Help with the animals, the garden and the house in the mountains of Lantero, Asturias

Details

• 

  Description

  Hello everyone! 🏡
  
  My name is Pablo, a yoga teacher from Spain. Not long ago I bought a beautiful house in the mountains of Asturias and I'm in the process of making it a small retreat/rural tourism center, as well as a permaculture and animal shelter project.
  In the country side there is always stuff to do: mostly land management, gardening, taking care of the animals, rearranging structures, cleaning, pruning, and a long etc. Depending on the time of the year and the number of volunteers available the jobs keep changing, so unless there is a big project in the horizon it´s impossible of me to predict what we will be doing.
  During cold months we will be staying inside a nice, confortable house, the main house, during the spring and summer we ll be outside, camping (until I can build a cabin for the volunteers).
  I guess the most important thing is that this is true country life, which means that there a few important things to mention:
  
  - 💡Energy efficiency: Do not expect a 30 degree home in the middle of winter, nor a 18 degrees one in summer. This is unsustainable. In winter, the temperature drops, and the house is usually warmed with a wooden stove, which takes time and does not warm the whole house. Winter is a time to be inside, to enjoy the cold, the quietness and introspection. There are 3 days a week of hot showers, out of respect for the environment. Most of the work is done outside and the weather is often humid and cold, but not too crazy, so it s good to be mindful of that. As for summer we will also be working outside, so bring a hat and sunglasses.
  
  -🥬 The food: I provide healthy, normally local vegetarian meals. I do not provide sugary, highly processed and carnivore meals. You can get them for yourself or share them with other volunteers, up to you.
  
  - 🛠️ The work: The help is very often quite physical. This means you´ll be using your body digging, pulling roots, moving materials, weeding, installing structures, etc etc etc Keep it mind, specially if you have never done something similar. Commit to your decision, be realistic with yourself and your expectations. This kind of help is also super rewarding, so it s also a good idea to embrace the challenge and enjoy stepping outside our confort zones.
  
  - 🏔️ It´s quiet and peaceful: This is not a place to party or use drugs. There is a place and time for that in life, of course, but the general feeling is that this is a place to chill. Meaning we usually don´t play loud music, we don´t drink alcohol or make crazy parties. We do talk a lot, philosophise, laugh, play instruments, cook nice meals, do yoga, swim in the lake and a long healthy etc. :-)
  
  - 🥰 The attitude: I would take a single volunteer with poor skills but amazing attitude over a thousand amazing helpers with a bad personality. It really does not matter how good you work if you are a difficult person to be around. We are here to have a good time, and working hard does not allow anyone to do whatever they want once the job it s done. This is not a transaction, not a holiday place, this is a COLLABORATION. It means we have to try our best to make it nice for everyone else, to take things easy, to not take things personally, not impose our problems on others. You have the right to suffer, we all do, but not the right to bring the whole energy down. Instead, try to be grateful. Chances are if you can afford to do some volunteering you have an amazing life.
  
  - ✅ The rules: This is NOT A COMMUNITY. Let this be absolutely clear. This is by definition an UNBALANCED POWER RELATIONSHIP. This means, it is my project, I have the last saying on everything, and ultimately make all the decisions. This does not mean I don´t listen or let volunteers do things their own way. This just means this is not a democracy and I keep the right to do things my way. If you want to have a saying on a project, experience what it is to decide important things, try moving to a community. This is not that kind of place.
  This said, obviously, I make a BIG EFFORT to bring this balance to a more fair level. Volunteers can and will do things their own way, previous consultation with me. I was a volunteer for a few years, I know what it is to participate in projects with hosts all the way from super nice to almost absolute dictators, so I am super mindful of the feeling of impotence that can arise as a volunteer working on someone else´s project. The key is communication. Be honest, talk, share, be respectful and empathic.
  
  - 📱Communication pre-arrival: The digitalization of our lives has completely transformed the way we communicate and relate to each other. Most of our communication now is thru screens, via texts and private messages, and this seems to have slowly worsen our sense of respect and responsibility for the things we say/text/post. The problem is that there are consequences to this. On the other side of each of our screens there is usually a person, with his or her own timetable/ worries/ responsibilities etc. Respect this. Send messages you are sure you will be able to answer. Make requests you are serious and genuinely interested in. Answer back in a logical time frame, even if it is to decline a previous request.
  As a host, it is already quite hard to organize having 2 or 3 people over, so as you can imagine the lack of seriousness, lack of respect, the last minute change in plans, last minute cancellations and the sudden dissapearing just makes everything much more difficult and degrades this wonderful experience and community.
  DO NOT GHOST, DO NOT LIE, COMMUNICATE OFTEN, COMMUNICATE IN TIME.
  I follow these rules and try to always do so.
  Please do the same.
  Thank you

• 

  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
• 

  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  This is the typical farmstead project in the mountains of Asturias. There is always stuff to do and you can easily meet the locals, as well as experience first hand what living in a very isolated area feels like (there are 3 neighbours).

• 

  Help

  Maintenance is the big thing in the country side. Moving materials around, cleaning land, arranging the spaces, managing animals, things breaking down, and a long etc. Workawayers with experience in construction, animals and gardening are specially welcome!

• 

  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  Italian: Intermediate
  Japanese: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  It´s always good to practice the languages we know!
• 

  Accommodation

  Depending on the number of volunteers and time of the year you ll get a room or share another confortable room with other helpers. In summer time we will be camping outside. Breakfast and lunch are done together, dinning together is optional, but recommended!

• 

  What else ...

  Unless you have your own method of transportation, this is a quite isolated area. The nearest "big" village is 30 min away (Boal), but there is plenty of things to do around the area, such as hiking trips, swimming in the cold lake, and the house has some space for yoga or some fitness practice. To arrive to my place we should find a way that suits us both, so that I don’t drive in and out of the mountain everyday, since that is very non efficient and too expensive.

• 

  A little more information

  • 

    Internet access

  • 

    Limited internet access

  • 

    We have pets

  • 

    We are smokers

  • 

    Can host families

• 

  Can host digital nomads

  I have no internet access for the moment. However phone connection is good (4G) and can be used to do videocalls, mails , tv etc

• 

  Space for parking camper vans

  There a few spots you can park your van around the house and inside the property.

• 

  Can possibly accept pets

  I have a dog, Arya, which is a bit anxious but super friendly, and a puppy, Marlon, which is adorable.

• 

  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

• 

  Hours expected

  Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, help might be needed for small things on the weekends.

Feedback (24)