Learn more about eco and sustainable living while staying with our family in Tomiño, Spain

Details

• 

  Description

  We are Alex and Carven. We spent many years on the road learning from projects all around the world and have finally found our own sweet corner in southern Galicia. Alex is Galician from Vigo and Carven is from Sydney, Australia- we lived here and there and would consider ourselves to be open minded people and flexible people. We also have a toddler who takes a lot of energy.
  
  We have finally moved in as of March 2024 and after a year we have some raised garden beds and a dry toilet outside. A semi finished grey water system and lots of young trees planted around. We are starting with small steps going at a steady pace and hope to live more and more sustainably.
  The plot is half a hectare and we have some horses who come sporadically to eat the grass. A small forest area and tiny fresh water stream , and the house areas with one where we live and another that we are fixing slowly.

• 

  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals
• 

  Interests

  

  Writing

  

  Gardening

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Cycling

  

  Nature

  

  Yoga / Wellness
• 

  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We will be happy to teach about gardening as we have also gathered experience from other hosts over the years, and about composting, mushroom foraging in the autumn months. Happy teach whatever you find useful to know that we know about. We are also in a constant process of learning and experimenting, so patience and the right attitude is sometimes more important than seeing “results.”
  We also speak several languages and would be happy to help with that too, just let us know.

• 

  Projects involving children

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

• 

  Help

  A typical day would start at 9 and we try to be done by Spanish lunch time around 2 with a tea break. Free time after lunch to take the bikes for a ride to the river, go for a walk around the area- we are surrounded by nature and lots of animals around like horses, cows, sheep and goats.
  
  We don't have regular Mon- Fri jobs so the week is more flexible for us and depending on what’s happening you could take any two days off rather than just the weekend- which usually has less public transport options.
  
  There are always things to keep busy but at the moment we are focused mainly on the garden and doing some tweaks on the other house - very slowly by ourselves. Just ask or let us know your preference.
  
  We have five raised garden beds that are resting over the winter and we will start planting them out soon at the end of Feb. There are also about two dozen trees that we planted recently that we will mulch and water over the summer. We are are doing selective clearing at the far end of the plot to nurture a native forest of oak, chestnuts among others.
  
  Food will be provided and breakfast and dinner are more on your own, while lunch is the sit down meal to have together. We have a varied diet and aim for healthy garden produce in every meal. We are trying to transition to better options than the supermarket such as cooperatives but need better storage spaces first.

• 

  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent
  Galician: Fluent
  Italian: Fluent
  Portuguese: Fluent
  Chinese (Cantonese): Fluent
  French: Intermediate
  Chinese (Mandarin): Intermediate

• 

  Accommodation

  There will be a big tent with a mattress set up in the garden. We have plenty of bedding and towels.
  There is also space for caravans or vans that are self equipped.

• 

  What else ...

  We can be reached by public transport from Vigo, A Guarda or Tui.
  Vigo is the biggest town and many buses come almost hourly. It takes 1h15mins, sometimes less. From there its a 2km walk to the property, if time permits someone could meet you at the bus stop behind the council in town.
  
  If coming from Oporto by plane, there are trains or buses to the northern Portuguese towns of Vilanova de Cerveira or Valenca do Minho, both are about 12kms away from here. And we can pick you up from there.
  
  There are beautiful villages along the Galician side of the river Miño which can be visited on the public bus. We also have two bikes you can borrow. Vilanova de Cerveira has their market day on Saturday and is a 30 minute bike ride away.
  Galician towns of Tuy, A Guarda are less than 15 minutes in the local bus and great to visit and a variant of the Camino actually passes through here too and the official ones in the last two towns mentioned above.
  We are fifteen minutes walk from Tomiño where there are plenty of supplies, shops, markets on Wednesday, a small square with five or six bars and cafes.
  
  Many walks around the surrounding area. It is a quiet place, not too far from civilisation. We live in a Galician area, our neighbours are very friendly and the town is very close with plenty to do- we feel rural but are not too far from amenities.

• 

  A little more information

  • 

    Internet access

  • 

    Limited internet access

  • 

    We have pets

  • 

    We are smokers

  • 

    Can host families

• 

  Space for parking camper vans

  There is plenty of space for a caravan to park and have a bit of privacy.

• 

  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

Website Safety

Feedback (4)