Experience life at a cave house finca near Baza, Andalucia, Spain

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  Beschreibung

  ******Thank you for reading the profile to the end before answering!
  
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  FIRSTLY: NOW - MAY/JUNE
  GARDEN! HELP! The house member responsible for the food garden fell off his bike, broke his collarbone really bad and is in hospital. He will be back soon but unable to do more than talk (a lot!!) and weed one-handed!
  
  So we are urgently looking for 2 strong garden lovers to come and be his arms and legs and work alongside of him while he can't do heavy stuff.
  
  Planting, sowing, building tomato supports out of local grown caña, building little dykes for holding irrigation water, digging a bit, putting mulch, compost care, just all the things that happen in a food garden.
  
  SECONDLY: ONGOING
  We nurse a dream of one day seeing the almazara in working condition again. Bit by bit we are hoping to find all the missing bits and put the olive mill (almazara) back together again. We have begun smartening up the walls and cleaning it up, we hope to visit other old almazaras and see what machinery is missing, how it all fits together and working out a bold plan. Anyone interested in historical machinery and simple functional engineering would be really welcome at any point.
  
  THIRDLY: SOON!
  We have a peafowl family, and they need a proper dedicated house and enclosure so anyone who wants to have a hand in a pea family pavilion would be sooo welcome! Mad ideas welcome, but it has to work for then, be fox safe dry and warm in winter.
  
  • WE ARE OPEN TO GUESTS WHO CAN STAY A MONTH OR SO. WE DO HOPE FOR A FEW EVEN LONGER TERM GUESTS, AFTER A PERIOD OF MAINLY SHORT STAYS, WE NEED LESS COMING AND GOING AND PEOPLE WHO WILL TREAT THE ALMAZARA LIKE THEIR HOME FOR A WHILE. IT IS HARD FOR THE YOUNG CHILDREN TO COPE WITH SO MANY SHORT STAYS, AND FOR ME ITS EXHAUSTING TO BE ORIENTING AND SETTLING PEOPLE SO OFTEN.
  
  LIVING VEHICLES WITH FAMILIES ALSO MORE THAN WELCOME!
  
  PEOPLE
  We were a 4 generation family of 10 people, and now we are 3 generations...
  The oldest: 97 years, passed away on Monday 13th Jan 2025, so we are missing her... We will make a memorial garden for her
  The youngest: is a few months old
  
  We are British and Salvadorian, but living by choice in Andalucía.
  
  Giuseppina: my mother in law RIP
  Frank: partner
  Me: Clare
  Sam: son
  Chilli: daughter
  Noé: my son in law
  Susi: their daughter
  Óscar : their baby son
  Bryan:" adopted" brother of Noé
  We usually have about 4-6 guests helping us here at any time.
  
  THE LITTLE FINCA
  We live on the edge of the Gorafe desert in a little "oasis" of vegas. We have 2 cave-houses, an old almazara (olive mill), a big food garden, . a woodland, a camping area, a few grazing areas and a chicken run. Oh and a huge old swimming pool which acts as a reservoir for the agricultural water, which comes from a spring through a system arranged by the former inhabitants of this area of Arabic heritage from north Africa.
  
  We bought the property in June 2018, after searching for four years to find “the right place” this place is much more complex than we anticipated and needs a lot more attention than we had planned, but if you come you will see why, when we found it, we made a very fast decision to buy it! It seems very special to us, and we love to share it’s strange, harsh magic. We partly moved there Oct 2018, and have completed the process in Jan 2021
  
  There is limited public transport local to the house, one bus morning one bus 06.45h returns around 1600h in the afternoon, and we will always give a lift if we can.
  
  PROJECT
  To be resourceful and help mend and beautify our rather scruffy home, the guest accommodation for volunteers, perhaps in the future get the olive mill working, make a bunkhouse for hikers and bikers, a teaching space for courses and even maybe a performance space. But that's a dream rather than a plan.
  
  To nurture a food garden using a variety of disciplines that work in dry hot climates, using organic and non exploitative methods.
  
  To bring human life back into these depopulated areas of Spain.
  
  To enjoy life and hopefully encourage others to choose this area to settle and make life nice for people who come to stay with us.

