Collaborate, build and learn at our refuge house in the Asturias mountains, Spain

Details

• 

  Description

  We have reduced the activity of this project, before we accepted 4 volunteers, now only one
  
  
  For a few months we are going to reduce the number of volunteers to around one, it is an illness of a relative of ours that forces us to travel, the project will continue but with certain limitations.
  
  . and with the visit on weekends of a character Paco...who works as a craftsman teacher, bricklayer, carpenter, cook, climber, electrician...not at all perfect...yes, full of patience and a lot of energy....he goes there to Do and enjoy the adventure of the journey of life...
  
  "Paco's house" is very large, it has stone walls and inside half of the partitions are made of wood. the standard is similar to a mid-level mountain refuge. but this is not a hotel, don't expect us to have 20 degrees... this is not a tourist accommodation... and we can climb together but... I'm not a mountain guide.
  
  one of our nice volunteers, he liked everything very much... but... he was very impressed, that the house was in the middle of winter at +10 degrees Celsius.
  
  You can check the temperature in the area online, it is similar to what you can find in a typical mountain refuge in Spain.
  
  
  ..We are looking for a volunteer who wants an immersion in rural life and climbing. The plan is to WORK 3 days and ENJOY 4 days climbing and hiking in the area (you have to be used to some physical activity beforehand, if you like the mountains and the countryside and have frequently practiced these sports, then you are a good candidate) .
  
  
  
  We are looking for volunteers from the ......rest of the year...look calendar..
  
  
  If you want to know more about this project, I recommend that you contact other volunteers (by Whats app) they will give you a realistic view of their experience, we like to plan arrivals in advance.
  
  
  Climbing and completing the climbing school is a central objective of the project and the other half is, on the one hand, the garden (planting and fixing accesses and closures, and on the other hand, masonry, carpentry (it is a job, preferably when it rains and we cannot work or climb outside) The type of climbing that is practiced is classic and we have material for 4 climbers, the only thing we do not have, for all, are all the numbers, of the so-called climbing shoes "climbing shoes", but you can wear hiking boots or sturdy shoes.
  
  
  The minimum stay is one month, and the maximum >>>>> is 3 months, it is about having time to learn what we are going to do and that you assume that this is a >>>>> temporary stay>>
  
  The project has a very particular format, and a curious form of communication, the general philosophy is 3+4, there are three days of work activity , and 4 of sports activity (excursions... training... .) we have a volunteer who acts as a leader, generally the most expert... and the rest are added following a choral action plan.
  
  the activity at the house is always documented on WhatsApp, all the members of that community (those who are here and those who are abroad in other parts of the world) receive photos and details of the activities every day, (what is not is documented does not exist).
  
  
  There is freedom to decide which days to work or go on excursions, but we plan what we are going to do, we schedule our weekly program in advance, we organize shifts for housework, cleaning, laundry, meals. WhatsApp is like a diary. Paco consults the activities and he usually comments on how to do the projects.
  
  The stays of the volunteers have a clear day of arrival, to be able to receive them and an end scheduled in advance, to be able to organize ourselves in linking the present and future activities.
  At this time the priority is to work on lowering and digging the paths to the entire orchard and this job will take us a few days, with the aim of being able to walk with a wheelbarrow comfortably throughout the orchard. An example of how an activity is documented has been our climbing day, its planning, its execution, the systematics, the provision of climbing materials, food... ,
  
  we have been planning and exploring for months and when we climb, we document every detail safety ..That is the particular philosophy... to do, plan, document, enjoy and above all communicate.
  
  One of our current objectives is to accept other types of volunteers (those who wish to live in the area, the stay in this case, instead of 3 at most, would be a temporary stay of 6 months and then support and exchange of time, tools , infrastructure... to make possible a new settlement... of a person or a family (in this case the time would be extended to one year)
  
  
  The towns, the towns are dying little by little, the repopulation is very complex and difficult, if you want to live in the area you will be a priority volunteer and we will try to help you and advise you in a determined way.
  
