Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
28 Dec 2020
Feedback
9
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Details
Description
Hi! We are Gabriele and Valeria, a couple living on a remote farm in the Ligurian Apennines.
Our place is surrounded by woods, silence, and beautiful nature. Gabriele moved here in 2021, when the house was just a ruin, and started rebuilding it from scratch. Valeria joined the adventure later, and since then we’ve been working together to bring this little paradise back to life.
Our place is best reached with a 4x4 vehicle, as we’re located 1.5 km down a gravel road.
Our main focus now is restoring the stone house and creating a functional workshop where we can work with wood, metal, and recycled materials to build creative and useful crafty things. We love making stuff with our hands!
We have many dreams for the future: building a stable for a few goats and cows (for small-scale dairy production), experimenting with insect farming as a sustainable protein source, creating tiny houses, treehouses, footpaths, BBQ areas, even a natural swimming pool! Sustainability is key for us — we use solar panels and would love to install a water turbine someday.
In addition to all this, we would also like this place to be transformed into a small social project: a space where people in difficulty can find support, learn manual or agricultural skills thanks to our experience in the educational field.
At the moment, it’s just the two of us (plus Etta, our sweet sheepdog, and a cat). We welcome help with construction, gardening, wood cutting, cooking, and taking care of the land. If you enjoy nature, manual work, and good pizza (we have a wood-fired oven!), you’ll probably have a great time here.
We’re also part of a local community of friends in the valley, so there’s often a chance to meet people and exchange skills and ideas.
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
Interests
Events & social
Charity work
Farming
Sustainability
Technology
Culture
Astronomy
Architecture
Photography
Music
Languages
Gardening
Cooking & food
Carpentry
DIY & crafts
Books
Art & design
Mountain
Nature
Fitness
Hiking
Camping
Cycling
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We really value cultural exchange and love meeting people from different backgrounds.
We enjoy sharing experiences like cooking together, playing music and singing with Valeria, exploring the beautiful surroundings, and simply exchanging stories and ideas.
And of course, we’re always happy to learn anything new from those who come to visit — whether it’s a skill, a recipe, or just a different way of seeing the world!
Help
The help we need can vary across different tasks.
At the moment (May 2025), we’re focusing on renovating the basement, which involves concrete work and structural reinforcement.
Besides that, there are always things to do around the farm: cutting and collecting wood, mowing the grass, tidying up the surroundings, making small repairs…
There’s an endless list of things to fix and create, as we slowly bring this place back to life after years of abandonment — and of course, unexpected things always pop up in the countryside!
We’re happy to share what we know, but we’d also love to welcome people who already have experience — especially if they can teach us a thing or two!
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
Spanish: Beginner
Accommodation
Accommodation is simple but cozy.
The room we offer isn’t fully private, as it’s next to ours and has the stairs to the upper floor passing through it — but it’s warm and comfortable. We’ll be sharing the bathroom and kitchen.
We don’t have any specific food restrictions, but we’re happy to adapt to any dietary needs.
During the warmer months, there’s plenty of space for tents if you prefer sleeping outdoors.
And yes — we’re planning to get and set up a caravan (roulotte) soon!
What else ...
In addition to receiving support regarding the jobs that are to be done in the farmhouse, we are interested in meeting new people, so we would like to socialize, not just work. Obviously you will have all the free time you need, but we also appreciate interacting and being helped during the day as much as possible and having fun. We hope
to meet sociable people who are pleased to adapt a little. Living in the countryside means that life and work are often the same thing.
You will be able to borrow our bicycles and cars if you are licensed and have good skills with the old car :). How you will help us, we will all have more free time to devote to relaxation and fun!
The nearest train station is about a 40-minute drive away. There are also buses that reach the village located 3 km below our place — from there, we can arrange to pick you up.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have an internet connection based on 4G, it's not very powerful, but it supports well streaming videos and radios
Can possibly accept pets
We do have a dog ourselves, we only would appreciate that any other dog behave well. They would be welcome as long as they don’t bark for no reason, steal food, and get on the couch
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Feedback (5)
Gabri is very easy going and I hope I hope to integrate some of his life approach into my own. It was great to meet Gabri's friends and family, who are all so welcoming and friendly. The community… read more
Dova is a small small village, but it has so much character and… read more
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Gabri is very easy going and I hope I hope to integrate some of his life approach into my own. It was great to meet Gabri's friends and family, who are all so welcoming and friendly. The community… read more
Dova is a small small village, but it has so much character and… read more
