Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
28 Jul 2025
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 2 days
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Details
Description
🎵 Who We Are:
Mike is a retired engineer and teacher (Design Tech, Computing, Business). Helen has worked for international NGOs and is active in charity and community work. We’re both amateur musicians, usually gigging once a week – and if you help us set up for gigs, it counts as your help day!
We’re curious explorers and creative reusers – and hope you are too!
Every couple of weeks, we take a trip to discover a nearby town or region, diving into its history, uncovering past industries, and always on the lookout for local art installations. You’re very welcome to join us!
We’re passionate about reusing and reimagining. Old toilets as plant pots? Why not! We love people who ask "Can this be reused or repurposed?" before throwing anything away. Mindless dumping doesn’t sit well with us – creative thinking does.
We love language, film, and a good conversation about what we’ve just seen or heard. Having lived and worked in several countries, we enjoy sharing our experiences – and learning about yours. If you value cultural exchange, love to learn, and enjoy seeing the world through fresh eyes, you’ll feel right at home here.
🚲 Location & Extras:
The village is just a 10-minute flat walk – shops, bars, banks, and bus to Gandia
Bicycles available (may need a little attention)
If you're a safe driver with a valid license, we may lend you a car occasionally
We speak English, Spanish, French, and German
Non-smoking indoors (smoking is fine outside). We don’t drink alcohol, but you’re welcome to if you do.
🌟 Who We’re Looking For:
We love working with people who are honest, curious, and unafraid of hard work. If you're practical or eager to learn new skills – whether it’s welding, planting, restoring, organising, or making music – you’ll fit in perfectly here.
We especially value:
Enthusiasm over experience
Honest communication about what you can (and can’t yet) do
A sense of humour and a love for creativity
Extra info as our reviews are from years ago. The main reason we stopped hosting was because we chose to host a Ukrainian family who have now moved into the village and bought a flat there. Which means we now have accommodation to offer.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Charity Work
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Interests
Politics / Social justice
Vegetarian or vegan
Sustainability
Culture
Charity work
Music
History
DIY & crafts
Books
Art & design
Languages
Gardening
Cooking & food
Performing arts
Drawing & painting
Carpentry
Camping
Yoga / Wellness
Dancing
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We go out every other week now to explore a region nearby - try and find out the history, what economic activity took place there and any art installations which we always gravitate towards. You will be welcome to join us. Sharing our desire to not throw away anything that might be reusable - eg we have plants on old toilets, helps us all to think laterally. We only want people who before they throw they ask themselves, can this be reused by us or anyone else, because to us, dumping without thought is unacceptable. We need people to think that one extra thought, what can this be used for, before they chuck something out. We like language and film and always talk about what we have just seen or heard. We have lived and worked in several countries and did so to get a real feel for the country - we will do our best to share our experiences with anyone. Also, we love learning, and so hope for a mutual cultural exchange.
Help
We prefer a couple (of any orientation) and expect 4-5 hours, 5 days a week, in return for board (we eat 3 or 4 times a day when we are doing physical work) and lodging.
What You'll Be Helping With:
We’ve got lots of varied and rewarding tasks depending on your skills and interests, or what you'd like to learn:
Hands-on projects currently include:
Upcycling & reuse projects – turn old items into something beautiful or useful
Sorting and organising the loft – bring your inner Marie Kondo!
Taming and designing our cactus and succulent garden
Gardening – weeding to planting to harvesting fruits, vegetables and olives. Depending on the time of year.
Some general DIY and maintenance
Charity/community work (optional) – we support a homeless shelter, DANA recovery families, and a local amateur dramatics group
We will never ask you to do anything that at least one of us can do ourselves.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
German: Intermediate
Spanish: Intermediate
French: IntermediateThis 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.
Accommodation
From October 31st offer a double room with an en suite shower room and a balcony. Before then, the 1-bed apartment is available as per photos. We provide meals, mainly vegetarian, with fish 1–2 times per week. If you eat meat, we’re happy to supply it, and you can cook it yourself, because we're not good at cooking meat.
We’re enthusiastic home cooks and happy to teach vegetarian cooking if you're interested!
What else ...
Location Highlights
Just a 10-minute walk to the village with bars, banks, and a bus to Gandia. The river is 4 minutes away and is absolutely stunning – especially now in May, with fabulous bird activity and three nests in our eaves!
Gandia, our nearest town, is one of the largest cities in the Valencian Comunidad. It was once the Ducal home of the Borgia family and boasts a vibrant medieval atmosphere, with markets, theatre, cinema, concerts, and a shopping centre. Gandia Beach is a blue flag beach and one of the best in Spain – and fully restored after the storms.
If you're into walking or cycling, the Via Verde offers a 13km route to Lorcha, passing through Moorish terraces, orange groves, tunnels, and spectacular views of the Rio Serpis gorge. It’s a flat, disused railway line and is one of the routes for the Camino de Santiago – perfect for pilgrims, with the local hotel stamping your Pilgrim’s Passport.
For the more adventurous, there are climbs around the Cirque de La Safor, a massive crater known by some as an 'energy portal.'
If cycling is your thing, you can be at Gandia Beach in 25 minutes or the nearest beach in 20 minutes. Day trips along the river, through tunnels, and over tracks near the volcano crater are epic. You can even cycle 26 miles to a reservoir and camp there – it’s a must-do adventure.
Relaxation is easy here, too – our 3,500+ square meter garden has plenty of peaceful spots. The hammock is getting a little TLC but will be ready soon for a perfect afternoon nap.
Getting around is a breeze – Blablacar is popular here, so travel is easy with just a debit card, whether you're heading to Gandia, the beach, or exploring Spain and Europe.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have good internet and have hosted a digital animator and research fellow. The internet is free.
Space for parking camper vans
A small van is welcome, off-street parking in the garden.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
My animals / pets
Feedback (7)
The meals and amenities were great. Helen is an… read more
Where to start?! We spent a month laughing and eating in wonderful company. We felt right at home and left our family on the last day.
Helen and Mike are people with wonderful values, incredible kindness and generosity. The exchange is essential for them and they like to integrate 100% of the people they welcome. It was a real pleasure to… read more
Photos
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
The meals and amenities were great. Helen is an… read more
Where to start?! We spent a month laughing and eating in wonderful company. We felt right at home and left our family on the last day.
Helen and Mike are people with wonderful values, incredible kindness and generosity. The exchange is essential for them and they like to integrate 100% of the people they welcome. It was a real pleasure to… read more
1. They are very intelligent and adaptable to any… read more
Helen and Mike, you really are the personification of what Workaway is, or should be about!
After an intense four months in Africa, you managed to lift us up, even higher than we were before!
Your hideaway in Villalonga (but not off the grid) is beautiful. The views are… read more
Helen and Mike are super friendly and outgoing and have so much to offer! They really made us feel at home from the moment we got… read more
