trumpet vine and a relative of bamboo - Arundo donax, a giant cane grass used for woodwind instrument reeds. I need help clearing them and hopefully taking out the roots. There is always general weeding to do, the area around the BBQ pit and rockery continually grow new weeds. In the future there will be more work with creating raised beds and irrigation systems, these plans are long term though. If you have experience with citrus trees or grape vines you would be particularly welcome as they all need hard pruning.
  
  I would like help creating a path down to the beach, this would be quite heavy work, digging and moving stones.
  
  The whole house needs painting.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Italian: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  I am English but have learnt Italian. I speak rusty Swahili and Spanish from my time living in Tanzania and Spain and I can remember about 10 words in Russian from when I spent 6 months living in Ukraine. I would like to learn German.
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  Accommodation

  A sofa bed in the house as seen in the pictures. As it is a small house I only offer one week stays. The village is very quiet for 9 months of the year and then from mid June to mid Sept becomes very lively - but also realistically too hot for gardening. Smoking is allowed outside on the veranda in the picture.
  
  For food - if you work 5 days at 4 hours a day I am happy to provide all meals. If you want to work 15 hours or less then you will organise your own food, I will just provide accommodation. Visitors always enjoy going to the bakery or cafè each morning to get breakfast and panini for sandwiches.
  
  If you eat here, breakfast is yoghurt/toast/cereal. Lunch is usually a light meal of sandwiches or salads with a main home-cooked meal in the evening. This can range from different Sicilian pasta dishes, to Indian, Mexican or Chinese food - I like to cook different things. If in your culture you prefer the main meal at lunch this can be accommodated. In summer months we eat late due to the heat, again if you prefer to eat earlier we can arrange this. We are not vegetarian but don't eat a lot of meat so can provide a vegetarian diet, If you are vegan you may prefer to prepare your own food as we use honey, cheese, eggs and fish.

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  What else ...

  In your time off this is an area suitable for those who want to relax, good for reading, writing, art projects and walking in nature. In winter the village is very quiet. There is the beach, a local cafe/bar that is open at lunchtime for the agricultural workers, a bar that is open in the evenings until 8.30pm, a bakery and 2 small shops. There is no night life out of season. There are good train and bus links from the nearest town to Mazara, Marsala, Trapani and for a longer journey to Palermo. I have guide books and maps for those who want to plan trips.

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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 host digital nomads

  I have Starlink internet

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  Space for parking camper vans

  There is a long drive where a camper can be parked but it is quite narrow - for motor homes there is land nearby.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4 hours a day, 5 days a week

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