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31 Jul 2025
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Description
Ciao!
We are Jana and Mattia, a couple who travelled the world as workawayers, until we found our spot and decided to settle. While travelling we realized we wanted to live a slower life, more simple and connected to earth. This choice brought us to Piemonte countryside, living in an old
semi-refurbished farmhouse with our dogs, cats, rabbits, ducks, chickens, goats and bees. We don't have a business with the land, as we have our own online jobs, we're simply trying to produce our own food with our veggie garden, fruit orchard and ... some of the above mentioned animals.
We are based in the woods of Castellino Tanaro (CN), a small municipality at the beginning of the "Langhe" region of Piedmont, famous for its Cheese, cured meats and Red Wine. The farmhouse is quite isolated so while here you can have the feeling of being anywhere in the world, but still, we are close to some bigger towns like Ceva or Mondovì and 1 hour of train from cities like Turin or Savona (Ligurian Seaside).
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
Interests
Pets
Sustainability
Movies & TV
Farming
Photography
Art & design
Books
Plant care
Music
History
DIY & crafts
Languages
Cooking & food
Gardening
Drawing & painting
Carpentry
Animals
Team sports
Yoga / Wellness
Hiking
Dancing
Nature
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Even though we are quite hidden in the woods, we are not hermits :) we often share meals with friends and family, visit nearby town's markets weekly and the various "Sagre", culinary towns festivals hosted here and there by the various municipalities.
We play some sports too ( mostly beach volley with friends) , and apart from that we tend to enjoy the quiet and tranquillity of our place, maybe with a glass of wine. Of course you are more than welcome to join us on any of the above activities!
Between the two of us we have four nationalities ( Mattia half Italian- half Scottish and Jana was born in Russia and grew up in Norway) so we're already a mix of cultures, but we are very excited to meet people from around the world, from countries that we visited in our travels and countries which we don't know anything about (yet), share experiences and stories, and learn about different cultures and their customs.
We hope to find people who will understand the vibe of the place and can bring and add their own energy and experience to it.
Our rural and agricultural skills and knowledge were entirely formed during our travels with workaway and in the last 6 years living here. We don't come from the countryside so we had to learn everything the hard way, basically by doing, failing and trying again. We are happy to share everything we learnt so far and to learn something back from you, even though Mattia is very stubborn..:)
Anyway we DO NOT expect you to have any particular skills with anything, as long as you're happy to try and learn new things
Help
We need help tending to the animals, feeding and cleaning of their facilities.
Moving and stockpiling firewood.
Help with the Veggie Garden and Fruit Orchard, mulching, weeding, pruning and hopefully harvesting :)
Clearing the gravel road to the house from weeds and branches, clearing the water gutters and trenches.
Help with the Hay harvest if in season.
Help with any other small tasks that living in a farmhouse from 1870s will bring us.
We'll be mostly working together but on occasions you might be asked to work independently.
We do not expect you to have any experience in any of the above tasks, we're happy to share what we know and to learn and implement new ways if you do have experience to share. We also don't ask you to cover all these tasks at the same time, we'd like you to find the most suitable task for yourself and your interests.
Also we want to clarify that you will not be asked to take part in the refurbishment of the House!
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
Norwegian: Fluent
Russian: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
Accommodation
As said before we are in a very old farmhouse in the middle of the woods, as much as we keep everything clean and tidy, you might find insects, spiderwebs and little rodents, the cats get most of them so very unlikely you'll find them in the bedroom but you might see some around the property.. that's just nature.
You'll have your own room with a double bed and bathroom (mostly refurbished). The bathroom is private in the evening but we might require access to it during the day, as we use it for the washing machine, the hot water boiler and work changing room.
We always eat lunches and dinners together, not breakfasts as we might have different schedules.
For breakfast we'll provide for the basic (coffee, tea, bread, butter, jam, honey, milk)
You'll be asked to help setting and clearing the table and wash the dishes (unless you cooked!) of course this is just normal common sense and doesn't count as working hours..
We cook fresh food with vegetables from our garden and locale produce every day, and you're welcome to help if you like to learn some recipes or teach us some from your culture!
Of course it's Italy.. so yes, pasta and carbs are the base.
We do eat meat and only locally sourced meat.
If you have any specific allergies let us know in the application.
Unfortunately we do not accomodate for Vegans, Vegetarians and Celiacs, as said we do eat all together and there's no time nor space for everyone to cook and eat something different.
We do drink wine and beer with meals and the occasional aperitivo. We are happy to offer you a glass of wine with your meal, but in case you plan to drink more consistently we will ask you to buy your own;)
What else ...
We can pick you up from Ceva Train Station/Bus Stop.
We are quite remote from the nearest village or town so unless you have your own vehicle you are kind of stuck here in your time off. That's not necessarily a bad thing if you want to relax in the quiet of the countryside and have a swim in our little swimming pool.
Otherwise you can walk to the village of Castellino Tanaro through the trail in the woods it'll take 20 mins, there you'll find a small bar, a restaurant, a Church and a medieval Tower, that's pretty much it.
The town of Ceva is still at walkable distance but roughly 8 km, so not for everyone.
We do drive to Ceva every Wednesday morning for the market though so you're welcome to join, we also go to Mondovì (the biggest town in the area) and so you will catch a ride if you want.
On your days off we’re happy to take you to the train station in the morning and pick you up in the evening, this way you’ll be able to catch a day-trip to either the seaside or the nearby cities (Torino, Cuneo, Fossano…)
Let's say that in general if you're planning to move a lot and you don't have your own car, bycicle or motorcycle, we can show you a bit around, but it'll depend on our schedule.
On the other hand, if you do have your own transportation, there's plenty of parking space and we will provide you with all the information to explore the area. You can visit the "langhe" hills and the world famous Vinyards of Barolo just 30/40 mins drive from here. We are also very close to a motorway Junction so you can be in Torino, the Alps or the Seaside in no time.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
My animals / pets
Ciccio & Iskra (10 years)
