Help on a lonely mountain finca on Tenerife, Spain

Details

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  Description

  Hello Challenge-seeker! 🌺🌸🌻🌼
  
  We are Maren & Michiel, 48 and 34 years old. We also have two children (11 and 7).
  
  Currently, we are working on an exciting project on a large finca in the mountains, about 600 meters above sea level 🌊 (be aware of that you find there a different climate than on the coast: colder temperatures, especially in the nights and in the mornings, and more rain 🌧️).
  We, the hosts, are NOT living there. We live 10 minutes away.
  
  Our goal is to create a beautiful ecological garden with a wide variety of plants: local species, fruit trees, ornamental plants, aromatic herbs, a vegetable garden, and insect hotels. We envision a place where cultural events such as djembe sessions, workshops, and culinary gatherings featuring organic products from the finca can take place.
  
  It’s quite a big challenge, as when we bought the land, nothing was growing—it was just a wide, desert-like area. But we were full of enthusiasm and started planting right away. Soon, we realized it wasn’t so easy, as the terrain is beside a barranco in one of the windiest areas of Tenerife 🌬️🌪️. The wind was sometimes so strong that even the plants we had chosen specifically as windbreaks were struggling to withstand it 😅.
  
  We are still experimenting and searching for effective ways to create wind protection, using a mix of carefully selected plants and some structures that we plan to build.
  
  The soil is so hard that we need a jackhammer just to dig holes for new plants 😆. But we’re really enjoying the work, and one day, we’ll have a jungle there! 😜🥳🪻🌻🌱🌿🪴🌵🌴🌳

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Our place is a peaceful sanctuary of natural beauty. We are committed to offering you the opportunity to simply be yourself and find inner peace, far from pandemics, the stress of civilization, pollution, rushing, and pressure.
  
  In the simplest conditions, you can reconnect with yourself and rediscover what truly matters in life, stepping out of a system that is destroying itself and the future of our planet. A system that keeps people passive, hypnotized, and full of fear in their comfortable, entertainment-filled lives, lacking spontaneity, expression, and vitality.
  
  Here, you can meditate, surrounded by the sound of the wind and perhaps the distant barking of dogs.
  
  The place offers a sense of remoteness, but the small village is just a 20-minute walk away.
  
  During your free time, you can enjoy activities like climbing (our finca is near a climber’s base camp) 🧗🏻‍♀️, hiking, cycling 🚲, and if you go a bit further, you can surf 🏄, kite- or windsurf, paraglide 🪂, dive, visit the beach 🏖️, and explore the beautiful island of Tenerife. But please keep in mind that the bus connections are not the best, so it may take some time to reach those places.
  
  There is also the possibility to play guitar 🎸 or djembe and sing 🎶 around the campfire 🔥 with us (only during the winter season due to the high risk of forest fires) if you enjoy that. Just ask! 😉
  
  PLEASE READ OUR ENTIRE PROFILE CAREFULLY BEFORE APPLYING! 🙏🏻

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  Help

  For what are we searching 🔎?
  
  We are looking for a couple (or a hermit) with scout and DIY skills. The main goal will be creating the Workaway-area. First, we need to build the tent site 🏕️, the compost toilet, and the outdoor kitchen. In the future, we will also need help building a chicken coop with a fence, a vegetable garden, and insect hotels.
  
  Building walls with natural stones from the area, moving stones and earth, making holes with a jackhammer to plant new plants are also current tasks, as well as watering and maintaining the plants.
  
  We are looking for people who embody resilience and simplicity, able to live with minimal needs and thrive in the face of nature's harshest elements.
  
  Michiel can work alongside you, but mainly you will need to carry out independently. For this reason, and since your stay as a Workawayer is quite autonomous, we are looking for people who are independent and do not require constant guidance.
  
  
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  Sometimes, we go to the coast/beach 🌊 or surrounding areas to clean up rubbish, and you are always welcome to join us in that too.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent
  Italian: Fluent
  Dutch: Fluent
  French: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  If you want to practice one of the below languages, you are welcome. We are a couple, Michiel speaks Dutch, English and quite some German, Maren speaks German, English, Spanish and Italian.
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  Accommodation

  The helper needs to come with his own camper van, we still don't have a workaway- camp build up. 🚐
  
  The Workawayer leads an autonomous life, it's important to understand that he's living on a lonely, sometimes really windy place and the contact to us will be not daily.
  
  FOOD: The helper will receive basic food (rice, pasta, coffee/tea, oat flakes, flour) and can enjoy some fruits (papaya, pears 🍐, guavas, medlars, avocado 🥑, figs, oranges 🍊, lemons 🍋) and aromatic herbs 🌱 from our home garden. The availability of course depends on the season.
  
  Once the trees on Finca Edén start bearing fruit (which will take some time), we will have lemons, oranges, figs, lilly pillies, gin berries, plums, papayas, soursops, medlars, cherries, kakis, coffee beans, and olives, as well as fresh vegetables when the vegetable garden is set up.

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  What else ...

  Please be aware that even during winter, the sun can be very intense and hot. 🥵☀️
  
  The helper will live autonomously without comfort, connecting with nature🌿🌱 ⛰️ and, ideally, with themselves.😄 We can share moments together when it fits, but it is NOT communal living. Please keep in mind that we also have other commitments, such as our children and our home finca.
  
  Musicians are always welcome. 😁🪘🎻🎤🎷🪗🎶 WE LOVE 🩷 MUSIC.
  
  There is a bus stop 🚍 in the village (a 20-minute walk), but the connections are not very frequent.
  
  We are only interested in people who genuinely want to help, with a helpful attitude, and not just seeking a place to stay while considering work as an unavoidable evil. It is also important to treat the children kindly, being mindful that our child with Down syndrome may sometimes invade your space. We ask for kind and understanding reactions.
  
  Working schedule: 5 days a week, 3 hours per day (10:00 am - 1:00 pm).
  
  Our place is a 20-minute walk from the bus stop. THE BUS DOES NOT COME FREQUENTLY AND DOESN'T GO DIRECTLY TO THE COAST 🌊.
  
  A 10-minute walk 🏃🏻 to a mini supermarket. A 20-minute walk 🏃🏻 to the next small town with a supermarket, bank, post office, 2 bars, a bakery, a butcher, a hardware shop, and a medical center. 🏘️ A 30-minute walk 🏃🏻 to Base Camp Ortiz (climbing area). 🧗🏻
  
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  We produce delicious handcrafted Kombucha, made with 💗.
  
  LGBTQ+ friendly. 🏳️‍🌈

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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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  Space for parking camper vans

  You can park your camper on an open space on our finca. We also have our own mobile home parked there (it's called 'Gari,' like the 🐌 from SpongeBob 😄). We have water which is good for an outdoor shower and dishwashing, but drinking water must be bought in 5-8 liter bottles.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  Please note that the fences around the finca are not fully enclosed and may not prevent animals from escaping. You are welcome to bring your pets, as long as they are not aggressive, do not harm the cultivated plants, and do not dig or roam in the flower beds. Please also be aware that we occasionally bring our two dogs to the finca as well.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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