Learn about permaculture at a vegan finca in the mountains near Malaga, Spain

Details

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  Description

  WELCOME to Finca la Sacristía, welcome to our home. We are a family of five and love to share our home with loving and interesting people from around the world. Please read and reflect upon the entire profile before applying to stay with us. We are aware it is extensive, and we like to see it as a common starting point for the time we spend together.
  
  WHO WE ARE
  We are a German family that moved to the south of Spain in 1999. Hannes (67, musician, yogateacher and allrounder), Maria (70, teacher, caring mother and connector) and Michael (31, critical thinker, maintenance guy and tree caretaker) live here. Johannes (37, psychology enthusiast, builder and hemp seed milk specialist) lives here in winter and Eva (40, cleaning enthusiast, organiser, baker) comes for visits in the winter season. We love to have you here as helping guests and form lasting friendly relationships whenever they come naturally. On the 1.3 ha property we grow Aloe Vera, fruit trees, as well as olive, almond and fig trees in the mountains near Málaga. Since 2017 we are working on transforming the finca into a permaculture-designed fruit-forest, planting many more and diverse trees, with a focus on species that need little water.
  We (Hannes and Maria) live a life with a focus on inner peace and meditation when possible. To get to know you closer during your stay, we would welcome it if you take part in group activities, such as yoga, music, heart sharing circles and spiritual conversations when they are offered by us or through initiatives of our friends and guests. Michael likes to invite you for a bonfire if the weather and season allow for it.
  
  Our last big achievement: Building and installing a 6Kwp solar system, giving enough energy for the summer and a large part of the winter months.
  
  What we need help with now: General maintenance of buildings and living spaces, finishing the building of a compost toilet with shower, gardening, cleaning, cooking.
  
  THE PLACE
  Close to the little village Benaque (180 people), next to Macharaviaya, the finca offers a wonderful view of the mountain range Sierra de Tejeda and the Mediterranean sea. Our lifestyle is very simple, we live in small wooden houses and caravans. It gets very hot in summer (also with many mosquitos) and it can be windy and cold in the winter. As such, we ask you to prepare yourself to the expected weather. This means ecological sun and mosquito protection as well as long light clothing in summer and warm clothes in winter as well as a warm sleeping bag (this is a suggestion, but we do have blankets)!
  There is no air conditioning in any and no heating in most of the caravans. Extreme temperatures are around 5°C in winter and 40 °C in summer time. Otherwise, all caravans and houses are supplied with water, and electricity and you can always ask for a warm water bottle.
  Please bring your own working clothes, a water bottle (glass or stainless steel is best), and a torch. There is a clothes exchange to your availability, but it’s not guaranteed that we have your size.
  
  Severe water shortage: this means, utmost care in the usage of water during washing dishes and brushing your teeth. Never let the water tap run if you don’t use the water. If you take showers daily it should be merely a rinse to allow for the use of soap and wash the soap off.
  
  YOU AS A HELPING GUEST
  We welcome all people who aspire to lead a disciplined, ethical life and have a positive attitude to life and physical work. Now we have a special need for helpers who have solid experience in setting up and maintaining irrigation-systems, in building/ eco-construction, general construction like tiling and brick laying, as well as woodwork and/ or permaculture garden work.
  You will help 4 hours per day, 6 days a week, breaks are extra. Cleaning of the common areas is not included in this working time, and we consider around 30 min/day of kitchen or bathroom cleaning a necessary contribution to a tidy and clean community space. We generally welcome that helpers work during the same hours to be able to organise tasks and the day more easily.
  This leads to a schedule of roughly 8-10am / 6-8pm in peak summertime (because of the midday heat) and 10am-2pm in wintertime. Should you wish to work in different times, this can only be agreed upon if the circumstances allow for it and if it’s seen as reasonable and helpful to the situation. The day off is agreed upon together on an individual basis and shall be communicated beforehand.
  We would like to have a short skype (or similar software) conversation with you before deciding on your stay. This can be beneficial for you and for us. On the day of your arrival, there will be a short welcoming and an initial “get to know each other” and one of us or a volunteer will show you around.
  We propose to have one week for a mutual “trial period” to see if your and our needs are met during your stay. If you appear to be unwilling to follow the clearly mentioned rules (see below) even after reminding you of them, we will kindly ask you to leave within one day. (If a serious case of personal incompatibility with us or the other residents arises, we kindly reserve the
  right to ask you to leave even before the one-week trial period ends. Therefore, we recommend setting aside sufficient funds to cover your personal needs if early departure becomes necessary.)
  There are no buses to the village near our finca. We pick you up from the bus station at the coast after agreeing on a time. During your stay, on limited occasions you can share a ride if someone from the finca goes anywhere by car. We do not lend our cars. Distances to the closest shops or the beach are 30 minutes by car or 2,5h walking. Some volunteers walked to the beach or came with bycicles and used those to explore in the afteroon and the days off, in a fit condition and pleasant weather it is totally doable. Most volunteers however, just do some exploring in the nearby nature, go for walks or visit the village that is close.
  
