Bring an off-grid mountain village in the Italian Alps back to life near Orasso, Italy

Details

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  Description

  Hello workawayers!
  
  So nice to meet you this way :)
  First of all, a little about me; my name is Viana and I am 25 years old. I am originally from Switzerland, although I have been all over. Someone I met last year called me a "Child of the World!" And I quite like that ;) I grew up in Kathmandu. Then at 18 I moved to the Netherlands to study. Then I kind of made a split from academia and set out on a quest to see life, yuhuuu. To try and figure out what I am actually doing here on this planet, how I want to live, and for what. So, I became a workawayer! This is another reason I am so excited to host you all <3 because I know exactly how it feels to be on the other end of this experience, and its fun and exciting for me to be on this end now and be able to offer people something. I was travelling up until the Spring of 2023 when I decided to permanently move to Italy and start a whole new chapter of my life! And here we are! In a very new and exciting moment of my life, which will hopefully be just as new and exciting for you ;)
  
  So what the HELL is my project, huh?
  
  I am currently living off grid on a beautiful property in the mountains of Northern Italy. This place is very close to my heart because it is an old family property where a lot has already happened and, for me, one of the most magical places in the world. The property is a very teeny tiny village, once a shepherds pasture, nestled between forest, rivers, and mountains. And not only do I want to make my home here, but I want to turn this place into something full of life! The vision for the future is creating a Centre for Arts, Spirituality and Natural Living; a community with permanent residents, as well as many longterm/short term visitors. We will support each other through life, we will live as self sustainably as possible, help each other make our dreams come true, and organise workshops/ events/ courses/ festivals (art, music, craftsmanship, yoga, meditation, spirituality etc.) throughout the year to invite the rest of the world to us. This is the very basic premise of where things are going, but of course as life has taught me, I have no idea what the actual outcome will be.
  
  The minimum stay here will be 1 month. There is a lot to learn about the basic every day life here, and if you stay less than 1 month it will take too much of my energy and time to teach you everything, only to have you leave so soon. And I think you need at least 1 month anyway to adjust, really settle in and get the full experience. I also want to make it clear that the first week of this month will be a "trial period." And that counts for both sides. That simply means, after our first week together I would like to sit down with you and check in about how things have been going, if it is the case that you realise it may not be the right place for you, or it is not how you imagined, it will also be the time to tell me. And from my side as a host, if I have any concerns or queries with you or am dissatisfied with your effort at work or behaviour, then I will let you know as well, and may ask you to leave. On the other hand, if things go well during your stay and you really enjoy the lifestyle I will be very open for you to extend your stay!
  
  For me it also goes without saying that any form of discrimination, violence, or erratic harmful behaviour towards the people, animals, and nature of my place will not be tolerated at all. Sexism, racism, homophobia, ageism etc. etc. etc. - big no go. This is an open and safe space for all and any kinds of people and if anyone is made to feel uncomfortable here by you I don't have any problem in asking you to leave.
  
  IMPORTANT:
  
  Over the summer I have some personal things to take care of and will be gone from Italy for 1-2 months. This will probbaly happen mid June to July. While I am away my father and his wife will be here to take care of the property, the guests, and the volunteers. They will be running things while I am gone, so, I am also looking for some people to be there over the summer also while I am gone to help out my dad and his wife. Summer is a very busy time! And my dad is also getting older, and so I would really love to find some good people to support him and his wife while I am away so that things can run smoothly, even in my absence. My dad and his wife work mostly outside during the summer; maintaining terraces and plant overgrowth. Of course they will also need help with cooking and general household maintenance and taking care of the garden. They also will be taking care of our B&B guests, but no B&B stuff will be your responsibility as a volunteer. They are a real power/comedic duo. My dad is full of crazy stories and still has an insane energy for life which will probably never change, while his wife is the sweetest and most hard working person I've ever met and does everything with a smile and a giggle. They would love to have you <3
  
  ALSO!!!! I know I wrote a lot but don't message me if you haven't fully read my profile and really want to be here - it shows.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  As I said, Child of the World here - haha! No but really, travelling and getting to know different cultures means having the privilege to see and experience a different way of life through a different set of eyes. This kind of experience is invaluable. What I want to offer workawayers is the opportunity to live a different kind of life than what they may have experienced until now. To make new experiences in a new world! My personal culture is a blend of all kinds of flavours, the culture of the country I am living in is an entity of its own, and the culture of the lifestyle I have chosen is something wholly different on top of that.
  
