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Host rating
100 %
Last replied
30 Jun 2025
Reply rate
98.7 %
Usually responds within 1 day
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Details
Description
We wait for you to become part of our little world 🏡 🫒 🌳 🦋 🐕 😜 .
If you’re handy with DIY, eager to learn, easy to follow instructions, agile and have a love for nature, we’d love to have you join us! 😊 This is a chance to experience life on a small Italian family farm, sharing in a productive and cohesive project.
Please read our profile before contacting us to be sure you might feel comfortable with what we ask and offer, and share your WhatsApp number so we can send you more details and proactively chat 🙂✍. We value open communication and would like you to send a brief message about your expectations for your stay.
Our ongoing mission is to transform a piece of land into a magical garden, filled with vibrant flowers, lush greenery, and peaceful spaces. We welcome helpers who are willing to learn, help, and pay attention to detail. Only vaccinated guests also willing to provide a last-moment professional COVID test, are accepted (no DIY tests, please).
About Us
Hi, I’m Carlotta (61), and I live with Marco (68), our two dogs and now Tobia, a new cute kitten. We are in the countryside, 7 km from Tivoli and 30 km from Rome. Our home is a small country house with 4,000 square metres of land. We maintain a balance between caring for our home, plants, dogs, the new cat, and ourselves.
Our property is divided into three areas, around the house, the courtyard, lawn, workshop, and a patio. You’ll help keep this area tidy. The land also includes olive groves, fruit trees, and flowerbeds under construction, where you’ll assist with both ordinary and maybe more creative projects.
Fifty to fifteen years ago, this land was abandoned. Since then, I’ve worked patiently and mostly by hand to restore it, like a "Little Turtle" 🐢 (Tartarughina), slowly making progress. The terrain is steep, so all the work is manual.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Interests
Sustainability
Pets
Politics / Social justice
Writing
Languages
Self development
Farming
Plant care
Music
Gardening
DIY & crafts
Cooking & food
Carpentry
Books
Animals
Yoga / Wellness
Nature
Dancing
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
You’ll have the opportunity to learn about Italian culture, food, and language. I’m reasonably good at cooking, so you’ll pick up some tips on Italian cuisine along the way. We speak both English and Italian and will be happy to help you improve your Italian if you’re keen to learn.
While we’re happy to share our knowledge and experience, we are unable to provide a paid position or help you find one.
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Work Hours
In exchange for 25 in the garden or organising and cleaning projects, plus household and courtyard chores, we offer accommodation, meals, and a chance to be part of a rewarding project. Your free time will vary depending on the weather, and rainy days will likely be your rest days. Helpers are free to manage personal activities between 4:30/5 pm and 7:30/8 pm daily. Your days off may change depending on the weather, your help is needed on those days when it doesn't rain, or rains less.
Meals
Meals will be shared, and we enjoy cooking with fresh, local ingredients. Breakfast is around 8:00 am, lunch around 3:30/4 pm, and dinner around 8:30/9 pm. You’ll be expected to help with meal preparation and cleaning up afterward. We appreciate guests who are flexible with food and enjoy a varied diet, as we share everything, including meat. Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate vegetarian or vegan diets.
What to Bring
• Shoes: It’s essential to bring sturdy shoes with non-slip soles for working in the countryside. We recommend bringing two pairs in case one gets wet or damaged. Please bring indoor clean slippers.
• Clothing: Please pack at least two long-sleeved t-shirts that are easy to wash. They will help protect you while working outdoors.
• Personal Products: You should bring any personal care products you prefer, such as soap, shampoo, and anything you need for your skin. If you’re sensitive to insects, don’t forget to bring your preferred mosquito repellent.
Language Requirements
It’s important that guests are able to communicate reasonably well in either English or Italian. We will than be happy to help you improve your Italian, but you must already be able to interact independently.
Location & Lifestyle
We live in a quiet, remote area, 7 km from Tivoli and 30 km from Rome. The nearest train station is 6 km away, and buses to the station are unreliable. The closest village, about 2 km away, has a bus stop, bar, pizzeria, and a small square where you eventually can meet locals. This is an ideal spot for those who enjoy solitude, nature, and a peaceful environment away from city life.
