Help us renovate a 200-year-old farmhouse in the hills of Zagorje, Slovenia

Details

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  Description

  We are the proud owners of a 200-year-old farmhouse in the hills of Zagorje, Slovenia! The house has been abandoned for about 20 years and needs serious help, and we are in the throws of a full, from-the-ground-up renovation. We will be renovating the house with original methods and original materials as much as possible. These construction methods are not difficult, but they are time-consuming and require much physical labor. As we are only two people, we need extra help. The house is located a 15-minute drive or a 45-minute walk away from our current apartment. It's located in a quiet, quaint village in the hills, surrounded by forests and meadows.
  
  We, Luka and Alyson, are a young married couple. Alyson is from Portland, Oregon, United States, and Luka is from Zagorje, Slovenia. Alyson moved to Slovenia in 2020 to be with Luka, and we have been married since then. In the time that has passed, we have focused on traveling Europe. We have been avid hosts on other platforms, hosting over 50 people in two years. When we told a guest about our plans to buy the house, she recommended WorkAway, which is why we are here now. We have formed some of our most meaningful, lasting friendships through hosting, and we want to continue it.
  
  We are animal lovers and wanna-be homesteaders. In our apartment in Zagorje, we have a small zoo of animals, including two cats, fish, a lovebird, rabbits, and quail. We have maximized our small garden with food production, and we make many of our own products at home. We began our journey of self-sufficient and low-waste living as a way to reduce our carbon footprint, but it has brought us a deep love for our respective cultures, a rich connection to the earth, and lots of fun things to spend our day doing. We love spending time in nature, hiking and foraging and enjoying the change of the seasons. We will gladly share this part of our life with you.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We will teach you local Slovenian culture and daily life. We try to create our own products in the traditional way, and we will happily teach you about Slovenian history, food, and culture. We can teach you foraging in the forests. The house is constructed in the old-world style and demonstrates much about the local history. We will be able to use the house and its surroundings to teach you about Slovenia in an in-depth and meaningful way.
  
  You will learn a lot about construction and home renovation. As we are the ones doing the work, we are happy to explain what we have accomplished, what we are working on, and how it will affect our plans in the future. We will happily teach you any skills that you want to learn, and give you time to practice anything that interests you. We are also landscape architects, converting the property into a self-sufficient microfarm, and will happily tell you all about the local plants, farming, gardening, and homesteading.
  
  If all you are doing is helping carry things and grab tools, we will happily just talk with you about our homes, our pasts, and anything under the sun. We try to make the experience light and fun and use the time to build meaningful friendships along the way.

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  Help

  We need volunteers to help assist us as we do the work. As we are the ones doing all of the work, we need volunteers who can do simple tasks that take time: including grabbing tools, helping move large items, and taking items to the garbage. If you are interested, we can teach you how to do the tasks that we will be doing at the time. IMPORTANT: We are mimicking the original building methods that are authentic to the house. We understand many of these methods feel foreign, and people with years of construction experience will likely be doing things in ways they wouldn't normally. We are also working with minimal power tools, and many tasks are done with hand tools. If this makes you uncomfortable, we MAY NOT BE A GOOD FIT. Simple skills could include cutting wood, hammering, and drilling. More advanced skills could include plastering walls, infilling lime mortar, and mixing concrete. However, no skills are required on your part, and you will still be immensely helpful to just hold items, help refill empty buckets, and help carry heavy bags. We are only two people, and these tasks still take time and energy. Additionally, many tasks require a second person to simply hold, balance, or stabilize items. Just having a set of hands is helpful to us. If you are interested in construction and old Slovenian heritage, this is an excellent way to learn. The house was constructed in the old-world style, using multiple mediums, including hardwood and stone. The house also includes features that we will be restoring, including antique fruit presses and an old-style Slovenian meat smoker room. We are learning along the way, and we will be happy to share those experiences with others. We will provide masks, helmets and gloves, and other personal protection gear, as well as food on-site.
  
  AT THIS TIME, we are doing foundation work. The entire house is built on small limestone and mortar walls, some of which have fallen in disrepair, and all of which have no foundation. We must dig under the walls, one meter at a time, and pour a new concrete foundation. Because the house is built of small limestone rocks, this means no power tools can be used in this process, otherwise, it will crumble the foundation of the house. This is not a difficult project, however, it is extremely time-consuming and requires a lot of digging. We need volunteers who are physically able to assist with digging, shoveling concrete, and hauling dirt. The concrete must cure at a minimum of a week before we can move on to a new section, therefore, we will also be doing garden work in the meantime. This will be lots of earthwork: digging, hauling soil, and planting.
  
  Lastly, some help around our apartment in Zagorje would be a huge help. As we are going back and forth a lot, keeping the apartment tidy is difficult. We would appreciate some help keeping the apartment clean, cooking meals, and general house stuff.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Slovenian: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  I would be interested in learning Spanish. We can both practice English with you, and teach you Slovene.
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  Accommodation

  The house that we are renovating is NOT livable, and you will NOT be staying in it, for your own health and safety. Instead, we offer our second bedroom in our apartment in Zagorje, Slovenia. It is located in a quiet room, with hiking and beautiful walks all around. We are accessible by public transit to the capital city and to other amazing sites around Slovenia. As Luka's work schedule dictates, we only have the weekends for full days at the house, therefore we are asking our volunteers to be around on the weekends. We work about 3 days a week for half days, as is dictated by our work schedules.
  
  Private room in an apartment. There is a double bed and a pull-out couch. The room has a desk and monitors for those who need to work remotely. There is good wifi, a television, and a small outdoor garden. We will provide you meals, free of charge for the duration of your stay, granted you help us with the house a minimum of 4 days a week.

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  What else ...

  In the area, there is ample hiking and nature exploring. In town, there are small coffee shops and bars for downtime. We have good connections to the rest of the country via both train and bus. We are 15 minutes to the main highway, connecting to the rest of the country.

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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

  The guest bedroom has a desk and a reliable internet connection for digital nomads. The neighborhood is quiet and great for concentration.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  You can park the van either at our apartment or at the farmhouse.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  One

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  Hours expected

  WEEKENDS REQUIRED: 5-hours max. Week Days: 3-4 hours, 3 Days a week

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