Stay and volunteer at a small holiday retreat centre in southern Italy.

Italy

Favourited 896 times

Host rating
Feedback
41
Last activity
28/09/2020
Reply rate
79.0 %
Average reply time:
within 2 days
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2020

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What's this?

Details

Description
A familiy run small holiday retreat , a restored ancient olive farm in Puglia.
in the country but close to the sea (3 Kilometers) and the beautiful historic city of Ostuni (4Kilometers).

A few years ago we built new comfortable guest accommodation where there was once animal stalls, created a pool and landscaped the gardens.

We continue to pick the olives for our own use and have orange,lemon and almond trees. There are hens to provide eggs and a very small vegetable garden.

This area of Southern Italy is a popular holiday destination for Italians, but is still unspoiled by International tourism. It has some wonderful ancient cities as well as some of the cleanest coastal waters in the Mediterranean.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Farmstay help
Help around the house
Animal Care
Hospitality/Tourism
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Ostuni is one of the most beautiful of Puglian cities and is within walking distance, Plenty of historic towns nearby reached by good rail services. Travellers could learn basic garden, cooking and building skills, depending on the time of year.
Help
May- June. Help with holiday guests, some kitchen work, general cleaning and gardening.

Sept - March.(Harvest and maintenance period).
We would expect help with heavy work in the gardens. This would include olive gathering, scrub clearance, tree trimming and general maintenance. We hope to demolish and rebuild some stone walls this winter so help would also be needed there.

Some domestic cleaning may also occur.

We would expect flexibility on working hours and type of work depending on weather conditions.

We would also ensure a fair amount of leisure time for exploring the area -there are bikes for your use and occasional use of the car. Or just relaxing -there is a large collection of books and DVDs for everyone's use .

Internet (approx 2mb) available through wireless log-in on site.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
Accommodation
Accommodation during the winter months is in well equipped self-catering apartments (Guest accommodation in the summer).
During the summer months accomodation is in a small cabin in the olive grove with open plan bedsitting room, kitchen, shower room and composting toilet, outside seating area and BBQ. This is only suitable for a couple sharing.
Groceries provided as well as some meals together.
What else ...
bikes available, town and sea nearby.
Couples prefered.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
- Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
5

Photos

Ian and Eimear helping with the barbeque

Happy at the Mill.

Best Friends

The Harvest.

The Chickens

planting a Bush. Alex and Theresa.

Dry stone wall building with ancient stone.

Show all photos

Olives are harvested in the traditional way from November to January.

The pool in summer.

Feedback left by and about host (41)

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:
(5.0)

Communication:
(5.0)

26/02/2020

Left by host for Workawayer (Wolfgang & Dodo)

Wolfgang and Dodo were excellent workaways. We would love to have them back whenever they are available, they were a pleasure to host. Hard working and always keen to finish a job even when it meant putting in extra hours.
Independent but always happy to sit and chat at meal times. They have extensive knowledge of trekking and camping with horses… read more

(Excellent )

08/12/2019

Left by Workawayer (Wolfgang & Dodo) for host

Dear hosts - Leonie, David and Aaron,

Thank you so much for all. It was a really great experience for us to see the way of an olive :-) . You all were a very nice host family. This three weeks we stayed in your enchanted masseria in a pretty appartement gave us the feeling to be in a little paradise with wonderful people and animals. After work… read more

(Excellent )

14/05/2019

Left by Workawayer (Javier & Ana) for host

We were with Leonie and David for 3 weeks and we felt very fortunate to have met them, they were very aware of us in terms of food, work we did and interesting places to visit near Ostuni, they know a lot about culture Italian and its history. Leonie is a professional chef, every day she cooked different super delicious lunches in large… read more

(Excellent )

03/12/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Jelena)

Jelana is a workaholic - she hates to leave a job before it is finished to her satisfaction. She is fit and eager to learn and try anything - quick to learn -then just leave her to it! Excellent help with the garden, she has a mania for weeding for which we were very grateful. Although she enjoys company she is also very independent and… read more

(Excellent )

24/11/2018

Left by Workawayer (Jelena) for host

I could not help but get teary eyed saying goodbye to Leonie and Dave. They are kind, charming, generous people, and they are both extremely talented artists. Seeing all their interesting and unique art pieces has sparked my lost creative juices to slowly emerge again. They have lived in both the Tuscany and Puglia regions and have an array of… read more

