Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
19 Apr 2024
Reply rate
96.7 %
Usually responds within 4 days
Feedback
58
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Badges (2)
Details
Description
This is a guesthouse/social project located 20 Km South East from Tirana at a village called Pellümbas. The project aims to immerse and to sensitize visitors in the daily life of the village.
The project started by renovating an abandoned stone house on the property, which, with the collaboration of volunteers and locals, became a lovely guesthouse that has hosted travellers and volunteers for the last 5 years. The house is a traditional Albanian stone house that has belonged to the same family for over 60 years.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
Hospitality/Tourism
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We're looking to welcome volunteers who feel comfortable in nature and genuinely enjoy rural life. You will be relatively close to Tirana, the capital city of Albania, but still Pellümbas is a 500 populated village with 3 coffee shops and 2 groceries stores.
Pellümbas or The Village of Pigeons has several trekking trails with mesmerizing views. The one that stands out the most is the trail that takes you to The Black Cave (Shpella I Zi), a karst cave that is one of among six karstic caves that exist in Europe. The Cave has a length of 360 m with a width which can vary between 10–15 m and a vertical range of 45 m. It takes about a 40 min. walk to get there. Also, you can go for a 25 min. walk to the Erzen River and have a refreshing swim.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
Currently looking for help with:
Cleaning Chores: As we're welcoming guests and volunteers, we need a hand with simple cleaning chores like hanging, folding, ironing bed sheets, preparing the rooms, sweeping, moping; in general, keeping the place tidy and clean.
Construction: We're still renovating and decorating the guest house and finishing mud houses that we have constructed; volunteers with carpenter skills and with the capacity to use tools are very welcome.
Gardening: We have a big garden and a lot of fruits trees. We plant vegetables and we would like to continue creating more orchards around the land. We have made a few raised beds, so planting and taking care of the veggies during spring/summer will be the next step to follow.
Sewing: We are still putting finishing touches to the interior of the guesthouse/mud houses, i.e. curtains, seat covers etc.. If you have skills and ideas to contribute we can provide the necessary tools to work with.
Mud Houses: We have started in February our latest mud house with the intention of finishing it before summer, and for such, we need plenty of hands to work on it! If you like getting your hands dirty, this is a task that you will most likely really enjoy.
Volunteers are not expected to take part in guest's food service.
Languages
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
French: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
Portuguese: Fluent
Albanian: Fluent
Serbian: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
We really like languages, both as a practical communicative tool, but also as an object of study to learn about the connections between them.
Accommodation
The guesthouse has 3 guestrooms, in each room there is a double bed and a bunk bed. In Winter, we offer a bed in a room that will be shared with other volunteers or guests. During summer, the idea would be that the volunteer room is only used when it is not booked. We have plenty of tents and hammocks that can be used outside, which provide a nice environment to sleep given the warmth that this beautiful land is surrounded by.
Regarding food, breakfast and dinner are provided every day. During the days that no guests are coming, it is likely that volunteers will need to cook and manage themselves. The guesthouse will always provide vegan food and/or ingredients for cooking vegan meals.
We have a well equipped kitchen, a cozy dining room and a comfortable living room. On the property there is also a beautiful garden, 3 small mud houses and a terrace where to enjoy sunsets and mountain views. We have more than a hundred fruit trees and a storage/workshop area with several tools to create.
Please, include the name of the village "Pellumbas" in the title of your message, so we know that you have read up to here.
What else ...
We would like to add that this is a vegetarian guesthouse and we require that no meat of any kind (this includes chicken, sea animals, etc) is cooked in or brought to our premises. The shared meals tend to be vegan. We try to respect all dietary requirements.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have WiFi mostly for the reception of the hostel. It is not reliable to do work that requires constant connection, or even watch a video. It can be used if needed for sending or checking mails, etc. Volunteers who work online have bought their sim card with the local provider "MyOne" for 20 Euros 30G with a quite a good internet connection.
