Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
6 May 2025
Reply rate
97.1 %
Usually responds within 1 day
Feedback
54
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Details
Description
Hello everybody!
We're a Greek-Italian couple (and our little one, 5 months old) that after living around Europe for several years, decided to move back to the South, close to the warm breeze of the dear Mediterranean sea. Come to help us and to enjoy our family farm!
We are located in the western part of Halkidiki (50 km South of Thessaloniki).
Check below the details!
Vanessa & Yiannis
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Farmstay help
Help around the house
Interests
Sustainability
Farming
DIY & crafts
Architecture
Animals
Camping
Nature
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
While you're here, there's a lot we can share and learn together. You might get a glimpse into eco-construction with natural materials, pick up some Greek words or songs, and get a feel for the local way of life. We love sharing homemade meals with seasonal ingredients, it's a great way to experience the flavours of this region.
More than anything, we enjoy exchanging ideas about simple living, sustainability, and the different ways people find balance and meaning in their lives. It's those everyday conversations around the table or in the garden that make this experience really special.
Help
We're cultivating a lifestyle rooted in nature and sustainability. On our land, we’ve planted different types of trees, started a small vineyard, and a vegetable garden. Everything we grow is for our own use, it's simply a part of our daily life and how we care for ourselves. You will get the beautiful chance to explore traditional, seasonal practices in the Greek countryside. Seasonal activities are part of our way of living and connecting with the land—things like light pruning, weeding, depending on the time of year. They're a lovely opportunity to get a feel for traditional rhythms of the countryside and learn by simply being involved in everyday life here.
Our house, built with a light clay technique, is mostly finished now. From time to time, we like to experiment with small natural building projects—using materials like cob, reeds, or stones—just for the joy of learning and creating with our hands. These are casual, creative activities rather than structured tasks, and if you’re curious about natural materials, you’re welcome to observe or chat with us about the process.
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Please note: these tasks can be physically repetitive and a bit messy at times—but they’re also rewarding and deeply grounding. Don’t forget to bring clothes you don’t mind getting dirty!
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We live simply and closely connected to the land. We love to share our way of life with open-minded people who are curious about alternative living, growing food, and traditional practices. We also enjoy learning from our guests—whether it's a new recipe, a story, or a fresh perspective.
We have a baby in the house, so things can be lively! No help is needed with the little one, but we do ask for a little extra mindfulness.
Languages spoken
Greek: Fluent
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
Accommodation
SLEEPING: You will be sleeping either in the house or on the field where the house is located (you can plant your tent - we can give you our tent & all necessary bedding as well if you prefer - or park your motor-home), depending on the availability.
WATER AND ENERGY: There is running water, a solar indoor shower and a compost toilet.
There is electricity (off grid with solar panels and batteries) to charge your devices, just during cloudy days we will have to be a bit careful with the consumption.
--> The data plan with the INTERNET provider is limited so wi-fi is not available.
For the laundry, you can hand wash your clothes in a bucket (we can provide washing product). We have a washing machine but we use it depending on the solar power available.
FOOD: We're going to share meals together—breakfast, lunch, and dinner—all homemade, seasonal, and vegetarian. No help is needed with cooking. On days off (usually the weekend), we take some time for ourselves as a family. You're welcome to stay at the house during that time, but we’ll be keeping things quiet and more to ourselves, so there won’t be much interaction.
Just a heads-up: the kitchen isn’t available for use on those days.
ANIMALS: We have a dog (Junam), she's very friendly and loves company. She gets along with humans but no with other dogs nor cats.
What else ...
The village is quite small, there are no shops/bars, but the bus stop is 5 minutes walking from our place.
There are direct busses (KTEL Halkidikis) from the village to Thessaloniki, to the first peninsula of Halkidiki (to Kallithea) and to villages and towns around (N. Triglia, N. Moudania, N. Kallikrateia...).
Thessaloniki is about 50 km away from the village, you can reach it by bus.
The closest airport is Thessaloniki airport (SKG).
ACTIVITIES TO DO AROUND: you can enjoy the country side around the village, go to the sea (around 10km away), explore the bushy hill behind the village, visit the Petralona cave, hike on Holomontas mountain (~50km), go to the legendary Mount Olympus (150km away) or head East to the heart of the Halkidiki region (Sithonia, about 70km away).
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
There is space for any size of campervan.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Feedback (23)
During my stay I had to work some days and it was not a problem at all. Thank you again for all your help and for the feeling of coming home all the times I… read more
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Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
During my stay I had to work some days and it was not a problem at all. Thank you again for all your help and for the feeling of coming home all the times I… read more
And she carries with her a very… read more
Yiannis is very patient, and always ready to share his knowledge. He has so much experience in natural construction, I was able to practice and learn a lot ! And Vanessa always has the smile, and cooks DELICIOUS traditional Greek and Italian dishes. And Junam, always up for a walk at the… read more
We definitely had a good time together making… read more
It was our first real Workaway experience, and it couldn't be a better one. We learned so much and we're stunned by the way they're building their house. The techniques, so interesting!