(Excellent )

07/03/2018

Left by Workawayer (Cristiano & Cristiana) for host

We stayed at David and Leonie's masseria for one month and a half during winter. The place is amazing,surrounded by ancient olive trees. From there you can reach the sea or the town of Ostuni in few minutes by bike. We lived in one of their nice apartments and we were fully provided of food, mainly from the local market. Our tasks were mainly… read more

(Excellent )

26/06/2017

Left by Workawayer (Damian & Irma) for host

We spent twenty days during June/July with David and Leonie at their fantastic home in Puglia (which has an amazing and inspiring story to tell) and had a great time there. This beautiful part of Italy is steeped in history and David and Leonie are the perfect hosts to help you appreciate this and the wonderful food on offer here. The varied work… read more

(Excellent )

18/06/2017

Left by Workawayer (Juan Sebastián & Paulina) for host

We stayed for 2 weeks here helping Leonie and David with the Art Holidays guests. The experience was so rewarding that we would have happily stayed longer. Our Job was to maintain the swimming pool, watering plants in the evenings, some gardening and helping at dinner time (they had 10 guests for a week). Leonie and David are extraordinary people,… read more

(Excellent )

15/03/2017

Left by host for Workawayer (Virginija & Donatas)

Virginija and Donatas are careful diligent workers- everything they did was perfect. They are also very pleasant company, so eating together was always good- we learnt as much about Lithuania as they did about Puglia. Any host would be lucky to have them. Highly recommended.

(Excellent )

14/03/2017

Left by Workawayer (Virginija & Donatas) for host

The place. Quiet, idyllic, with a view to Adriatic sea, in between olive tree groves, Roman style masseria with a beautiful garden. Sounds like distant hideaway but it was easy to reach train station, just in walking distance, so we had an opportunity to visit coastline destinations like Lecce, Brindisi, Bari, Polignano a Mare, etc.… read more

(Excellent )

15/03/2017

Left by host for Workawayer (Maria Ornella & Nicolas)

What a lovely couple! Hard working and a pleasure to be with. We can recommend them to anyone lucky enough to host these two. They took such good care of our house and animals whilst we were away. We had worked with them for a few days before leaving them to cope and were confident we were leaving everything in good hands. Everything was perfect… read more

(Excellent )

18/09/2016

Left by Workawayer (Maria Ornella & Nicolas) for host

We had the pleasure of staying two weeks with David and Leoni. We helped them with many different tasks, gardening, cleaning the guest rooms and swimming pool, preparing jam and many others. The jobs were challenging and rewarding. They always treated us with the utmost respect whether we were at work or leisure. They did all their best to show… read more

(Excellent )

28/10/2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Joshua & Karen)

These two are amazing- they cope with everything and anything you ask them to do. We didn't think we would be in such an emergency situation when we arranged to host them, so they were un-prepared for the extra work, but helped wonderfully with it all and still managed to be cheerful and good company. Thank you both for being perfect workaways. … read more

(Excellent )

13/10/2016

Left by Workawayer (Joshua & Karen) for host

We stayed with David and Leonie for 2 weeks and really enjoyed our time. David generously picked us up from the ferry port in Brindisi and drove us to their beautiful home just outside Ostuni. We arrived only a few days after a flash flood had caused some damage at the property so this lead to a variety of clean up tasks such as cleaning out the… read more

(Excellent )

03/07/2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Eimear & Ian)

Thank you Eimear and Ian for being super efficient, excellent company, flexible and always helpful. Our guests benefitted from your genuinely friendly and unobtrusive service - and we benefitted from your mature experience and ability to turn your hand to any task. Thank you again from your grateful hosts!