  A rotation of people is intended, (3 months maximum for the standard volunteer and 6 months to a year in the case of families) who can take advantage of the stay to decide if you are interested in this type of life or if you want to find a place to live in the area… we will be happy to help you buy or rent a house here.
  
  We are interested in a bilingual or trilingual stay... to be able to practice languages... but the basic language is English (in free time we can exchange language classes but Paco will speak preferably in English.
  
  What we do is not finish our project, it is fully functional, we have 6 finished rooms, there are still things to finish... but it is secondary.
  
  The priority is to develop our climbing school, and we are creating new low-difficulty climbing routes that are respectful of the environment, using the concept of classic easy climbing without complexes.
  
  The language of communication with Paco is English, I am here one weekend a week, the rest the volunteers decide the language of communication.
  
  The ranch is to practice climbing, to learn to cut down a tree, to make a path... to speak English, French, Italian or Portuguese, but this is not a good destination to learn to speak Spanish.
  
  
  We need volunteers, we are looking for people who are interested in living in an isolated village without shops in a mountain environment, accustomed to an independent life. We love to climb, visit caves... the plan is to work 3 days a week and have 4 days for yourself (for sports activities)
  
  
  This project has 14 years of development in a family that has admitted volunteers for 35 years.
  
  We have a wooden house, we want to live with people who don't smoke (if you smoke you can't come)
  
  At this moment the project is very consolidated, we have a town house finished in the Asturian mountains and we are in the process of finishing a second semi-detached house, we have 3 orchards and 18 hens.
  
  All the volunteers have a separate room, meals and work are done together, it is a choral project, it is not a solitary job or life. The focus of the project is the community, we only admit 1 volunteer at a time, (with the exception of families who are looking for a house to live in our area)
  
  For me it is always a joy to receive volunteers, it is the opportunity to share, but I also like to see people come to their new projects. That feeling of freedom, that this open-door project is located in a small rural community that preserves a unique way of life... in a mountain environment where we can coexist with nature.
  
  Here everything goes slowly, it is best to get in touch with other volunteers who live with us or who have lived. We are not interested in quick visits... Many people tell us..."I want to come for a week..." That is not very real" between what you learn, you know the area... This is a slow project...
  
  
  The most interesting thing is life together, that is the goal, sharing, food, languages, adventures...
  Please read all the text slowly...we always reply to emails...
  
  We have a Mediterranean style diet... we eat meat and fish... (if you have dietary restrictions you cannot join us, here the food is made in a common way)
  
  We make a shopping list with typical Mediterranean diet products, we are not vegan or vegetarian, and we cannot admit people with dietary restrictions. For example, we consume cow's milk, the shopping list will not contain almond milk or rare milk... we try to find simplicity in everything, including food.
  
  We do not like dogmatism and we laugh at the fashions of the moment. .
  Ours is a rational and respectful traditional agriculture with the environment.
  
  We have animals, chickens, a vegetable garden and we are making a forest of fruit trees... In a garden forest
  It's important... read the comments of the volunteers, talk to them... and that way you will understand the project.
  Some of our volunteers have stayed in the area for a while,
  
  
  Please read all the text slowly...we always reply to emails...
  
  We have a Mediterranean style diet... we eat meat and fish...
  
  Not a project for stressed travelers
  
  Spending a month here... It won't leave us indifferent... but this... will never be a vacation home at mom and dad's house... you need to read the profile and realize that uploading here is to accept challenging... for an adult... 7 percent of volunteers don't fit in, find it too lonely, too spartan, too isolated, too hilly (this is all true)
  
  The best way to decide if this project fits your lifestyle and expectations... is to talk to other volunteers. The time you spend here is valuable time and should not be wasted. you must learn skills and put yourself to the test before new challenges... you arrive at a project with a certain maturity that will offer you many things... but it is an isolated place... and the challenges are here... for you to decide What do you want to do? Good Lucky.
  