They thaught us so much, and especially about their… read more
Thank you very much and all the best for your project!
Yann, Flo and Baptiste
It was an amazing opportunity for us to learn about a new culture: they are great ambassadors of Japan!
Thanks for your help, hope to see you again and best of luck with your adventures! Kitanena!
Yiannis and Vanessa are very friendly ,helpful ,kindly person.
Vanessa made the Greece's dishes for us , it was very nice.We love them.
We help to pruning the olives and making the new house's floor.
Actually our English is not well but they use the very easy word and sentence.
So we can communicate each other… read more
We really had a great time together! Grazie wajooo, a presto!
I worked with Iannis and Vanessa for three weeks and felt fulfilled by their energy all the time. What they are doing is great and inspiring. They know a lot about natural construction and they can teach about the topic. Each day of work was interesting and most of all funny. I felt… read more
She's a very pleasant person to have around: always ready to give a hand and able to see the positive side of things.
Thanks for your help! Hope to see your again soon! Grazie!
They are good team players, proactive, tough, fun and hard working. During their stay, they were able to see a few different phases of the costruction, they were always very interested and willing to learn more.
We enjoyed having them over and we were… read more
We had a really good time together, she's a pleasant person to be around, she's very sociable and easy going.
The weather was not the best during her stay but her motivation never went down: she's very determinate, engaged, smart and eager to learn.… read more
She's a very sweet and determinate girl: she's always happy to try out new things and to take on new challenges, whether is a new dish or undertake a whole new… read more
That's the first thought that comes to my head when I think about my stay at Yiannis and Vanessas project. I stayed for about two weeks, and it went by wayyyy too quickly!
Be prepared for delicious food, good insights and information about building techniques and for never-ending cuddles from Junam, the cutest doggie… read more
He definitely got some acrobatic skills during… read more
She is hard worker, eager to explore and to try out new things. She found out very fast about the joy of dipping bread into olive oil! She gave us a good hand with the plastering and the walls preparation for the house external chimney. She is also very communicative, she has… read more
In terms of the work to be done, the tasks are interesting from all points of view when the return to basics is in line with our values.
Iannis and Vanessa explain and share their knowledge by adapting to each other's skills.
Nothing complicated,… read more
The work itself is not hard and in my opinion quite interesting. There are some days where it gets a bit repetitive, but Iannis… read more
During her stay, she helped us with the first layer of the external plastering of the house and with few other side jobs. She is always glad to help and to join in. Beside this, she is a great traveller,… read more
I did really spend a good moment with them, they are just cool and its easy to get used to the organisation of the life in general .
The location of the house they build is so beautiful, what a pleasure
I think the only thing someone need to know is that the work is physical, nothing to… read more
She has a very positive attitude and approach towards everything that surrounds her. She is always grateful and willing to try out new… read more
Julian has a fantastic humour that makes everybody laugh and feeling cheerful. He has great endurance and patience. Vincent is a sweetheart, hard worker, always… read more
Maxime is very energetic and has spirit of initiative. Marie is a good listener and is the… read more
He helped us building the traditional "sachnisi" structure for one of our windows.
We really appreciated his help: he is creative, respectful, precise and knows well how to work independently.
He's also very talented, both his drawings and his wood work are really… read more
It was a pleasure spending time with him: he's deeply interested in what he does, he's proactive, hardworking and always eager to learn something new. We worked together on the first layer of cob plaster of our… read more
They are a very easy going couple, very communicative and outgoing. It was fun to share time and meals with them! They are also independent and have a genuine interest for the culture and the environment they are in.
We hope to see you again! We'll not forget… read more
She's determined, resourceful and has always an eye making sure that everyone is doing ok. She gave us a big support not only physically but also emotionally. We enjoyed listening to her life experiences and felt inspired by them.
We're grateful for your thoughtful and tireless… read more
I was inspired by Vanessa and Yiannis' genuine love and respect for everyone, every creature and our mother earth.
What they are… read more
They're hard workers and a great company.
It was really nice to share with them the progress of our project and to learn about their lives. They're motivated, descreet and always in the mood for a good laugh. Their trip is a real adventure! It was interesting to listen to stories about Switzerland and… read more
For you, workawayer, if you are reading this, join Yiannis and Vanessa's project and help them building their house from scratch!! You won't regret it! Is there anything better than helping somebody build the place where they'll… read more
It was my honor to be the first volunteer at Yiannis's special project. As a volunteer I felt like a family in Yiannis's house, I found a warm host… read more
