Help us become more sustainable and develop our organic garden in Talavera de la Reina, Spain

Details

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  Description

  ¡Hola!
  
  We are Vero & Enrique, originally from Madrid although lived in London for 14 years. Before coming back to Spain we spent a year travelling and working around the world as workawayers, and have now started our own little project. During our trip we stayed with the most loving hosts and made wonderful friendships, so now we're welcoming people not only to help with the tasks but to become part of our project and our lives!
  
  During our travels we worked mostly in permaculture and organic farming projects and now it’s our turn to have a go! We’ve recently bought a small house with a beautiful garden that needs a lot of work to become more sustainable so we are beginning to apply permaculture and organic gardening principles, also improving the energy efficiency of the house, installing solar panels, looking at water recovery systems...
  
  We take our project very seriously so we want to host people who have a true interest in helping us develop it and, although we're very flexible and we'll be very happy to help with your travel arrangements, please note that this is not a hostel and we expect you to take part on the project and in the everyday running of the house.
  
  We both work from home on Graphic Design and Motion Graphics, so might be glued to the screen for big chunks of time during the week. We’re also mindfulness instructors and practitioners and we’ll be delighted to share our knowledge and meditation practices with you if you’re up for it. We have a mindfulness online school and hope to run a retreat centre one day.
  
  We have a couple of shy (at first) and super sweet cats: Boogie & Zoë who need (and often demand) A LOT of love and attention. Boogie is hyperactive and quite delicate, he's nearly died twice because he ate shoestrings and other non-edible objects, so we all need to be extra careful and not leave dangling things around... Zoë is THE Queen, expects tickles and play and everyone around should be happy to be her humble servant.
  
  Having been workawayers for a year, we understand very well the needs from travellers and the dynamics of living together.
  
  It's usually sunny and during summer gets very hot, so make sure to come prepared (sun cream, hats, shades, long siestas...) we have solar panels powering an AC unit that keeps the house cool inside :D

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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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

  We're both fluent in English (we spent 14 years in London) and if you're learning Spanish, we'll be happy to help you practice and improve. But most importantly, we'll share our culture, traditions, experience, food and wine with you! And we hope to learn from yours too :)

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  Help

  The Project:
  
  We have a small house and a little over 1000 sq m of land where we aim to become as sustainable and self-sufficient as possible, we’re at an early stage, so still a long way to go! Hence any ideas, knowledge and skills you want to bring to make our lovely and wonky place even lovelier and wonkier, will be most welcome!
  
  Some of the tasks are: planting things, digging stuff, making plots and veggie beds, repairing/amending the irrigation system, build raised beds, build a bio-pond, applying permaculture principles... Right now we have lots of DIY work in the house, mainly painting as we've just finished insulation works in the house and there are bits that need finishing. There are many small jobs that need doing, the list grows everyday, no room for boredom here! :)
  
  We love food and we eat everything but mainly veggies. If you have any dietary requirements let us know and we’ll be happy to accommodate. We share daily tasks like cooking, washing the dishes, cleaning the house and feeding the cats so we expect that you take part in them.
  
  We’re flexible with helping times and happy for you to organise your own time but we expect an average of 5 hours of help, 5 days a week.
  
  There’s a chance that we might leave for a few days if you can stay to look after the kitties and the garden.
  
  Who Are We Looking For:
  
  We’re looking for people who are mature, independent, responsible, love animals and nature, respectful, hard working (please don't contact us if you're looking for a cheap holiday, you'd be disappointed 😅), relaxed, flexible (not physically, although it might come in handy too) and loaded with heaps of humour. We’re partial to people with a passion (or several!), loads of initiative and looking to get knee-deep involved in this project. If you’ve a passion, skill or talent you want to share, do let us know!
  
  Any permaculture (or organic gardening), plumbing, carpentry, electrical or building skills will be extra welcome!
  
  We’re non-smokers, so if you smoke, we’ll ask you to do it in the garden.
  
  We work from home on graphic design and motion graphics so this is more suitable for couples/2 friends or even solo travellers who don't mind spending long stretches of time on their own.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  You will have a private room and share the rest of the house and garden with us. We can accommodate up to 2 people sharing a room with a trundle bed, alternatively we can make space in the garage for a bed if you don’t want to share the room (only in the hot months as it has open ventilation), and we have a couple of tents we can install outside if you prefer to stay in the outdoors.

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  What else ...

  The Area:
  
  The house is in a residential area away from the city so you’ll need a car or be able to drive to move around. We can lend you a car if you're over 25 and have a valid permit. We have a couple of bikes you can use as well. If you arrive by public transport we can pick you up in Talavera de la Reina (20 min away by car)
  
  Within walking distance there’s a supermarket, a vet and a couple of bars (everything else is either a long walk or a short car trip away). We’re super close to the dam where there’s a camping site with a lovely restaurant and terrace, and at the lake you can swim and do windsurfing, canoeing, kayaking... About 10-15 mins by bike there’s a horseback riding school where you can go for a ride for about 20 euros per hour and there's a golf course nearby. There are a couple of nice public swimming pools close-by.
  
  There are plenty of things to do in your free time. You can visit the beautiful and lively town of Talavera de la Reina (20 mins away), explore the Sierra de San Vicente (30 mins away) and hike in the nearby mountains of Gredos (1 hr away). You can also visit Toledo, Candeleda, Arenas de San Pedro, Valle del Tiétar, La Vera... which are about 1 hr away from here. And if you fancy a bit of urban life, Madrid is only 1.5 hrs away.
  
  Should you decide to get in touch, do let us know what caught your attention about this project, it's nice to know people actually read the profile before contacting!
  
  Also, we take our time to reply to all messages so we'll be very grateful if you reply to ours too :)
  
  We can’t wait to hear from you and share a bit of our life with you!
  
  Vero, Enrique, Boogie & Zoë

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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

  We have fast Wi-Fi, printer, scanner... and we will provide a desk, a chair and crazy amounts of coffee!! You can also work in the garden! Let us know in advance if you intend to come as digital nomad.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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