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  Arten von Hilfe und Lernmöglichkeiten

  Kunstprojekte

  Sprachpraxis

  Hilfe bei Ökoprojekten

  Gartenarbeiten

  Betreuung von Tieren

  Mithilfe auf einem Bauernhof

  Zubereiten / Kochen von Mahlzeiten für die Familie

  Hausarbeiten

  House sitting
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  Interessengebiete

  

  Vegetarier / Veganer

  

  Nachhaltigkeit

  

  Politik & Soziales

  

  Farmarbeit

  

  Gärtnern

  

  Heimwerken & DIY

  

  Geschichte

  

  Gartenarbeiten

  

  Bücher

  

  Architektur

  

  Tiere

  

  Outdoor-Aktivitäten

  

  Natur
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  UNO-Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung, die dieser Gastgeber verfolgt

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  Was ist das?
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  Kultureller Austausch und Lernmöglichkeiten

  Learn about cave dwelling, join in the village life, engagement is strongly recommended.
  
  You can learn English and Spanish of course, from various members of the household, and the neighbours. We are novices at many thing we do but would love to show you the things we have learned and share knowledge about simple old-fashioned techniques, mending and making do, gardening without chemicals, the use of materials from the locality, like natural pigments to colour yeso and cal and the unique qualities of cave houses…
  
  I'd like to introduce you to the wider area, also known as the Altiplano de Granada has plenty of history, stronghold of the Moorish Kingdom of El Andaluz, and last part to fall to the Christian conquerors. There are widespread and very visible signs of the Mesolithic culture that flourished here, and remains from settlements of some of the earliest known hominids in Europe nearby at Orce too! Have a look on Wikipedia!
  
  There's the wonderful lake, Pantano de Negratín, hot springs, even a hot waterfall! Cool mountains, hot desert, and tapas free with every beer or wine in the little bars in the villages.
  
  However, beyond all that, there is the warm hospitality of everyone in the area. Of course, foreigners are to be observed and to be gossiped about, and present a curiosity. But mostly there is genuine happiness to meet you and you will quickly immerse into village life if you are accepting.
  
  We have had the privilege to create life long friendships with many of our volunteers, and they have made great lasting friendships with each other too.
  
  While volunteering with us, you'll have the opportunity to see an amazing part of Spain. If this all sounds appealing then please send me a message.

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  Projekte mit Kindern

  Dieses Projekt schließt möglicherweise den Umgang mit Kindern ein. Mehr Informationen findest du in unseren Verhaltensregeln und Tipps hier.

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  Arbeit

  Main tasks:
  
  NOW:
  1. Lots of fiddly little tasks, mending and making do, finishing unfinished bits and pieces ... All the usual day to day things on a big place
  
  2. Learn with us about the original form of the almazara, from archives, online research and hands on tinkering, and at least understand what it once looked like
  
  3. Prepare the soil for planting follow on crops of common vegetables, weed and generally take care of the food garden
  
  4. Compost duty,
  
  5. Care for our organic olive trees
  
  6. Help with donkey, peacocks and dogs
  
  7. And last but not least, Joining in and adding to village life.
  Make life joyful for all you meet.
  
  TASKS IN THE NEAR FUTURE:
  
  1. Make a pretty memorial garden for our 97 year old Nona who recently died.
  
  2. Tidy up the non food garden area and make it pretty
  
  3. Plant some wild caña to stabilise a steep bank.
  
  4. Experiment with natural pigments that can be collected from the hills and try them on the almazara and courtyard.
  
  5. Bring some inspiration for a memorable, dedicated bathroom for the workaways. We want to use scavenged things like bottles and jars in a matrix of maybe lime and mud and other natural things like branches, to make it a joyful fun space for our workawayers. Go mad with ideas and let's have fun together!!
  
  Those items are not in order of implementation or priority

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  Sprachen

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

  Dieser Gastgeber bietet Sprachaustausch an
  We have 3 fluent Spanish speakers, one competent Spanish second language speaker, 3 others with various levels of incompetence. We incompetent Spanish speakers want to learn more.
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  Unterkunft

  Quite a substantial part of both houses consists of cave, which is a very different way of living, but wonderfully cool in the summer and warm in the winter. There are some out-built parts, these are HOT in summer and COLD in winter (unless heated). Everything is rather basic - comfortable but not stylish!
  
  The Workaway guests have their own shared space in the old cave chapel, again a bit primitive, it's like a dormitory, there's a area to relax with sofas and there's 2 bathrooms in the main house, shared with the family, electricity and wifi
  
  There's hammocks to relax outside, and a west facing covered patio behind the almazara for beautiful sunsets... and all things evolve e.g. in the past we set up a small performance stage!
  
  The food is vegetarian or vegan. We do not use meat in this house. Nor do we want you bringing it into our home. All family members are various degrees of vegetarian or fully vegan.
  
  We make porridge and toast for communal breakfast as it's getting light, the time changes with the season of course!
  
  Then there's coffee and snacks late morning.
  
