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Description
PREMISE: We are requesting a 3-month minimum commitment.
Exceptionally for a specific project even less would be ok.
Hello! I'm Silvia, founder 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 this 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 beautiful Otranto, just 5 min walk to the town center and the Mediterranean Sea, but still rural and natural, 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.
2024 will be our 8th year of operation!
We are very excited for what we've achieved so far: renovated all the structures, built a yoga shala, planted hundreds of trees and plants to create a food forest.
We offer hospitality to hikers with their tents or renting our owns. We offer regular yoga classes for tourists and the local community alike. Sometimes we have workshops and people staying for few days, sometimes it's just one night. We also have organized events related to Yoga, Permaculture, Regenerative Agriculture, Natural Living, and Spirituality. Cultural, culinary, music, dance and art events have been also offered: 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.
Who we are looking for.
At this point we are mainly looking for 2 responsible and trustworthy people that can commit to at least 3 months, ideally longer, who will take care of keeping everything clean, organized and well maintained, do some gardening and maintenance, prepare the tents and welcome guests in our absence. It's also important for one of the two people to be a yoga teacher and lead one or two classes per week. Ideally also one of the two people has some knowledge of how to do regular maintenance in a household and take care of a permaculture garden. We are looking for problem solvers, nature lovers, positive thinkers, with a proactive self-driven approach, and high work ethics.
At some point we may need other volunteers for specific tasks, but it would be more short term.
Accommodation.
It is either in rooms carved in stone or in a glamping tent with real beds. Single or double occupancy only so that privacy is guaranteed. Bathroom is shared. The common kitchen and hang out areas are under a pergola outdoors.
Food.
We provide mainly vegan food, a lot of it coming from our organic garden. Sometimes there may be also some eggs, fish and cheese. For us it's important to give priority to harvesting the super nutritious fruits and veggies from our garden, and learn to be less dependent on grocery stores, transforming the produce into delicious and nutritious meals, and find various ways to preserve it maybe online or following our grandparents' recipes.
We often have lunch together, taking turns to cook for the team. Breakfast and dinner are more casual and individually planned.
More about the work.
The agreement indicates 25hrs per week. For us it's more important to accomplish tasks. If you are fast and can still do a good job in less time, you can go for a swim earlier! Just do your job with care and brain.
Work may involve maintenance, gardening and agriculture, vegetarian cooking, cleaning and organizing, feeding the cats, helping during events, teaching yoga or other workshops if you have a specific knowledge or talent to share. Occasionally there could be some construction and renovation work as well, but we're almost done with it.
You will have the chance to be involved in all these various activities depending on personal interest and capability, but ideally, we are looking for people with a specific knowledge to be more focused on one or two areas. We will strategize and plan together but there will definitely be room for self-driven individuals to take care of their tasks independently and creatively. In particular:
- Permaculture and regenerative agriculture. We are looking for a passionate person with some knowledge and experience in permaculture and regenerative agriculture. We'll brainstorm solutions and strategies together offering the experience we've acquired so far. Tasks may be taking care of the vegetable garden and the food forest, pruning, planting, cutting the grass and weeds, irrigating, mulching, propagating plants. 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.
- Construction, maintenance and carpentry. We may need to build some pergolas, furniture with pallets, compost toilets, painting and plastering walls, some outdoor paving, and in general there are always things to be fixed all the time. Again, we'll strategize together and then you can work independently. So, if you like to build with your hands, find creative solutions and solve problems this could be a very stimulating experience for you!
- Yoga. We would like to find a yoga teacher that speaks Italian and English to teach some of the classes, or maybe some specific workshop. Our students 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.
- Hospitality. We offer accommodation mainly in tents to hikers and other conscious travelers that usually stay for one or few nights. One of our daily activities is to prepare for their arrival, keeping the common areas clean and organized, preparing their tents, making the beds, doing laundry, meeting them at their arrival. If you are a social and friendly person and you like to make people feel welcome and at home this could be a very rewarding task for you!
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.
Silvia
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Teaching
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Silvia is an architect, yoga teacher, permaculture designer and she's been living part of the year in New York for over 10 years. She's been traveling a lot around the world, also as a workaway, so it's always fun to share travel stories.
