Join our family and help with the olive harvest in south Crete, Greece

Greece

Favourited 387 times

Host rating
Feedback
15
Last activity
23/10/2020
Nº of Facebook friends
258
Reply rate
100.0 %
Average reply time:
within 3 days
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2020

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Details

Description
We are olive farmers in south Crete. Our small family is me, Catia from Switzerland, my husband Dimitris and his brother Kostas from Crete. During the summer we rent three rooms in our house for guests from all over the world (bed and breakfast). In the wintertime we are working with the olives.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
General Maintenance
Farmstay help
Help around the house
Animal Care
Language practice
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Travellers will be fully integrated in our family. They can learn the cretan way of life: Today is life, tomorrow never comes. Dimitris is a professional cook and will prepare for you typical greek food with fresh ingredients from our garden and our animals.
Help
We need some help for the picking of the olives and for cultivating the trees, during the months of November, December and January. It is really hard work. You need to be in very good physical condition and you should love to be outside in the nature. There can be also some small tasks for the maintenance of our garden, the feeding of our animals and the household. But mainly we are looking for someone, who supports us with the olives.
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
Greek: Fluent
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
Serbian: Fluent
Accommodation
You will have your own room in our house with wood heater and a shared bathroom.
What else ...
In your off-time you can go to the beautiful beaches of south Crete for example Matala (distance from our house: 30 Minutes by car) or make a tour on the wonderful Messara valley with our bicycle. Our donkey Sifis would love to take a walk around the village with you. If you have enough of the quiet village life, you can go to the city of Heraklion. Near our home there are four famous archaeological sides, that you can visit. We also recommend you a hiking tour in the Asterousia mountains that you can see from our balcony. There is no bus connection from our village to Heraklion. But if you want to use public transport, we can bring you to Agii Deka with our car and there are hourly bus connections to Heraklion or Mires.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
- Can host families
Can host digital nomads
This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
Can possibly acccept pets
This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Photos

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Feedback left by and about host (15)

11/09/2020

Left by host for Workawayer (Jacob)

Jacob stayed with us for one month and helped us with the olive harvest. We have known him as a funny and uncomplicated person. Although the work was very hard, he cut his teeth and wasn't absent even for one day. We remember Jacob especially for his entertaining skills, singing and playing guitar after dinner and for his funny jokes and comments.… read more

(Excellent )

18/01/2020

Left by host for Workawayer (Calypso & Shoshana)

Calypso and Shoshana have gifted us with their presence for five weeks. Two weeks they have worked very hard for the olive harvest and the rest of the time we have spent with cooking, weeding the garden, clean out the stables, cutting weed and feeding the animals, cutting and collecting wood and preparing manure to fertilize the olive trees. All… read more

(Excellent )

16/01/2020

Left by Workawayer (Calypso & Shoshana) for host

Our stay on Crete was magical. It felt like home when we left! We already miss Catia, Kostos, Dimitris, Hermis, Zorro, and Eleni. The olive picking is fun (and hard work!) but if you have ever worked outside before or worked on a farm then it will be no problem. There was always a beautiful picnic halfway through, and at the end of the day… read more

(Excellent )

10/02/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Anna)

Anna is a very young and courageous woman and she was a great help for the olive picking. She was never to tired to work or to learn new things. With big joy she helped in the kitchen and prepared the breakfast for the whole workaway team. Her cheesecake was a dream. The Cretan country side is a complete different world from Annas home, she… read more

(Excellent )

10/02/2019

Left by Workawayer (Anna) for host

Oh, I loved so much being at this project and one month was absolutely not enough. The work is interesting to learn and while working you have the most amazing view on the mountains around. Picking period is the most beautiful one, everything is so fresh and green. We went for some hiking trips all together there is so much to see.
We had lot of… read more

(Excellent )

15/01/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Andre)

Andre is a high motivated and hard working man and the keenest workawayer that we've ever had. He was most happy outside in the nature gathering and burning branches and harvesting olives. Even to grab and deliver dung was a fun for him. He is a warm and friendly person who got incredibly quick into the family and the Cretan way of life. We have… read more

(Excellent )

12/01/2019

Left by Workawayer (Andre) for host

Ich war bei Catia, Dimitri und Costas über Weihnachten /Silvester als Volontär. D. H. Ich habe bei der Olivenernte und im Garten geholfen, alles was so an Arbeit angefallen ist.
Es war eine wunderbare total entschleunigende Zeit.
Perfekt zum runterkommen.
Kein Konsumgedanke trotz Feiertage, total schöne sonnige Arbeitstage, genauso wie Dauerregen… read more

(Excellent )

07/03/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Lauren & Pierre)

Lauren and Pierre are vagabonds from the French country side and they fit perfectly in our family. They helped us with the olive harvest and came back to paint a giant olive tree on the walls of our studio and to lay floorboards on our patio. We love Lauren's painting and cooking skills and Pierre is a strong and professional handyman who assisted… read more

(Excellent )

27/02/2018

Left by Workawayer (Lauren & Pierre) for host

We went there the first time to harvest olives and we had a really good time so we almost fell in love with the vagionia village and for sure with Catia, Dimitris and Costa. The work is hard but not so much and they know how to make it not so hard ( siga siga ;) ), at the end of the day Dimitri cooked every time à nice meal. We kind of found a new… read more

(Excellent )

03/02/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (Andrea)

Having Andrea with us during the olive harvest was a big joy. She was a very hard-working helper and most of all a wonderful companion. She arrived in the morning and we did a awesome hinking tour with her and in the evening she was a part of the family. Because of her kindliness and her openness, Andrea gets very fast in a good relationship with… read more

(Excellent )

02/02/2018

Left by Workawayer (Andrea) for host

I can't describe how much I enjoyed my stay with these lovely people!
From the first moment I knew I am in a good place, Catia is a very warm person, interested in a wide range of topics, so its a pleasure talking with her. Dimitris' cooking skills are amazing, always delicious, never missing anything. Kostas is a fun, cosmopolitan man, speaking… read more

(Excellent )

11/01/2018

Left by host for Workawayer (nadya)

We have been very lucky having Nadya with us for the olive harvest. Nadya was not only very bright and motivated for working, she was also a great entertainer. During the breaks, the whole harvesting team enjoyed her spontaneous jokes and her entertainment program, which she prepared the evening before. She was always the first who wanted to start… read more

(Excellent )

08/01/2018

Left by Workawayer (nadya) for host

i worked at catia for a week. at this time we have read olives. I learned a lot about this work. I was really happy to work with catia. she manages to make the work a joyous experience and create a positive mood! the work seems almost secondary. Catia is an open, humorous and sensitive person. During her free time she did great trips with us… read more

(Excellent )

22/12/2017

Left by host for Workawayer (Stella)

Stella is a wonderful young person. She is physically and mentally strong and ready to jump into new adventures with enthusiasm and self confidence. During the three weeks that she lived in our home and helped us with the olive harvest we have seen her always happy. She was a big help and understood very quickly, how she should pick the olives.… read more

(Excellent )

22/12/2017

Left by Workawayer (Stella) for host

I had an amazing time with Catia, Dimitris and Kostas this month in south-Crete!
The olive picking is really nice to do: working all day in the beatiful olive fields and with a delicious picknick everyday.
Although the work itself can be hard, it was never too much: we took many breaks and didn't need to hurry, because "it's not necessary, don't… read more

(Excellent )

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Host ref number: 984324538286

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