Come get your hands dirty in Canossa, Italy

Details

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  Description

  HOW OOBEH WAS BORN:
  I'm Soheil, a Persian boy full of ideas and projects.
  I have travelled a lot recently and had a fascinating life.
  I worked for many years in the field of cooking and gastronomy between Iran and Italy, but between the years 2019-2020, there were sanctions against Iran. So unfortunately our gastronomy sector was also hit, even though it had nothing to do with it!
  This episode made my life difficult by forcing me to quit my job. After that, with the arrival of Covid, the situation worsened and life got very difficult.
  I felt a strong need to change and I took the opportunity to fulfill one of my greatest desires:
  “Starting a healthy, rural life, far from the city in a stone and wood house with a farm.” And so I did!
  With all my savings I bought a beautiful house and a space of land to cultivate in the heart of Matilde di Canossa's land on the Reggio hills.
  I started this journey and project with my partner Bahareh, the one who donated art to this house. You can admire many paintings around the house made by her.
  I am grateful to Bahareh and our meeting, for giving me the initial support and strength in starting this project. Now she has returned to Iran, where she has decided to continue her artistic projects and her life.
  Another Oobehana has now been added to the path of this project: Elena, a volunteer who has taken the project very much to her heart and who is helping me with the work and management of the project.
  
  We have so much to do here and we need you, your physical, moral and creative help to fix the house and bring the community to life.
  
  
  WHO WE ARE?
  Oobehani who currently live here:
  
  -Soheil: Oobehano guardian.
  I am the owner of the house although I like to define myself as the custodian rather than the owner.
  In the past, I acquired many skills and technical knowledge working mainly on my father's farm in northern Iran.
  I have skills in the construction and renovation of raw earth and construction in general and if you like this world we can have a lot of fun.
  I have also done the PDC Permaculture Course and am trying to apply every principle and guide others to do so too.
  In my travels I have discovered so much in the world of Zoroastrianism and the ancient Turkmen tradition, I love poetry and music... in short, we will have a lot to talk about if you too are passionate about poetry and philosophy.
  I also speak Farsi and therefore I can teach you the poetic language of ancient Persia.
  
  -Elena: Oobehana curator.
  At this moment I feel it is important to meet places and people to share the beauty of authentic time.
  I have been practicing meditation for several years thanks to meeting of a great master who still reminds me to return to breathing every time I feel lost.
  I am the presence of the house that manages the social, networking and communication part in a creative way, I like to make myself available in the welcome, in the organization of circles and in the beauty of every moment of community life.
  Guardian of nature, I live more outside the house rather than inside, I love running, and hiking: I can guide you in the encounter of all the natural beauty that surrounds our hilly areas: woods, streams, masts and mystical animals...
  
  WHAT WE WILL DO?
  English language practice
  Reception and management of rooms and B&B guests
  Gardening
  Design
  Garden care using permaculture methods
  DIY and construction projects
  General maintenance
  Daily activities of community life (cleaning, tidying up, cooking...)
  Artistic sharing in all its forms
  
  We also care about having fun and relaxing!
  Playing, going for walks, trips, meditation, swimming in the river/ Diving in our stream (depending on the weather and season).
  
  
  WHERE WILL YOU SLEEP?
  The accommodation is in a very large room with a double bed on the top floor of the house or in a single room on the same floor.
  Certainly nothing luxurious, but very welcoming with a nice terrace.
  The bathroom is located on the same floor as the rooms and there may be a possibility you will have to share your room and bathroom with other volunteers depending on the number and organization.
  The house is heated with wood stoves so you will be caressed by the warmth of the fire.
  
  WORKING HOURS AND DAYS
  I work half a day from Monday to Friday and usually return around 3:00 pm.
  I therefore ask for flexibility from volunteers in distributing the 5 working hours per day partly in the morning and partly in the afternoon.
  We do the important jobs on Saturday and Sunday as I am at home from my job and can better follow the community's work.
  We therefore ask for flexible working hours with 2 days of rest during the week and not the weekend.
  For any of your needs or different requests, we can talk about it and organize the week in the best way for both of us.
  
  We invite you to experience community life with us and share the beauty of our project

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Charity Work

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Whether you already have specific knowledge, you are welcome and thank you if you want to offer it in this project;
  Whether you have a passion for music, theatre, poetry or any artistic form, you are welcome and thank you if you want to share it;
  Whether you have the desire and curiosity to come and experience community life, you are welcome and thank you because your mere presence will be an added value for us.
  
  Everything is an exchange and all this is possible only if we learn to share.
  
  We strongly believe in the value and power that each person can bring or discover.
  We care deeply about the relationship with people, maintaining non-violent communication and guiding others to maintain this line... Every meeting teaches us and enriches us and our intention is to make the volunteering experience a path of growth for us and for those who come.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  I work half days and usually get home hungry by 3pm so I'm looking for some extra help.
  
  So in terms of reorganisation, tasks will include:
  Renovation
  Wood help
  Plastering
  Cleaning
  Community organising
  DIY
  Art projects
  Green building
  Permaculture farming
  
  BUT we are also setting up a small farm so there is plenty to do outside too!
  At this time of year tasks include:
  Pruning, Cleaning, Harvesting, Composting, Collecting firewood, Organising watering and pipes, Gardening, Hoeing, Dry stone walling
  
  but we also want to have fun and relax!
  Playing, Going for walks, Swimming in the Enza river / Diving in our stream (depending on the weather and season)

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  Persian (Farsi): Fluent
  Italian: Fluent
  English: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  As mentioned above, the accommodation is in a very large room with the double bed on the upper floor of the house. Certainly nothing luxurious, but also rather sweet. Unfortunately there is currently no toilet installed there, so using the toilet requires a 20 second walk to the ground floor.
  the house is heated with wood stoves so you will be caressed by the heat but if you organize yourself well.
  We both love food and we like to eat well and in company.
  Any help with cooking and washing dishes will always be greatly appreciated.

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  What else ...

  Well! As you can imagine, we are far from the city but we have a bar, restaurant, pharmacy, post office and a small shop selling basic necessities within a 15 minute walk. But obviously they have limited hours.
  There is a train station (Ciano D'Enza) that runs along the Enza river 20 minutes from home by car. This can take you to/from big cities like Reggio Emilia.
  From the station to our house there is a bus service with limited timetables (to be checked).
  but if you want we can organize ourselves and I will pick you up at the station.
  The nearest medium-sized town is San Polo D'Enza, where you can find supermarkets, shops, bars and many other services, about 25 minutes away by car.
  
  Having your own car will definitely give you more freedom.

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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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  Can host digital nomads

  This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  if they are nice ;))

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

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