Come and help a around large straw house and a small wooden house on the hills of the Oltrepo. Italy

Italy

Favourited 56 times

Host rating
Feedback
18
Last activity
28/09/2020
Reply rate
100.0 %
Average reply time:
within 2 days
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Availability

2021

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What's this?

Details

Description
We are a family now composed of five people (Alessandra, 50 years old - Emanuele, 50 - Maria, 86 - Renzo, 93 - Sidi 18), 2 dogs (Momo and Nero) and 2 cats (Pippo and Tina). We decided to move away from the city to retrieve a life size closer to nature. We want to build a place in harmony with what we feel. A small farm. A straw-bale house. A happy slump.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Elderly Companionship
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
Language practice
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We live a simple life in contact with nature. We are mindful of energy saving, water cycles, bio-building, waste recycling, and local consumption. We like to know how things work. Emanuele is expert in construction. Alessandra is an excellent cook. Maria knows all the secrets of knitting and Renzo is an excellent comedian.
Help
We are still working to improve the place we live in. We need help to finish the main building in straw, to build shelter for animals, arrange the garden (spring / summer), build fences, arrange the existing buildings, cut the wood (winter). We also need a little help for grandmother and grandfather living with us.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
Accommodation
Volunteers will be able to sleep in an independent (4 person) ,private bathroom: a little wooden house. There is a chance to have their own fridge and cook their meals, but we would like to share these moments to give more meaning to cultural exchange.
What else ...
We live in a small country (14 inhabitants) in the middle of the anything. Walk you can reach a small bar, but for other stores you need to take the car. There is a service bus that connects the main location. In the summer there are many cultural events and food. In the winter need to move a bit more away for leisure. Cities that you can visit from here are Milano, Pavia, Piacenza, Genova.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
- Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Photos

Feedback left by and about host (18)

These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.

Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)

Cultural exchange:
(5.0)

Communication:
(4.8)

07/11/2019

Left by Workawayer (Emilia & Zuzanna) for host

We are really happy that we had a chance to stay with this family in their little village. Sharing their life for a moment was an unexpectedly wonderful experience. We got to learn a lot about Italian lifestyle in general. With their help we also improved our Italian a lot - it was impossible not to, since we had to try and catch up with the… read more

(Excellent )

07/10/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Emilia & Zuzanna)

They are two very nice and cute girls.
Although young people asked us to do hard work that they did well.
Eager to share they were pleasant playmates, stories, impressions and above all laughter.
For those who don't want to get bored.

(Excellent )

09/10/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Annett)

Very good!
Silent and enterprising worker. Thanks to his initiative he completes the work he has seen him do even without explaining everything to her.
It was a lot of fun to have her as a collaborator and to note that she was ready to provide the right tool or piece at the right time, like a nurse in the operating room.
His professional advice as… read more

(Excellent )

08/09/2019

Left by Workawayer (Annett) for host

What a lovely familiy! When I stayed with Emanuele, Alessandra, Maria, Renzo and Sidi I had such a beautiful and relaxed time. I felt very welcome straight from the beginning and I felt a deep connection with them. The food was always a great pleasure and insight into italian cooking style. I loved the way they had structured their days, leaving… read more

(Excellent )

01/10/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Victor)

Boy sensitive and always ready to help even out of working hours.
Always smiling is a very helpful workmate, besides being a pleasant playmate

(Excellent )

01/10/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Basile & Lucie)

It was very interesting to have a workmate like Basile.
Enterprising, precise, he uses imagination and inventiveness to carry out works begun together and finished by himself excellently.
Friendly and sympathetic even if at first it may seem more introverted and thoughtful we consider it a good workawayer

(Excellent )

14/08/2019

Left by Workawayer (Basile & Lucie) for host

I found exactly what I was looking for at Emanuele's and Allessandra's : a true caring family, sharing values and taking care of each other, mixing all generations. The work was very interesting and the meals were the opportunity to share the culture and get to know more of each other. I keep a wonderful memory of my stay and hope to be back there… read more

(Excellent )

26/09/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Paul & Hermine)

What immediately struck us about Hermine and Paul was their great autonomy in completing the tasks that we assigned them and the rare ability to understand what else we needed without us declaring it.
Staying with them was pleasant and interesting because they are starting a project similar to ours.
They are people full of energy and positive… read more

(Excellent )

23/08/2019

Left by Workawayer (Paul & Hermine) for host

Our two weeks stay with Alessandra and Emanuele's family was our first Workaway experience as a couple – and it was amazing.
Paravello is a lovely hamlet in the beautiful countryside south from Milan. Great scenery, perfect for hikes and hill running ;) There is a little bar down the hill where you can indulge in the tastiest ice creams, perfect… read more

(Excellent )

18/11/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Izzy)

In Izzy the decidedly English style goes well with a beautiful presence and a peaceful calm.
In the short time she was with us we worked together, we saw her working hard alone, she prepared a plate of her land and told us how to do art therapy (something that we could not experience on us) .
The rain kept us company in those days but it would be… read more

(Excellent )

16/11/2018

Left by Workawayer (Izzy) for host

I loved my week with Alessandra and Emanuele! They were so welcoming and accommodating, even though I could only stay for a short time. I felt at home right away and really enjoyed feeling part of family life as well as getting stuck into some manual work. I felt that the family gave me a real taste of Italian living through their amazing cooking… read more

(Excellent )

11/10/2018

Left by Workawayer (Noam & michel) for host

We were very lucky to meet this wonderful family!
We learned a lot from them about simple and happy family life.
Every thing we did together was enjoyable and meaningful: cuting wood, building, walking in the forest, watching movies, playing games, exchanging recipes and eating what we all cooked.
We also learned what you can achieve with your own… read more

(Excellent )

10/10/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Noam & michel)

Impeccable and diligent workers have arranged so many things we needed.
Precise and accurate, they placed every instrument used in their place, creating an order that was often better than before.
Regarding working hours, they accepted our every proposal without discussion.
They prepared delicious food.
In their eyes was the serenity and the joy… read more

(Excellent )

01/10/2018

Left by Workawayer (Glevis) for host

I went to this place with the wish to spent just some quiet days in the countryside, and no expectations at all. After two weeks, I realized that if it wasn't for some already planned travel I had to go to, I would have never left.
Alessandra and Emanuele's house is in a really nice place. Surrounded by hills, little villages, woods...And the… read more

(Excellent )

13/09/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Glevis)

Glevis has been with us for too little time but it was enough to miss her when she left.
He worked hard and was very interested in cultural exchanges, above all poetic, with a lively intelligence and a surprisingly fast word speed, not to mention the languages he knew.
A special person

(Excellent )

13/09/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Dalya)

Friendly, apparently thoughtful but very sociable, she worked with us in a very demanding period for her condition that did not make us weigh, now we hope mum happy.

(Excellent )

10/05/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Mirkka)

Milli is the perfect volunteer.
Volentious, full of initiative, respectful and curious. Hosting her and Caleb (her beautiful doberman) was really a pleasure.
Plus we learned Spanish!

(Excellent )

07/05/2018

Left by Workawayer (Mirkka) for host

I really enjoyed to stay with Alessandra, Emanuele, Maria, Renzo, Momo and cats! The most important thing for me is the atmosphere which is very loving and caring! I really felt like home and part of the family. I helped in the consructions so the job was a little bit hard, but we did it like "in the river of Tao" so I didn't felt that it was… read more

(Excellent )

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Host ref number: 841198558852

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