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19 Apr 2024
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It's late spring and, due to back pain and incredible bad luck with this year helpers, I'm very late 🫨😤🙃.
If you have some dexterity with Do It Yourself, you are welcome to share some time with us 😊. We offer a learning-work-culture-life experience in a very small Italian family farm. Please assimilate all this before writing and send a WhatsApp number where you are willing to actively chat with us.
Over the phone on WhatsApp you will need to send us a short text about what you expect while you are our guest and we will send and ask you more info. Thank you.
Our ongoing mission is to transform a piece of land into a lovely garden, so we like to have magical and reliable guests, to help us (one at a time). We need nice people who are willing to learn and help, and with a good eye for detail.
We accept only guests who are vaccinated against Covid and who will undergo a professional test at the very last moment before arrival (no DIY).
Hi, my name is Carlotta (60). I live in the countryside 7 kilometers from Tivoli and about 30 kilometers from Rome, Italy. I share my life with Marco (66) and three dogs. Our house is a small country house with four thousand meters of land. My job is to maintain a balance in the well-being and care of myself, my man Marco, my dogs, my home, my plants and my land.
The property is divided into three, one part is house-courtyard-lawn-workshop-patio, helpers will help keeping it tidy and clean. Above and below, especially on the slopes, there are olive groves and paths among fruit trees, bushes, vegetable gardens and flowerbeds still under construction, here helpers will carry out ordinary and extraordinary maintenance under my guidance.
Until 15 years ago all the land was abandoned and uncultivated. I, with a lot of patience and as a good turtle (Tartarughina), try to fix everything every day, working 90% by hand and alone. Unfortunately the terrain is steep and unmanageable for tractors or similar.
Please bring shoes and clothes suitable for helping in the countryside; the climate in summer can be hot but also rainy. It is best to carry out tasks dressed lightly but covered and safe (onion style is raccomanded). Make sure you have shoes with NON-slippery soles (rubber gardening boots). Please bring a pair of new slippers to wear inside.
We require personal travel insurance.
We do not provide support for obtaining Senghen visas.
We host one helper at a time.
If you come in winter the necessary help will take place outside whenever possible, otherwise there will be wood to sand or paint, books to catalogue, drawers and boxes to clean, or similar things.
By checking the forecast and observing the sky, the rainiest days of the week will be your free days, and your free time will also change daily to match the weather.
Guests who wish to leave earlier than agreed, for personal reasons, are asked to give us at least two weeks' notice so that we can try to reorganize.
We only host responsible adults and we hope that we are not asked to compromise our fragile balance with clearly impossible requests or behaviors.
Thanks 😊.Types of help and learning opportunities
Language practiceHelp with Eco ProjectsGardeningDIY and building projectsAnimal CareHelp around the houseGeneral MaintenanceCultural exchange and learning opportunities
I'm pretty good at cooking, so you'll be able to learn something about Italian food.
The closest village is VERY small and is about 2 km away, where there is the bus stop, a bar, a pizzeria and a "little square" where you can meet a few people.
Tivoli (which hosts two UNESCO sites, Villa d'Este and Villa Adriana) is 7 km away, Rome is 30 km away and the railway is 6 km away, reachable by unreliable buses.
All around us there are beautiful walks between fields of olive trees.
Guests must be able to understand and make themselves understood well in English or Italian. We will be happy to help you perfect your Italian but you must already be able to interact independently, We will be happy to lend you some of our Italian books.
Unfortunately we are unable to offer a paid position and cannot help anyone to find a paid position 😔Help
No shorter staying than one month at a time.
The better learning-working-cultural 'experience' is of two (2) months or longer. The longer you stay the easier is to be involved not only in routine but in a real project 😉🐌.
You will help to tear off the wild weeds and keep clean and tidy the flowerbeds, the courtyard and the walkways, you could be helping to build wood steps and sanding or welding, move stones and other heavy things, using the grass trimmer, the shredding machine and other similar things.
I need help with heavy tasks, with the cleaning up from weeds in my flowerbeds, with gardening in general, in digging the earth, and in various specific tasks, such as building small dry terraces or sanding peaces of wood. With WorkAway guests we fenced off the lower part of the property, this majorly to leave out wild animals, that did damages. Now we have to project and realize the access to it, with a manual gate, buying the iron and welding it. Our dogs will enjoy to run and play downthere as well, and I will go on realising nice huge pots and terraces were to grow food, fruits and flowers.