  VEGAN LIVING FOOD
  Hannes has been eating mostly raw vegan in the past years, and we like to support you if you also wish to eat raw. For the rest of the family and our guests there is plenty of delicious cooked vegan food as well. We have salad and vegetables from the garden, fruit we mostly buy, except for figs in August/ September, when there are plenty. We offer one prepared vegan meal for lunch (raw and cooked options). This meal is prepared by us or by volunteers for all. For breakfast, we usually help together to set the table for a nice porridge or millet with fruits and homemade vegan milk, but it can vary on who is here at that time. We don’t provide coffee, but you can bring your own. Dinner and Sundays, everyone is responsible for preparing their food (you can take it from the storage). Our previous guests have always been very happy and joyful about the variety and taste of the available fruit, vegetables and dry foods.
  During the preparation of the meals, we would like the cook to be concentrated on spiritual music or spiritual thoughts (as this has a big influence on our health and our meditations). Only the deputed cook and their helper(s) are allowed in the kitchen and food storage room during cooking time. The food is served in the living-room area and/or on the terrace. People who want to change their diet and would like to know more about (raw) vegan food are very welcome.
  
  YOGA AND MEDITATION
  Spiritual development (realizing ourselves as soul) is the main focus of our project. We have a strawbale house, which serves as a yoga and community house. We personally practice meditation on inner Light and Sound with the support of a spiritual teacher from India (ask me for the links). We have a certain daily meditation schedule and on Sundays we have our personal retreat. From this we derive the strength and inspiration for our project. (We would like to mention that we disapprove from the use of Reiki, as – to our knowledge – it involves mental powers and can result in karmic burdens.)
  
  MUSIC
  We play music on guitar and sitar, tablas (indian drums), hang drum, esraj and harmonium and many more instruments that you – our guest – would bring along. Now and then, we offer an evening program which can include music, a short spiritual talk and a training in mindfulness/meditation. We meditate between each song for about seven minutes (naming it "Seven for
  heaven – prayer for peace"). When playing music on speakers in our kitchen we wish for it to be classical (Indian instrumental) music or selected mantra-songs – the idea being to have a quiet atmosphere and harmony.
  
  COMMUNICATION
  We aspire for and try to practice an honest and loving communication between each other to be in a harmonious atmosphere. Respect and gratitude should be the basic attitudes. We might have meetings where we practice the use of "Nonviolent communication" (according to Marshall Rosenberg), the so-called "empathetic or heart communication" upon request. This has proven to be very helpful for keeping harmony in relationships and community settings.
  
  SUSTAINABILITY OF YOUR TRAVEL HERE
  Inspired by Michael who studied "Sustainable Tourism", we ask you to consider coming here in the most sustainable way possible. Of course you cannot walk over the ocean but there have been people who came by bicycle from Belgium or Berlin. One man came walking from Denmark and he is continuing his journey, walking to Tanzania – Charlie from "Walking for Water".
  
  DURATION OF YOUR STAY
  A minimum of two and a maximum of four weeks is the duration we like our working guests to stay. Since we have many people who wish to come, a longer stay is only possible after discussing it on an individual basis in a conversation before the ending of this period. Generally, longer stays are welcomed if it’s a personal match between us because it results in a more
  fruitful experience.
  
  SOME SPECIFIC GUIDELINES we ask you to follow:
  - We expect the people to live (raw) vegan on the finca, no smoking, drugs or alcohol.
  - The first half of our common meals we do not talk. This leads to more mindfulness and
  enjoyment of the food.
  - As we use our grey water for the irrigation of trees, please bring along only natural soaps and shampoos, thank you (from the trees). As mentioned, we ask you to shower as short as possible.
  - Please adhere to a respectful clothing attire (both men and women) – covering your upper and lower body by wearing T-shirts with at least half sleeves and skirts or at least half-long trousers in all common areas. Please live your romantic relations discretely. This helps to keep the focus of the place, which is on growing spiritually, the awareness, that we are souls and not
  bodies. It helps to be focused inward.
  - Please respect the calmness of the place and do not put loud music publicly (only with earphones).
  - If you like to help less than the required hours or cannot help due to some reason (sickness, menstruation pain, online work), we can reach other agreements that we can discuss in a call beforehand or when you are here. In the case of inability to help because of sickness longer than one day, we would kindly ask you to contribute economically from your heart.
  - Since we have cats, please do not bring along dogs.
  - We do not take responsibility for any health issues or accidents happening to you on the finca -> be careful where you step and to stay hydrated and dressed according to the weather.
  - You need to have your own health insurance.
  - Group-meetings: we aspire to have a daily helpers meeting and a short thankfulness circle after the breakfast and before helping, please be on time. Should we forget, you are welcome to give us a gentle reminder on that :D
  
  CLEANLINESS
  We want to keep a high standard of hygiene (more details about the kitchen are provided upon arrival). All our helping guests are jointly responsible for the tidiness of the kitchen and the common areas, and the time of the cleaning is not included in the helping hours (see above). Everyone is expected to help with cleaning about 30 minutes per day, also on days off if you are here. The kitchen is to be broomed daily and wet-cleaned weekly.
  