  Organizing the arrival of workaways volunteers to our project ... is complex, approximately half of those who say they will arrive do not, the reason is simple, volunteers are interrelated with many projects and it takes them a long time to decide if we do the same , leaving out half of it would be a terrible decision for the volunteers who decide to come.
  How to solve this dilemma? is not easy. The first thing is to make all possible information available to the volunteers, including real videos of the activities we do, leave the volunteers' telephone numbers so that they can explain to future volunteers what the particular project is. and on the other hand we decide in a few hours if we accept you or not.
  but in the end the matter is to set an arrival and departure date and thus manage the number of volunteers and their complexity based on their characteristics...languages...based on this I send you this message. until you have a plane, bus or train ticket, your arrival will be very uncertain...we talk to each other...even though you have a fixed room here without confirming...it's believing in things that aren't firm...we talk.
  
  
  The lemon tree already has lemons... Matias planted it... the history of Paco's house is being written by hundreds of people... Laura, Alberto, Jiri, Matteo... Víctor Jack, Dag, Ramón, Astrid, Maite, Eduardo , those that I remember at this moment...these and others...are a selection of people with a special talent...people...who contributed a lot...and the greatness...is the generosity of those who understand... this peculiar chimera... always moving forward... learning... teaching... sharing... with no further pretensions to follow... each one his project and with deep respect for the other ...to the different...with an open attitude ...they are people who also have the door open to return...
  
  
  EASY CLASSIC CLIMBING WITHOUT COMPLEXES, THEY WILL BE A SERIES OF CLIMBING ROUTES, MULTILARGOS, OF VARIOUS PITCHES, OF CLASSIC STYLE, OF AN UNPREVENTIONED CLIMBER, BEYOND ENJOYING AND BEING ABLE TO CLIMB UP TO 70 YEARS OLD and to be able to share this hobby-passion ,
  This route is not for eating cliffs, this is an easy climb, to learn to progress in several pitches and not to suffer...it's another concept...it's to enjoy...Enjoy climbing.
  We must always check each other, that it is perfectly strung, a well-groomed knot, that the insurance system is well assembled, we will use the most popular.... The cricket or gregre..
  It is always better to climb with a friend who knows, if not a monitor. It is useful to take a course.
  The video considers a climb for two people, where the first person always goes first on the rope, this does not always have to be the case, we can vary, it is climbed alternately, or depending on the difficulty or level.
  Here we are in a climb of very low difficulty, on a route that did not have the meetings set up, the openings placed the meetings on rock bridges with ropes.
  It must be done in a chord interval adapted to its length.
  
  ASTURIAS IS THE PARADISE OF LIMESTONE. A very adherent type of stone, where the feet of cats adhere to their shoes like superman...
  Other videos will explore other types of rope.
  The climb of three is slower, but this allows us a slower progression, unless the first one with the basket secures the remaining two at the same time in their progression.
  ALWAYS WITH A HELMET...because it's cool...when a stone falls..., with meetings every 30 meters, where we can practice the use of:
  -rock bridges
  -Locks
  -Friends... They have their tricks..
  -Insurance systems. Here we focus on something basic.
  -Meeting equipment
  -Use of rope
  -Knots
  -Sequence of several pitches,
  - Climb down.
  You can always leave by rappelling, in case it rains... but you have to be careful not to throw stones...
  -You go up to a channel and in 10 minutes at the STARTING point. The first meeting.
  Climbing is a sport, with a complex technical base, where we have to focus on learning ways to do the sport safely, to progress in the use and management of the rope.
  When you climb the most important thing is safety and the second thing is to focus on feeling the pleasure of flowing through the rock, ENJOY progress.
  Climbing for me is not suffering, I do not come to the mountains to have a bad time, to feel that I have reached the maximum.... No... I am not interested in that type of climbing, after spending 50 years practicing this sport, he claimed a type of enjoyable climbing, 'escalada clasica facil sin complejos' or easy classic climbing without complexes
  
