Natural farming or How to grow livable worlds in the Sicilian Mountain, Italy

Details

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  Description

  I am artist and filmmaker by profession, and for many years I was based in Berlin (since 1989), but also temporary lived and worked in Paris, New York, Shanghai and other places. Five years ago, I moved to Japan to pursue my post-doc and to study traditional japanese agriculture and forestry at the Kyoto University, and to practice natural farming after Masanobu Fukuoka.
  
  After my time in Japan I decided to move to the mountains of Sicily, to be able to practice and to deepen my ecological and envirnomental perspective.
  
  Since then I live in an old farm house situated on the footstep of Petralia Soprana (PA) in the Madonie natural reserve.
  Here I set up a vegetable garden/food forest after Masanobu Fukuoka and Emilia Hazelip, planted more local fruit trees, installed a pottery studio and welcomed a second dog, Rosa, who we found abandoned on the streets.
  
  The vegetable garden is accompanied by a fruit orchard with many ancient tree varieties like persimmon, walnuts, almonds, pomegranates, pears, apricot, plume, olives and wines. As well there are a number of wild vegetables, mushrooms and flowers to eat. During the rainy season a river passes the garden. The house has been abandoned for years, but now we renovated it with traditional materials and according to the simple life philosophies of traditional subsistence farms.
  
  In the beginning we have been living fully off-grid, making electricity from the sun and using water from the mountains. There is a good internet connection, volunteers can freely use and since one year we are connected to public electricity, since we installed a ceramic studio with an electric kiln in the basement.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Teaching

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  You can learn about plants, animals and soil and its microbiological life. You can learn how to care for soil, plants animals, domesticated or wild. You can learn how to subsist and grow vegetables and fruits trees in a manner of Natural Farming.
  
  You can learn about different clays, how to throw pots on a pottery wheel, how to trim and glaze them.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  I look for people who are ecological minded, and independent. You could help me extending the food forest, install irrigation systems, prune tree, plants vegetabled, cut wood and grass, and make preventive burnings. You can help me harvesting, preserving or ferment, fruits and vegetables to juice, kimchi or grappa.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  You will be stay at our farm house with me, the cat Umi and the dogs Soia & Rosa. The newly renovated house is placed in the Madonie Natural Park in the Province of Palermo. The Madonie is one of the highest mountain ranges and biggest natural parks in Sicily with incredible panoramas, beautiful forests, vivid wildlife and many hiking oportunities - and its just about 40min away from the beaches of Campofelice and Céfalu.
  
  The house has two bedrooms, one with a single bed, one with a kingsize bed. If there are two volunteers, friends or a couple they take the bigger room, if there is one volunteer, she/he takes the single bed room.

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  What else ...

  Three times a day there is a bus to Palermo, which one can also take to visit near by mountain towns. Plus one bus to Céfalu and the beaches there.

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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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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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