Regenerate, balance and belong in the Saxon Village of Șomartin, Romania

Details

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  Description

  I’m Kevin, a former airline pilot who traded checklists for muddy boots and seven-generations thinking. After years of flying above the world, I landed here in the quiet Saxon village of Șomartin, Transylvania, where the Carpathians hold our old house, barn, and cottage like an open hand.
  
  This is our private family homestead—a living, breathing project for me, my young daughter Frida (who asks the stars why the bees are quiet and then plants flowers to call them back), and my 26-year-old son Axel.
  
  We are restoring the site and the land together, growing food, tending the soil, and listening to the rhythms of this valley, one day at a time. Everything we produce here is for our own family table—no sales, no paid activities, no commercial operation. It’s a personal circle of care, rooted in permaculture ethics:
  
  Earth Care — coaxing heavy clay into living soil with no-till beds, compost, mulch, and patience; planting for bees, birds, butterflies, and the quiet mycelium beneath.
  
  People Care — shared meals by the masonry heater, stories under starlight, neighbor plums, and the sound of children’s laughter running through the orchard like medicine.
  
  Fair Share — choosing limits with love, passing abundance hand to hand so the well never runs dry.
  
  The project is simple in its bones: restore a historic Saxon site while restoring the land and ourselves. We grow in forest garden layers, preserve harvests through fermenting and drying, tend herb spirals and soon beehives, experiment with natural building, and carry the old Lakota balance teachings—always and never as the enemies of the middle way.
  
  We are a small family weaving our days, open to kindred spirits who feel drawn to slow down, get their hands in the earth, laugh at the mess, and help mend what’s tilted—one seed, one story, one quiet act of care at a time.
  
  This is a place where the loom keeps turning, every stitch a prayer for the great-grandchildren we will never meet.
  
  Health · Happiness · Abundance · Prosperity
  Mitakuye Oyasin —for all our relations.
  
  If your heart hums with this gentle rhythm, the veranda has a chair waiting

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals
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  Interests

  

  Videography

  

  Farming

  

  Plant care

  

  Music

  

  Books

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Photography

  

  Writing

  

  Carpentry

  

  Mountain

  

  Beach

  

  Camping

  

  Winter sports

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Hiking
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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

  Travelers who come to the Residence in Șomartin step into something far deeper than a typical workaway stay. This is not tourism dressed as volunteering. It is a quiet invitation to sit at the edge of an ancient Saxon village, under Carpathian skies, and remember what modern life often forgets.
  
  Here are the real, lived benefits and learnings that emerge for those who arrive with open hands and an open heart:
  
  Cultural Exchange – the living weave
  You become part of a small, multi-layered circle:
  
  Romanian village life at its unhurried pace – the rhythm of church bells, horse carts on dirt roads, neighbors sharing palincă and stories over fences.
  
  Saxon heritage still breathing in the thick stone walls, the fortified church across the valley, the hand-carved doors, and the way people greet strangers as family.
  
  Lakota-inspired teachings carried through stories, tobacco prayers, and the seven-generations lens – not as performance, but as quiet daily practice.
  
  A global thread: volunteers from Sweden, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, the US, and beyond bring their own songs, recipes, languages, and ways of seeing. We sit around the masonry heater or outdoor fire, sharing food from five continents made with local ingredients. Laughter in five languages, tears sometimes too, and always the sense that we are re-learning how to be human together.
  
  What travelers often learn (and take home in their bones)
  
  Earth Care as a daily devotion
  Hands in cold mud, lifting worms to safety, building soil one barrow at a time, watching seedlings push through after months of patience. You learn that regeneration is slow, holy work – not a weekend project. Many leave with calluses and a new relationship to dirt: it is no longer “mess”; it is life.
  
  People Care in the small moments
  Elder honor when we listen to the oldest neighbor tell war stories over plum jam. Children’s laughter when little ones run through the orchard with the pup. Kindness cascades in shared meals, quiet check-ins (“How’s your heart today?”), and the unspoken rule: no one eats alone. Travelers often realize how starved they were for real belonging, and how simple it is to offer it.
  