  
  ESCALADA CLASICA FACIL SIN COMPLEJOS, SERAN UNA SERIE DE VIAS DE ESCALADA , MULTILATGOS, DE VARIOS LARGOS, DE ESTILO CLASICO, DE UN ESCALADOR SIN PRETENSIONES, MAS ALLA DE DISFRUTAR Y DE PODER ESCALAR HASTA LOS 70 AÑOS y poder compartir esta afición-pasión,
  Esta vía no es para come riscos, esto es una escalada fácil, para aprender a progresar en varios largos y para no sufrir...es otro concepto...es para disfrutar .."escalada Disfrutona.
  Hay que comprobar siempre unos a otros, que este perfectamente encordado, un nudo bien peinado, que el sistema de seguro está bien montado, nosotros utilizaremos el más popular.... El grillo o gregre..
  Siempre es mejor escalar con un amig@ que sepa , si no un monitor. Es útil hacer un cursillo.
  El video se plantea una escalada de dos personas, donde el primero siempre va de primero de cuerda, esto no tiene que ser siempre así, podemos variar, se escala bien de forma alternada, o dependiendo de la dificultad o el nivel.
  Aquí estamos en una escalada de muy baja dificultad, en una vía que no tenía montada las reuniones, los aperturistas, colocaron con cuerdas las reuniones en puentes de roca.
  Hay que hacerlo en un intervalo de cuerda adaptado a la longitud de la misma.
  
  ASTURIAS ES EL PARAÍSO DE LA CALIZA. Un tipo de piedra muy adherente, donde los pies de gatos se adhieren como a Superman sus zapatos...
  Otros videos exploraremos otros tipos de cordada.
  La escalada de tres es más lenta, pero esto nos permite una progresión más pausada, a no ser que el primero con la cesta asegure a los dos restantes al tiempo en su progresión.
  SIEMPRE CON CASCO...por qué mola...cuando cae una piedra..., con reuniones cada un 30 metro, donde podamos practicar el uso de:
  -Puentes de roca
  -Empotradores
  -Friends... Tienen sus trucos.
  -Sistemas de seguro. Aquí nos centramos en algo básico.
  -Equipamiento de reunión
  -Uso de cuerda
  -Nudos
  -Secuencia de varios largos,
  -Des trepe.
  Se puede abandonar siempre repelando, por si llueve.... pero hay que tener cuidado de no tirar piedras...
  -Se sale por arriba a una canal y en 10 minutos en el punto de PARTIDA. La primera reunión.
  La escalada es un deporte, con una base técnica compleja, donde tenemos que centrarnos en aprender unas formas de hacer el deporte seguro, de progresar en el uso y manejo de la cuerda.
  Cuando escales lo más importante es la seguridad y lo segundo céntrate en sentir el placer de fluir por la roca, un progresar DISFRUTON.
  Escalar para mí no es sufrir, yo no vengo a las montañas a pasarlo mal, a sentir que he llegado al máximo.... No... No me interesa ese tipo de escalada, después de llevar 50 años practicando este deporte reivindicó un tipo de escalada Disfrutona ESCALADA CLASICA FACIL SIN COMPLEJOS

• 

  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
• 

  UN sustainablity goals this host is trying to achieve

  ×

  ...

  ...

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  What's this?
• 

  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Participating in a project like this has the interest of learning, masonry work, carpentry, to repair a path to work as a team, work in an orchard ... learn another language, in a mountain environment ... full of life and of history.
  There is a lot of free time.
  In less than 100 meters you are in the woods with a mountain river.
  
  You can have the experience of living a life with "neo" rural
  If you have time and energy it is a good project ....
  
  
  The Puertos de Marabio Natural Monument is made up of sinkholes and blind valleys.
  
  It is a natural space protected by the existence of a peculiar karst complex, formed by sinkholes and blind valleys that give it great hydrogeological interest. It has three large cavities: the Sumidoiro del Fondadal, 156 meters deep, the Vistulaz Cave and the Vegalonga System, which with its 5,900 meters of development represents one of the main underground complexes in the region.
  
  In the ports we can find grasslands with deer and scrub surface, generally heaths, gorse, holly, Genista occidentalis, hawthorn and blackthorn.
  
  This Natural Monument is included in the Protected Landscape of Pico Caldoveiro.
  
  Location in the Area
  
  The Ports of Marabio are located between the councils of Yernes and Tameza, Teverga and Proaza, and are delimited to the east by the Sierra de Peña Padiella, to the west by the Sierra de la Granda, to the north by Pico Caldoveiro and to the south by the watershed of the River.

