Help on a beautiful finca: olive harvest, gardening and enjoying nature in Cataluña, Spain

Details

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  Description

  Hola y Bienvenidos to our beautiful, authentic Finca in warm and sunny Cataluña, Spain!
  
  We own and work on a piece of land (2,4 hectares) in the countryside in southern Cataluña, in the province of Tarragona. My name is Gerrit and I'm regularly living in Spain since my retirement. From time to time, I go back to Germany, so it depends on the month or the weeks you want to come. My sister-in-law and her husband live nearby and sometimes family members or friends are here to help and come for a visit. The more people we are, the better the shared time will be!
  
  We cultivate the property ecologically, sustainably and as gently as possible for the ground, trees and plants. This means we don't use pesticides or synthetic fertilizer. During olive harvest season, we crop the olives using some smaller machines to strap the fruits off the branches.
  
  Gerrit bought a piece of land in the olive hills in the area with the family. Since 2004 we have been working on the countryside during holidays, constructed wooden timber houses, have taken care of the property and the garden as well as the trees and we have made the place a great 2nd home. There is an old rural house (finca) made out of stone which is used as a storage room, a caravan and two wooden houses to live.
  
  We have hot running water and electricity, since water is a valuable resource here, we save it as much as possible. In summer, we use some fans and in winter, we have an old tile stove to heat the house with wood and coal briquet. In the sleeping room next to the stone house, we can offer an electric radiator during winter time, if you need it. There are warm blankets for everyone, of course.
  
  Life is rather simple, but we enjoy exactly this atmosphere and simplicity at our place. It is very calm, peaceful and you are surrounded by nature here. Some neighbors live in the surroundings, but you have a lot of free space. We don’t have Wifi or TV at the finca, but there's phone/ internet connection up here (though it's not always reliable) 😉

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  It is necessary to have a car to move around, if you don't have one, I am happy to give you rides to the closer towns. We can go grocery shopping together and show you some nice places around here. The towns L’Ampolla and Amposta have a direct train connection to Barcelona and Valencia.
  The closest airport is Barcelona-El Prat and it can be reached in 2 hours by car or train from our place. Tarragona (60 km) is a beautiful old city with a roman amphitheatre (Unesco World Heritage). Nearby, there are amazing sites like the Miravet castle (40 km), Siurana village and an old castle in Tortosa (30 km) as well as many rice fields which offer great opportunities for watching birds. This makes the area worth a visit and enjoyable stay.

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  Help

  We will need help with different daily tasks depending on the season and would be glad to have some helping hands with the following:
  
  - General maintenance around the houses (keeping it clean and tidy up from time to time)
  - Gardening (cutting plants and roses, chipping weeds)
  - Cutting olive trees and chipping suckers
  - Burning the cut off branches, chopping fire wood
  - Building stone walls (sometimes they break down after heavy rainfalls)
  - Mowing the grass between the trees with brushcutters and mowing machines
  - Helping with olive harvest (November-January)
  
  It would come in handy if you knew about constructing and handling machines like: cordless screwdriver, chainsaw, keyhole saw, brushcutter etc. However, Gerrit can also show you how to use these machines. Your motivation and willingness to help is what counts.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Intermediate

  This host offers a language exchange
  I would like to improve my English continuously and to learn more Spanish. I speak German and could teach some :)
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  Accommodation

  Volunteers can live in one of the wooden houses in a separate room, bathroom and kitchen are shared. There is also the possibility to live in the stone house in a new sleeping room next to a shared shower/bathroom.

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  What else ...

  Depending on the time of the year, you can feel free to enjoy the diversity of fruits and nuts which grow here: oranges, lemons, grenades, persimmons, figs, almonds, some walnuts, grapes, medlars. It’s really a small paradise when these fruits are ripe.
  
  A bigger city nearby is Tortosa, the smaller towns nearby are called l’Ampolla, Camarles and Aldea. The property is located in the area of the beautiful Ebro Delta (a big river in Spain, there are plenty of fish and seafood in the river and the Delta). The old fisher village l’Ampolla is a touristic place with a nice walkway along the beach, it still maintains its traditional charme at the harbour and in the small streets.
  Sandy beaches can be reached by car within 10-30 minutes and they're amazing--especially some larger beaches called Marquesa and Eucalyptus where you can go hours for a walk.
  The smaller beaches close to l’Ampolla are pretty too, and in summer and autumn you can go for a swim easily (in spring or winter season only for the tough guys, it's cold) 😉 The beaches here are perfect to go for long walks, a run or for kitesurfing.
  
  If you are interested in helping on this beautiful piece of land and experience rural life in Spain, you are very welcome to come and stay at the Finca.
  
  IMPORTANT:
  In order to help and stay at our property, we ask every volunteer to have a valid health insurance during your stay in Spain. We prefer volunteers who are vaccined against Sars-CoV-2 (Corona).
  Please note that the volunteer work is at your own risk, so we can't take the responsibility/ medical costs if you get hurt or seriously sick.
  
  When contacting us, please:
  
  Write a little bit about yourself, your age, what you were doing before traveling (job, studies, remote work etc), if you travel alone or as a couple and if you already have some experience in working with machines or in agricultural tasks.
  
  We're looking forward to hearing from you soon – feel free to ask any questions you may have regarding the stay, the work tasks etc.
  
  Hasta luego!
  Gerrit

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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