Space for parking camper vans
We have a lot of space in our garden, so camper vans are welcome. :)
Can possibly accept pets
We have a female dog, Blacky and a cat, Monster. They love meeting new people but since Blacky has had puppies, she hasn't been extremely receptive to other animals. I do think that we can definitely work something out :)
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (28)
While with us she helped with the maintenance of the household, the preparation of breakfast and dinner, and jobs outside, such as… read more
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
While with us she helped with the maintenance of the household, the preparation of breakfast and dinner, and jobs outside, such as… read more
Besides the things he did as tasks, he was always motivated to make other… read more
I arrived kinda last minute and felt very accepted from day one. The group worked together so perfectly with quite literally zero conflict for weeks at the… read more
While with us, he helped mainly with the preparation of breakfast, keeping the guesthouse clean and tidy and doing cement decorations. He also helped sealing our storage room which is now officially… read more
Everyone from Ilir, Atlas to all the rest of the volunteers were warm, welcoming and just such a great crowd to be part of. I loved the space and the garden, where there are fig, kaki and pomegranate trees that we could harvest to add to the… read more
While here he helped with the preparation of breakfast, doing… read more
it was lovely coming to the house, everyday a different experience with new energies of the guests (all of which were very welcome). We had a happy balance of work and leisure and never felt pressured to fulfil tasks rigidly. Atlas is el hermoso amigo and a great kaitiaki for this place, as well as Ilir. I'm so happy to have spent… read more
Aviyah is very humble and austere, needing very little to be comfortable and happy. During her stay here she helped with the… read more
I can't put into words how much I enjoyed my stay with Atlas, Iliar, and this amazing group of volunteers.
With this happy, positive and loving atmosphere, it is easy to let go, feel welcomed and find peace. There is a lot of respect and appreciation for… read more
Theresa is one of the most responsible and caring volunteers that we have ever had. She always tried her best to help in any way possible. Many times I could tell that she would do something because she knew it needed to be done, even though she might prefered to do something else at… read more
Pellumbas is a sweet village that calms you down and invites you to hear all the… read more
She is an extremely kind soul, always focused on improving and developing herself and learning things... Sometimes even a little too much haha. She is oh so… read more
From the beginning of their stay both Romy and Fabi showed… read more
They arrived during a time when we were going through… read more
While with us, they helped mainly in the construction… read more
we stayed for 16 days in the house,
we had a very nice time, we had a lot of fun, good food and a lot of freedom with our work thay have a lot of projects going and you can find out what you want to do at your staying.
thank you illir and atlas for a very good time
all love
Yoav and Yair
During her one month stay, Linn helped us with various things. From… read more
Not only… read more
While here, they worked a bit in the renovation of the mud house and some cement decorations, helped with breakfast and dinner for volunteers, and painted many many reaaaaaaaaally beuaitful things, like a… read more
I know this is a bit late for a feedback but better late than never.
me and two of my girlfriends came to the house very spontaneously after a horror experience and we were welcomed so warmly!
we spend wonderful two weeks there!
the people, the nature and the food really enriched our lives:) miss you lots
During their (little more than a) month here Delanie and Tori were a huge asset to our project. They always tackled every task with a very intense and positive attitude, always practicing and trying their best and interested in learning new things; any new… read more
From working in the mud house to blowing our minds with absolutely fantastic and exotic dishes, everything that Tomas did, he did… read more
The synchronicity of life was completely activated with this workaway. Amazing group of people, leading by Atlas, and other volunteers Tori, Alexia, Alex and Delanie.
Amazing nature, the mountains, river, the green coulour everywhere and bird singing...
This is the spot in Albania!
I worked mostly on construction of mud… read more
Alexia is an extremely responsible volunteer. She has cared a lot about the project and the beings surrounding it. From spending time with puppies, taking care of them if they needed some particular attention, to just doing whatever was… read more
While with us she painted many things, bringing clarity and beauty to a few… read more
Ilir and the other volunteers have a way of making one feel beautifully at home in Pellumbas immediately.
We were able to choose our work, taking into account our own capabilities, but also enjoying learning new things!
The variety of the place is what makes it so… read more
Nossa, o que dizer dessa experiência? SENSACIONAL
Nos faltam palavras para descrever o quanto somos gratas e fomos extremamente bem recebidas na casa.
Ilir o anfitrião do projeto é uma ótima pessoa e nos ajudou quando precisávamos entender como fazer o trabalho. Os voluntários que conhecemos de todos os… read more
They helped us with the construction of mud houses, serving breakfast for the entire crew and guests, cooking dinners for groups of… read more
Always energetic and with a positive attitude, she helped us a lot, in various different things. She has no fear of work, nor of unknown things, having a lot of fun while… read more
Just to summarize their attitude; when I asked Jan, after explaining everything that could be done in the project, what would he like to… read more
While she was here she helped with a lot of tasks such as cleaning, organizing, taking care of the garden, cooking and in the construction of our mud house. She was also in charge and took care of building a swing, and exercised her… read more
I have a hard time putting into words the incredible weeks I have had in Pellumbas. I was not even planning on staying in Albania, but the country, the people, and the nature mesmerized me so much that I had no choice but to stay. And it was the best decision I could have made. I felt so at peace there, surrounded by nature and the… read more
