Artist retreat and help with house and garden in a village near Mtskheta, Georgia

Details

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  Description

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  🐕 Currently: We've saved a puppy that were trying to get adopted by a responsible owner, and he needs to be fed a few times a day and taken care of a little, writing this to make sure you're good with dogs as it will be folded into your tasks 🐕 we also have a lot of village cats and kittens that like to hang out in our garden/house
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  Hello art workawayers 🌟
  
  We're setting this up as an art residency volunteering, a place to rest, breathe, reset and create while helping with tasks to upgrade and take care of the house and garden.
  
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  A little about us:
  I'm a writer and poet, half Georgian half American, I'm quite nomadic, was traveling for two years off of savings recently and really appreciate having spaces like these to breathe and settle for a bit, since it can be hard as an artist to create on the go. So I've found artist residencies, volunteering spaces really helpful, and I'd like to create and offer the same, a space to focus on your art, nature and relaxation.
  
  Mascha's a German, vegan/vegetarian, hitchhiker and land traveller (mostly as she can) and overall cool chill person.
  
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  You need to be an artist to apply -- although it doesn't matter what type of art and what your level of professionalism or hobbyism is - and in your message, please send some link, picture, portfolio or an idea/project you are working on 🔅
  
  🪢 Sometimes we have spots for shorter and denser non-artist volunteering stays, so send me a request mentioning that if it's the case. We could especially use people in construction, skilled in plumbing pipes, meditation/yoga, gardening/permaculture-farming, or various other skills 🪢

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Help with Eco Projects

  Light gardening

  Creative DIY projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  Hospitality/Tourism

  Light maintenance

  House & pet sitting
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  Interests

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Hitchhiking

  

  Farming

  

  Vegetarian or vegan

  

  LGBTQ

  

  Sustainability

  

  Pets

  

  Culture

  

  Self development

  

  Movies & TV

  

  Books

  

  Plant care

  

  Music

  

  Writing

  

  Languages

  

  Gardening

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Art & design

  

  Animals

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Nature

  

  Camping

  

  Mountain

  

  Winter sports

  

  Water sports

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Hiking

  

  Cycling

  

  Adventure sports
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Walking around the village, meeting with people (there is someone who has started an interesting hospitality project nearby with treehouses and ceramics, he may be glad to exchange ideas), discovering nature, etc
  
  If I am there, we can collaborate on art projects if we feel like it. If there is another artist doing a residency with you, you can also exchange, co-create and co-relax.
  
  If I am not there and you are house-sitting, it will be more of a retreat for you, and you're free to explore and discover around.
  
  Depending on what you're interested in, I can also recommend events and art and gardening spaces in Tbilisi and Georgia, and you can travel around fairly easily using the house as a base.

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  Help

  As a volunteer you sometimes will help with the garden, cleaning up the yard, raking, rearranging and making a better garden design with us, and taking care of the house such as cleaning areas, occasionally preparing for guests who have rented a room, and basic house repairs and upgrades among other tasks.
  
  Depending on the season, you/we might also be pruning the trees, collecting different fruits or walnuts, making jams or drying/fermenting.
  
  You won't be helping a lot of time each day, around 2-3hours a day (compared to the 4-5hour Workaway standard). We're starting this as a way for artists to retreat and have a space to create art, and to fill the house with some nice artistic creative energy while helping too. There will be artist residencies happening here soon, and this is a way to begin that.
  
  🌸 To apply, you DO need to be an artist, and this IS an art residency space, we can't accept your request otherwise 🌸
  
  ⚠️ In your message, please include any kind of link to the work you do (a Google drive link with some pieces of yours (whatever type of art), art social media account, your artist website, or something in that vein) and/or tell me if you would plan on working on any particular artistic project (if not and you're exploring or not sure, that's fine too). All mediums are allowed if the working space allows, but if you don't send me some art of yours, you will most likely not be given priority, as I'll have no idea what you do as an artist. ⚠️
  
  
  🪻If you can't do this, and you'd just like to come and chill for a few days, you're welcome to find me on couchsurfing with the search keyword "autumn sun" and request to stay with us a couple/few nights on there, or send me a shorter request for standard volunteering.🪻

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  Languages spoken

  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  Georgian: Fluent
  Spanish: Intermediate

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  Accommodation

  [HOUSE]
  The house is a three-story building with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a workshop, kitchen, terrace, a studio floor with a separate kitchenette and a balcony, and a garden.
  
  [VILLAGE]
  The village itself is not very small nor very big, has many small food stores, there are two lakes nearby (5minute walk from the house), the Aragvi river, and a very nice simple restaurant one village over (5min drive, 15min bike or 30min walk).
  
  It's fairly well connected to the city (Tbilisi) - there are minivans going back and forth multiple times per day for 4gel stopping close to the house, and otherwise every half hour or so from the highway (about a 30min walk from the village).
  
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  [YOUR ACCOMMODATION]
  You'll have your own bedroom (as an individual or as a couple if you are working together). They are all comfortable with double beds or extendable couches. You will either have a studio space for your art work or a studio-bedroom. Most likely you need to bring your own art supplies as I'm not sure I'll have what you need. You can always ask me, and we can explore resources or the eco-available options depending on your medium 🧚🏼‍♂️
  
  There are sheets and towels, all the essentials, and a washing machine.
  
  Depending on which bedroom you stay in, you will likely be using a shared bathroom.
  
  ⚠️ [INTERNET]
  You will need mobile data, there is no WiFi (we will perhaps get it installed if possible in the near future, I'm not sure), but getting a SIM with monthly unlimited data is easy and cheap (32 gel/mo, around 10$) - I can get you one too and you can load it with a package.
  
  The mobile signal there isn't great all the time - so digital nomads or anyone with video conference commitments will have a frustrating experience, so best not to plan on it.
  
  
  ⚠️ [FOOD] ⚠️
  You will do your own cooking and will need to get your own food as we only ask for a couple hours of help each day, but it is all quite cheap in the village compared to the city. Although the items sold are often quite basic, so you might want to go and get groceries in a bigger village or in town from time to time. I like to relax, cut down and stick to basics when I am there, and live more simply, but I also enjoy cooking. You should find all the utensils and kitchen essentials you might need.
  
  You can use the kitchen freely and respectfully, paying attention to keep everything closed in containers to make sure mice aren't attracted.
  
  
  [WINTER]
  At the moment there is electrical heating which needs to be used carefully, and gas heating which I'm currently working on setting up again as well, as it was installed a long time ago but the main element doesn't work and needs to be replaced.

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  What else ...

  Let me know if you have any questions ^^

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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 possibly accept pets

  This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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