Experience semi self sufficient, semi off grid way of life in a country house in the beautiful hills of Umbria, Italy

Availability

  2025 

 Min stay requested: at least 3 weeks

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    Hi Workawayers! We are, Marcus an Architect, Lucy an Artist and Lola 13. Rimondato is on a hillside with a view down a valley & woods all around. We follow the seasons, planting and tending the veg patch. Life here is a mixture of nature and creativity, art, architectural, ceramics, vegetable growing and making projects. We are trying to be as selfsufficent as possible but it is not easy. We recognise that we need help and to grow as a community. That is where you come in.
    As the season turns so does the work. Please see "Year Cycle" in the " help requested section" to get an idea of what is happening when you are here. The Chestnut harvest is in the middle two weeks of October and Olive picking from the first weekend in November.

    We have hosted some 70 plus Workawayers and started in 2010, so I guess you could say we are experienced hosts. We welcome everyone, single travellers, couples, or friends.

    We welcome visitors into the house as friends not hired help. To allow for the best exchange we prefer longer stays, ideally a month, this allows you to settle into the daily patterns and have more autonomy. We like responsible people, with experience but it depends on the task, we have many skills to share with willing people. It is all about cultural exchange and building friendship networks.
    ART - As a workawayer, your main stay will be about garden or harvesting however there is always art happening and often a lesson available from Lucy or the possability to do some clay if we are firing the kiln.

    We are 10km away from Citta Di Castello a town of an ideal size. We tend to go to town twice a week, including most Saturdays, which is the main market day, but we try to avoid too many car journeys. So you need to be the kind of people that are happy being in nature, walking/cycling, reading, making art and just being or baking! There are bikes, if you want to explore the hills or visit a village about 5km away that has a shop, a small bar and some things to see. If you go a bit further you find yourself immersed in Renaissance art and all sorts of wonderful history.
    Surrounding visits become part of the routine.

    FOOD;- We are not vegetarian but do not eat much meat. We are trying to take life back to first principles, producing as much of our own food as we can or source it from the local market.

    WORK:- Is generally quite hard physical tasks, but it is a great environment to work in and good company makes doing easier.
    Life here is a mix, low tech hands on working the ground and having fun being creative. ...games nights!

    We ask that you muck in with food preparation and tidying up. We also ask that you respect our home and tidy up after your selves and keep it as you found it, or tidier! Otherwise in giving help you create new work for us.

    We hope to hear from you.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    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
    Help with Computers/ Internet
    House sitting
  • Interests

    Interests

    Sustainability
    Culture
    Books
    Plant care
    Music
    Gardening
    Drawing & painting
    Art & design
    Architecture
    Animals
    Nature
    Dancing
    Cycling
  • UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN goals
    No poverty
    Zero hunger
    Good health and well-being
    Quality education
    Gender equality
    Clean water and sanitation
    Affordable and clean energy
    Decent work and economic growth
    Industries, innovation and infrastructure
    Reduce inequality
    Sustainable cities and communities
    Responsible consumption and production
    Climate action
    Life below water
    Life on land
    Peace, justice and strong institutions
    Partnerships for the goals
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    As a helper here you have the chance to get involved in a homestead, semi self sufficient, semi off grid way of life.

    What you will be involved in here at any time of the year are things that are happening across much of rural Italy at the same time. Whether that be planting or preserving tomatoes, harvesting chestnuts or olives, or preparing the garden and house for winter. making bread or you can ask for a lesson in pasta making and if we are many, and you are a real foody and experienced cook you can take over the kitchen duties. So you will find genuine Italian experiences that you cannot buy as a tourist, you can only truly experience them by living, working and doing them.

    We are developing and improving our system all the time and like to share our knowledge and experience with, and learn from our visitors. We believe in reciprocity, being resourceful, environmental, working with the seasons, nature's diversity and beauty, peace and tranquillity.

    There is sometimes the potential ART lessons between harvesting or jobs.

    We are both very technically capable in practical making and have skills, building, sustainability, architecture, back to basics as they say- Cooking, a very creative life.
    We are on the doorstep of Leonardo Da Vinci and Pierro Della Francesca.

  • Projects involving children

    Projects involving children

    This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

  • Help

    Help

    Help makes all the difference. We have plenty of skills but your extra hands are really welcome
    Our working days are flexible with a mix of the primary projects and smaller fill-in activities. We generally get going after a cup of coffee and a morning chat at 8.30 - 9 although it can be earlier depends on the heat of the day.
    Jobs like the harvest are always enriched by philosophical debates as we sort them, competing who can find the biggest one!

