Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
12 May 2025
Reply rate
88.9 %
Usually responds within 1 day
Feedback
27
Email verified
Badges (3)
Details
Description
Enjoy outdoor help in the spring in southern Tuscany, Italy
Our place is a big house with 20 ha of land in the hills behind the town of Cortona in southern Tuscany. We are a German/English couple and have owned the house for 40 years. we could do with the help of one or two practical helpers with a bit of muscle and some experience. There is for example the vegetable garden to dig over and plant, put a pavement around the pool, change a bathroom and general maintenance. We can host people from March 9 till April 14, for a one or two weeks stay and then in May (but not from 10 - 17 of May).
John is very practical and has a lot of skills in building, carpentry, plumbing, gardening, but is a bit handicapped at the moment due to a knee operation. He can still do a lot and let you know some of his skills. He used to be a model maker and Sabine a language teacher. We both love to have people around and had many very good experiences with helpers from all over the world.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
Interests
Culture
Sustainability
Events & social
Beach
Yoga / Wellness
Hiking
Languages
Cooking & food
History
DIY & crafts
Gardening
Books
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We speak english, german and italian and french. We are happy to share our experiences with you and to take you along to places and cultural events and to meet interesting people from our neighbourhood and Cortona. Sabine can show and accompany you on many nice hiking tours in the area.
Help
We plan to work roughly 4 hours per day 5 days a week. Times can be flexible, according to weather and task.
It will be mainly outdoors and physical.
We are not looking to replace locally paid tradespeople with unpaid volunteers,
but we enjoy the help and company of people travelling around with different backgrounds working together with us as a team and having fun.
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
French: Intermediate
Accommodation
The house is divided into 2 apartments, the helpers stay in the upstairs apartment , each with their own room, good wifi and a breakfast kitchen. Our cooking is mainly Italian, vegetarian mostly, but also meat and fish sometimes. We are also curious to experience new dishes from your country!
What else ...
Cortona is on the main train line from Florence to Rome and near to many interesting cities and sights, such as Montepulciano, Arezzo, Siena, Perugia, Lake Trasimeno. There is a school bus to Cortona that stops right by our house. There is good hiking on old roman roads right from the house and everywhere in the area.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Feedback (14)
Photos
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
Communication about work was clear and simple, tasks were satisfying and exciting. We even had the chance to participate in olive harvest from the beginning to the end.
Freetime was all about sharing stories, spend time together, meeting a lot of friends.
PS: John's stories are hilarious,… read more
From building bamboo fences and concrete steps to splitting wood, cracking open almonds, and working on the vegetable… read more
Work… read more
John and Sabine are attentive, welcoming, and great hosts. The house is located in a beautiful area surrounded by nature with the accommodation being really comfortable.
I mostly helped John with the swimming pool which at times… read more
I couldn't imagine giving a hand to built a swimming-pool in the mountains.
We had good evenings exchanging about their countries (Scotland an germany), France for me, Iran for the two young students and obviously Italy.
John has a great experience in… read more
The house, surrounding nature and accommodation is simply amazing and you get a lot of space. They manage a great balance in… read more
Thank you for such a nice time.
I learnt useful practical skills from John, assisting on his land, clearing tree branches, stacking wood, and helping moving sand etc. on works for a new swimming pool. He has wide knowledge and experience of every kind of useful skill.
Sabine cooked delicious meals, which… read more
