Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
31 Mar 2025
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 1 day
Feedback
22
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Details
Description
My village is a 1500-year-old historic Hamlet, car free, with four p-lots around it, located in the mountains at the end of the road a 20 minute drive from the Mediterranian and an hour from Nice, France.
It is rural living, no stores, no cafes or else, but the bus arrives four times a day except for Sundays.
5 km before us is Pigna, a larger village, that has all the basics (cafes, restaurants, atm, post office, alimentari etc). People who live here farm the land and grow their food.
We back up to a huge national park, so there is plenty of hiking. We also have small holes in the river that offer a dip, some of them quite beautiful. In Buggio you hear the bees hum, the deer bark and occasionally Ivana calling the cats in (she lives by the entrance of the village, where the bus lands).
If you have a car you are just an hour away from the busy jet-set of Monaco, Nice, San Remo etc, or you can leave by bus in the early morning (7am) and return early evening (5pm). From Ventimiglia there is a train.
I grow a lot of vegetables all summer, enough to be self sustained. Farmers are welcome, and for the meat free, it is heaven.
I am a 1960 born female and have my BA in nursing science from Denmark. I have retired and now work voluntary over the internet, promoting gender equality world wide.
I live by myself, as my five grown kids are all out of university and now working. One of my sons is still working and living in California, where they were all born, and where I visit winters, and another son lives in Brooklyn NY. My three daughters currently live in Copenhagen.
I have travelled extensively and seen the world. I still travel some. I love my home country Denmark, and sometimes I have people stay in Buggio to keep my chicks and work my garden when I am not here.
I enjoy visitors and have made friends from around the world, but I also need time to myself, so you have to enjoy the same.
People here are really friendly and warm, mainly older, and they always offer a conversation at every encounter. Pigna, 5 km before our village, is very lively in the summer.
I spend a good part of my summers here.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
The village (valley) offers authentic italian living, in the summer every village in the valley takes turn in hosting their village festas with food and live music, and they are always fun.
Although several foreign families own vacation houses in the village, we are not a typical tourist spot.
There is no cafe, no stores, no other kind of entertainment here - we offer authentic mindful living and you must be prepared for that. If you need a more hectic life, do not chose Buggio for your destination.
Pigna has it all, and is a 40 minute walk each way. But the bus drives four times a day except for Sundays, and that is only ten minutes.
We have a small river run by, offering little ponds and waterfalls to dip into.
The locals are rooted here, they have lived here for many generations, and the valley seems like one big family.
In the summer we have about 10 foreign families who vacation in the their vacation homes here, many of them are from Denmark.
Help
I would love help with some building projects. I have remodeled a home and have a ruin attached that my previous workawayers have cleaned up for remodeling as well. There is still stuff to break down and haul away, and after that the task will be plastering the walls with cement. Physically hard.
It's time to update my website. It has recently been transferred to Wordpress.
I have a lot I need to upload. So a WordPress professional is very welcome. Any Mac-nerd is welcome.
I also grow my food, so daily gardening is required.
For 2025, April/May will be a good time to wack the weed, turn the dirt, dig the trenches and plant the crops.
I plan to build a garden house (3x4m), so someone skilled for that is welcome. I would like to install a small solar panel here.
And then there is always general maintenance like sanding/repainting wood, scrubbing algae off the outdoor stairs, stacking firewood etc.
Several of my workawayers have become returning regulars, some with up to four visits over the years. I’ve been blessed with so many good helpers, and several have become dear friends.
I would love to host a couple who would enjoy nesting in the apartment the ENTIRE SUMMER, may through august, while working 15hrs/week each. Of course you would have to be the right match, but that would be your opportunity to live like a local.
Languages spoken
Danish: Fluent
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Italian: Intermediate
Accommodation
For my WorkAwayer(s) I have an independent 1b/1b really cute two-story apt with a bedroom (bed:140x200) on the first floor, where also the shower bathroom is located, and a single bed upstairs in the kitchenette/dining/living room (small fridge, two burners, small el oven, sink, table). I also have a fold out baby crib. The apt has been recently remodeled to superb condition. This apt is for you. If you come as a couple, you stay here together.
The apt is equiped with all you need. Please KEEP it clean and neat at all times while living there, and LEAVE it clean and neat for the next. Fluff your comforter and make your bed every day, just to give it air.
You can use my laundry machine for full loads when needed.
I am very social but I also need to work in my office, so you must be a person who is independent and able to care for yourself and your time. This is why I prefer couples to singles, as they can better keep each other company.
There is fast speed internet in the apt.
