Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
12 Mar 2024
Reply rate
90.5 %
Usually responds within 2 days
Feedback
64
Email verified
Badges (2)
Details
Description
*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️Please check that you can come for the dates below before contacting us, thank you! *️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️️
FROM MARCH 9 TO 23, we'll be hosting a few volunteers to help us mainly with cutting down trees and stacking logs to dry for fire wood, preparing and painting shutters, window frames, doors and walls in our holiday house, clearing the main hiking trail to the top of the ridge, and planting several olive and fruit trees. The work is varied and might encompass other projects as well. What tasks we get done will depend on weather and temperature, which become increasingly less predictable.
Volunteers will sleep in our house or in one of the nearby buildings and we will cook and eat meals together as a family. We kindly ask that you have been vaccinated against COVID and have travel/health insurance and that you ONLY contact us if you are interested in joining the work crew from 9/03 to 23/03.
Murotto is a peaceful hamlet of 3 farmhouses in a forest above the small mountain village of Baggio, in northern Tuscany, 10km from Pistoia - a beautiful medieval city between Florence and Lucca. Murotto was abandoned after WWII and the houses, fields and orchards have been gradually restored by our family since the 1960s. We are off-road (except by 4wd) so there is a 10-min walk up a stone mule path.
We live in a simple stone farmhouse and offer clean sleeping accommodation, wood-burning heating, hot water, wifi, linens/towels, laundry, healthy & delicious meals (vegan, gluten-free, veggie, meat-eaters all welcome!). English, Italian, Spanish, French and German spoken.
We are Jethro and Olivia (early 60s). Jethro is a social scientist, activist and former university teacher now working freelance, and Olivia is a writer and former teacher. We are American, lived in the UK for many years, and have been coming to Murotto for 50+ years. We now live here year-round and offer a guest house for retreats, holidays and volunteers, sometimes joined by our 3 children (in their 30s), their partners, cousins, two grandchildren and two great-grandmothers.
We're creating an organic permaculture homestead, and restoring the buildings and landscape for a sustainable future. We have chickens, bees, orchards, gardens and a friendly dog. Come help us manage our chestnut woods, fruit trees, organic veg garden, fields, fences, walking trails, forest roads, farmhouses and outbuildings, all in a creative and fun way, with lots of inspiring things to work on!
Come by car, bike, or train+local bus, or we'll meet you at Pistoia station.Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco ProjectsGardeningDIY and building projectsAnimal CareFarmstay helpCreating/ Cooking family mealsHelp around the houseGeneral MaintenanceCultural exchange and learning opportunities
Baggio is a traditional Tuscan mountain village (pop 100) with an active community association that runs a bar and pizza restaurant on Saturday evenings (except in winter), and a small museum dedicated to the villages's charcoal-making days. The village dates from 900 AD if not earlier, and our farm is on an ancient stone-paved pilgrimage route from Roman times. Local families tend their olive orchards, gardens and chickens, manage their chestnut woods for fuel and timber, collect mushrooms and hunt wild boar, in addition to their day jobs in nearby Pistoia. Volunteers can meet local families if they wish, and take part in community activities or go for walks through the farmland, olives and chestnut woods. We are the last inhabited house on this part of the mountain, and behind us is a vast forest wilderness with trails and forest roads leading up into the high Apennines, with well-marked hiking trails and endless wildlife... boar, deer, wolves, porcupines, badgers, foxes, birds of prey, insects and reptiles. Pistoia (12km away) is a charming, well-preserved medieval Tuscan city with historic churches, museums, bars, restaurants, shops and vibrant open markets. On days off volunteers often go by bus/train to visit Pistoia, Lucca or Florence.
Help
We usually work about 25 hours a week (4-5 hrs per day from early morning to lunchtime)
We prefer volunteers who can be here for 2 weeks, for intensive projects with a small group. See above for current hosting dates and projects, and contact us ONLY if specific dates are listed that match your travel plans. Please only contact us if you are seriously committed!
Longer-term volunteers may be considered if there is a good match of skills and seasonal work needed. Help us grow fruit and vegetables, mend fences and gates, make stone walls, clear brush, cut grass, cut and split firewood, share cooking and housework, and enjoy great food and wine!Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
French: IntermediateAccommodation
Private or shared bedroom, shared bath, linens and towels, warm and cozy house, shared living spaces with open fires and wood burning stoves, solar energy, wifi, laundry, delicious meals (vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, meat eaters all welcome), good company and conversation. No TV or landline.
What else ...
We expect volunteers to help out in the kitchen (cooking or washing up) in addition to volunteer time. You are free to relax around here or explore the area in your time off. Murotto is on the edge of a mountain wilderness perfect for adventurous walks or a dip in the secluded waterfall 20 mins away, or explore the village of Baggio and get to know our neighbours. The local bar is open on summer evenings where villagers congregate on a large terrace with a panoramic view. Just down the valley by bus is the beautiful medieval city of Pistoia (named as Italy's Capital of Culture for 2017), with spectacular churches, architecture, museums, markets, festivals and a trendy cafe and restaurant scene (frequented mainly by Italians escaping from the big tourist cities in Tuscany!) There are frequent train connections to Florence, Lucca and Pisa. Non-smokers only and no drugs please. Please contact us only if you are available for the dates mentioned in our profile.
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
4-5 hours/day, 25 hours/week
Feedback (29)
us three (handpicked 😉) volunteers had il canniccio, a beautifully restored, cozy chestnut drying house for our own use and olivia and jethros house was always an open place for the best homecooked meals, interesting… read more
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.9)
Communication:
(5.0)
us three (handpicked 😉) volunteers had il canniccio, a beautifully restored, cozy chestnut drying house for our own use and olivia and jethros house was always an open place for the best homecooked meals, interesting… read more
The farmhouse is in a beatiful area with a lot to explore, a great place for nature-lovers. Both Olivia and Jethro are kind and open hosts happy to share their stories and curious about those of… read more
Thank you Olivia and Jethro for opening your home to us; freely… read more
And even with these difficulties, I… read more
During our stay, we helped to harvest fruit and vegetables in their garden and to renovate the old chestnut roasting house into a place for pilgrims to… read more
I had… read more
This was my first workaway and and great one to start with, I had an amazing two weeks staying with Olivia and Jethro and I have memories I will treasure forever!
I loved the shared meals and family atmosphere and I learned a lot about gardening. Olivia and Jethro were always willing to let me try new experiences and… read more
Jethro and Olivia you both created a little paradiae and I enjoyed being part of it for 2 weeks.
they way you treat your workawayers is so special, working together, hosts and workawayers, eat together that all made a feeling of community.
Jethro and Olivia both are great cooks! so the culinary part was rich every day… read more
I learnt a lot about nature, gardening, the history of Baggio and of course all about olive oil !
I will defenetly come back to visit them !
I was part of a group with other 5 workawayers that I met there and it was nice to achieve together many… read more
My stay at their house near Baggio was my first workaway experience so I didn’t really know what to expect and was also kind of afraid. In the end all my expectations got topped. I felt really comfortable there, not like a guest, more like part of the family. We had good talks, good work and also good food… read more
Jethro and Olivia are wonderful hosts, the accommodation and food all came far above my expectations of workaway. We were fortunate enough to share this experience with another workaway couple, Dante and Lisa. Being involved as part of a larger team really… read more