Host list, Search for families and organisations

Area: Asturias (N-Spain)

Asturias is a beautiful part of Northern Spain, great for hiking! We have mountains and the sea is nearby. This is a combined listing for two projects participating in our small animal welfare organisation, 25 km apart in the East of Asturias. 1) Small farm: I live in a farmhouse with 2 ha of land, taking care of a varying population of our own dogs plus dogs to be rehomed from the local shelter (9-13 dogs) We also have two donkeys - Yoana, who was born here and Jack from the donkey paradise. The neighbourr's horse was alone in a small meadow, so she is with us as well now. There is a lot to be done in and around the house: cleaning (first of all, dog hairs...), repairs, fencing, the vegetable garden and the other gardens.. Ongoing work - and the most important is of course taking care of the dogs and participate at the shelter on Saturdays (walking the dogs there). It would be good if you have a driver's licence! I prefer volunteers staying for 1-3 weeks. 1-2 volunteers is our max. as I am renovating the second house. Accommodation (see photos) Spare bedroom. In summer you can pitch a tent in the dog-free meadow. 2) The Donkey Paradise en Arobes: El Paraíso del burro - 25 km from Ceceda and 8 ha of land This project, set up by Dutch Marleen, welcomes volunteers preferably for longer periods as getting to know the 20+ donkeys does take some time. The vast area of land, the stables, the "cabaña" and the vegetable garden also need attention. This year she hopes to complete some building work, so building experience is very welcome! The "paradise" started 2 years ago as a home for old, retired donkeys. There are also 2 horses, a mule, 5 dogs and several cats. Accommodation: Spare bedroom in the main house, caravans for volunteers. Tents in summer. Marleen can accommodate 2-4 volunteers Contact: Please state in your e-mail which project you would like to spend your time volunteering. You can also combine your stay of course, as we are only 25 km apart. We always welcome enquiries by e-mail - do not just show up at the gate though! Volunteers need to speak English and they must like the outdoor life as the fincas are quite remote (1 and 3 km from the village). Asturias is in the North of Spain, between Galicia and Cantabria (and then Basque country). This region is called the Costa Verde and as you can imagine it looks more like Scotland than what most people expect when thinking of Spain. It's an ideal area for hiking, mountain walking (Picos de Europa!), mountain climbing, canoeing and of course we also have beaches (no sun guarantee though). Oviedo is at 30/55km and Gijon at 60/75km. Of course you can arrange to take a few days off to go hiking in the Picos or walk part of the Camino de Santiago - we are very flexible. You will find stories about the volunteers our blog - send us a message and we will send you the various links where you can read more! We think volunteering and hosting should be a fun experience, positive for both parties.

Area: Orce, Granada Province, Andalucia

I live with my partner in beautiful rural Andalucia in the province of Granada. We have been in Spain since 2002 and now live a simple relaxed life and look forward to meeting new people. We own a holiday cave house and let it throughout the year to all nationalities. We live in a cortijo (farm house) which has been renovated and we have acquired the adjoining cortijo and are in the process of sympathetically restoring it with the aim of using it as another holiday property. We have 2 cats in the house and often there are others around the house and land.

Area: Ribatejo

We are one hour from Lisbon.We run a historic estate in a beautiful setting that hosts weddings, summer camps, and seminars, as well as running a bed and breakfast. In the past, it was used as an agricultural and hunting grounds for the nobility of Portugal. There is a main house, a lodge, dormitories, and small houses, as well as a pool, pond, and large wooded area to explore. Offering a glimpse at historic and contemporary Portuguese culture and living, from the agricultural antiques you may be cleaning and organizing to a glimpse of hunting and wedding culture in this country. We need assistance with grounds maintenance and development. Grounds keeping often includes tasks such as raking, weeding, decorating and painting, recovering antiques, trail building, cleaning and organizing objects, and planting. We appreciate especially if people share with us their interests and skills, as we have projects that need doing for just about everything The Summer is almost over now and we dont expect anymore Guests. Now we got Time to Concentrate on things around the Garden and general Maintenance. Sometimes we send some employees over there, for Dangerous or complicated Work. Actually we have one Volunteer but Assistance would be very helpfull, with that amount of Work what needs to be done. We live part of our time in Lisboa, but tend to give a list of tasks and you organize yourself, or we call with instruction. Volunteers who are self-motivated, creative, and flexible do well in this setting. We provide you with groceries to cook for yourself, and often there is catered food left from hunting groups available, providing you with a taste of authentic Portuguese cuisine! We have a great bread oven that volunteers are welcome to use, and of course there is the pool. We expect 5 hours a day, 5 days work, 1 day off, and you are independent to arrange your time according to your interests. Lisboa is 1 Hour by Bus from here and the next bigger Towns are Coruche (6 kms ) and Santarem.

Area: West of Ireland.

Our Artfarm is a art dream in progress. It is hoped that in the future it will be a centre for art/film/music/workshops/classes and residencies for anybody with a dream of using their creativity in some way. Some day classes have already been run here including woodcarving and mosaic classes which were a great success. The dream is a work in progress with the ongoing restoration of house, outhouses and haybarn as studio space and organic veg plot slowly expanding. This creative space is in a rural setting in east Galway, 35 miles from Galway city, 15 miles from Roscommon town. It has a minimal footprint ethos with a great respect and love for the space and all its ecosystem. It is hoped that this centre can be a place where the local community both young and old are made welcome and where visiting workshop participants and artists can feel at home. It is hoped this place can be eco rather than ego driven. Anyone with an interest in art and environment is welcome here.

Area: Pontevedra Galicia

Hi I'm Petra born in Holland some 40 years ago. I've spent the last 10 years building and restoring the ruins and land I bought. Now we are 2 families (including my son 11 years old) living and working the land that needs some careful human hand sometimes.. We are musicians and I am also artist in other ways, I'm working toward having workshops and courses to give opportunity to share this little nature paradise