It is important you are ok to work hard with your hands, like hammering while standing on a stair, hand hoe the vegetable garden, plant trees, build dry stone walls or paint the fence. You could be required to learn for example how to use a whisk to cut iron.
In exchange for 25 hours outdoor help per week outside plus 1 hour every day as cohabitation contribution outside, we offer a cute small apartment not completely independent and meals. Breakfast will be around at 8:30am, lunch around 4pm, dinner around 9pm, little snacks when you want. You will not be too picky on food, we enjoy sharing our food with people who can and love eating a little bit of everything including meat.
No vegetarian nor vegans guests.
For dinner, lunch and breakfast, preparing, sharing and cleaning is expected, not as work, but as normal education and a community duty. If from time to time guests may want to use their time to cook some special dishes, it will be much appreciated but not mandatory. We do not like guests that glue to the sofa or fall in the phone or their own business, with no wish to share daily emotions, previous experiences or conversation.
* Aiders are free to manage private occupations mostly from 5 to 8pm *
Please take pictures that would help me at tracking the working progress !
Please remember that the help we need will mostly to be outside, so your free days will mandatory be the rainiest ones.
In addition to the 25 hours per week help in the fields, I will need daily help with the dogs’ needs, setting the table for meals tidying the courtyard and the lab and managing the rubbish or the wood for the fireplace.
Those who choose to live with us, in addition to the settled 5 hours of help in the countryside, shall participate daily in common life. You will take care of your assigned areas and have your part in the maintenance of the common ones, Carlotta will tell you what and how to do.
Remember us to send you the list ‘To do for helpers’, it may be tedious as by its very nature is a summary memo. Many of the tasks and requests listed, although considered intuitive, are specified to coordinate the different ages, experiences and cultural backgrounds of our guests and for correctness and quiet coexistence.
Good manners are welcome, for example during meals please do not use a lot your phone, not even for data, as it is rude to other people around you.
No food is allowed in the guest floor nor around the house.
No smoking inside, ok outside only if you don't leave the cigarettes butts around but you put them always in the trash.
Boys must pee sitting down (😁), as etiquette and hygiene suggest. The hygienic conditions of your private bathroom will be checked, people not keeping it clean will have to leave.
We look for helpers willing to learn and respectful of our balance and love for details, even the seemingly minor ones. STRONG, honest and responsible people, curious and in need of knowledge, who are able to grasp the added value of good education, cleanliness, care and the search for beauty with the due respect of what surrounds us.
Carlotta is a super creature of habit and shall have around cheerful people to help balancing and maintaining her rhythms. It will be essential not to affect negatively our rhythms and habits 🤭😉🙃.Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Italian: FluentAccommodation
An internal staircase leads to a tiny loft on the third floor, with bedroom and bathroom for our guest.
The guests, in addition to daily help, are supposed to help fixing the table for meals and the clean after (breakfast, lunch and dinner). They shall keep daily clean and tidy everything around them, in the house and outside, the 'To do list for helpers' will help you to better understand and take in what is expected.
No smoking nor food is allowed in the guest area.
We do not have air-conditioning and in summer it gets hot.What else ...
We are surrounded by nature, Guidonia train station is at about 6 km, there is a bus stop at about 2 km from us. The train will take you down town in Rome in 45 minutes, and the busses MIGHT EVENTUALLY take you to Guidonia train station or to Tivoli in 30 minutes (but please take note that their timing is not reliable).
*** We wish you realise in advance that we live quite isolated in the country side, so this is not a place for you to enjoy if your need for tourism, hanging around downtown or partying or going to the gym, is strong ***
We are and like to stay active but quiet. We want to keep this a peaceful place, far from the city, the noise, the crowd.A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
One
Hours expected
5 Daily hours in the fields 5 days per week ++ (read above)
Feedback (19)
Daniela è brava, bella, simpatica, intelligente, educata e attenta. Ci ha aiutato e ci ha tenuto compagnia, e ci dispiace che non abbia potuto condividere con noi un pezzetto di vita più lungo. Grazie, torna presto !
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Sorry for the late feedback.
Daniela is good, beautiful, nice, intelligent, polite and… read more
Their three dogs, Mirta, Nero, and Birbetta, were incredibly friendly. I loved waking up every morning to pet them. Sharing meals with Carlotta and… read more
Leo is a super good, a little Australian, a little English and a little Italian, boy. Despite his very young age Leo is very responsible and a perfect super helper, he is a good example of how our children should grow up, travel, interact. Very super highly recommend.