We have a lot of local friends coming to spend time with us and share the traditions of this part of Italy. Also the travelers that stay with us are usually super interesting people that have a lot of experience to share.
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.
Help
Our project promotes sustainable and holistic lifestyle, inspired by Permaculture principles and Yoga philosophy. Tasks may involve:
- Gardening and caring for the land according to Permaculture principles, planting, watering, weeding, earth movement, harvesting etc.
- Construction projects: outdoor landscaping and paving, building pallet furniture, pergolas, compost toilets. We want to follow principles of natural building construction and sustainable design.
- Help to keep the property clean, well-organized 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
- Teaching Yoga, if qualified
- Help with hospitality, preparing the tents or rooms, doing laundry, welcome guests
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
Spanish: Beginner
Accommodation
We have renovated two rooms partly carved in stone, which sleep one person/a couple in one and one person in the other. There's a shared bath. We also have a glamping tent to accommodate a person/ couple. There's a shared kitchen, bathroom and common areas that will also be used by the people visiting. The project is about 5 min walk from Otranto center (groceries, cafes, laundry) and the Mediterranean Sea.
We offer mainly vegan food. We usually have lunch together after working in the morning. Breakfast and dinners are more casual and up to the individual.
Wifi available on request, not for downloading movies or heavy stuff.
No smokers preferred.
What else ...
We offer vegan food and lodging in exchange for 25-hrs per 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 excursions and share our secret spots. Otranto is a great little town right on the Mediterranean Sea and our land is 5 min walk from it. Sometimes we invite our volunteers to join us for some special events, town parties, dinners around our area.
Otranto is reachable by bus and train; closest airport is Brindisi.
We'll pick you up in Otranto when you arrive.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Currently our Wi-Fi can be turned on and off with a device. It's not available to watch movies or downloading heavy stuff but you're welcome to use it for regular browsing, video calls, and light things.
Space for parking camper vans
We have room in our garden to park a campervan, it's not covered but in shade most of the day.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
25 hours per week
Feedback (10)
Her presence is very calming, which is very important for me, her sense of humor is contagious and sets a really nice vibe around her.
She's a great cook, managing the kitchen and the produce from our garden in… read more
The nature in this beautiful piece of land is so lush, Silvia is working on food forests, a vegetable garden and a yoga eco living… read more
The food, amazing, plentiful and of high quality. Whether from the garden or purchased. Genuine Italian meals with an opportunity to learn how to cook them.
The location is only couple… read more
They are both self-driven, dedicated, and proactive; they were involved with gardening, landscaping, construction, creative thinking, fixing and taking care of things, home improvement: we accomplished so much together!
For instance, building a pergola with up-cycled irrigation… read more
Photos
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(4.5)
Her presence is very calming, which is very important for me, her sense of humor is contagious and sets a really nice vibe around her.
She's a great cook, managing the kitchen and the produce from our garden in… read more
The nature in this beautiful piece of land is so lush, Silvia is working on food forests, a vegetable garden and a yoga eco living… read more
The food, amazing, plentiful and of high quality. Whether from the garden or purchased. Genuine Italian meals with an opportunity to learn how to cook them.
The location is only couple… read more
They are both self-driven, dedicated, and proactive; they were involved with gardening, landscaping, construction, creative thinking, fixing and taking care of things, home improvement: we accomplished so much together!
For instance, building a pergola with up-cycled irrigation… read more
I invited them to join my project and they lived up to my expectations.
Giovanni knows a lot about construction and renovations, and he had some great ideas to improve my facilities that turned out really well. He's motivated and self driven, he can absolutely handle projects on… read more
Thank you Marco!
E' stato un piacere averla con noi e speriamo di poterla ospitare nuovamente.
Silvia è una persona disponibile e accogliente, mi ha fatto sentire a casa dal primo momento.
Es è un luogo pieno di cura e ho trovato il lavoro da svolgere molto piacevole e per niente pesante. Gli orari di lavoro sono flessibili e adattabili alle reciproche esigenze.
Il… read more
The work was very fair, never more than five hours a day, and they always ensured I had my free… read more
silvia and… read more
