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Host rating
100 %
Last replied
14 Jan 2024
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100.0 %
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Details
Description
We are a non profit making enterprise.
We live in Aragon in rural Spain on a finca producing almonds and olives.We are members of the local cooperativa where we sell our olives, and sell our almonds locally.
Without irrigation and larger volumes, this is not a profitable enterprise.
However, we enjoy life in the peace of our finca but we also get involved with the local community. We moved here 10 years ago and run a 10 hectare farm using natural methods as well as having a rural tourism project in the village.
WORKAWAYERS WILL BE ACCOMODATED IN OUR APARTMENTS IN THE VILLAGE, AND WILL BE TAKEN TO OUR FINCA EVERY MORNING, WEATHER PERMITTING. THERE WILL THEREFORE BE ROOM FOR FLEXIBILTY AROUND HOURS AND FOOD PROVIDED.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
Farmstay help
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We live in an area where there are not many foreigners and Spanish and a Catalan dialect are the main languages. It's a chance to see the real Spain in a rural location. There is plenty of opportunity to practice Spanish if that is what a workawayer wants. We tend to speak English in our home because that is our native language.
We try to make our "footprint" as small as possible.
Workawayers will experience a slower pace of life in stunning surroundings. We have plenty of wildlife to see, such as hoopoos, polecats, eagles and foxes. In late spring we hear nightingales! There are many local fiestas normally which if you want you can get involved with too!
Help
WE NEED HELP IN BRINGING OUR HUERTA INTO CULTIVATION FOR SPRING AND ALSO, PERHAPS PRUNING OUR ALMOND TREES BEFORE THEY START FLOWERING!
YOU WILL BE ACCOMODATED IN ONE OF OUR SELF CATERING APARTMENTS. THESE ARE HOLIDAY RENTAL APARTMENTS, WITH THE TOURIST LICENCE, SO IT IS NOT LIVING OFF GRID. OUR FINCA IS CURRENTLY RENTED OUT LONG TERM, SO WE JUST TEND THE LAND AT THE MOMENT. WE LIVE IN THE TOP APARTMENT, AND WE ARE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SPEND TIME WITH YOU IN OUR APARTMENT. IF YOU LIKE THE IDEA OF THIS, PLEASE GET IN TOUCH AND WE CAN NEGOTIATE A HAPPY BALANCE FOR US ALL.
HARVESTS
We farm organically as much as we can and we are hoping to get the accreditation for our olives at least.
The almond harvest happens in Sept/October. During harvest times, we operate a more normal workaway routine, with us providing a communal meal around 1pm after the work is done.
Normally almond harvesting takes place from September onwards. We have 1,000 almond trees so sometimes we have to call in a tractor with a shaker to at least get the almonds off the trees.
For the olive harvest in mid December we aim to make the most of daylight hours, which at that time of year are 8:30 until about 17:30. We do not expect our workawayers to work these hours though! We can agree exact hours when you arrive. But the more help we have, the easier the task is! In an average year the olive harvest takes 2 weeks. Harvesting is not unduly physical. For the olives we have a vibrating machine which "tickles" the olives off the tree onto large mats which we place under each tree. These are emptied as necessary into our trailer. Once we have a full trailer we take it to the Cooperativa to empty. We always aim to make it fun. If it rains we don't harvest. The weather in December can be very cold at night but by 10:00 it is usually about 10-12 degrees and by midday you are in tee shirt and jeans harvesting in the beautiful Aragonese sunshine under clear blue skies. Certainly an experience you won't get in many places.
We never expect more than 3.5 hours help for 5 days per week in return for the main meal and breakfast. This we regard as fair. We are generous, fair hosts who do not seek to exploit. Neither do we want to be taken advantage of.
OTHER FARM TASKS
At other times of the year we prune our trees and cut the wood to use in our aga stove in the winter.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
Accommodation
You will have your own apartment in our village house. Our website is where you can see details of our more recent project. We get some of our power from solar panels, and heating/hot water is via a biomass pellet burner.
We never expect more than 3.5 hours help for 5 days per week in return for the main meal and breakfast.
What else ...
