Help us with some gardening and building projects on the island of Mallorca

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: at least a week

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Details

  • Description

    Description

    We are a 58-year-old English couple who have been living in Mallorca for over 30 years. Pete is a private yacht captain and Steph has recently left her job as a vet nurse in order to write a new book and reform our garden.

    From February or March we will be looking for couples who can help us with the reformation of our garden and upkeep of the house. Now that our children have their own places, we are slowly consolidating our fruit and vegetable growing areas by putting in new raised beds, whilst converting other parts of the garden into wildlife areas for wildflowers, beetles and insects, bird and bat nesting boxes and places to encourage hedgehogs and tortoises. We also wish to tile our garden steps, repaint some garden furniture and repaint a few indoor areas when the weather is not good for working outside.

    We live a 15 minute walk from Palma’s city centre where there is plenty going on in music, art and sports, especially in the winter months. The island itself is exceedingly beautiful and there are still many places hidden from the tourist track that are well worth exploring. The other four islands in the archipelago each have unique flavours and traditions and can be easily accessed by ferry or air.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Help with Eco Projects
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    General Maintenance
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Pete is a keen bee-keeper and very happy to teach guests the rudiments of bee keeping. We have two hives in our garden and a further five hives at our son’s house which is a twenty minute drive away. However, the bees do not encroach on the house or other parts of the garden and there is absolutely no expectation that any guest will get involved with the bees unless they specifically wish to. We usually harvest honey in November and June, although dates depend on whether Pete is at sea at these times, and on the bees themselves. We have spare bee suits and epi-pens.

    Palma itself is a beautiful city, steeped in history and colourful local culture. It was voted one of the 10 best places to live in the world by the Sunday Times.

    Mallorca is a small island that manages to fit everything in from UNESCO World Heritage mountains (the Tramuntana) with great opportunities for hiking (such as the GR221 trail), cycling and climbing; to every kind of watersport available from the many beaches, caves and cliffs; to agro tourism; fantastic markets and winters peppered with local festivals. The beauty of the island in the winter is a well kept secret – the climate during these months is similar to a good North European summer, perfect for being outside but without the unbearable heat of July and August.

    We provide two bicycles for guests to use, there are a range of guide books in the house and we are always happy to recommend places to visit and things to do.

  • Help

    Help

    We have a large garden on several terraces with chickens and two bee hives. The hives are in a separate part of the garden from where we will be working. We like to grow plenty of fruit and vegetables even though we are only a few minutes’ walk from the city centre. Help in the garden is always appreciated. We also have some building projects such as tiling garden steps and building raised beds and wild life areas.

    We enjoy hosting couples because, although we will be working alongside our guests much of the time, when this is impossible due to other work constraints, we have found that couples are better able to continue without us. We are looking for people who are practical and who don’t mind animals as we have two small, very friendly, dogs, plus two cats in addition to the bees and chickens.

    We speak English and Spanish.

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent
    Spanish: Fluent

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    A ground floor double bedroom with en suite bathroom. Terraces, kitchen, lounge, pool and garden facilities to be shared with us.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    Our home is on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Although we are a few minutes walk away from the centre of Palma - the island's capital - we are surrounded by woodland (the forest of Bellver Castle), yet able to see the sea from the house, so everything is very close. We have excellent bus transport to the city centre, and from there you can take trains and buses around the whole of the island. There is also a good network of bicycle tracks.

    Mallorca is the biggest island in the Balearic archipelago, but all the islands are well worth exploring. Mallorca has a gorgeous mountain range which is wonderful for hiking. It is also an international centre for cycling and swimming and many national teams train here throughout the winter months. It is easy to take ferries between the islands and so explore them as well.

    During the summer months of mid June to mid September the temperature usually stays between 30ºC and 40ºC but can go higher at times. This is why we do not host guests during July and August as it is just too hot to do anything in our southerly-facing garden. Throughout the rest of the year the climate is pleasantly warm except for (usually) a few weeks in October and late February/early March when it rains and is colder.

    We live in a narrow cobbled street close to Bellver Castle. Although the population is predominantly Spanish/Catalan there are also many Swedish, Danish, French, German, Polish, Bulgarian, South American and English residents in our immediate area. Because our family is one of adults we tend to be quite relaxed about mealtimes etc, the fridge is always full and has a shopping list attached to the side of it which everyone writes their requests on. If someone is cooking they usually ask the others if they would like some too, but there are no "expectations" on any individual to provide for others at every meal. However, when a meal is over, if there was a specific cook then it's the task of the others who ate to clear away, and for the kitchen to be left in the same state as it is usually kept.

    Some years ago we hosted Workaways regularly and thoroughly enjoyed finding out about different cultures and customs while discovering new ideas of how to do things. We are looking forward to meeting some new people from around the globe once again.

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Can host digital nomads

    Can host digital nomads

    We would be delighted to host digital nomads. In return for board and lodging we ask for 3 or 4 hours work per person per day, 5 days per week, so there is plenty of time for work online as well. We have fast fiber optic internet. There is a small work station in the guest room, but also wireless network extenders on the terrace outside the guest room and throughout the rest of the house.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    Two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    Maximum 3-4 hours a day, 5 days a week

Host ref number: 631363842164

Feedback (6)



Photos

Feedback