Farm-stay in our Tuscany dream paradise, Montevarchi, Italy

Informationen

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  Beschreibung

  THE PROJECT:
  Recently we bought an abandoned olive field, with the hopes in the next 5 years to turn it into an Eco-argiturismo health and wellness paradise! Where people can come to relax and reinvigorate their spirit with healthy organic food, animals and nature.
  
  This olive field needs a complete make-over but we want to start with the regeneration and the revival of nearly 1000 (ancient) olive trees by reshaping them and caring for them by cleaning in-between the rows - that have been over-growing with invasive wild berry bushes for years. By preserving this generational tradition in this little village (of small batch olive oil production) we also hope to bring back nutrients to the soil (permaculture) and taking care of the bees (our natural pollinators). But before we can get to making this field a liveable Eco-paradise, there is so much work to do! Will you be the one to help us with this exciting new project?
  
  Bees — Taking care of the bees is a rewarding practice that brings about an appreciation for pollinators. We ethically and respectfully harvest from our nearly 50 bee hives - which produces over 800kgs of honey for the year. We both use this for consumption on our farm as well as sell to local markets. There will be times you will be helping with filtering, jarring and labelling the products.
  
  Garden / permaculture / agroforestry — There are not many small farmers around Italy that practice permaculture and agroforestry to grow food and small crops. We hope by inspiring others with these practices we can help to regenerate the soil by bringing back the good micro-organisms that have been killed off by mass production farming and mono-cultures. We are also learning about seed saving to promote self-sufficiency, rain-water conservation and homesteading (off-grid living). We currently produce organic veggies in our 1 hectare for our own personal (farm) consumption as well as sell at local markets. There will be times you will be working in the garden - planting, cleaning garden beds, cutting grass, watering (configuring the water system), trimming and composting.
  
  Animals — Taking care of the animals and living in balance with them is what nature intended. We have a very small family of animals: 20 chickens, a cat , 2 ducks and a very friendly donkey. Taking care of the animals is a daily chore but always a pleasure.
  
  Argiturismo — This is not currently active, but the goal is to develop pockets of the land with small living spaces tucked in-between the rows of olive trees. People can visit, relax, enjoy nature, learn about the traditions of Tuscany and discover new healthy ways of living the slow life.
  
  WHO WE ARE:
  
  Hi, we are Faren and Arianna, a queer couple in their late 30/ early 40's. We are both very eco-conscious women that seek to build a network of like-minded people who respect this fragile planet we all share. We’re particularly interested in: bee-keeping, olive oil production, permaculture, growing healthy organic food and caring for animals - among other hobbies like: wood-working/building, fashion design, herbalism and language. We hope to share our knowledge of what we have learnt through-out the process of building what we currently have...as well as inspire others to live the self- sufficient life.
  
  Important to note that both Arianna and Faren have had experience as workawayers, traveling in Peru for 3 months and have an idea what workawayers look for in terms of quality accommodation and food prep. We also have experience as bnb hosts in Canada and Italy, so we are attentive to making our guests comfortable. Above-all, we appreciate open and honest communication.
  
  Faren is a Canadian living in Italy as an Italian citizen. For almost two decades she has worked in fashion, as a designer and design consultant, recently has acquired 400 olive trees and has become a registered farmer here in Italy.
  
  Arianna is an Italian, in the past she has worked as a videographer, but when the world crisis hit she was brought back to the land (where she grow-up) and now has been the forerunner in permaculture experimentation, bee-keeping and oil production. In a way, she was the inspiration behind the development of this project.
  
  _________________Are you as excited about this project as we are!?! _____________ Keep reading! ♡

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  Arten von Hilfe und Lernmöglichkeiten

  Hilfe bei Ökoprojekten

  Leichte Gartenarbeit

  Kreative Heimwerkerprojekte

  Betreuung von Tieren

  Mithilfe auf einem Bauernhof

  Zubereiten / Kochen von Mahlzeiten für die Familie

  Hausarbeiten

  Leichte Instandhaltungsarbeiten

  Haus- & Haustiersitting
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  Interessengebiete

  

  Videoaufnahmen

  

  Vegetarier / Veganer

  

  Nachhaltigkeit

  

  Selbstentwicklung

  

  Haustiere

  

  LGBTQ

  

  Mode & Beauty

  

  Farmarbeit

  

  Gärtnern

  

  Musik

  

  Tischlerarbeiten

  

  Architektur

  

  Zeichnen & Malen

  

  Gartenarbeiten

  

  Heimwerken & DIY

  

  Kochen & Backen

  

