Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
21 Apr 2024
Reply rate
92.9 %
Usually responds within 14 days
Feedback
11
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Badges (2)
Details
Description
We are a Polish couple who have been traveling together for 8 years and before that lived away from home pretty much since teenage years. After having many very diverse experiences, the winds blew us to this beautiful island, where we miraculously found ourselves owners of a piece of land;) We now live in an abandoned village, surrounded by ruins and in love with everything that happens here (not much!:). I am an artist, so in the future, we would love this to be a mecca for creative people who want to come back to the simple way of living and get away from the noise of the capitalistic life. We would love to create a space where people can come with their group of friends or students and teach them how to play the drum, how to cook greek cuisine, or how to paint. Or talk philosophy with a glass of greek ouzo:)
I love finding food in nature and preserving it for the winter so I do not have to go to the market and buy strawberry jam that's red as cadmium paint - and I would love to teach people how to do so as well. Yeah, Things like that... :)
Mariusz is a super relaxed and philosophical person, he loves to discover new aspects of life and connect the dots to make sense of existence:)
We see travels, jobs, people we meet, situations as lifelong learning so in effect nothing is an error;)
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
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 we live in has been abandoned 40 years ago, so there is no electricity except apart from the solar system that we have put in place, we have an outdoor shower and outhouse. It all offers an amazing opportunity to try living in a simple way and see the pluses and minuses of it for yourself and. Then maybe even come up with ideas on how to make it easier with today's technology but without a negative footprint on the environment. As it's Greece, the nights do not get too cold and the cool shower is actually desirable during the day. This changes of course in the winter months. We still sometimes bathe in the cold nearby river - but it's not for the faint of heart. Its a bit of a "back to basics" lifestyle.
The nearby villagers come driving by sometimes and like to chat to us in greek, so there is an opportunity to learn some greek as well for those who are interested.
I forage a lot and make a lot of my own jams, juices, and preserves so if there is any interest in learning how to preserve the summer foods for the wintery days thats also a good opportunity. I pick my own herbs as well and im happy to share all my knowledge.
There are many amazing places on the island to visit and things to do, and since we lived on the island for a few years we can point out very nice places and sometimes take the volunteers on excursions.
The beach nearest to us is called Vassiliki, world famous for its termal winds and shallow waters perfect for windsurfing.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
We are looking for people with some building experience ideally, we have some outdoor stonework and indoor works as well. At the moment, as of November 2021, we are doing some finishing work on a small stone house and also trying to create a small art gallery.
We have spent 5 summers here (about 6 months each year) clearing the land, collapsed ruins and shaping the space, so we could live here and enjoy our project as it evolves. We managed to create a very cute place for us and the visitors to, but the amount of work does not seem to get smaller:)
We are expecting the volunteers to help for 5 hours a day 5 days a week, most likely morning time as it's less hot, and then have free time the rest of the day.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Polish: Fluent
Greek: Beginner
Spanish: Beginner
Italian: Beginner
Accommodation
As we are "living simply" - so is the accommodation. We have a Tent that can accommodate 4 people normally but my kitchen is happier when we cook for 4 total, so most of the time we only take 1or 2 volunteers at a time.
I also have to mention the fact that there is only an outdoor shower and outhouse (and a beautiful river sometimes during the year), which make you connect to this place even more:)
What else ...
We have a van and are happy to bring people places from time to time. It works best when we genuinely feel like going somewhere ourselves for the afternoon and of course offer to volunteers to join in. Otherwise, there are two bikes available to the helpers. There are also amazing places off the island and we sometimes organize some excursions here and there. We are very flexible and would love to meet the same, it would be amazing if the helpers were happy to help with cooking and clean up but it is not obligatory. We try to create a very relaxed atmosphere where people are just happy to hang out, share their life with us and be attentive to life happening all around. As life here happens very slow it is a very nice place to quiet down and enjoy simple things like noticing a blooming flower or listening to a frog sing. We have developed a deep appreciation for such things and would love to share them with others.
I am also an artist, so occasionally I will be painting or sculpting and you're welcome to join in;)
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
The internet access we have is via our phones (hotspot) mobile plans.
Space for parking camper vans
We had several volunteers show up with their own camper van and it worked very well. There is a flat grassy area 100 meters from our trailer, that's perfect for parking. The access road is all asphalt paved and although sometimes narrow - it's passable even with a larger van.
Can possibly accept pets
Yes under condition that they are not making damage to the property and get along with our dog "Rudy" and "Cricket" the cat.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (7)
With the skills, self motivation, and an amazing sense of humor from both of them we moved together through the difficulties of organizing an art exhibition for 140 people in our abandoned village.
Claudia and Michi worked so efficiently and… read more
It's been a couple of weeks ago that I've been here, but I totaly forgot to give my feedback!
**THIS IS A NOTIFICATION TO EVERYBODY WHO IS READING THIS**: What an amazing place, vibe, nature & afterall the host, Sylwia!
Unfortunately I did not had the oppertunity to meet Mariusz... But from the stories that I heard from Sylwia, it seems… read more
We arranged the Workaway super spontaneously and it worked out beautifully. They came ready and equipped (literally!- they even had their own gloves!) to help.
I felt so lucky and supported by them as I had a massive project ahead of me and mariusz was not… read more
We loved helping out with the gardens and planting out vegetable plants and helping them move things ahead of the next stage of their renovation.
As Slywia is an artist, the place exudes a special sense of… read more
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.8)
Communication:
(5.0)
With the skills, self motivation, and an amazing sense of humor from both of them we moved together through the difficulties of organizing an art exhibition for 140 people in our abandoned village.
Claudia and Michi worked so efficiently and… read more
It's been a couple of weeks ago that I've been here, but I totaly forgot to give my feedback!
**THIS IS A NOTIFICATION TO EVERYBODY WHO IS READING THIS**: What an amazing place, vibe, nature & afterall the host, Sylwia!
Unfortunately I did not had the oppertunity to meet Mariusz... But from the stories that I heard from Sylwia, it seems… read more
We arranged the Workaway super spontaneously and it worked out beautifully. They came ready and equipped (literally!- they even had their own gloves!) to help.
I felt so lucky and supported by them as I had a massive project ahead of me and mariusz was not… read more
We loved helping out with the gardens and planting out vegetable plants and helping them move things ahead of the next stage of their renovation.
As Slywia is an artist, the place exudes a special sense of… read more
are two lovely and great people with a big heart. We had there the best time during our travel and the best workaway experience so far.
We stayed 3-4 awesome weeks in an incredible nature with mountain view and fresh clean mountain water.
Sometimes we worked together with them on a project and the other time we worked by our… read more
The Master Electrician (aka Michi) engaged all his skills and repaired our broken generator ( few other people tried their luck before him and did not succeed!) and also was super… read more
We were lucky to spend 2 great weeks there in Roupakias, and became a part of the tiny village community.
Also Roxy (our dog) and Rudi (Roupakias security dog ;-)) became close friends.
We got the opportunity to get in touch with the simple life and saw how… read more
It’s not often that you can entrust A stranger with some task and know it will be done as you would do it or better. It was the case with Laura and Sebi!
Not to mention the numerous laughing… read more