  Fair Share as a felt ethic
  No one takes the whole harvest. Abundance is passed hand to hand – a jar of jam to the next volunteer, a story to the village, a seed to the future. You learn limits feel like freedom when they’re chosen, not imposed. Many return home asking: “How much is enough?” and actually meaning it.
  
  54 senses re-awakened
  You start noticing things you forgot you could feel: the metallic tang of frost on your tongue, the low hum of bees in your chest, the way pine resin smells like prayer at dusk. One sense at a time, the world becomes louder, richer, more alive. The fifty-fourth – unity – sometimes arrives as a quiet shock: you are not separate from the soil, the stars, the stranger beside you.
  
  Balance as medicine
  Bert’s voice echoes: “Always and never are the enemies of balance.” You learn to sip, not flood; to rest, not push; to give without emptying yourself. The land and the people here teach moderation not as restriction, but as reverence.
  
  Slowness as rebellion
  In a world addicted to speed, you rediscover the power of doing one thing well, of waiting for the right moon to plant, of sitting in silence until the right word comes. Many leave saying: “I forgot I could live like this.”
  
  Mythology of place
  The Saxon house remembers communism and revolution. The Carpathians remember wolves and shepherds. The buffalo quilt remembers Lakota fires. You weave your own thread into the story – a small scar, a shared laugh, a seed planted – and carry that living myth home.
  
  In short: travelers leave here not with souvenirs, but with changed hands, quieter minds, fuller hearts, and a compass pointed toward health, happiness, abundance, and prosperity—for themselves, their people, and the seven generations they will never meet.

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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

  We are Kevin & family, slowly breathing life back into a historic Saxon house, barn, and cottage in the quiet village of Șomartin (nr. 4), at the foot of the Carpathians.
  We are looking for hard-working, kind-hearted, community-minded people who are curious about a slower, more rooted way of living and who want to help co-create something beautiful from the ground up.
  
  This is our private family homestead—a living, breathing project for me. It is a living experiment in regeneration, balance, and seven-generations thinking. The land was overgrown and forgotten when we arrived; now the mud is turning into soil, the ruin is becoming shelter, and the circle is slowly widening.
  If you feel called to roll up your sleeves, get your hands and knees dirty, laugh at the mess, and leave a small, good mark for the ones who come after us—this is your place.
  
  What we do here (and what you might help with):
  
  No-till forest garden, annual beds, raised beds, and expanding orchard – building soil with compost, mulch, cover crops, and worm castings
  Rainwater harvesting, greywater systems, and simple water wisdom
  Herb spirals, medicinal & culinary plantings, food preservation (fermenting, drying, smoking, jamming)
  Mushroom cultivation (indoor & outdoor logs), bee-friendly plantings (hives coming soon)
  Natural building & restoration: earth plasters, lime work, timber framing, salvaged brick & stone
  Chicken tractors, duck integration, and small livestock care
  Outdoor kitchen, rocket stoves, masonry heater warmth, and shared cooking over fire
  Greenhouse frame rising soon – year-round growing dreams
  Off-grid tinkering: solar, wood heat, hand tools, low-tech solutions
  Community weaving: village swaps, storytelling circles, elder honour, children’s wonder, and quiet acts of kindness
  
  We believe in fair exchange. You give 5 hours of focused, joyful work most days (with plenty of breaks, good food, and time to wander the hills), and we offer:
  
  Shared room in the historic barn or bring your own tent.
  Home-cooked meals (seasonal, simple, and abundant)
  Deep time in nature – forests, meadows, Carpathian views
  Hands-on learning in permaculture, natural building, food sovereignty, and indigenous-inspired balance (Lakota & ethics)
  A small, intentional circle – we host 3–4 volunteers at a time so relationships can grow real
  
  We are not in a hurry. Projects span seasons and years. Some days are muddy, some are golden. We laugh a lot, rest when the body asks, and always try to leave the land, the people, and the future a little better than we found them.
  