(Excellent )

02/07/2016

Left by Workawayer (Eimear & Ian) for host

This was our first workaway in Italy and we couldn’t be happier that we went to help David and Leonie. Their stunning property has been tastefully, thoughtfully and artistically developed over the years they have lived there. They welcomed us warmly and settled us into our accommodation, a lovely chalet in their olive grove. It was very… read more

(Excellent )

10/06/2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Pedro & Larissa)

Well- what can we say! Pedro and Larissa were a pleasure to host- Super helpful, quick to learn new skills, extremely thorough (the bathrooms gleamed and sparkled and the weeds have still not grown back!) and great company. We would recomend any host to take these two on if they get the oportunity- they will be so glad they did.
Thank you Pedro… read more

(Excellent )

09/06/2016

Left by Workawayer (Pedro & Larissa) for host

Leonie and David are great hosts and marvellous people to be around. They took great care of us both, we had our own little chalet with absolute privacy, lot's of fresh supplies for our meals and a big porch where we'd sit and relax after work was finished. Their property is an incredible place that they've built and decorated themselves, full of… read more

(Excellent )

30/04/2016

Left by host for Workawayer (Graeme & Victoria )

The pleasure was mutual. We would have liked to have seen more of you both, but we were away for most of your stay and say a BIG THANK YOU for looking after our place, garden and animals so wonderfully.
Any one who has your help will be lucky people.
We hope you continue to use the 'workaway' system for your travel adventures and continue to… read more

(Excellent )

30/04/2016

Left by Workawayer (Graeme & Victoria ) for host

We stayed at David and Leonie's for two weeks and had such a wonderful time. They have such a beautiful, creative and interesting home. The work included gardening, cleaning, house sitting and looking after the delightful animals. The gardens were a peaceful sanctuary, with so many hidden jems. Leonie and David were an interesting, generous and… read more

(Excellent )

08/03/2016

Left by host for Workawayer (janet)

Janet and Joe were the perfect house sitters, reliable and capable,
They looked after our animals beautifully - they hardly seemed to notice we had been away.
The place was kept very clean and the garden benefitted from Janet's expertise - The jasmin is looking better than ever -Thank you both very much.
We hope you will enjoy many more… read more

(Very good )

08/03/2016

Left by Workawayer (janet) for host

This was our first workaway experience so we did not know what to expect. We were to look after their property and animals for two weeks, whilst David and Leone returned to the U.K. to visit friends. Although we only met David and Leone for two days, it felt as if we had known them longer. The were friendly and helpful. It was a pleasure to have… read more

(Excellent )

03/11/2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Camille )

Camille and Bryan are a great team and we would welcome them back anytime. They worked hard and were quick to learn anything new. Good at both the energetic manual work (olive picking, cleaning out the chicken palace, gardening) and more skilled work - Camille is great at sewing and Bryan is a good cook. They turned their hand to everything with… read more

(Excellent )

02/11/2015

Left by Workawayer (Camille ) for host

Leo and David were the best hosts! We couldn't have asked for a better place to stay for our first workaway experience! David picked us up at the train station and brought us back. We picked olives and did some easy work around, cutting grass and weeds, sewing, etc... The work is very reasonable and we had plenty of time off to explore around, go… read more

(Excellent )

22/10/2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Anastasia & Andrew)

These two were a real pleasure to host. Very hardworking (Anastasia refuses to stop until the job is finished - even when they have done a full day's work!), great company and very respectful.
We hope we will see them again and wish them good luck for the future - they deserve it.

(Excellent )

18/10/2015

Left by Workawayer (Anastasia & Andrew) for host

There are two months since we have left, but we are still missing this amazing place.
Leo and Davide are very generous and kind people, polite, easy-going and super-energetic. Thanks for being hospitable and patient with us.
We spend two weeks in good climate, having fantastic food (so many words are already written, we agree with all of them!),… read more

(Excellent )

04/06/2015

Left by host for Workawayer (Carola)

Thanks Carola for your kind account of your experience.
You were great - Self motivated, hard working, and a pleasure to be with. We were very grateful to be able to leave our dog, cats and chickens in your capable care. Every job you tackled was completed with skill and care.
Anyone having you as a workaway will be very fortunate.
good luck in… read more

(Excellent )

04/06/2015

Left by Workawayer (Carola) for host

I only stayed with David and Leo for a week, most of which I was on my own, house sitting, but they couldn't have been better hosts. They are funny, knowledgeable and David even took the time on a very busy day to show me how to tile a wall. Add to that Leo's excellent cooking, the beautiful little cottage I stayed in, and the excursions I got to… read more

(Excellent )

03/08/2014

Left by host for Workawayer (David)

David was only with us for a week, but soon became part of the 'family' here. Quick to pick up on information, willing and able to perform anything asked of him. He is a mature, adaptable and capable person and we can unreservedly recommend him for any situation. We hope he may come back if he has any spare time in the future.