  Kunst & Design

  

  Tiere

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Outdoor-Aktivitäten

  

  Natur

  

  Wandern

  

  Radfahren

  

  Camping

  

  Strand
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  Kultureller Austausch und Lernmöglichkeiten

  BENEFIT FROM:
  
  This small village is located in the heart of the Tuscany region, not far from Florence, Siena and Arezzo. The quality of olive oil is very distinct and rarely found for mass-consumption outside of this area because many Italians here are hobbyists of this old tradition and keep the “prima-press” (best quality first press) oil for themselves. This highly sought after area of Tuscany is known for their wineries (and there are many) as we are just minutes away from the iconic Chianti and Montepulciano.
  
  SKILLS YOU CAN LEARN FROM US:
  *vegetarian cooking and baking (there are always yummy treats baked every week.
  *olive oil production (mill visit at time of harvest)
  *permaculture / agroforestry
  *bee keeping
  *sewing + pattern-drafting -- I give sewing tutorials if that interests you?
  *making all-natural lotions, toothpaste and deodorant (partially using our bees wax)
  *natural eco plant textile dying
  *composting
  *seed saving
  *seed planting (get to know season, companion plants, etc)
  *prepping the garden beds
  *crafting, building and DIY projects

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  Arbeit

  THE HELP NEEDED:
  Many of these areas of help over-lap and are not limited to that month and may be subject to change -- this is just a basic break-down of what could be expected in the month you decided to visit us....
  
  August — Cleaning the over-growth (using a machete + hand clippers), raking to gather the branches and move them to a burn pile. Maintaining the "summer" garden which is usually tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, beans and other random vegetables. Fence building for the up-coming new chicken coop.
  
  September — building a fence/trellis, prep the garden beds, collecting + cutting and chopping wood. Building wood shed and/or small duck barn with fence. Painting. Planting.
  
  October + November — Harvesting olives, planting fruit trees. Planting. Renovation of tiny stone home and building extension.
  
  Dec + Jan. + Feb. — usually take a break for the holidays and the colder months are slower for us in the gardens. ● see our calendar to make sure we are accepting workawayers at this time.
  
  March — Trimming olive trees and cleaning the branches, mulching, collecting and chopping wood.
  
  April — Cleaning the field of branches (if this was not completed in March), transplanting baby seedlings. Turning the compost/poo.
  
  June — watering the garden, taking care of the animals (ducks, chickens and donkey), general house maintenance, turning the compost/poo and seed saving.
  
  July — Harvesting from the garden, preserving/canning, turning the compost/poo, seed saving. Transplanting new seedlings for the "fall" garden. Maintaining the summer gardens which need watering almost everyday.
  
  *GENERAL AREA of help needed everyday: taking care of the animals *occasionally (feeding, changing water and picking-up the poo), chickens and ducks (this is very minimum work, changing the water, cleaning the coop), cooking — although this is something we love doing, we also LOVE to learn new recipes and other ways of cooking yummy food and general house clean-up and maintenance (building a fire in the winter, cleaning, washing the floors, dishes, etc.)

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  Sprachen

  Gesprochene Sprachen
  Englisch: Fließend
  Italienisch: Fließend
  Französisch: Gute Kenntnisse
  Spanisch: Grundkenntnisse

  Dieser Gastgeber bietet Sprachaustausch an
  Faren is fluent/native speaker in English - would like to learn your native language Arianna is fluent/native speaker in Italian, English is her second language (intermediate level), Spanish (mid-level), French (Intermediate)
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  Unterkunft

  Our house sits atop a little hill in a small village, over looking the Pratomagno mountain and the valley of Montevarchi and San Giovanni Valdarno. Our house has two apartments. We dedicate our first floor apartment exclusively to workawayers in which you will have a private bedroom, a semi-private bathroom and a kitchen to share with other workawayers. This first floor apartment has two bedrooms so depending on the time of your visit you may have to share the apartment with one or two more workawayers. In your bedroom you will find: a queen size bed (bed sheets and pillows included), two bed-side tables, wardrobe, lamp and beautiful view of the Pratomagno mountain. There is a shared kitchen, dining area and traditional fireplace. We the host will be reside in the upstairs apartment.
  
  Outside the home you will have access to: the long porch, big yard with small pockets of garden space where we grow our strawberries, lavender, mint, sage, rosemary and thyme (and the seasonal basil). There is a garage where we store the wood and other equipment we need through-out the year. We have three tractors (only one is functional at the moment), an attached barn where we keep the hay for the cows.
  
