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7 Feb 2025
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Description
Maybe you are wondering whether off-grid life is for you? Thinking about moving to the countryside but you would like to actually experience how it feels before taking the final decision? Do you want to observe and learn from people who have already done it? Then a stay with us might be just the thing for you. We have experience with short-term Workawayers, but as some new living space is becoming available on our finca at the beginning of 2025 we are now looking for medium-term volunteers. We ask for some practical help around our place.
We are Simone and Julie, a German and French couple who moved from the big city to the countryside in 2020 to build our little off-grid finca in an olive and almond orchard. We added a permaculture garden, fruit trees, grey water recycling pond and more. We have already set up most of the initial infrastructure, but we always have various projects in progress. That is why help from Workawayers is very welcome. :-)
We live in the main house of our property, with a smaller independent building reserved for guests and volunteers. We share our home with rescued cats and dogs, and we also have chickens.
Our place is located approximately 2 km from the nearest village. When you wake up in the morning, you'll be greeted by the sounds of birds in the trees, the nearby cows' bells, our rooster crowing, and perhaps the sound of a village farmer's tractor heading to work.
Some important points regarding this volunteer placement:
- you get your own, independent little house
- you are responsible for your own food.
- as water is our scarcest resource and we rely on rainwater harvested from our roofs, we are always careful not to waste any.
- no pets, please, as we already have a few of our own.
- we are looking for people who can respect the space, enjoy nature, and be independent. Ideally, you have your own vehicle to move around
We have a lot of respect for any life so we eat almost exclusively plant-based food, although we do eat the eggs from our own happy adopted chickens.
If you’re interested in sustainable living, enjoy working with your hands, and want a peaceful and meaningful experience, we’d love to hear from you!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
General Maintenance
House sitting
Interests
Politics / Social justice
LGBTQ
Pets
Sustainability
Vegetarian or vegan
Van life
Farming
Plant care
History
Books
DIY & crafts
Photography
Languages
Gardening
Cooking & food
Drawing & painting
Carpentry
Animals
Yoga / Wellness
Team sports
Nature
Fitness
Mountain
Hiking
Cycling
Adventure sports
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
This opportunity is ideal for people considering a move to off-grid living and who want to test it out before taking the leap. We are very happy to share our experiences and steps we had to take to build our home.
We will teach you about utilizing natural resources, like collecting and recycling water in one of the driest regions of Europe. Observe our successes and learn from our mistakes in gardening and construction, and gather ideas for solving technical challenges. You can also witness traditional olive cultivation and its various stages, all while enjoying the tranquility of nature. Nature lovers will enjoy the numerous hiking, rock-climbing, and cycling opportunities and the beautiful streams and natural pools in the Matarraña area. Or maybe you just want to meditate or do some yoga in the shade of our olive trees.
We can speak Spanish, or teach you the basics of Spanish, or even share a few essential words in Catalan. Our native languages are German and French.
Help
Volunteer hours vary with the season. Typically, we work early in the day during summer, before it gets too hot. We start a bit later in winter. Weekends are usually free. There are some occasions when a lot of work has to be done fast, such as olive harvesting season, preparing infrastructure before a big rain or snowfall, or canning food when certain fruit are ripe. At other times, the rhythm is slower. While we will give you a lot of guidance in the beginning, we are looking for independent volunteers who, in the medium term, will do their tasks without supervision. Once you're familiar with the place and our tools, we'll encourage your creative input. Just remember, farm work is physical.
We need reliable, respectful, and handy people who are genuinely interested in off-grid living but want to experience it before making the big jump. Your main tasks will be to maintain and improve the mini house you’ll be living in, along with some outdoor tasks, depending on the season. This could include:
- baby-sitting our animals (we have dogs, cats, and chickens) when we are away
- taking care of the veggie garden and fruit trees
- olive and almond harvesting
- forest upkeep
- repairing fences and other infrastructure
- building dry stone walls
Please respect our tools, tell us if you accidentally broke something, ask before using materials (often it was an effort for us to get them and they might be foreseen for a different project), ask us for advice if you are unsure about how to proceed, follow safety instructions if using potentially dangerous power tools. It's not always obvious to everyone, so let's keep things safe and productive :-)
Since we’ll be living on the same land, we value privacy and mutual respect. Time together will be spontaneous and based on mutual needs, giving everyone their own space.
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
French: Fluent
Accommodation
You’ll be staying in a charming, self-contained mini house on our land. The house is fully equipped with:
- a cozy mezzanine bedroom
- a comfortable living room with a sofa and wood stove (wood can be gathered in the nearby forest, we are happy to explain how it is done)
- a kitchen with a gas stove, fridge, and mini oven
- a bathroom with a simple dry toilet and a shower with warm water
- water supply and internet connection
- There is no washing machine on-site, but there is a laundry facility in a nearby village about a 15-minute drive away. Supermarkets, a post office, bakeries, and other shops are also located in this village.
Our space is perfect for those looking for a quiet time in nature, some comfort, and an impression of what off-grid living has to offer.
What else ...
We have beautiful walking and hiking opportunities in the area, some of them starting right on our doorstep. A section of the Via Verde passes by the village, with beautiful views. In the warmer months, you can also visit one of the many natural pools in the rivers around here. There are social activities and small concerts in the nearby villages, especially during the warmer months.
This is a rural area and public transport is very limited. You will be much more flexible if you bring your own car.
You should not be afraid of large dogs. We expect our volunteers to have a bit of patience and go along with our little introduction ritual which is necessary in the beginning so we can all relax with each other afterwards :-)
Our scarcest resource is water. We have dry toilets here and we take great care to not waste anything. This means a quick and efficient dish cleaning and showers, for example :-)
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have internet via a mobile contract with unlimited data. This is ok for sending some large files and for streaming of films etc. The WiFi is shared between our main house and the volunteer house. If you need a lot of bandwidth at certain times, please tell us in advance so we can coordinate.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Feedback (11)
We really… read more
We learned a lot about many things : living off-grid, dealing with lake of water, running a finca (and what a finca actually is !), almonds and olives harvest, digging and excavating... Simone and Julie are two lovely persons very interested in… read more
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We really… read more
We learned a lot about many things : living off-grid, dealing with lake of water, running a finca (and what a finca actually is !), almonds and olives harvest, digging and excavating... Simone and Julie are two lovely persons very interested in… read more
Et puis, les filles nous ont contacté. Ça semblait irréel :
-Julie, française (yes yes yes), Simone, allemande, sachant… read more
Nono est toujours enthousiaste et facile à vivre, tandis que Juju apporte une authenticité et une joie de vivre rafraichissantes. Ensemble, nous avons eu l'impression d'avoir formé une véritable petite famille. Nous avons partagé de… read more
Although it rained the first week, the two welcomed us like old friends in their house.
We had everything we needed for cooking by ourselves and could always ask for whats missing or harvest things from the garden.
They put a lot of work in the massia for the… read more
We could… read more
During the three weeks they were here, they mainly worked on a fence: clearing shrubs, drilling holes for the poles,… read more
Our main project was building a huge fence around a big part of the property. For this we had to drill holes for the posts,… read more
The place is perfect for people who want to retire from crowded cities in a quiet and nice place. Depending on… read more