  And you will learn so many things. You will learn how life actually exists in circles that constantly feed into each other; when you live in the city these circles often get distorted or disjointed, or they are just harder to see. If you are interested in anything like off grid living, sustainable living and community projects it is definitely the place for you. And I don't want you to be intimidated at all about the fact that you may not have any prior experience with the kind of lifestyle that requires planting your own food, chopping wood, making fires etc. because neither did I until recently. I very much believe that anyone can learn anything. You just have to know that you are capable and intelligent and most importantly be willing to fail a couple times (or many times) while you learn until you get there. The thing I love the most about living here is this whole trial and error learning process. Sometimes it's so hard. But it's an amazing feeling to figure something out all on your own and see the results at the end of the day...week...month...year. You will learn everything you want to learn here. I will be happy to teach you what I know, but we will also learn in this project together :)

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  Help

  So WHAT do I need help with?
  
  This is where you come in. The "dream" I have described above is a very concise and very long term vision. In reality it will take a lot of years of hard hard hard work to get anywhere close to this point. The property is not a complete ruin, it is totally possible to already comfortably live here. But almost everything is very old, starting to break, or already broken. It means that everything needs renovating/fixing in big or small ways to make the space fully usable again. Every house on the property is suffering some kind of damage. Some things are more serious, like water damage or leaking roofs. While others are more superficial and can be solved with a new coat of paint. All the land, the fields, and the trees and vegetation, of course need maintaining too; things need to be cut down, pruned, rebuilt etc.
  
  A big challenge is that I don't yet have the funds for everything. Right now, to generate an income I am running a B&B. Tourists can rent rooms here and I also provide breakfast and dinner. I mention it because although I do not want my volunteers to dedicate their working hours to the B&B, it is a part of my daily life here to look after the guests, and there may be times when I will be obliged to take care of B&B things while you complete your tasks without me. It is also a very seasonal thing; summer is high season, any other time of the year will see very little action in terms of number of guests. In 2024 I also hope to organise the first couple of workshops/courses here! It is definitely an exciting time for me as it is a big step towards the kind of things I want to be organising in the future.
  
  Last year I planted a veggie garden for the first time, and I loved it, but it was also a looooot of work. I have started preparing for a garden again this year, and I really need help with that asap. It is amazing and so satisfying to grow your own food, so I hope it can be a reality.
  
  People with experience in these fields of work - gardening, construction, carpentry, plumbing, tiling, renovation, anything hands on and/or outdoorsy, are greatly appreciated and very much needed. Please tell me all about your skills!! But I want to make it clear that as long as you are motivated, have a good work ethic and are willing to learn I greatly appreciate anyone with two hands reaching out to me and wanting to join this project. Everybody knew nothing at some point.
  
  DIVISION OF WORK
  
  There is a lot of areas of the project for us to work on. Roughly split up the four main areas of work are these:
  
  1. KITCHEN, CLEANING, GENERAL MAINTENANCE
  2. GARDEN
  3. INDOOR RENOVATION/MAINTENANCE
  4. OUTDOOR RENOVATION/MAINTENANCE
  
  1. KITCHEN, CLEANING, GENERAL MAINTENANCE
  This work is straightforward in nature but of course absolutely essential. Hungry people are not happy people! Everyday cooking and cleaning (things get dirty fast here whoops) responsibilities are shared and rotated. Volunteers will however not be asked to help with any cooking for paid guests; that is my responsibility. General maintenance also includes tasks that have to happen everyday for the running of the property i.e. chopping wood for fireplaces.
  
  2. GARDEN
  I am planning a very big vegetable garden, from seed tooooo harvest! We have a big space for the garden with several terraces and also a greenhouse. Garden work also includes making and taking care of the compost and fortifying/building a new fence around the perimeter of the garden which is extremely important because the forest animals always try to get in there to have a tasty snack.
  
  3. INDOOR RENOVATION/MAINTENANCE
  This work is about fixing up and making over houses and anything else indoors. The beautyfying and renovation of rooms, upcycling/fixing old furniture, building new furniture, repainting/recementing walls, replacing/sanding/oiling old wooden structures such as balconies or stairs. Electrical systems, hot water systems and heating systems also need to be fixed. Also a lot of skilled work like retiling rooves and fixing water leaks/damage come under this section.
  
  4. OUTDOOR RENOVATION/MAINTENANCE
  This area refers to taking care of all outdoor spaces. Cutting back and pruning overgrowth and trees. Cleaning all the terraces of the property of bushes and shrubs so they can be used to plant things in the future. Cutting down trees. Outdoor landscaping such as rebuilding stone walls of terraces, rebuilding bridges and stairs of footpaths, outside patios.
  
  If we are a very large group of people this year I would like to split up into groups where each Team focuses on one specific area of work. However, if this is not the case the two main projects that I will be focusing on with our group this year is the garden, and the renovation of our guest rooms. I'll be happy to tell you more about it when we are in contact!
  