In your free time, you can explore the surrounding countryside, take walks among olive groves, or, if you can walk a lot, visit historical sites such as Villa d’Este and Villa Adriana, both UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Help
What to Expect
Tasks
• Gardening & Outdoor Projects: You’ll help following instructions with planting flowers and trees, weeding, tidying flowerbeds, building garden beds, moving stones, and constructing dry stone walls. You may also assist with small DIY projects, such as building wooden steps, welding, and using garden tools like a grass trimmer.
• Household & General Maintenance: Expect to participate in daily chores, such as setting the table, tidying up after meals, and keeping common areas clean.
• Animal Care: We have two friendly dogs, and part of your role will be helping to care for them, and to ensure they stay within the garden.
We need helpers who are comfortable working outdoors and with their hands, who don’t mind getting dirty and enjoy the process of creating something special.
• Please reply including the sentence 'Mirta and Nero are the dogs I will find' to your first reply to me, so I'll know you read all this.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
Accommodation
You’ll stay on the top floor of our small cottage, with a private tiny room, studio, and bathroom. The space is cosy and comfortable, perfect for retreating after a day of work in the garden. Please note we do not have air-conditioning, and it can get hot in summer.
We also ask that you bring indoor slippers, as we like to keep the space clean. Smoking is not allowed inside, and no food is permitted in the guest area.
What else ...
What We’re Looking For:
• Enthusiastic, reliable and agile individuals who love nature and enjoy working with their hands, willing to independently carry out the instructions given, and accepting corrections.
• No prior gardening experience is necessary, just a willingness to learn.
• Strong and responsible people who respect cleanliness and attention to detail.
• Guests must be comfortable with dogs, as they’re part of our daily life.
• You must be vaccinated against COVID and take a professional test before arriving.
• We host one helper at a time, for stays of one month or more. The longer you stay, the more you’ll become involved in the project!
• For reasons related to the type of work and to previous experiences, we preferably host volunteers under 38 years of age.
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Important Notes
• Internet Access: We have Wi-Fi, but it’s not super fast. Streaming is possible, but there might be occasional breaks.
• Insurance: Personal travel insurance is required.
• Schengen Visas: We do not provide support for obtaining visas.
INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS
We ask all volunteers to have full insurance coverage (health, accident, repatriation, and personal liability) valid for their entire stay. Although we welcome volunteers as guests and friends, you will be participating in an organised project with daily activities and responsibilities. Workaway itself suggests and recommends obtaining adequate insurance before starting any placement.
Thank you for your understanding and seriousness.
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We’re looking for positive, cheerful individuals who want to immerse themselves in nature and contribute to a meaningful project. If you’re ready to join us and help create something beautiful, we’d love to hear from you!
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
One
My animals / pets
Carlotta (61 years)
Gardener, handy-woman and artisan bricoleur.
Marco (68 years)
Marco is a lazy fixer, computer expert, general connoisseur not very good at explaining, and a motorcyclist.
Nero (2 years)
Beautiful cross between a Springer Spaniel and her forbidden love, an Italian Hound. He is a cuddly dog with a lab-like look, he is also black, he too with a few white bits. He weighs 23 kilos.
Mirta (2 years)
Our gypsy mongrel. She has blood of chicken, frog, bat, Jedi Knight Yoda, Gillym and Dobby. She is black with a few tiny white bits, and weighs 8.5 kilos.
Tobia (2 months)
Tobia is the latest arrival. Strictly black too, when he was very super small he was saved and adopted by Nero during a storm.
Feedback (21)
From the moment I arrived, I felt truly welcomed by Marco, Carlotta, Mirta and Nero into a space filled with warmth, kindness and organization. The work was well-structured and rewarding—I enjoyed contributing to the daily dog area cleaning and tidying routine, turning the compost, and working with the… read more
Photos
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.9)
Communication:
(5.0)
From the moment I arrived, I felt truly welcomed by Marco, Carlotta, Mirta and Nero into a space filled with warmth, kindness and organization. The work was well-structured and rewarding—I enjoyed contributing to the daily dog area cleaning and tidying routine, turning the compost, and working with the… read more
Perhaps I could start with the location. The village of La Botte, 6 km from Tivoli and 30 km from Rome, is ideal for anyone interested in the picturesque Italian countryside. Stepping out of the accommodation, you are greeted by the slopes of… read more
Daniela è brava, bella, simpatica, intelligente, educata e attenta. Ci ha aiutato e ci ha tenuto compagnia, e ci dispiace che non abbia potuto condividere con noi un pezzetto di vita più lungo. Grazie, torna presto !