• 

  Help

  We need help building and repairing a cabin in the woods with people to help
  
  YOU DON'T NEED TO BE AN EXPERT...THIS IS AN EXCHANGE PROCESS...WE CAN TEACH YOU WHAT YOU NEED... But learning is a process that takes time... .. we need calm minds, kind people and helpers with a sense of humor
  if you are a professional perfect weeks if we have to teach the process is slow, and the minimum stay 1 month

• 

  Languages

  Languages spoken
  Spanish: Fluent
  English: Intermediate
  French: Beginner
  Italian: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  WE SPEAK CASTELLANO SPANISH, WE HAVE NO DIFFICULTIES TO SPEAK ENGLISH AT A MEDIUM LEVEL ... WITH GRAMMATICAL ERRORS BUT GOOD COMMUNICATIVE LEVEL. THE FRENCH IS A LITTLE RUSTY, WE ARE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND PORTUGUESE AND ITALIAN The language of communication with Paco is English, I am here one weekend a week, the rest the volunteers decide the language of communication. The stay is to practice climbing, to learn to cut a tree, to make a path... to speak but in English, French, Italian or Portuguese, this is not a good destination to learn to speak Spanish
• 

  Accommodation

  All volunteers have their own room and there is even a small apartment
  
  Volunteers have "all inclusive" food, transportation visits to the area ...
  Volunteers have a room Comfortable and functional.
  
  Volunteers have "all inclusive" food, transportation visits to the area ...
  
  Have private room
  
  Everything we need to work we have, your clothes, if you have a normal size, but this is never a problem .... we are used to finding solutions.

• 

  What else ...

  we receive numerous requests, to your request for stay we have said yes but we need to have an approximate calendar of the date of your arrival, since we need to answer the e-mails today yes or no.
  
  
  A small comment about respect for other ways of living.
  In the town our neighbors are cattle ranchers, with their peculiar way of understanding life and the struggles to survive in the balance of the natural environment.
  The neo-rurals -e
  Among those I find myself very given to preaching that it is the right thing to do and not about how the balance between wildlife and livestock should be.
  I think we should reflect from a respectful point of view. We must not fall into cultural ethnocentrism, walking slowly and listening previously allows us to build another way of thinking but it is a process of years, the countryside is not changed with speeches from the city. I think respect and listening is a good point of view.
  
  Volunteers are expected to be autonomous, if / the project adapts you will enjoy it, if you don't adapt. Don't suffer, look for another site that suits your philosophy.
  
  We are interested in receiving people who understand what it means to live autonomously in a rural environment. Sometimes visitors expect to find the same as in a city and that is not the case. It is not necessary to have experience but to be disciplined and autonomous. There is a lot of free time. The work schedule is 24 hours a week, we usually concentrate it on three days so we have more days off ... if you want another distribution there are no problems.
  
   The cabin no. It is comfortable, HAS ALL KIND OF CLOTHES, WATER BOOTS ... but life in the countryside has some characteristics that need important energy and adaptability from visitors.
  
  This is not a good option for travelers who believe that this is a hotel ... no, here this is a house where three days a week really works and four is enjoyed .... it is your time ... for what That you decide, THIS IS AN EXCHANGE PROGRAM ... IT IS SOMETHING LIKE A WORKSHOP SCHOOL ... PEOPLE ARE THE IMPORTANT ... THE HONESTY..THE BEING ABLE TO SHARE .... the fundamental ... enjoy of what you live
  
  ***

• 

  A little more information

  • 

    Internet access

  • 

    Limited internet access

  • 

    We have pets

  • 

    We are smokers

  • 

    Can host families

• 

  Can host digital nomads

  Digital nomads are accepted, we have an acceptable Internet speed for a remote village, the maximum for the Vodafone company.

• 

  Space for parking camper vans

  Large vans do not fit well on such narrow roads. A typical WB van fits well, in the town there is a lot of place to park in front of our house there is a park and a fountain

• 

  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

• 

  Hours expected

  Maximum 24h a week

Feedback (27)