Since you are getting a complete apt to yourself and hrs are less than asked, YOU BUY YOUR OWN FOOD.
From July you can harvest in the garden; zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, celery, salads, kale, rhubarb, fennel, cucumber etc. I have three chicken and can provide eggs, and I can bake you a rustic cia bread to slice, freeze and toast when needed. You are welcome to drive with me when I shop for food at the coast once a week.
Each person works 15 hrs a week, and buys their own food.
With special projects we can agree to 25 hrs/week/person and food included.
What else ...
I can pick you up at the train in Ventimiglia upon arrival and bring you there upon your departure. Not too early, not too late ;)
As mentioned, a couple who would stay 3-4 months over the summer would be great.
Otherwise you have to commit to no less than two weeks.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Super good internet in your apt.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Feedback (11)
Onna remained really great at staying in touch and asked good questions before she arrived.
I immediately liked her, when picking her up at the station. She is open with a bright smile.
For the two weeks… read more
They then came to stay with me for ten days, and I have… read more
I had the pleasure of staying with Helle for three weeks in June, and from our first meeting, I felt welcome and at home. Helle was quick to give me a good orientation around the properties and introduce me to the kind and welcoming locals of Buggio. My apartment was… read more
For being 20 years of age, Tormod exceeds what is expected. He is mature, responsible, kind hearted and well mannered. He comes off as introverted, really great and engaged in social settings, as well as enjoying time on his own. He talks… read more
Photos
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(4.7)
Cultural exchange:
(4.7)
Communication:
(4.7)
Onna remained really great at staying in touch and asked good questions before she arrived.
I immediately liked her, when picking her up at the station. She is open with a bright smile.
For the two weeks… read more
They then came to stay with me for ten days, and I have… read more
I had the pleasure of staying with Helle for three weeks in June, and from our first meeting, I felt welcome and at home. Helle was quick to give me a good orientation around the properties and introduce me to the kind and welcoming locals of Buggio. My apartment was… read more
For being 20 years of age, Tormod exceeds what is expected. He is mature, responsible, kind hearted and well mannered. He comes off as introverted, really great and engaged in social settings, as well as enjoying time on his own. He talks… read more
1. The location: absolute dream plucked out of a fairytale book. You feel as though you have gone back in time and nothing else is happening in the world. Although very close to civilisation you are literally at the end of the road path with only mountain… read more
Helle is a woman everyone deserves to meet, she's strong, wise and very generous and giving, and if you're prepared to work the hours and be responsible, it… read more
Immediately upon arrival Tom and Sofie were very grateful for the flat I gave them, and as we had agreed they kept it clean at all times.
Tom is a handyman and completed any task given without a lot of instruction - although he… read more
He spent two weeks with me, and helped me
• clean my house
• move heavy rocks from my garden to my mill house
• hand washed my cars
• sanded some windows and doors
• weeded my garden
• weeded a stone wall from roots
• and trimmed a large portion of over grown land that now looks so nice.
Aaron is mature and responsible… read more
Here in Buggio there is no confusion, there is no unpleasant noise, there is no pollution, there are no man made problems that can’t be solved. There is only nature, the people and their land. This is how mankind was meant to live, this is… read more
We had a beautiful place to stay in with lovely views over the village and surrounding mountains and countryside. Our work was eclectic and interesting and rewarding. We always had fresh food daily. On our time off on a couple off occasions with had lunch with Helle and also we went too two festivals one mushroom in the… read more
They are both great workers, getting at it and working focused. They understand instructions well and work… read more
They were great at communicating before we met, I really liked them already just from our written correspondence.
The day after they arrived I had to leave for a week. Gustavo was in charge of my plants, weeding and watering, and everything was left to perfection when they left. He… read more
Helle is lovely. She is a beautiful woman who welcomed us with love and opened the doors of her house and her garden, trusting us fully. We are very grateful to have lived this experience in a magical town, and to have shared several days with her and her… read more
I worked two periods with Helle, the first… read more
In our initial communication he wrote his mother would join him, but along the road it turned out she had decided to wait, so he would come alone.
Already when I picked him up at the train station I knew that my good feeling about him was right; he is very polite, very outspoken and meets you with a friendly… read more
Firstly, Helle is an excellent host. She immediately made us feel at home in Buggio. She is passionate about the village and its residents because she has had a home there for over 25 years, and we loved to hear her tell their stories. We shared some meals… read more
They are both somewhat quiet people, who know how to listen for instructions before beginning a task, and then they work steady till the task is completed. I gave them an independent unit to stay in, and as time went by we came closer… read more