  If this calls to your heart—if you want to plant seeds (literal and figurative) in a place that remembers seven generations—write us. Tell us about yourself, why Șomartin, and what you hope to give and receive.
  
  Mitakuye Oyasin – we are all related.
  
  In harmony,
  Kevin & family
  Șomartin, Transylvania, Romania

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Swedish: Intermediate
  Romanian: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  To learn more Romanian
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  Accommodation

  Accommodation- a cot in the upstairs of the barn, or bring your own tent.
  
  This is what we can offer at the moment; in the future, we plan on building a bunkhouse.

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  What else ...

  Time off here is gentle and generous—after 4–5 focused hours of joyful work each day, 2 days free, the rest of the light belongs to you.
  
  What volunteers often do with free time:
  
  Wander the village lanes of Șomartin (250 souls, timeless Saxon houses, fortified church with 13th-century roots) – quiet, unhurried, perfect for slow photography or just breathing.
  
  Hike the nearby hills and meadows – wildflowers in spring/summer, golden beech forests in autumn, crisp snow trails in winter; the Carpathians rise close enough to feel personal.
  
  Sit with a book under the walnut tree or by the outdoor fire pit – many bring journals and leave with pages full of new questions and quiet answers.
  
  Explore the orchard and forest garden on your own – harvest a handful of berries or apples (when in season), sit among the herbs, listen to bees or wind.
  
  Help yourself to the outdoor kitchen for tea, rhubarb juice, or a quick ferment experiment – the space is yours.
  
  Join evening storytelling circles around the masonry heater when they happen – sometimes Lakota-inspired, sometimes just village tales over palincă.
  
  Rest deep – naps in the hayloft (seasonal), long soaks in the wood-fired tub (when we fire it up), or simply watching stars from the veranda.
  
  Local sights within reach
  
  The fortified church of Șomartin itself – a living piece of Saxon history, often open for quiet visits.
  
  Biertan (15–20 min drive) – one of Transylvania’s most beautiful fortified churches, UNESCO-listed, with medieval towers and panoramic views.
  
  Sighișoara (45–60 min) – the only inhabited medieval citadel in Europe, birthplace of Vlad Țepeș (Dracula legend), cobbled streets, clock tower, colorful houses.
  
  Mediaș (30–40 min) – charming old town with a leaning tower, beautiful squares, and a slower Saxon feel.
  The surrounding villages (Bruiu, Agnita, etc.) – perfect for bicycle or walking loops, each with its own church, graveyard stories, and friendly neighbors.
  
  Nature – Carpathian foothills for day hikes, wild mushrooms (with guidance), birdwatching, or simply lying in a meadow listening to the land.
  
  Transport & getting around (updated with fresh checks)
  
  We are rural, tucked in Șomartin's quiet – the nearest active train station is in Arpașu de Jos (about 25–35 min drive southeast, depending on roads; ~20km as the crow flies, but winding paths make it longer).
  From there, you can connect west to Sibiu (train ~45–60 min, several daily) or east to Făgăraș (~20–30 min, frequent locals).
  
  Sibiu station is a major hub with trains from Bucharest (4–5h), Cluj (3–4h), or international links via Timișoara.
  Făgăraș offers good eastward connections to Brașov (1h), Bucharest (4–5h), and beyond.
  
  For longer trips (Sighișoara, Sibiu), shared taxis, Bolt/Uber, or regional trains are easy and inexpensive – we’ll help you plan.
  
  This is a place that gives back what you bring: curiosity, kindness, patience, and a willingness to get muddy. Come as you are. Leave a little lighter, a little wiser, and carrying a few more stitches in the web.
  
  Mitakuye Oyasin.
  The loom waits.

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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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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  My animals / pets

  Chickens

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