Garden, Harvest, Care for Animals & Build a Summer Playground in Transylvania, Romania

Details

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  Description

  Hi Workawayers!
  
  We’re a Dutch family living on top of a mountain in Transylvania. Our names are Michael (31), Elisa (30), and our kids Annalena (6) and Elva (0). We live on 7 hectares of remote untouched nature in a beautiful natural park in Hunedoara.
  
  Michael works full-time online during the week, and I usually spend my time caring for our neurodivergent, fiery child, baby, house, and animals. Everything besides that is an adventure to try and get done, and we could really use some helping hands!
  
  We are planning to create a Summer “Nest” starting summer 2026, a free place for kids and adults to relax, play and connect. So we want set up natural play spaces. We also want to seriously step up our food production so we can share it with Workawayers and others.
  
  We’d love to hear about your passions and make space for them here, a lot of things are possible here! We are very passionate about doing what makes you excited. What would your inner child love to do/create here in the mountains? Maybe it’s a match, and you can come play too! I studied ecology, so although a bit rusty, I’m full of ideas for medicinal herbs, food forests, and natural projects, and Michael loves all things tech and music.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Help with Eco Projects

  Teaching

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  House & pet sitting
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  Interests

  

  Van life

  

  Self development

  

  Pets

  

  Farming

  

  Plant care

  

  Music

  

  Gardening

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Carpentry

  

  Animals

  

  Nature

  

  Mountain
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Enjoy the natural park! Beautiful untouched nature, remote, quiet.
  There are creeks in walking distance, and nearby there are some hiking trails, waterfalls, caves and Dacian ruines.
  
  We live 15 minutes off-road up the mountain, so you can only get there with the 4x4. The next city is Deva on an hour drive. In the weekend we go once or twice, so we can bring you to the city if you'd like to go somewhere or come with us.
  
  We love making campfires when we can and have nice long chats about life. We both used to travel a lot seperately, Michael as a busker and Elisa mostly Workawaying. And after Annalena was born we wanted more freedom and space, and that's how we ended up in this beautiful corner of the world. It's best if you enjoy to be alone, or bring a friend if you don't and if there aren’t any other Workawayers, because we unfortunately often can't be there helping or hiking etc. But we are very easygoing and will make a good time when we can.

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  Help

  Help needed depending on the season and your interests:
  
  Greenery and garden help
  - Preparing and checking on the garden (we use Hugelkultur and other permaculture principles)
  - Weeding and cutting grass
  - Picking fruit from the orchard: apples, pears, cherries, plums, walnuts, berries.
  - Haymaking
  - Pruning
  
  Homesteading help
  - Caring for the animals: feeding, cleaning, and general care
  - Preparing food if you like to
  - Canning, preserving
  - Harvesting chickens
  - Reinforcing fencing, oiling, and general maintenance of structures
  - Wood projects
  - Preparing firewood
  - Entertaining kids at times
  
  Playground help
  This is for the people who get excited about creating fun spaces. Let me know if you have anything you want to do! Like.. creating a natural pool, dirt track, natural play structures.. Something else?
  
  Some core principles:
  - You won’t be asked to do anything you don’t want to do. I’ve done a lot of Workaways myself and hated feeling used at times. Of course sometimes things have to be done, but most of the time we can choose to do what brings us joy.
  - 3 hours a day is the maximum, anything longer doesn’t feel like a fair exchange. Accommodation and food are included, but you’ll need to make your own meals.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Dutch: Fluent
  Portuguese: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  We’re in the process of setting up either caravans or small yurts a little further away from the house so everyone can have their own space and we can host more Workawayers. I think it’s going to be more fun to be around other travelers, because we’re often busy with daily life and can’t always entertain.
  The new space will have its own rainwater shower eventually, but until then you can use the one in the main house. Our water comes from a creek and can sometimes dry up for a few weeks at most in the hot summer, but there’s another creek nearby as well. There’s an outside composting toilet. Think camping, and you’ll be fine! Electricity is available in the shed in the garden for charging devices.
  We have electricity, but sometimes it disappears for a day or two. In that case, we have a generator that keeps the house and shed running. There’s very good Starlink internet, which works on the generator, so no problem if you need to work remotely. We’ll extend it to the caravans/yurts as well, but the signal will be weaker there. You can always work in the shed if needed. There is no phone reception nearby. For food, just let us know what you like from the store, and we’ll make sure it’s in stock!
  
  We have two outdoor dogs, six outdoor cats, rabbits, and chickens. One of the dogs is a Bucovina shepherd (livestock guardian breed). He’s very large, energetic, and can bark during the night depending on predator activity nearby. It’s his job to keep the mountain safe. I would say not be suitable for light sleepers.

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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

  Simple folding desk and folding chair in a shed in the garden.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  Normal cars and small (strong) vans can get up the mountain in the summer. If you have a bigger vehicle but you would like to stay here, you can message us to see if there are solutions parking somewhere else.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  Of course, as long as the pet is friendly towards other animals and children. We have a barn available as well if there's a need.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  My animals / pets

  

  Koda

  

  Blippi

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