  WHAT I NEED FROM YOU:
  
  After my first experience as a host last year, I learned that the qualities that my volunteers need to have the most are independence, creativity, and to be initiative taking. I need you to be able to work independently and to be able to think of solutions for yourself, because unfortunately I don't have all the answers! And I also need you to have a good dose of common sense. I need you to have the attitude that you are coming here to work together with me, not wait until I give you instructions for every single detail. This also ties in with the aspect of 'taking initiative.' Taking initiative and independence is not the same as not knowing how to do something. I am happy to spend time with you teaching you something and guiding you as you learn, or for us to figure out something together. I just need to eventually feel like I can rely on you and that I am not the only one thinking. You will also need to be creative because you will face a lot of problems every day. Those problems may range from wanting to cook a meal, but not having all the exact ingredients, or wanting to fix something, but not having all the right tools; and you have to find a solution!

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  Languages spoken

  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Dutch: Intermediate
  Italian: Beginner

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  Accommodation

  There is one house where only volunteers live. The Volunteer House! There are several rooms so you can have your own private room, although with a large group it is likely you will be asked to share rooms. Room allocation will simply be on a first come first serve basis. And lastly, as you will be my volunteer and working for me, in exchange for five real working days with a good work ethic all food will of course also be totally free and included in your stay. I am vegetarian, although I sometimes eat fish but rarely buy it, so we will never really be cooking meat. Except sometimes for the B&B guests. Apart from that I am a big lover of food and like pretty much everything!

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  What else ...

  I live in a mountain village, and I need you to understand that this place is isolated. I need you to understand that for the daily life as well as for your days off. I live a 45 minute hike away from the nearest point of civilisation (a little village). You cannot reach my place by car. There is only a footpath. This means that it is a little complicated to go very far away on your days off. Not only because we are isolated but also because public transport in the valley is very limited. When I go to town I always hitchhike from the village, which works quite well. If you have a car it will be no problem at all, because in terms of distance things are not so far, the accessibility is the issue. The closest town is called Cannobio. It is a 20 minute drive from the village. The biggest town with a lot of big shops etc. is called Domodossola. It is a 40 min drive by car. We can definitely discuss all the details once we make a connection because there is of course local taxi drivers, elusive buses, and a train station relatively close by.
  
  I am not trying to scare you away! I just want you to be aware that it is an isolated place and that means that life here can look very different. And not just in terms of transport for coming and going but also for the daily life. You have to not just be okay with but enjoy time by yourself, because it is a very quiet place. And of course you have to love nature and being outside, since we live in the middle of it <3
  
  Of course there is so much to explore and discover here in your free time! This area is so beautiful; full of beautiful forests, mountains, rivers and lakes, and quaint little Italian villages and towns. From my property you can hike all over the forest and valley. If you like hiking you are going to fall in love with this place. And our forest is also full of rivers where I regularly go to swim. You can also hike to neighbouring villages and enjoy a cappuccino and gelato there. The Lago Maggiore is a really beautiful lake also near by which I would really recommend for day/weekend trips. There is also many other national parks nearby for exploring, but I think there is already plenty to see close to home.
  
  Another thing I want to point out is that to live here means to not always live in convenience. Although we have all the amenities of modern housing we are also living off grid. That means you cannot take a scalding hot shower or do laundry every day, you cannot needlessly leave lights on or use up all the "good stuff" from the storage room in one sitting. Living here forces you to be mindful about every single thing you are using because nothing is infinite. Of course, no resource anywhere is ever infinite, ha! But it's easy to willingly ignore that when you live in the city and just consume as you please. Here you cannot avoid seeing the reality. So, you need to be conscious and mindful about what you consume all the time, which is harder than it sounds, and means that life can feel inconvenient at times.
  And you need to be conscious of the fact that we are living in community! Everything you do or don't do affects all of us. This doesn't mean we have to be a happy clappy family all the time or something like that. Time alone as well as time shared is important, but what I mean is that an attitude of individualism and lack of mindfulness towards other people just really doesn't work here.
  
  I have made great experiences being a host in 2023 and am excited to start all over again and once again use the magic of the internet to meet all kinds of people, have all kinds of adventures, and share an experience together. I am also really excited not just personally but for the progress of this place and for the project I am trying to lead to develop. I can see new dimensions starting to take shape and I am really excited for whats to come. I hope you are too, and that you feel inspired about what I am trying to build here.
  
  Hope to hear from you soon <3

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  Digital nomads are very much welcome as long as it doesn't seriously get in the way of the life you are participating in here. Also, I have wifi, and usually it works just fine, but it can become unstable or disrupted when we experience bad weather!

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  Can possibly accept pets

  As long as they are friendly with my two cats because they are my babies <3

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

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

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