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Land maintenance and animal care in Tuscany, Italy

  • Favourited 3555 times
  • Last activity: 28 Mar 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: at least 2 weeks

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    Come and help us creating a vibrant vegetable garden, pruning trees, collecting wood, making chestnut flour, looking after donkeys, cooks also welcome, all with a view to make this place more and more self-sufficient for the transient community who pass through here year after year. If you would like to be part of our adventure just sign up - we need help most of the year and there are always a minimum of three or four volunteers sharing our space in the yurt or in individual tents. This is particularly suited to volunteers aged 25 years or over as we confer a lot of responsibility on volunteers and ... and we are not getting any younger ourselves ...

    We work for three hours each morning in a stress-free environment, the rest of the time is yours to enjoy the mountains, scenery, walking & nearby villages. If you want to take the full weekend off to travel and see other parts of Tuscany you can. Artists, carpenters, engineers, and visionaries particularly welcome to develop this wild woodland into a cool living space. MUSICIANS of course always popular we sing many evenings around the fire. A piano tuner is needed too, although we know this is a long shot. Colm is learning Russian, and anxious to practise in the form of a language exchange if you want to learn English or Italian.

    In exchange for your help you will have a space in our 6-metre diameter yurt sharing with a maximum of four other people. If the yurt is booked especially in summer time there are a two-man and three-man Bell tents tents available for volunteers. Our own chestnut flour pancake breakfast and super healthy dinners are included. You will have access to our outdoor kitchen, compost loos, sheltered recreational areas including sauna and solar heated outdoor showers. For lunch you are responsible for your own shopping bill and can avail of our local mobile supermarket which turns up once a week, or walk to Castiglione, Pieve or Chiozza for provisions.

    There is a house-sitting option too available for anyone interested in spending a while in our area, the house is available to live in in exchange for a few hour's help per week, would suit couple or anyone self sufficient / anyone looking to buy land or a house in the area.

    The camp is located at 700 metres above sea level in the mountains, in a chestnut and hazel grove, 300 metres from the nearest point reachable by car, with abundant wildlife, sunshine and shade, and more recently ten hens, three roosters, two donkeys and two larger-than-life dogs. Recently we have opened a small campsite for the summer months, all proceeds of which go towards maintaining the volunteer community programme here.

    Hope to see you soon,


    Colm

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Language practice
    Help with Eco Projects
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Animal Care
    Farmstay help
    Babysitting and creative play
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
    Help with Computers/ Internet
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    You will most likely meet people from all over the world. English is the normal language of day to day usage, but Prunecchio is also a good place to practice your Italian as we are very much integrated into the local community, and very few people in the area speak English.

  • Projects involving children

    Projects involving children

    This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

  • Help

    Help

    Over the past twelve years I have restored three stone buildings and created a campsite in the forest with the help of our own volunteers, so have experience in a range of construction skills, forestry, permaculture, growing vegetables, cooking for many people and creating an open, communal and friendly environment for our community. You can have a look at our project on workaway at the link below . I am also a musician and try to get sessions going whenever there are other musical souls about.

  • Languages

    Languages spoken
    English: Fluent
    Spanish: Fluent
    Irish: Fluent
    Italian: Fluent
    French: Intermediate
    Russian: Beginner

    This host offers a language exchange
    I am trying to learn Russian, and can do an exchange or teach English, Italian or Spanish if anyone is interested.

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    Depending on the time of year accommodation is either in a spacious yurt sharing with max four others, with plenty of communal living areas both sheltered and outdoors, or in your own provided tent.

  • 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

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    This host can provide space for campervans.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    18 (max 25 hours/week) max 5 days a week

Host ref number: 184691945185

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