    YEARLY CYCLE Veg Program
    Dec-Jan No Workaway
    Feb - March - Prune, Compost, get beds ready
    March - April - Seed plating get Tomato beds ready
    May - June - Make Garden beautiful
    July - Aug - The figs are coming and the tomatoes are in full flow, making passata,chutneys, a lot of preserving harvest. August -September - Gathering wood and cutting logs to keep the house warm. Veg patch planting winter crops. Cutting grass, tidying the end of the summer and making ready for the chestnut harvest.
    Oct Chestnuts Harvest from 8th for 2 weeks Group of 4-5
    Nov Olive Harvest first or second week fro 2 weeks

    Daily Routine help frees up time and spreads the love
    Walking, cuddling dogs, Feeding cats & chickens, Housekeeping, Watering the veg patch, collecting produce and Cooking,.

    Project help, develop Rimondato
    Help deconstruct the ruins and arrange rubble ready for build
    Building irrigation system for fruit trees
    Building a filtration system/reed bed.
    Making the chicken and Duck compound more secure.
    Re vamping the Amphitheatre
    Building Platforms in the Garden
    Painting and decorating.

  • Languages

    Languages spoken
    English: Fluent
    Italian: Intermediate

    This host offers a language exchange
    We speak English and Italian but we need a bit of work on our Italian.

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    Rimondato is a rustic farmhouse, with lovely country views of Umbrian woodland hills, with walks all around.
    It is a blend of traditional with modern quirky creative interior. Visitios stay in;-

    The Little House , a separate house with 2-3 beds, with it's own kitchen, bathroom etc, which gives your own space and away time.
    or
    The Tower is an autonomous space with a cabin bed/shower/toilet/room accessed from our house.

    For general Workaway stays we eat in the main house together. Taking it in turns to clear/ wash up etc. We are always happy to learn new recipes if you wish to share your cooking skills.

    Wi-Fi in most areas of house except when there is a storm and sometimes it goes down for a while, NO Television but we love to project a film nights .
    Good showers, clean comfy beds.
    Dish washer and washing machine.

    The water is heated by solar panels or a Wood burning boiler, so sometimes in winter autumn, if the sun is not out or I have forgotten to light the boiler at the right time there can be a delay. Good to plan or ask just in case.

    For the summer months you can also camp in tents on the terraces for a beautiful view and more 'closer to nature' experience, you can't beat the sounds of nightingale, swallows and deer on your doorstep in the morning!- frogs and fire flies, wild boar, and porcupines and wolves at night if you are lucky!

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    The best way to contact us is Email, WhatsApp or text. During travel and meeting up use WhatsApp which is often better than calling due to poor mobile reception at the house itself. There is a place we put our phone that we regularly check when we are expecting news.
    Getting here:
    If you Fly to Perugia Airport; Pretty it is easy to pick you up from there. OR
    If you Fly to Pisa or Florence take a Train to Arezzo Station, we will come and collect you from there or you catch a bus opposite the train station to hop on, destination San Sepulcro or Citta di Castello. You get off at Le Ville or Monterchi (be careful not to miss the stop!) and we can pick you up from there; a 10 min drive for us.
    If you Fly to Rome Airport you can take a train to Arezzo (see above) or take a train to Perugia Ponte S. Giovanni where we will pick you up or you can take a train/bus to Citta di Castello.

    Picking you up from Arezzo- Depends how far you have come how late you arrive, what day it is and how tired you are! (an Ice cream or coffee stop on arrival at Arezzo train station always a must for a tired traveller.)

    From Pisa Airport there is a train to Arezzo with one change at Florence MSN.
    (check Trenitalia.com for train times, and best to print out your journey to make it a lot easier when you are travelling)

    General
    Change of clothes useful for mucky work, sturdy shoes. Wet in November.

    General; water in Italy is in shortage in the Summer so you have to use it mindfully, we also heat water and get electricity from the sun so we understand it's worth and also use it with care. We are a pretty resourceful family!
    Hope to see you soon!
    Time off: Walking, films, chats, reading, painting or cycling in time off. Weekly trip into town sometimes more if shopping needed. Visits from friends and neighbours. (No bus into town.)
    It is important you communicate your needs and ask lots of questions by email before you come (and during your visit if you are in need of anything), so you are clear about what to expect and so do ask any and as many questions or clear any worries away that you may have. We also tend to keep it quite open so people are freer to leave if they feel like it. But sometimes people ended up staying much longer than they intended!
    We tend to fill the day working and eating and chatting, also making time for you to go for walks or have some free time, also the weekends are for you to do as you wish.

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    There is a level car park. They can use the showers etc. But only one van at a time. Space for a tent or two.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

Host ref number: 349435264241

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