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Host rating
100 %
Last replied
4 Feb 2025
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Description
Hi, I am Spyros! Two years ago, I took over this abandoned 17th century monastery on the mountain of Erymanthos, in Peloponnese, hoping to bring life back to it. My dream was to create a centre here, where people will be welcome to visit this monument and connect with nature and most importantly themselves. After an intense period of renovations, we have now slowly started organising workshops here.
Still there is a lot that needs to be done in terms of making this place better and your assistance would be highly valued. Come and work together.
I speak fluently Greek and English and have some knowledge of Spanish, French and German.Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
This is a unique opportunity to spend time in a monastery, and even though there are no monks here one still gets the feeling of living in a serene environment and following the local traditions, but also the rhythms that nature dictates. It is also a great opportunity to learn more about the history of the place, the customs and the mountainous way of living. Having lived and travelled in various countries, I would be happy to share personal experiences and learnings. I am also very interested in open source projects and personal development and would be happy to share more on those topics, as well.
Registered charity
This host is a registered charity in their country and is looking for volunteers to help with their project(s).
Help
The place is massive, so there is plenty of general maintenance to be done (cleaning, painting, collecting wood, moving stuff, etc).
At the same time, support is also needed with the kitchen. So, cooking is definitely a plus!
Moving out of the renovation phase, I would also like to start making use of the land inside and around the monastery, growing one’s own food, planting trees, flowers and giving a form to the surroundings (which could also translate to planting, digging, weeding, watering, composting).
For these tasks a certain commitment is needed, so at least in the beginning it might work best for a long-term volunteer.
Then, more things might happen. Trails could be opened, cleaned or marked. The old water mill could be renovated. Guests might be welcomed. Depending on one’s skills and interests more things could also be done (decoration, art, cuisine, handcraft, interpersonal relations, personal practise, and more).Languages
Languages spoken
Greek: Fluent
English: Fluent
German: Intermediate
Spanish: Intermediate
French: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
It would be my pleasure to help you learn Greek or practise together one of the languages I knowAccommodation
Depening on the period, workawayers will either share or have a room of their own inside the monastery, always with a private bathroom. Kitchen, common areas and laundry will be shared, so it is important to keep them clean and tidy. Since this is a monument, visitors might be arriving any time. Volunteers are asked to dress properly to avoid provoking religious guests.
Food is vegetarian (typical Greek) and will be provided, co-decided and prepared in agreement.
Smoking, meat consumption and animals are not allowed in the premises.
There is Wi-Fi available. There is not hot water available every day.What else ...
It needs to be clarified that there is neither public transport in the area, nor a means of transport provided. This is not the typical landscape one might have in mind for Greece. It is a remote area in the mountains. The sea is 1.5h away. Closest shopping area is 10 km away. There are plenty of opportunities for hiking, mountain biking or going into the river, but many enjoyments of the city life are absent. I try to live a simple, quiet life close to nature, so there is no TV or parties, even though there might be workshops from time to time, when the place becomes quite vivid. Workawayers do not have to work for the guests arriving - this is merely my task. Workawayers with their own means of transport will have a lot of opportunities to visit surrounding villages, or make day trips to ancient Olympia, Kalavrita, the Foloi oak forest, the cave of Kapsia and other sights in the area. Due to these restrictions, workawayers are initially invited to apply and plan for shorter periods of stay, up to three weeks. If during this time, one feels more comfortable with the way of living here, the duration may of course be extended.
May we all live in peace.A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
The Wi-Fi connection is not the fastest, but should be sufficient for most online jobs. Again this would be a great combination of working remotely and spending time in nature.
Space for parking camper vans
There is space outside of the monastery for a campervan to park. There are no facilities for grey, black water or electricity connection there.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Feedback (12)
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Accuracy of profile:
(4.8)
Cultural exchange:
(4.6)
Communication:
(4.9)
The tasks were tailored to our skills and wishes, making the work enjoyable and rewarding. There was positive energy… read more
Spiros, who manages the place, organized tasks based on what needed… read more
Everything was great. Spyros has a kind, calm and sweet personality.
The monastery is so beautiful, surrounded by mountains, next to the river. I enjoyed my week there. On our days off we hiked and swam in the river with the rest of the group which I found interesting and wonderful people.
I find the place… read more
Spyros était très soucieux de notre bien-être, nous avons fait de très belles rencontres avec sa famille, l'autre famille de volontaires et tous les hôtes qui sont passés durant… read more
Well it was quite the adventure getting here, Google Maps decided to take me the ultra scenic route, no roads this way!! But me and my van made it safe and sound in the end. 😊 If you go with a 4x4 I highly recommend this route if not just double check the route before you leave and ask Spyros… read more