After high school he had the courage to step out of his comfort… read more
Although I had little experience with gardening work Carlotta made sure to guide me through the tasks and I learnt a lot over the 5… read more
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Daniela è brava, bella, simpatica, intelligente, educata e attenta. Ci ha aiutato e ci ha tenuto compagnia, e ci dispiace che non abbia potuto condividere con noi un pezzetto di vita più lungo. Grazie, torna presto !
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Sorry for the late feedback.
Daniela is good, beautiful, nice, intelligent, polite and… read more
Their three dogs, Mirta, Nero, and Birbetta, were incredibly friendly. I loved waking up every morning to pet them. Sharing meals with Carlotta and… read more
Leo is a super good, a little Australian, a little English and a little Italian, boy. Despite his very young age Leo is very responsible and a perfect super helper, he is a good example of how our children should grow up, travel, interact. Very super highly recommend.
After high school he had the courage to step out of his comfort… read more
Although I had little experience with gardening work Carlotta made sure to guide me through the tasks and I learnt a lot over the 5… read more
Unfortunately, while she was staying with us I got sick, so her stay was more lonely than usual. With great autonomy she managed to help us a lot. In addition to the usual outdoor cleaning, dogs care, compost rotation, etc., she managed the result of the pruning of a… read more
The house is lovely and you… read more
He's young and he seemed unusually deep to me, unlike other Americans I've met. We spent a good time together appreciating silences as much as sharing thoughts. He has helped us with many chores by turning and sieving the compost,
weeding and fertilizing the flowerbeds, chopping and stacking wood,… read more
I hope you find a path to university that intrigues you while maintaining ties… read more
when i first arrived, i was naturally nervous because it was my first workaway experience... But i was instantly welcomed with open arms and welcoming smiles. i was calmly accommodated and had time to get acquainted with everything and unpack my things.
the work itself is all planned together with… read more
From turning compost to mowing the lawn, using the brush cutter and a lot of weeding, he was a quick learner and nice helper.
We hope to see you play cricket once, but above all we hope that you will be soon able to spend time with your… read more
La maggior parte degli ospiti ha aiutato in qualche modo, ma Jonatan, assieme a pochi altri, è stato eccezionale e spero sia possibile mantenere vivo il rapporto in… read more
Abbiamo lavorato a vari progetti, dalla raccolta delle olive alla costruzione di una scatola di cemento per la pompa della piscina.
Il posto è molto bello, in estate c'era molta ombra e aria fresca e in inverno la casa è molto ben riscaldata. La camera e il bagno privato per gli ospiti… read more
Unusual combination of rigor and irony, especially for such a young boy.
We miss you ..!
Once I arrived, Carlotta and Marco made me comfortable. Like It was my second home. Over the 3… read more
He is been an important, quite, reliable and powerful help to have around. We wish he will learn Italian or improve his English talking capabilities and we hope him shortly back for chatting a bit as well.
… read more
The work was always well explained, not difficult and very varied.
I hope you guys are doing… read more
As a good Brit, perhaps he is a little too… read more
I spent there 2 weeks and I have to say that I learned A LOT.
from cooking to gardening, Carlotta amazed with me with the skills she have, she know's well how to handle the big gardens and I found it very interesting to do it by myself, there is a… read more
Idan and I did the best to help eachother and he kept his word arriving and going away very… read more
WorkAway gives us the possibility of interesting cultural exchanges, an eye open to the world from this place. The young guests are strong, adaptable, vital,… read more
First of all, I really appreciate your sharing life with me.
It was completely amazing 3weeks. It can be said most meaningful, fruitful and unforgettable time ever.
Carlotta is thoughtful, philosophical and cool person, and also she is good cook. She really values the element of life one by one, and her lifestyle is kind to… read more
Enjoyed being in the kitchen with her, and learning and sharing… read more
I hope we will continue to write eachother about his experiences and also about his political studies.
My wild herbs will be afraid of his return and ... he will dream the compost piles to turn.
I already miss the magic about always set table… read more
It was an amazing trip for me as it was my first Workaway experience because they really live the spirit of Workaway. We found the perfect balance between work and free time, so I had the opportunity to see the magnificent sites of Rome, Tivoli and even Naples! Working in the… read more
We are confident that her exploration of the world will continue and will soon bring her back to Italy.
Ruby, our hope is to… read more
Their farm is a beautiful place, really calm with amazing view. The house is cosy and clean with all the comforts of a modern house.
I loved their… read more
In the garden, among other things, I had the opportunity to help in the automatic irrigation system, wedding, seeding, preparing the land to plant avocados and organizing the structure to help the tomatoes… read more