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Host rating
100 %
Last replied
8 Feb 2025
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Description
Hi, I'm Fran I moved to a small finca in Catalunya in 2020 and need your help!
We are totally off-grid (solar power & well/rain harvested water), which means treading lightly on the planet - careful use of all resources including water and power. The household includes Dave the cat, Dulce the dog, four chickens - Chookie, Fanny, Florence & Felicity, around 15 budgies (it’s a long story!), plus 2 donkeys (Jote & Ketta). We all rub along very well indeed, (although Dave would like to get a closer look at the budgies).
I am trying to regenerate the soil & build biodiversity from a fairly sterile base. The finca itself has 160 olive trees, 40 carob trees and 50 almond trees, plus 3 veggie beds. The ground has been compacted over years and now needs lots of organic material added, plus love and hard labour in order to bring it back to health. The donkeys arrived 18 months ago and are supposed to be helping by grazing the terraces in order to keep plants under control against the risk of fire and to fertilise as they go, however the drought means that there is no grass for them & the ground is just dust at the moment, (not the only experiment that has failed under my stewardship!)Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Help around the house
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Keen to meet a range of nationalities for general chat and learn about one another, particularly on things permaculture and syntropic agriculture. Also nice to cook typical national dishes for one another, (but not necessary).
The area is very beautiful, beaches nearby and acres of forest, plus mountains within reach. The train to Barcelona/Valencia is just 6km away. Hiking, biking, swimming, kicking back in the sun - the world is your whelk!Help
Help with Gardening, Animal Care, Strimming, Cooking, Pruning
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Beginner
French: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
I am happy to help visitors to improve their English, but equally happy to speak in my basic, but improving Spanish. I have found that I can no longer speak French (my Spanish now impedes my French!), but can understand it. My social group is like the United Nations, so all sorts of cultural opportunities.Accommodation
You will have your own room, (unless traveling with someone) with bathroom shared with the residents of one other bedroom, plus a kitchenette if wanted, although the intention would be to eat together in the main kitchen/on the terrace. I will provide the ingredients for 3 plant-based meals a day and expect (& appreciate) that cooking & cleaning be shared equally.
What else ...
The nearest village is 4km away, as is the sea, (different directions). It is incredibly peaceful, surrounded by pine forest. Since there is very little light pollution the night skies can be amazing, particularly in winter, and it’s good to see the last of the daylight from the 1st floor terrace, (maybe with a drink in hand).
There are bikes if you wish to go to the beach or local villages.
Wifi is pretty good, although not up to steaming films - on the other hand I do have a few DVDs we can project outside for a little home cinema or you could bring your own DVDs. There is no TV.
I am hugely concerned about climate change and for this reason work hard to minimise my carbon footprint; I would encourage you to consider using an environmentally-friendly method of travel (certainly not flying) to get here (such as train, car share (eg blablacar), cycling, etc.)A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
I have space next to the house for camper vans as well as an outside loo, (although you are welcome to use the indoor facilities if you prefer)
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Feedback (4)
We had the privilege of taking on many many different projects ranging from garden work to construction work, next to the daily tasks of caring for all the lovely animals. Fran has… read more
They attacked the many and varied tasks with energy, enthusiasm and have a genuine thirst for knowledge.
Both cook very well, Annie exceptionally so, as a result we enjoyed some wonderful meals.
They were kind and caring to my animals - something very important to… read more
Thank you for this 10 days, I will return with pleasure !
I would not hesitate to welcome her back at any stage, just sorry she couldn’t stay longer
Lukas did a great job of painting the outside of the house - preparing everything diligently so as to do a good, long lasting job. In addition he was great company, happy to fit in (including with the vegan cooking),.
He is very independent with his… read more
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.8)
Communication:
(4.8)
We had the privilege of taking on many many different projects ranging from garden work to construction work, next to the daily tasks of caring for all the lovely animals. Fran has… read more
They attacked the many and varied tasks with energy, enthusiasm and have a genuine thirst for knowledge.
Both cook very well, Annie exceptionally so, as a result we enjoyed some wonderful meals.
They were kind and caring to my animals - something very important to… read more
Thank you for this 10 days, I will return with pleasure !
I would not hesitate to welcome her back at any stage, just sorry she couldn’t stay longer
Lukas did a great job of painting the outside of the house - preparing everything diligently so as to do a good, long lasting job. In addition he was great company, happy to fit in (including with the vegan cooking),.
He is very independent with his… read more
He was prepared to tackle anything and very proactive in seeing what needs to be done and getting on with it - there are always a million of stuff to be done here.
He was great with my animals, who also loved him.
He wants to improve his… read more
He doesn’t need supervision, just gets on with the job.
He is good company with plenty of life experiences to share and very easy-going when it came to my vegan cooking. I enjoyed our chats and… read more