  Obviously, but maybe needs to be stated: indoor plumbing (no out-house or compost toilet), hot water, organic food, free laundry (once a week), and wifi included.
  
  We will provide your apartment with basic ingredients like: pasta, rice, garlic, onions, olive oil, salt, coffee, tea, sugar, spices and milk or butter (if you are not vegan). Whatever extra ingredients you may need to cook your meals (breakfast and lunch) you will have to provide / supplement that for yourself at the nearby grocery store. As for dinner, you are invited to join us upstairs to share the meal we have prepared - or you can decide to remind in your apartment to cook for yourself (there is no obligation). And if you would like, occasionally we can cook together too!
  
  NOTE: vegans are welcome but you may be required to cook your own meals on occasion. Please specify in your introductory message this detail.
  
  WE HAVE A FEW RULES :|
  *NO SMOKING INDOORS (we like to keep the home free from strong smells, this may also include heavy perfumes - HOWEVER, essential oils are totally fine…burning incense is okay too)
  *NO EXTRA VISITORS / SLEEP-OVERS
  *CLEAN-UP AFTER YOURSELF IN THE COMMON SPACES (if you made the mess, cooked yourself a meal, dirtied the bathroom - this may be obvious but sometimes it needs to be said that cleaning up in common areas is a must to co-habitation).
  *ZERO TOLERANCE FOR STEALING AND LYING
  *COMPENSATION should be given if you request a personal item from the store - see notes below.
  *DO NOT GO INTO AREAS/ROOMS WITHOUT PERMISSION - if the space is not shown in the listing photos you can assume the space is not for your use (unless otherwise stated).
  *DO NOT GO INTO ROOMS/cabinets/storage areas AND TAKE THINGS WITHOUT PERMISSION - if it is not yours, ask to use it!
  
  >>>NOTES:
  1. If you are joining us here, you will need to be prepared to help 5 hours a day for 5 days a week (weekends are your time off useless otherwise agreed to shift the work schedule).
  
  2. The weekends are yours to do what you like and that goes the same for food *we do not provide food on the weekends nor do we provide personal snacks or drinks (i.e. beers, wine). However if you want these things you are welcome to buy them yourself - you can request us to pick them up for you but compensation must be given accordingly.
  
  3. Also you will need to come with work clothes, something you don't care to get dirty and clothes that can withstand prickly brushes, along with proper shoes or boots to work in the fields (ideally waterproof in the rainy seasons).
  
  4. We do not provide personal medications, supplements, feminine products etc. - we can help where needed but anymore than 1 or 2 need to be compensated at your earliest convenience.
  
  5. If you don't know, ask! We are here to help you learn and we encourage questions and open communication.

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  Was noch ...

  TIME-OFF:
  There is SOOOOOO much to see and do in this area:
  *especially if you love medieval history, you can visit small medieval villages like San Gimignano, Lucca, Siena, …. the list goes on!
  *Bathe in the Ciuffenna River in Loro (a very cute small town just 20 mins away)
  *Natural thermal sulfur baths of Val D’Orcia
  *Visit the wineries in Montepulciano and enjoy the wine and cheese tastings!
  *Chianti …. more wineries and beautiful terrane.
  *biking
  *trekking, there are so many beautiful trails and one of our favourites is trekking the Pratomagno mountain, Vallombrosa forest and Colle Val D’Elsa
  *make friends with the locals - the goose, chickens, cows and…. neighbours.
  
  AVAILABLE TRANSPORT:
  1. Ride from the host - needs to be arranged upon request 24 hours (or more) before. depending on how many times you need to go up and down to the town there may or may not be a fee for gas.
  2. Train ($$ for ticket)

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  Etwas mehr Information

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    Internet Zugang

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    Eingeschränkter Internet Zugang

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    Wir besitzen Tiere

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    Wir sind Raucher

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    Familien möglich

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  Kann Digital Nomads unterbringen

  wifi connection is a bit spotty in that room, but in the kitchen it is great! There a separate apartment from the hosts which includes: 2 separate rooms, shared kitchen with eat-in dining area, living area with fireplace and shared bathroom (shared with a possible other workawayer/s if it is scheduled at the same time).

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  Platz zum Abstellen von Camper Vans

  small vans only because parking is tight in this remote village. However, there is a piazza for parking in the village for larger vans... message us for further details.

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  Hier sind Haustiere in der Regel willkommen

  Please specify in introductory message. Or ask for more details

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  Kapazität - wie viele Workawayer maximal

  zwei

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  Meine Tiere/Haustiere

  

  Pluto

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