Languages, story-sharing and cultural discovery with our family in rural Osmaniye, Turkey

Details

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  Description

  🫒 Olive Harvest Volunteers Welcome! (November 14–22, 2026) 🫒
  
  We are looking for physically fit, energetic, and open-minded volunteers for our upcoming olive harvest in Bahçe, Osmaniye, Türkiye! Whether you are a solo traveler, a couple, or coming with a group of friends, you are all very welcome to join our seasonal family.
  
  This will be our 4th annual volunteer olive harvest, and over the years, it has turned into much more than just field work—it is a warm, authentic, and unforgettable cultural experience. You will be working alongside an amazing team of international volunteers from all over the world. Two years ago, our team harvested around 400 kg of olives together while building great friendships, sharing stories, and laughing a lot.
  
  Food is a huge part of this journey, so you can look forward to enjoying delicious, traditional homemade meals every single day. Even though not every member of our extended local family speaks fluent English, hospitality is our universal language. We take extra care of our volunteers to ensure everyone feels comfortable, warm, and right at home throughout their stay.
  
  The harvest involves about 5 hours of active field work per day, but the great group energy makes the work feel easy and fun. After finishing in the fields, our evenings are filled with games, bonfires, music, dancing, and cozy chats under the stars.
  
  Since we host a lively group of around 6 to 8 volunteers, accommodation is cozy and shared, creating a true community atmosphere. Please note that we are a non-smoking and alcohol-free family, and we strictly do not allow smoking or alcohol anywhere on our property.
  
  Meals and Food Arrangement
  
  We provide three meals a day in exchange for up to 25 hours of help per week, with two full days off, in line with Workaway's guidelines.
  
  Our meals consist of freshly prepared, traditional Turkish home-cooked dishes made with seasonal ingredients. We love sharing our local cuisine and believe that mealtimes are an important part of the cultural exchange. As a family, we enjoy eating together with our volunteers whenever possible, as we see shared meals as a wonderful opportunity to get to know each other and exchange cultures.
  
  If you have different food preferences, dietary requirements, or follow a special diet, please let us know in advance. We will happily provide the ingredients you need, and you are welcome to prepare your own meals in our kitchen whenever you prefer.
  
  We take care of preparing the meals. We simply ask everyone to wash their own dishes after eating and help keep the kitchen and dining area clean and tidy. These are considered part of living together respectfully in a shared home and are not included as part of your volunteering hours.
  
  Whether we share a meal together or you choose to cook for yourself, we want you to feel comfortable, well-fed, and at home during your stay.
  
  If you want to experience authentic local life in Türkiye, connect with friends from around the globe, and be part of a rewarding harvest team, we would love to hear from you. Feel free to send us a message for more details!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Elderly Companionship

  Teaching

  Light gardening

  Creative DIY projects

  Farmstay help

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  Light maintenance
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  Interests

  

  Beach

  

  Farming

  

  Events & social

  

  Charity work

  

  Self development

  

  Movies & TV

  

  Culture

  

  History

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Books
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  By joining us, you will experience authentic rural Turkish life firsthand, far beyond the typical tourist trails. You will learn traditional olive harvesting and oil production techniques, taste delicious homemade local cuisine, and discover the deep-rooted hospitality of southern Türkiye. Living and working together with our family and an international team of volunteers creates a rich environment for language practice, story-sharing, and cultural discovery. Whether we are sharing coffee, gathering around a evening bonfire, or playing music together, you will leave with a genuine understanding of local customs and lifelong friendships.

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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

  As a volunteer, your main responsibility will be hands-on field work during the olive harvest. This includes placing nets under the trees, harvesting olives using traditional and manual methods, gathering them, and sorting the harvest for processing. Beyond the field, we also appreciate a spirit of teamwork where everyone lends a hand with light daily chores, such as helping set or clear the table during meal times and keeping our shared spaces cozy and tidy. We ask for around 5 hours of active physical work per day with flexible timing depending on the weather, so a good level of fitness, a positive attitude, and a willingness to work outdoors are all you need!

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Turkish: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  Volunteers will stay onsite of the harvest in a modest, cozy village house featuring a shared room for volunteers, a spacious kitchen perfect for preparing meals , a bathroom, two toilets (one flush toilet and one squat toilet), and a charming balcony to unwind and enjoy the surrounding rural views. As living spaces are shared, we kindly ask all volunteers to keep their sleeping areas clean, tidy, and well-maintained out of respect for one another. The host family will also be staying in the house. They will sleep in a separate area of the kitchen where there are beds.

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  What else ...

  We are in the middle of Türkiye's gastronomic heaven cities, Adana, Gaziantep, Hatay. Osmaniye is also very near to many historical places which are in the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.
  Ancient City of Anazarbos
  Archeological Site of Zeugma
  Eshab-ı Kehf Kulliye (Islamic-Ottoman Social Complex)
  Hatay, St. Pierre Church
  St.Paul Church, St.Paul's Well and surrounding historic quarters
  The Underground Water Structures in Gaziantep; Livas' and Kastels
  Vespasianus Titus Tunnel
  
  and many more places to wonder. We could help you to plan your travel in Türkiye 🇹🇷

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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

  This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We’d love to host travellers in campervans. We have parking space for campervans.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  My animals / pets

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