(Excellent )

03/08/2014

Left by Workawayer (David) for host

Leonie was an excellent host, very generous and kind. Aaron was a patient and instructive teacher who worked just as hard to get the jobs done. They both had plenty of local knowledge and their advice about what to see and do was very valuable. The food and accommodation was first rate. I highly recommend contacting them about Workaway… read more

(Excellent )

02/04/2014

Left by host for Workawayer (Dominik)

Dominik was a very enjoyable person to have around, always eager to learn and to try his hand at anything.
The wall building might have been hard work for him but his olive tree pruning became quite expert! He was a great help with everything we threw at him and can recommend him as an excellent workaway.

(Excellent )

01/04/2014

Left by Workawayer (Dominik) for host

Although everything about the great hospitality of Leonie, David and Aaron and the beauty of their place seems to be already mentioned on this page, I also want to add my feedback.
I spend two weeks with them in february. There work was quite strenuous, building a big drywall, pruning olive trees and finally even some huge prickly pears (I… read more

(Excellent )

18/03/2014

Left by host for Workawayer (Felicity & Jonathan)

Felicity and Jonathan were excellent workaways. Willing to try anything and learning quickly skills they did not previously have.
We would have them back anytime.

(Excellent )

17/03/2014

Left by Workawayer (Felicity & Jonathan) for host

We stayed with David, Leonie and Aaron for two and a half weeks in February.

In terms of work if you’re willing to get stuck in and get your hands dirty and be prepared to do anything from painting and olive tree pruning to building a dry stone wall then you’ll fit in and get along just fine here!

David, Leonie and Aaron were very welcoming and… read more

(Excellent )

21/12/2013

Left by Workawayer (Kay) for host

This place is beautiful, both the surroundings and the accommodation. I had my own comfortable, guest apartment, with really good food everyday. Leonie is an amazing cook, and Aaron is pretty damn good too. The family were very friendly and welcoming.
The work was very straightforward and varied according to what was needed, mostly gardening,… read more

(Excellent )

20/02/2013

Left by host for Workawayer (Heather & Christopher)

We can heartily recommend this couple - they were hard working and very easy to get along with. Their skills were excellent - Chris is a native Italian which came in very useful at bargaining times.
Heather can sew brilliantly and made seat covers, mended sheets and her help was invaluable.
Because they were a married couple in their thirties… read more

(Excellent )

19/02/2013

Left by Workawayer (Heather & Christopher) for host

The time we had here was excellent! As others have stated above, the work varied depending on what was needed. There was gardening, wall building, dirt shoveling, sewing, painting, and other projects. None of the work is too difficult and the work times and days are straight forward.
Exploring the area is made easy with the opportunity to… read more

(Excellent )

20/02/2013

Left by host for Workawayer (Matthias & Nora)

Matthias and Norma were a delightful couple to have around.
Matthias soon got into the swing of some hard building work and was very useful indeed.
They are both eager and quick to learn new skills and we can recommend them to anyone wanting varied help.

(Very good )

03/01/2013

Left by Workawayer (Matthias & Nora) for host

This is a very beautiful and interesting place for a workaway experience. The hosts, David, Leonie and Aaron did their best to make us feel comfortable there.
The working hours are straight forward, which are variable mostly outside jobs and depending on the project. There is enough free time to discover the library, which is very unique, or to… read more

(Excellent )

22/11/2012

Left by Workawayer (Marisa) for host

Excellent workaway experience. We honestly wish we could have saved this place for the end of our travels because everything from here will be hard to compare. This place was beyond amazing. I want to start with the work load so I can gush about the family after. :)

Work: pretty easy and straight forward. They are there to help you learn and… read more

(Excellent )

22/11/2012

Left by host for Workawayer (Marisa)

Marisa and Nick.
Work ~~
Mature attitude to working, quick to learn, and keen to begin any task given them.
This couple are excellent helpers with physical tasks such as olive harvesting - Hedge trimming - Nut cracking and Hot Chilli preservation !.
Personalities ~~
Both very easy to get along with, very pleasant to have around. Marissa… read more

(Excellent )

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Host ref number: 463542147537

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