  There's a late lunch Spanish style. It's a communal meal which will always be simple but plentiful.
  
  In the evening we don't eat much nor do we provide an arranged evening meal. There is the opportunity to make a sandwich or use any left overs from lunch.
  
  I'm not good with fussy eaters and don't welcome people who want to eat differently and separately. I have a very small kitchen so like to keep it clear of too much traffic. I also take a moral stance on reducing consumption of animal products and eating junk food so don't want it around me, my house or my grandchildren.
  
  My daughter and I used to run a festival café together so we are not bad cooks. We have a strict budget by necessity but always provide enough protein, carbs, lots of olive oil and we work to make sure there's enough vitamins and minerals present in the diet

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  Was noch ...

  Come to the Altiplano de Granada!
  
  The 2 local towns in the area have theatres, cinemas, clubs, museums, shopping as well as the aforementioned history. Granada is the regional capital and is elegant and we are blessed with all amenities you would expect in such a place. There are direct buses from Baza, Guadix and Granada to all major cities’ airports in Spain. Granada has an airport, and Málaga has flights to all parts of Europe and some intercontinental flights too. Málaga is 2.5hrs drive away, or 4 to 5 hrs on the bus network.
  
  Enjoy the desert the Geoparque, Parque Megalithica, the Pantano Negratín, the hot springs in the woods, the mountains and the beautiful sky.
  
  Enjoy the tapas culture.
  
  Join in the many fiestas and ferias in the villages nearby...
  
  See cave houses, with the natural temperature control, warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer.. and ramble round the strange troglodyte villages which are all around.
  
  Public transport exists but better from the big towns I'm sure everyone will co operate with lifts to connect to public transport to go places on your days off.
  
  Bicycles are also available. But some have been abused by former guests and need TLC
  
  If you read the feedbacks below, you might be confused, because until the end of 2020 I was based in England, so feedback will mention that will mention that.
  
  BIG WARNINGS!
  1. SMOKING, DRUGS, ALCOHOL
  
  Please... I don't welcome smokers.... I don't like smoking in the house and grounds my partner has recently had a fragile victory in a battle with nicotine, and having other smokers in the group is really bad for his rather feeble willpower! REMEMBER this is a dry area. Fires start easily.
  
  One strike and you are out with any illegal drugs. I have had enough of people using my place to get wasted, fraternising with all the semi criminal elements in the area and drawing the wrong attention to us.
  
  Drinking alcohol is only tolerated at fiesta and social occasions. No weekday drinking, and no habitual drinkers, and at weekends no drinking to the point of rowdiness and inebriation. We are trying to raise a family here and do not want this type of life around children. It's also been the vector for destruction, minor accidents and naughty behaviour. So it's now not an option. Often there are people here who are trying to recover from a bad relationship with alcohol, and have chosen this place because drinking is not part of the day to day life.
  
  2. FIRES
  No campfires or barbeques, if a fire started it would devastate the area and we would never be welcome back. This is no small matter. Don't leave bottles or drinks glasses abandoned that could focus the sun, the same warning for prescription spectacles. Fire is feared above all else
  
  3. WATER
  Water is scarce and expensive. Please be sensible about short showers, pausing the flow while you soap and shampoo. Washing machine only use when full, and on short cycle and low tariff times.
  Flush the loo only when it's solids, not for pee, unless many have accumulated!
  Watch out for dripping taps, leaks and reuse as much as you can to water the garden.
  Water the geraniums, they repel mosquitos
  
  4. DRAINS
  don't put paper down the toilet anywhere in Spain. There is always a bin provided. There are times when it's nicer to flush the paper, and in these odd occasions, I'm sure it's fine.
  
  5. RUBBISH
  There is no house to house rubbish collection, so we take rubbish to the bin and recycle skip in the village. Avoid too much packaging.
  
  6. ELECTRICITY
  The tariff is CRAZY high and varies throughout the day. Please get familiar with the cheap times and use greedy appliances only then. We are on a very low feed of 3.3kw so go easy and be thoughtful I if the washing machine is on its a good thing we heat a kettle by gas!
  
  7. The food is vegan or vegetarian, we do not provide meat, and do not tolerate it in the kitchens.
  
  8. SMILE!
  
  To show you have read this, please mention "Almazara" in your reply, to show you have read to the end.

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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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  Platz zum Abstellen von Camper Vans

  We are cautious about the really big motorhomes or caravans with a long chassis overhanging the back wheels as there is a steep dry riverbed to negotiate to get to out place. But small caravans,campers and van conversions will be fine.

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  Kapazität - wie viele Workawayer maximal

  mehr als zwei

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