Help us create a new life in Coanana de Quiros, Spain

Detalles

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  Descripción

  In May 2023 we moved from The Netherlands to an old monumental farmhouse in beautiful lush Las Ubinas La Mesa Nature Parc in Asturias, Northern Spain. We are Rob and Elvira from Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Rob has extensive experience in renovating houses, and Elvira is a startup entrepreneur focused on sustainable innovations. It is our wish to live in a more sustainable way, closer to nature, and discover new and old ways to tackle issues.
  
  The farmhouse is like a museum; it has typical Asturian wooden grain sheds called a horreo and a panera, an area to smoke meats, fish and other products, a big cider press to produce apple cider and more. It is our plan to restore all these elements, and include some modern features (kitchen, bathrooms, solar energy) while respecting the layout of the house. The house is on the edge of a small village, and there is a big community of off-grid / permaculture people in the area.
  
  There is a big finca with pastures for animals (no farm animals yet), and an orchard. We created a vegetable garden and a greenhouse and we have some harvest but it needs to be improved. Water is not an issue in this part of Spain fortunately!
  We have a blog about our adventures here in Asturias, and we are also busy writing and filming for our blog- ask us for the link
  
  Around the house we have 3 domestic cats and a few feral ones that came with the house. Also we have a 4 month old border collie puppy named Panda. She stays mostly outside.
  
  There are hiking paths behind our house, and the whole area is an outdoor activity paradise (hiking, mountain biking, canoeing, climbing, swimming a.o.). Oviedo is the closest big city, and the beach is not very far either. We are about 40 min. from the Camino del Norte (Santiago de Compostela trail).
  
  We speak Dutch, French, German, English and we are learning Spanish. It would be wonderful if you could help us with improving our Spanish while you are staying here!
  We have a guest room with a double bed. The bathroom and kitchen are functioning (we have hot running water and a dishwasher!) but they need to be further modernized. Internet is super fast, we have fibre connection and 5G.

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  Tipos de ayuda y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  Práctica de idiomas

  Ayuda en proyectos ecológicos

  Jardinería

  Construcción y bricolaje

  Ayuda en una granja

  Mantenimiento general

  Ayuda informática
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  Intercambio cultural y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  Our farmhouse is like a museum; you will learn with us about historical ways of life in Asturias. There is a lot to discover. Oviedo is the closest city with its beautiful historical centre. This is also an important city on the Camino del Norte (Santiago de Compostela route). If you like hiking, climbing and mountain biking in unspoiled nature you will definitely enjoy your stay.

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  Ayuda

  Update February 2025:
  We need help pruning the ancient fruit trees. We have 20 apple trees, and 20 pear trees, and more! Getting the vegetable garden ready for the coming season is high on our 'to do list'.
  
  Help is also needed filling our own blog/vlog/hub dedicated to searching a new way of life, a blog about the extraordinary entrepreneurs in our valley. We have met with many people and initiatives here in the valley, and we would want to learn from all the people here who are living a more ecological, more sustainable life. Helping with this will require IT and multimedia skills, and a lot of curiosity.
  
  Preferably 1 person, and no dogs (so sorry, our cats just don't like new dogs very much...).
  
  Other less urgent work:
  Although the farmhouse was in a relatively good state because it has always been lived in, it needs full restoration. Work that needs to be done in and around the house: renovating the kitchen, painting, and there is lots of chestnut wood that needs to be cleaned and restored (windows, doors, bits of flooring, historical wooden objects like carts, kitchen and farm equipment, the horreo and panera). For the renovation of the kitchen some DIY skills are necessary, for the woodwork dedication and patience!
  Do you have gardening skills, or know how to set up a permaculture garden? We also have to maintain and improve our vegetable garden (including installing irrigation in the greenhouse). Also we want to draw up a plan for solar energy.
  We don't have farm animals yet, but maybe you know which ones will fit our permaculture plans best?

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  Idiomas

  Idiomas hablados
  Inglés: Fluido
  Francés: Fluido
  Holandés: Fluido
  Alemán: Intermedio
  Español: Principiante

  Este anfitrión ofrece intercambio de idiomas
  We need to improve our Spanish!
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  Alojamiento

  You will stay in a private double bedroom with access to a sitting area on the first floor. The bathroom is shared for now. There are 3 toilets in and around the house: A 'normal' one in the bathroom, and one is on the ground floor outside, and we have compost toilets (in the former chapel).
  Breakfast is yoghurt or bread and tea or coffee, lunch is normally at 13.30 or 14.00, dinner around 20.00. We normally have bread and salad or fruit for lunch and a hot meal at night. This can of course be switched (so hot meal at lunch). We can cook vegetarian, but we are not strict vegetarians. You are welcome to teach us more vegetarian recipes with local products!

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  Algo más...

  Be aware that work on the farm requires physical labor, so make sure you are in a good shape.
  In your time off you can go hiking to the villages close by, you can rent a bike to ride the Senda del Oso to Proaza or Teverga, you can go rock climbing, swimming in the river, visit Oviedo or go to the beautiful Asturian coast. Also the Picos de Europa are close by, and Leon is also worth a visit (especially when it rains in Asturias).
  There is a bus that goes to Oviedo, the closest train stations are Trubia and Pola de Lena. We have a car and go to Oviedo at least once a week, you are free to travel with us, or maybe it is possible to drive there with somebody else from the village or the permaculture whatsapp group.
  We keep the alcohol level low during weekdays, and we don't smoke.

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  Un poco más de información

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    Acceso a Internet

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    Acceso a Internet limitado

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    Tenemos animales

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    Somos fumadores

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    Puede alojar familias

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  Puede acoger a nómadas digitales

  We have super fast fiber internet, and 5G phone connection.

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  Espacio para aparcar autocaravanas

  If the campervan is small than it can probably access the road behind our house. If it is big, there is a big parking space below the village.

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  ¿Cuántos voluntarios puedes hospedar?

  Uno

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