Join our village life near Swallow Mountain on Corfu, Greece

Details

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  Description

  Hi, my husband Paul and I are of retirement age - but never stop working. We live in a village in North West Corfu, between Swallow Mountain - majestic mountain planted with oaks, olives and cypress trees and where the swallows return every year - and below us the beautiful bay of Agios Giorgios Pagon. It is a small village but thriving and it is only 35 minutes from Corfu Town, historic capital of Corfu and where you can find anything you might need including museums, beautiful buildings, clothes and food shops plus medical and legal help at low cost. We're working on renovating a house and a warehouse with fields. We have professional building help and Paul is experienced and creative in carpentry, design and many other skills. I was a documentary film maker but now do a lot of organic gardening - vegetables and flowers - and am planning to plant a wild piece of land on the edge of the village. We married a few years ago and have 5 great children between us aged between 30 - 49, who are spread between the US, Australia and UK but who visit us regularly. We have English and German neighbours as well as our very lovely Greek neighbours, many of whom speak English. We feed a lot of cats! Corfu is known for it's wild and semi-wild population and cat love is an essential part of any working with us! We also live in the UK and return frequently as well as travelling to mainland Greece and elsewhere.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  House sitting
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  Interests

  

  Videography

  

  Vegetarian or vegan

  

  Pets

  

  Sustainability

  

  Self development

  

  Movies & TV

  

  Culture

  

  Photography

  

  Plant care

  

  Gardening

  

  History

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Carpentry

  

  Books

  

  Animals

  

  Art & design

  

  Architecture

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Nature

  

  Dancing

  

  Beach

  

  Sailing / Boating

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Hiking

  

  Cycling
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Socially there are not many young people in the village but we are friends with local villagers and German, English and Belgian people also living here. In winter the island is quiet and would suit anyone who has their own interests/work as well as liking stunning countryside and sea. But in spring (from April), summer and autumn everything livens up and the coastal towns get busy with boats, swimming, yoga etc. Arillas, around 20 minutes away, is known for its alternative culture with yoga, meditation, dance and many other practices available plus a couple of major festivals - Colibri Spirit and Agape Zoe. Corfu Town is busy and lively and buses go back and forth daily.
  We're both creative people who love discussing ideas around interior design, building, film-making, art, history, politics, food, current affairs and gardening as well as history (especially of Greece) and Buddhist practice. Patricia is constantly researching how to be a better organic gardener with permaculture and biodynamic approaches in a changing climate. Paul makes art and is constantly recycling and refashioning wood and other materials to make objects and functional items for our renovation projects. We appreciate learning from our friends and new people in our lives and have had rich exchanges with friends of our children as well as learning Greek from a workaway couple who were with us for a few months.

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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 have lots of things Workawayers can get involved in! Gardening, light building work on buildings we're renovating (assisting Paul and other professionals like plumbers, stone workers, etc), house cleaning, cooking, cat feeding, shopping - all allowing us to concentrate on our main tasks and to manage the various buildings and sites we're working with. One big need is for reliable Workawayers who can look after our house/garden/animals while we travel back to UK or go elsewhere. For instance, we're thinking of a trip to Thailand and New Zealand in February 2025 for around a month, to see Patricia's son Will who moved to Australasia a while ago. So that will involve responsibility and regular reporting on how things are going. We have key friends and neighbours who can advise if needed.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Intermediate
  French: Intermediate
  Greek: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  Would love to learn more Greek!
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  Accommodation

  We have a 3 bedroom house in the village with a large open plan living/dining/kitchen on the ground floor and a walled south facing terrace outside, looking at Swallow Mountain. All beds are double and there is ample storage and a balcony on the first floor as well, plus bedding. If this is not available due to rental (depending on time of year), we have a studio annexe attached to our house which has its own double bed/sofa and kitchenette with use of bathroom in the main house. If in the 3 bedroom Lemon House you would be mostly self-catering with a group meal one or two times a week and we would subsidise the food bill. In the annexe we would expect you to self-cater for breakfast and lunch but you or we would cook and eat together.
  We have said 15 hours a week if self-catering but we would happily provide basic foodstuffs, help with shopping and cook at least 2 meals a week together. It's all flexible!

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  What else ...

  The island is stunningly beautiful and there are many terrific beaches. Buses come through Prinilas every day and go to Corfu Town, stopping in many places. There are regular ferry trips to other islands including from near us to small islands off the coast and from Corfu you can get to Albania's hot spot Sarande in 30 minutes. Boats, cars, bikes, scooters and quad bikes are for hire on our local beach and there are numerous restaurants in season. In winter (up to March/April) few restaurants are open except in Corfu Town.

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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 Starlink which is very reliable and fast. We can be adaptable on hours to fit in with any digital meetings etc

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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