Our village has limited public transport links. We can collect from Calaciete which is served by a good bus service. See for details. The nearest train station is Caspe(see )
This area is rich in historical monuments from the time of the Iberos. We are 120km from Zaragoza. Buses go regularly from Maella and Alcaniz if you want to explore more and from these 2 towns onto the rest of Spain. Public transport is cheap as it's heavily subsidized.
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 wifi in our house in the village. On the finca, the mobile signal is patchy.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
For farm help, 3.5 hours 5 days a week.
Feedback (19)
Jan… read more
She was always cheerful and turned her hand to whatever needed doing.
High recommended.
Safe onwards travels Hannah.
Rachel and Neil
X
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.8)
Communication:
(5.0)
Jan… read more
She was always cheerful and turned her hand to whatever needed doing.
High recommended.
Safe onwards travels Hannah.
Rachel and Neil
X
She was a lovely person to have around and was very respectful always.
We worked on pruning the almonds, and did some (hopefully succesfull) grafting.
The place is quiet and peacefull, with amazing views and great walks in any direction. Thanks a lot for having me!
He fitted in extremely well, and worked so hard. If only he could have stayed another 10 days!
Will was also keen to help us improve things, without us feeling either useless or stupid. He is very knowledgeable about many things and it was useful to pick his brains.… read more
She worked extremely hard to finish the roof of our power room that needed fixing.
We had many interesting conversations about American.and European politics and history.
We would recommend Ari as a workawayer to anyone.
Safe onward journey Ari.
Both worked hard for the days they were with us but we were very dissapointed… read more
During his time with us, he moved many tonnes of wood so that our land can be ploughed. He also helped us clean our village house ready to welcome guests. In fact, he worked above and beyond what Workaway suggests. He is also a great team… read more
Safe onward journey Odd.
We enjoyed our stay with them very much and the two have always tried to make us feel comfortable and have enriched our stay enormously with experiences and new contacts. We enjoyed the work and learned a lot from them. Rachel and Neil have given us a sense of home by sharing their personal lives with us and… read more
Both girls worked very hard always and cheerfully took on any task we gave them.
We enjoyed having them to stay and would recommend them to anyone. We hope in their future journeys they will be able to increase… read more
Every day we was treated to a… read more
They were also great company but respectful as well.
We'd welcome them back with open arms!
Enjoy your next experience. You know our door is always open to you.
I had a chance to practice my english and learnt something about grapes and almond harvest.
And I really aprettiate that I felt like a part of family.
Claudia and Seb came for about a month last spring(2019) to help us build a patio with 2 other workawayers. They both worked really hard and were always cheerful, as well as suggesting improvements to our plan.
We now have a lovely patio on which to enjoy long summer evenings! Thank you so much.
They were a lovely couple to host and easy to chat to in the evenings, when… read more
If you want a return visit you are always welcome.
We really enjoyed speaking Spanish and it helped us to practice. Our son who is fluent in Spanish especially enjoyed the opportunity to show off his language skills!
Highly recommended. Safe onward… read more
They are welcoming and friendly, their teenage sons are articulate and interesting. Their pets are a constant source of amusement, all will sit in your seat the moment you vacate it ; three wonderful dogs and a cat which adopted Dave as it's new mum.
The work was varied and not too… read more
We really enjoyed hosting them and we(and our dogs) would welcome them back… read more
Rachel, Neil and Conrad are really welcoming and generous. They took their time to take us to many beautiful small villages around the finca or to go to the local bars/restaurants. I'm really grateful that… read more
We found Lea to be a willing and cheerful volunteer who was always happy to chip in and help out with whatever needed doing. She is keen to improve her already excellent Spanish, so we tried to give her opportunities to meet local people and speak with them.… read more
We would highly recommend Troels to any potential host wanting a hardworking and capable person with a wide range of skills. We felt we could have used him for many more of our… read more
At the time he was with us we had 2 other workawayers helping us which provided Gryphon with company apart from us "oldies" although he is a fairly self contained person who does well in any social situation.
We would highly recommend Gryphon. If he… read more
As a workawayer she worked hard always and cheerfully, harvesting almonds on our farm.
In the evenings we enjoyed chatting about our lives and dreams, and felt so much… read more
Very special place for me, deep in my heart.
Neil and Rachel were amazing host.
What a wonderful place with such nice real british people. I worked in the finca for harvesting olives for first time in my life.
But most important: they… read more
