Help us with maintenance, repairs and garden work in a small traditional house in the mountains, close to the sea in Andalucia, Spain

Details

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  Description

  Dutch child psychologist/Mindfulness trainer and a sketcher/painter, living in the Granada area, 20 minutes from the sea. I live on a rather remote piece of land where I grow avocado's and other fruit. Both the small house and the garden need some extra care.
  
  For me 'work away' has been about meeting people, making friends, trying to balance between giving and receiving. If you feel happy helping with work in the garden or general maintenance, I try to give back by talking about this area and the tipical customs, providing English tuition, give Mindfulness training or give a sketching workshop.
  You would work four hours daily and take two days off weekly. Of course you can arrange those hours and free days around to fit in with plans for small trips. All you have to do is communicate about it.
  
  If you are ok with sharing a room with others, or if you prefer to use a tent, or a hammock, you are welcome. Come and share my (rather small) house and help me to tackle the work that is still waiting. It would be wonderful if you have at least some practical experience. Please don't think 'how hard can it be' because let me tell you, garden- and maintenance work is hard, dirty, tiring but wonderfully rewarding work.
  The house is very basic, it is of the grid, with solar and gas for cooking.
  
  Spring is the best time of the year, warm but not hot, wildflowers, birds and butterflies everywhere.
  If you can come for Semana Santa (the week before Eastern) you have the chance to experience the famous and strange processions, very tipical for this region.
  Spring can be mild and sunny but also rainy and sometimes stormy, so do bring rainstuff with you, because we work no matter how the weather is. Also: nights are still rather cold, so don't forget warm sleeping gear.
  By the way: we share in the household chores. I make breakfast and lunch, but you would be asked to help cooking in the evenings.
  
  
  I hope to meet you soon,
  
  Juana

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  In this part of the country you will have the chance to see how the local people live and work their land, far from the urban life in the big cities.
  You can learn about habits and customs, the do's and don'ts in this part of Southern Spain, and of course you can learn some spanish.
  This is the area where the tapas are said to originate from, you can go out and try the different free tapas in the bars with your drink.

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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

  The work in the garden changes with the seasons of course. Right now therecleaning overgrown veggie beds, cutting and pruning, as well as making compost with the old weeds
  All volunteers are expected to help with the daily housekeeping and/or cooking.
  We just had two massive sandstorms, bringing in orange brown dust from the Sahara. I would love help with the cleaning.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Dutch: Fluent
  Spanish: Intermediate
  French: Intermediate

  This host offers a language exchange
  Having lived in Spain for many years, I can help you with the beginning of your journey to learn Spanish. However, my native language is Dutch (and I used to teach English here in Spain).
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  Accommodation

  The guest bedroom can house two or three people. You can also sleep in a tent, or in a hammock.
  
  The house is a small traditional two bedroom house, called a 'cortijo'. We have solar and a large pool. Please, do realise this is a very simple accomodation, so do not expect too much luxury. Sometimes we have problems with the electricity or with hot water.
  The garden, or finca, has tropical fruit trees, avocado's, oranges, figs, guavabe etc, so there is fresh fruit almost all year round.

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  What else ...

  The city of Granada is only 40 kilometers away, I would love to show you around, also at the world famous Alhambra. This area is special because of its Arab history, and you can see many large and small remnants. The Sierra Nevada near Granada are above 3000 meters, allowing for good mountain hiking, and skiing in winter. The foothills of the Sierra Nevada are close, the Alpugaras, with beautiful white villages. At the coast there is not much international tourism, but in summer a lot of Granadiens are escaping the heat and coming to the coast, so it is very lively then.
  If you are a rock climber you will have heard about the sheer cliffs of Velez de Benaudalla, and if you love nature you can enjoy the flora and fauna of this 'tropical coast' as this area is called.
  
  A note of warning: the summers can get very very hot, you'll need to live accordingly, be active in the early morning and/or early evening, and take more rest, drink a lot and keep to the shade during the very hot hours. We keep siesta, as do all the people in this area. Winters are not really cold, except at night, but you might want to bring a sweater, a coat and rainwear.

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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

  Due to some internet problems in this area, you would need to have your own connection and be able to live with a somewhat unreliable connection. It is not ideal, but doable. I do digital work myself.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  If you have experience driving in the mountains, you will be able to get to my place with a motorvan without problems, it has been done before. Others prefered to park a little bit further down the road.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  Pets are welcome, but I do have a rescue dog. He is friendly and he likes to play with other dogs, but he is not sterilized.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  4 hours five days

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