  LAUNDRY: you can give us your laundry and we will wash it with the machine at the required temperature. We only use natural soaps for washing. You can also wash by hand if you like.
  
  INTERNET
  - We have good internet (speed via cable 30Mbit/s). Please bring your own laptop if you would
  like to use one.
  - We have a designated caravan with internet access including WIFI, but please only use it during
  certain hours of the day and you as a working guest should please only use this place for
  internet (not the kitchen and/or the living room area!).
  
  PACKING LIST
  Appropriate clothes and shoes for the season
  Natural soap/shampoe, natural sun screen, natural tooth paste, (anti mosquito for the mosquito season)
  Medication (if you need some) for the duration of your stay
  Gloves for work
  Head torch
  Your favourite book
  Sleeping bag (optional for winter if you know you would be cold)
  An instrument?
  Charging cable ;)
  Personal documents
  
  THANK YOU FOR READING
  
  ----------------------------------------------------
  
  If you are interested in helping visiting us, we would be happy to receive a copy-pasted and answered version of the below questionnaire. This is very helpful for us. We finally ask you to send us a PERSONALISED REQUEST which is written in either German or English. Since some applications seem to be written by or with the help of an AI, if we suspect so, we kindly ask you to rewrite it in your own words. We look forward to reading and hearing from you.
  
  
  QUESTIONNAIRE FOR VOLUNTEERS
  - When would you wish to come and with what kind of transportation?
  
  - How long would you like to stay?
  
  - Do you live a vegetarian/ vegan life?
  
  - Do you have physical or mental health problems that you think would be helpful to communicate to us? We kindly ask for your honesty in this matter. The land is quite steep, with an elevation gain of 50 meters over a 100-meter distance, requiring a good level of physical fitness for your leisure and working time. Regarding mental problems or personal challenges in your life, we are not able to offer any professional psychological support, only a friendly ear.
  
  - Do you have a valid health insurance that will cover you in Spain in case of injuries or sickness?
  
  - Please confirm that only you yourself are the responsible one for any health problems or accidents occurring during your stay at the finca.
  
  - Are you willing to attend our group meetings like yoga, spiritual talks, music, non-violent communication?
  
  - Do you agree to help with the cleaning of dishes, the kitchen, and toilets/showers additionally to your working time?
  
  - Are you a smoker?
  
  -We have caravans for the guests and compost toilets. Can you adjust to these simple living conditions? It also means being cold or hot sometimes. Please consider that beforehand.
  
  - Please give us an example of severe water shortage, if you have witnessed some.
  
  - Is there any other information that you might think that would be useful to communicate to us?
  
  - How do you feel about the mentioned rules? Do you agree to follow them to the best of your abilities? Do you understand that we will kindly ask you to leave if you (repeatedly) ignore them?
  
  -What is your complete name, email address, skype (if you have) and telephone number? (You are not obliged to answer, but it would facilitate our communication with you).
  
  - Please provide an emergency contact (a close friend or family member who are likely to respond to phone calls) so we know who to inform in case something happens. It is fine to send it to us once your stay is confirmed.
  
  The final questions are just to know a little bit more about you personally, feel free to answer or
  not.
  - What are your hobbies?
  - What has most importance in your life

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  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

  As is written above you can learn a lot about simple life, eco-gardening, cooking of vegan food, spiritual music, yoga, meditation and empathetic communication. You can train your English, German and maybe Spanish.
  If there are permaculture-courses or other courses for example on eco-building, music etc. by other teachers than us, you can take part for reduced conditions.

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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

  - We like you to stay minimum 2 weeks or more, less is only exception for specialist people on special projects.
  - Please keep us informed about your plans, especially if they change. We get many request and some people take their time in reacting.
  
  We expect you to help a maximum of 25 hours per week in exchange of lodging and good food.
  
  There are special conditions for those who want to volunteer less, please email us.

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  Languages spoken

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

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  Accommodation

  Several caravans and a wooden house

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  What else ...

  If you come by airplane you take a bus from the airport to the main bus-station of Malaga. From there you take a bus in direction Torre del Mar. We can pick you up at one of the bus-stations between Malaga and Torre del Mar at the coast-road, nearest is "Chilches" and "Los Rubios". If you come by car we will give you a description that might be a bit more helpful than google maps in some cases.
  In your free time (besides reading, doing yoga and getting to know yourself) you can go hiking around in the mountains, visit the villages nearby or go to the beach (by foot or hitchhiking).

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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 host digital nomads

  There is reliable internet (speed via cable 30Mbit/s) and WIFI at a designated caravan.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  One or maximum two vans can be parked. Details can be discussed in person.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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