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Sorry for the late feedback.
Daniela is good, beautiful, nice, intelligent, polite and… read more
Their three dogs, Mirta, Nero, and Birbetta, were incredibly friendly. I loved waking up every morning to pet them. Sharing meals with Carlotta and… read more
Leo is a super good, a little Australian, a little English and a little Italian, boy. Despite his very young age Leo is very responsible and a perfect super helper, he is a good example of how our children should grow up, travel, interact. Very super highly recommend.
After high school he had the courage to step out of his comfort… read more
Although I had little experience with gardening work Carlotta made sure to guide me through the tasks and I learnt a lot over the 5… read more
Unfortunately, while she was staying with us I got sick, so her stay was more lonely than usual. With great autonomy she managed to help us a lot. In addition to the usual outdoor cleaning, dogs care, compost rotation, etc., she managed the result of the pruning of a… read more
The house is lovely and you… read more
He's young and he seemed unusually deep to me, unlike other Americans I've met. We spent a good time together appreciating silences as much as sharing thoughts. He has helped us with many chores by turning and sieving the compost,
weeding and fertilizing the flowerbeds, chopping and stacking wood,… read more
I hope you find a path to university that intrigues you while maintaining ties… read more
when i first arrived, i was naturally nervous because it was my first workaway experience... But i was instantly welcomed with open arms and welcoming smiles. i was calmly accommodated and had time to get acquainted with everything and unpack my things.
the work itself is all planned together with… read more
From turning compost to mowing the lawn, using the brush cutter and a lot of weeding, he was a quick learner and nice helper.
We hope to see you play cricket once, but above all we hope that you will be soon able to spend time with your… read more
La maggior parte degli ospiti ha aiutato in qualche modo, ma Jonatan, assieme a pochi altri, è stato eccezionale e spero sia possibile mantenere vivo il rapporto in… read more
Abbiamo lavorato a vari progetti, dalla raccolta delle olive alla costruzione di una scatola di cemento per la pompa della piscina.
Il posto è molto bello, in estate c'era molta ombra e aria fresca e in inverno la casa è molto ben riscaldata. La camera e il bagno privato per gli ospiti… read more
Unusual combination of rigor and irony, especially for such a young boy.
We miss you ..!
Once I arrived, Carlotta and Marco made me comfortable. Like It was my second home. Over the 3… read more
He is been an important, quite, reliable and powerful help to have around. We wish he will learn Italian or improve his English talking capabilities and we hope him shortly back for chatting a bit as well.
… read more
The work was always well explained, not difficult and very varied.
I hope you guys are doing… read more
As a good Brit, perhaps he is a little too… read more
I spent there 2 weeks and I have to say that I learned A LOT.
from cooking to gardening, Carlotta amazed with me with the skills she have, she know's well how to handle the big gardens and I found it very interesting to do it by myself, there is a… read more
Idan and I did the best to help eachother and he kept his word arriving and going away very… read more
WorkAway gives us the possibility of interesting cultural exchanges, an eye open to the world from this place. The young guests are strong, adaptable, vital,… read more
First of all, I really appreciate your sharing life with me.
It was completely amazing 3weeks. It can be said most meaningful, fruitful and unforgettable time ever.
Carlotta is thoughtful, philosophical and cool person, and also she is good cook. She really values the element of life one by one, and her lifestyle is kind to… read more
Enjoyed being in the kitchen with her, and learning and sharing… read more
I hope we will continue to write eachother about his experiences and also about his political studies.
My wild herbs will be afraid of his return and ... he will dream the compost piles to turn.
I already miss the magic about always set table… read more
It was an amazing trip for me as it was my first Workaway experience because they really live the spirit of Workaway. We found the perfect balance between work and free time, so I had the opportunity to see the magnificent sites of Rome, Tivoli and even Naples! Working in the… read more
We are confident that her exploration of the world will continue and will soon bring her back to Italy.
Ruby, our hope is to… read more
Their farm is a beautiful place, really calm with amazing view. The house is cosy and clean with all the comforts of a modern house.
I loved their… read more
In the garden, among other things, I had the opportunity to help in the automatic irrigation system, wedding, seeding, preparing the land to plant avocados and organizing the structure to help the tomatoes… read more
