Profile information
Host rating
65 %
Last replied
16 Aug 2019
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Details
Description
Come discovering the reality of a social cooperative on a beautiful island on the Adda river in Northern Italy! A social cooperative is a typically Italian organization that does two things: it provides social services to the same area the organizers live in, and help reintegrate into work disadvantaged people (such as former prisoners, drug addicts or disabled people). Everything is organized by employees and both local and (thanks to workaway) international volunteers. Our coop does all of the above, but you will be volunteering in its most beautiful location, an island on the river Adda inside Adda protected area which is pedestrian-only territory! On the island our coop manages a restaurant with bar and you will be working with local volunteers.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
General Maintenance
Teaching
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Get to know the beautiful reality of a social cooperative and live in contact with nature straight inside a protected area where cars are banned. Get to know volunteers and sometimes their families, Italian culture (and food!) and see many clients of all ages. A scouts group also has a building on the island. You may also visit other sites that the coop manages, such as a sports center, another smaller restaurant, rehab facility.
Help
The restaurant is open every day lunch and dinner. Expect 5 hours a day for 5 days a week. Saturday and Sunday are the only days that require everyone available, but weekdays are very relaxed and routines are very flexible (for example you could help more hours on Sunday and do nothing on Monday).
Volunteers will help mainly with the restaurant and the garden:
- General cleaning (plates, tables, floor, windows)
- Organize food that gets delivered to the building (stock the pantry and the fridge)
- Cut the grass
- Paint the birdwatching wood houses and the toolhouses
- Seasonal pruning
- Picking up leaves (not one by one don't worry)
- Cleaning doggy area
- Other occasional help (in this period we are dismantling a wood fence)
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
Accommodation
Volunteers will be staying in a shared 3 beds room in the same building as the restaurant, each volunteer having his or her own closet. One toilet for males and one for females (exclusive to the volunteers, so volunteers are required to keep them clean). A third shared bathroom has a shower that can be used by anyone. The kitchen of the restaurant can be used outside service hours by volunteers, but it is superduper important to keep it clean. When the restaurant is open food will be made by the staff. Food is provided by restaurant in general, but the nearest supermarket is 10 minutes walk from the building. Mind that only a janitor is at the building at night, the local volunteers sleep in their homes.
What else ...
It is very dangerous to bath in the Adda river but you can rent canoes nearby, many beautiful walks and bike trails that go to Lecco and beyond into the Alps, you can take the train (the station is 25min away on foot) and get to Milan (1 hour train) or Bergamo (1 hour train), or you can visit Curone Regional Park (30 min by car).
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week
