Join for an enriching experience in a rustic village in picturesque southwestern Ohid, Hungary

Hungary

Favourited 12 times

Host rating
Feedback
1
Last activity
25/11/2020
Reply rate
100.0 %
Average reply time:
within 4 days
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Availability

2020

Min stay requested: at least 2 weeks

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What's this?

Details

Description
In a rustique village in picturesque southwestern Hungary (Zala County) near Héviz spa town, would like help tending our fruit orchards and sheep for at least two week commitments during the period of April through November. Your hosts are British and American, villagers are friendly, and the bus system can get you to nearby villages as well as to Budapest.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
General Maintenance
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help with Eco Projects
Animal Care
UN sustainablity goals this host is trying to achieve
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What's this?
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Village life in Hungary can be a rich experience. Except for a few English-speaking expats, you'll learn some Hungarian, understand life in a post-Soviet country and the mentality of why Central Europeans are the way they are! It's really a feeling of how life was 50 or 70 years ago in the West and how entry to the European union has benefited the countryside and the nation.
Help
We need help with pruning trees and removing branches, cutting grass with strimmer, feeding and watering sheep, fruit, assisting in mending fences or painting gates. Help with preparing meals desirable. Sun is intense so you'll need hat, clothes for hot & chilly weather. Rugged footwear is necessary but we can help with that depending on size.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
Hungarian: Intermediate
Accommodation
You'll have own comfortable room with bath and cooking facilities in a separate house nearby the hosts for breakfast and lunch. Supper will most of the time be taken with your hosts. You may want to enjoy the thermal baths occasionally- we'll take you there.
What else ...
During the day, you'll be in the orchards with us or on your own depending on task such as preparing a meal. Plenty of time late afternoon and evenings for reading, chatting, strolling, internet. Busses to Héviz and Keszthely for free time, beach, thermal baths, and shopping. Bus and trains available for weekend in lively and youthful Budapest (2 hour train ride). Reasonable hostels available in Budapest. Gorgeous architecture and every genre of music can be experienced there.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
- Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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Feedback left by and about host (1)

01/09/2020

Left by Workawayer (Alexandre) for host

I recently spent 3,5 weeks at Arthur and Lora’s farm in Óhíd.

As there had been an interruption of work during several months due to the COVID crisis and the mandatory quarantine, the bulk of the work consisted in landscaping to cut back on what had grown in this period and make the fields neater for the autumn. So I did tasks such as raking hay,… read more pruning pear trees, cutting tree branches, using a strimmer with plastic blades to cut stinging nettles and grass in hard-to-reach corners, driving a quad that mowed the lawn, picking up pieces of plastic and wood from the fields and driving the van around to get things. We also picked up blackberries (some of which were for us to keep!) as well as hazelnuts.

There’s not much to do for the 22 heads of sheep that graze right behind the volunteers’ house. They are shy, however they are really fun to watch going about their business. A fond memory I have is of me cutting overgrown branches all along the side of a fence and 4 lambs following me to feast on the leaves of the fallen branches! Another time is when we fed grains to the sheep, in which case they stop being shy and get real close to you!

Our routine was as follows: Arthur would come pick us up at 8am to do something different pretty much everyday and we would work until noon. After a few hours of break, we would go again in the afternoon, generally for 1-2 hours. We worked 6 days a week.

For food, Arthur would generally take us once a week to Lidl in the closest town of Sümeg and give us money to buy our groceries. You will cook all your meals in the volunteers’ house and there are utensils and pots and pans to do so. Arthur was responsive to our needs; for example, the day we ran out of gas to cook, Arthur went to replace it very soon after on the same day. There were also several repairmen who came to the house during my stay to improve the facilities of the house, such as the sinks, the cord for the boiler and a new socket for the new cooker/fridge set Arthur and I assembled. I had my own room with more than enough space to put my things.

I met several of their friends like Chris, who invited us all twice to have a barbecue, or Harald, who lives in the next village, plus some of the different personalities that make up the village.

I am immensely grateful for the fact that one evening I sprained my ankle, and the morning after Arthur took me to the nearest hospital in Keszthely (45mins away) and waited with me. After coming back I managed to clean the side of a wall that was rotting but prefered not to start painting on it because of my ankle. So instead I researched and created a document listing several offers of Piaggio vans, as Arthur was looking to purchase one. I checked several Hungarian e-commerce websites, good thing there’s Google Translate!

Óhíd is a very small village made up of 2 streets with a church, a tobacco shop, a bar, a doctor’s office and a minimarket. Arthur and Lora were accommodating as I told them prior to coming that I would need to attend a webinar every Wednesday morning. I was able take a break from the farmwork on those days and go to their house to log onto the webinar. They lended me their wifi hotspot on the days they were out of town and at the end of my stay as I was staying home, however apart from these instances there is no wifi at the volunteers’ house. So I would advise you to download enough entertainment for yourself beforehand and obviously if you work remotely, that would not be a good option.

Finally, there is a bus stop serviced by the state company of Volánbusz with several buses a day that can take you to the main towns of the regions in your free time.

(Excellent )

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Host ref number: 363931634735

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