Italy
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Hi!
I'm Silvia, one of the founders of a Yoga Eco Farm in Otranto, Italy!
This is a not-for profit organization that has the goal to inspire people to a more eco-conscious and mindful lifestyle, promoting a sustainable approach to life, involving a deep connection with Nature, and personal growth based on the principles of Yoga and Permaculture.
I've been living in New York City for decades, and after the hectic city life I felt the need to reconnect to Nature, learn to grow my own food, and create a community that cares for the people and the natural environment alike.
So I started to develop this vision, and found the perfect land in Otranto, 5 min walk to the city center and the Mediterranean Sea, where we can all experience and offer an alternative meaningful lifestyle in harmony with Mother Earth but still comfortable, abundant, and full of social activities.
The events we organize involve teachers and artists sharing meaningful knowledge on topics such as Yoga, Permaculture, Regenerative Agriculture, Natural Living, and Spirituality. Cultural, culinary, music and art events are also in our plans: we want to have fun together, create and nurture a community, inspire each other, and provide an interesting alternative in nature to the stressful life in big cities.
2020 will be our 4th year of operation, and we are very excited for what we've achieved so far! We have renovated a tiny stone house on the project site, and another stone structure to accommodate 3 or 4 volunteers... but there's still a lot of work to do!
Work may involve construction and renovation, gardening and agriculture, vegetarian cooking, cleaning, helping during events, promotion and marketing, teaching yoga or other workshops if you have a specific knowledge or talent to share.
Even though we will all be involved in all these various activities, ideally we are looking for people to be more focused specifically in one field. While strategizing and planning together we won't be able to be 100% involved in all the practical operations, so we need someone to become the point person for that, ideally and potentially from April until the end of summer. In particular:
- Permaculture and regenerative agriculture. We are looking for someone passionate with already some knowledge of permaculture and experience in regenerative agriculture, willing to brainstorm solutions and strategies. For the right person this could be a great opportunity to learn and practice what you love, and see the results of your work. We also have a lot of books to deepen your knowledge.
- Yoga. We would like to find a yoga teacher that ideally speaks Italian and English to teach some of the classes when needed, or maybe some specific workshop. Our students so far are mainly beginners and interested in a meditative practice so we've been offering gentle vinyasa and hatha yoga so far. We would like to incorporate more mantra chanting and kirtan events. We use a small harmonium and it would be great to share its beautiful loving sound with the right person, or pair it with another instrument.
- Marketing, promotion, event planning and organization. The project has a lot of potential and we need to strategize ways to become more visible to the locals and also to international visitors. We are looking for somebody that has experience with marketing, promotion and social media, with organizing events, and that can maybe run some of these activities independently to boost the project exposure.
In the long term we are also looking for partners, so we may also offer the opportunity to get more involved in the project to the right person/s.
Since we usually receive many applications for the limited spots, before making a final selection we'll ask you to answer a questionnaire and we'll set a skype or whatsapp call to have a better idea if we are a good match for each other.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Thank you so much.
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Farmstay help
Help with Eco Projects
Help around the house
Animal Care
Language practice
Teaching
The founders of the project have traveled a lot around the world before focusing on this project, and they are both very happy to share their knowledge and also listening to your stories. Silvia is an architect, yoga teacher, permaculture designer and she's been living part of the year in New York for over 10 years. Robbert is from Amsterdam and is a marketing consultant for sustainable products and a Reiki master. Even if he won't be there all the time, his presence is valuable and very inspiring. The goal of the project is to offer a platform to learn, share and enjoy, creating a network of local and international like minded people that want to make the world a better place.
Our project promotes sustainable and holistic lifestyle, inspired by Permaculture principles and Yoga philosophy. We are developing a property to make this happen. Tasks may involve:
- Gardening and caring for the land according to Permaculture principles, planting, watering, weeding, earth movement, etc.
- Construction projects: we have renovated a small stone building,and we are now working on the surroundings to create more accommodation options, dry stone walls, outdoor landscaping and paving, terraces, gazebos. We want to follow principles of natural building construction and sustainable design.
- Help to keep the property clean and in order
- Help in preparing meals for the team, and in the transformation of the harvest, e.g. making jams and preserve veggies
- Support during events and workshops
- Promotion and marketing
- Teaching Yoga, if qualified
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
We have a renovated tiny stone house on the project location, which sleeps two people and has a private bath. Another renovated small stone structure sleeps one person, and in the summer we also use a large berber tent to accommodate up to 3 people. All these share kitchen, bathroom and common areas with us and the people working there during the day. We are in the process of creating new accommodations as well. The project is about 5 min walk from Otranto center (groceries, cafes, laundry) and the Mediterranean Sea.
We would offer some vegetarian food (no meat), and we are happy to have some meals cooked and eaten together, usually at lunch time after working together in the morning.
Wifi available.
No smokers preferred.
We offer some vegetarian food and lodging in exchange for about 5 hrs of work a day, 5 days a week. The area is gorgeous: Salento is the tip of the heel of the Italian boot, the sea and the countryside are beautiful, full of traditions and town celebrations. We'll be happy to suggest some excursions. Otranto is a great little town right on the Mediterranean Sea and our land is 5 min walk from the historical center and the sea. We may be able to offer bikes as well. Sometimes we may invite our volunteers to join us for some special events, parties, dinners around our area.
Otranto is reachable by bus and train, closest airport is Brindisi.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
More than two
Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week
