Help to improve our old village house in beautiful Kissamos, Crete, Greece

Details

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  Description

  We are Manuel and Fiona, an Italo-English couple living in Crete, Greece, with our 2 teenage daughters, aged 13 & 14, who attend Greek school here. Our "day job" - in the summer season - is running our outdoor activities business (Fit in Crete) - we offer guided tours for hiking, e-biking, kayaking and swimming in the area of West Crete. We're both keen swimmers and swim all year round. We also enjoy playing beach volleyball, Manu likes to kayak and Fiona likes to bake and cook with the delicious vegetables that are plentiful locally. We've bought an old house - which we are renovating - in a village near Kissamos, surrounded by olive groves and nature, with amazing panoramic views over the bay.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  With us you can practice or improve your English or Italian - Fiona used to teach English at a local language school and Manu is a native Italian speaker. You can also learn some Greek, from the kids or by practicing around Kissamos, everyone is always happy if you try to speak Greek to them! We'd be happy to share our experiences of starting and running our business here in Greece, or teach you about making some delicious Greek recipes, as well as show you the best of the amazing natural environment we've chosen to live in.

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  Projects involving children

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

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  Help

  We hope you would do 5 days of help, with 2 days off per week. Ideally, you would be flexible about when you take days off, understanding that you'd want to get out and explore but it would be ideal if days off could be taken when we are not able to work together.do
  
  We come to the house most days during the week, so you would often be working together with us but once established, if you're happy to we may also ask you to do tasks independently and manage your own time. We need help with all sorts of building and DIY help - nothing particularly specialised: things like painting walls, fixing old shutters, replastering small cracks in walls, building flatpack furniture, refinishing and repairing old furniture etc.
  
  The garden and outdoor areas also need a lot of help, this could include digging, laying decking, building outdoor furniture and pergolas with wood or metal, outdoor landscaping etc as well as planting, helping to plan and plant the garden as well as looking after the plants and small vegetable garden we already have started.
  
  If you have any specific construction experience e.g. tiling, plastering, drywall, wood constructions, plumbing etc we'd be happy to know about it, as there may be some bigger projects you could get involved with!
  
  We also have a number of olive trees, so if you come at the right time there could also be the olives to harvest.
  There's lots to do, so let us know your skill and interest area and we can probably find something you will be able to help with and enjoy doing!

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Italian: Fluent
  Greek: Intermediate

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  You will stay in a house in a quiet, traditional Greek village, about 4km away from Kissamos. The house is essentially finished and most of the work is outdoors, or on finishing details inside, furnishings etc, as well as all of the everyday/overwinter repairs that are needed in an old house.
  
  The property consists of a 3 bedroomed house with shared kitchen / living area and a couple of smaller, separate apartments. We have solar hot water, wifi, electricity. The bedrooms are simple but furnished with proper beds and mattresses to sleep on. There are amazing panoramic views from the balconies and some outdoor spaces to hang out in.
  
  We will usually join you and stay at the house on some weekends, as we currently don't live at the property (due to our kids school location) but commute there most weekday mornings, in order to work. As we don't stay at the accommodation, workawayers need to organise their own food shopping and cooking. We can accommodate up to 5 helpers at the same time.
  
  We suggest a 1 week trial period, after which the length of stay can be as flexible as you like, as long as we all agree.

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  What else ...

  West Crete has a lot to offer visitors - fantastic beaches (3 of the most famous nearby are: Balos, Falassarna and Elafonissi), and tons of swimming, hiking and biking opportunities. We have a couple of electric bikes available which helpers can use, when available (we also need to use them sometimes, when the car is occupied for work and we need to get around). There's various hiking options near the house, and Crete is known for it's gorges - which need a bit more planning transport wise, but rental cars are easily available in the non-peak summer months if you want to explore a bit further off the beaten path. It may be possible to join us on kayak or bike trips some days, if you are interested.
  
  Kissamos is a lovely little agricultural town, about 4km away from the house - which is populated all year round and where you can find small supermarkets, cafes, restaurants, shops, and most things you need. Chania - the nearest main city - is also connected to Kissamos with regular public buses. We are generally pretty flexible with our outlook on life and like to meet people with different stories and experiences to share! We are open and respectful to everyone. Couples or friends are welcome as well as single travellers.

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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

  This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  There is parking for a small campervan. You would need to use indoor facilities (bathrooms etc) in the house.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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