Help Us Create a Tuscan Eco Dream Paradise, Montevarchi, Italy

  • 282 “me gusta”
  • Última actividad: 12 mar 2024

DISPONIBILIDAD

  2024 

 Estancia mínima:  Al menos una semana

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Detalles

  • Descripción

    Descripción

    THE PROJECT:
    Recently we bought an abandoned olive field and hope in the next 5 years to turn it into an Eco-argiturismo, health and wellness paradise - where people can come to relax and reinvigorate their spirit with healthy organic food, animals and nature! This olive field needs a complete make-over but we want to start with the regeneration and the revival of the 400 (ancient) olive trees - reshaping the trees, cleaning in-between the rows that have been over-growing with invasive wild berry bushes for years. By preserving this generational tradition in this little village (of small batch olive oil production) we also hope to bring back nutrients to the soil (permaculture) and taking care of the bees (natural pollinators). But before we can get to making this field a livable Eco paradise, there is so much work to do! Will you be the one to help us with this exciting new project?

    Bees — Taking care of the bees is a rewarding practice that brings about an appreciation for pollinators. We ethically and respectfully harvest a small batch of what our 2 bee families will produce; both for consumption and for a seasonal stream of revenue.

    Argiturismo — This is not currently active, but the goal is to develop pockets of the land with small living spaces tucked in-between the rows of olive trees. People can visit, relax, enjoy nature, learn about the traditions of Tuscany and discover new healthy ways of living the slow life.

    Garden / permaculture / agroforestry — There are not many small farmers around Italy that practice permaculture and agroforestry to grow food and small crops. We hope by inspiring others with these practices we can help to regenerate the soil by bringing back the good micro-organisms that have been killed off by mass production farming and mono-cultures. We are also learning about seed saving to promote self-sufficiency, rain-water conservation and homesteading (off-grid living).

    Animals — Taking care of the animals and living in balance with them is what nature intended. We have a very small family of animals: a goose, 5 chickens, a cat and 2 cows — eventually we want to expand to raising ducks and alpaca.

    WHO WE ARE:

    Hi, we are Faren and Arianna, a queer couple in their late 30's. We are both very eco-conscious women that seek to build a network of like-minded people who respect this fragile planet we all share. We’re particularly interested in: bee-keeping, olive oil production, permaculture, growing healthy organic food and caring for animals - among other hobbies like: wood-working/building, fashion design, natural plant-dyes and videography. We hope to share our knowledge of what we have learnt through-out the process of building what we currently have...as well as inspire others to live the self- sufficient life.

    Important to note that both Arianna and Faren have had experience as workawayers, traveling in Peru for 3 months and have an idea what workawayers look for in terms of quality accommodations and food prep. We also have experience as bnb hosts in Canada and Italy, so we are attentive to making our guests comfortable.

    Faren is a Canadian living in Italy as an Italian citizen. For almost two decades she has worked in fashion, as a designer and design consultant, recently has acquired 400 olive trees and has become a registered farmer here in Italy.

    Arianna is an Italian, in the past she has worked as a videographer, but when the world crisis hit she was brought back to the land (where she grow-up) and now has been the forerunner in permaculture experimentation, bee-keeping and oil production. In a way, she was the inspiration behind the development of this project.

    ___________________Are you as excited about this project as we are!?! _____________ Keep reading! ♡

  • Tipos de ayuda y oportunidades de aprendizaje

    Tipos de ayuda y oportunidades de aprendizaje

    Ayuda en proyectos ecológicos
    Jardinería
    Construcción y bricolaje
    Cuidado de animales
    Ayuda en una granja
    Cocinar para toda la familia
    Ayuda doméstica
    Mantenimiento general
  • Intercambio cultural y oportunidades de aprendizaje

    Intercambio cultural y oportunidades de aprendizaje

    BENEFIT FROM:

    This small village is located in the heart of the Tuscany region, not far from Florence, Siena and Arezzo. The quality of olive oil is very distinct and rarely found for mass-consumption outside of this area because many Italians here are hobbyists of this old tradition and keep the “prima-press” (best quality first press) oil for themselves. This highly sought after area of Tuscany is known for their wineries (and there are many) as we are just minutes away from the iconic Chianti and Montepulciano.

    SKILLS YOU CAN LEARN FROM US:
    *vegetarian cooking and baking (there are always yummy treats baked every week.
    *olive oil production (mill visit at time of harvest)
    *permaculture / agroforestry
    *bee keeping
    *cow keeping (we have a cow and her baby bull) - we also make fresh cheese and yogurt from her small (5L) milk production
    *sewing + pattern-drafting -- I give sewing tutorials if that interests you?
    *making all-natural lotions, toothpaste and deodorant (partially using our bees wax)
    *natural eco plant textile dying
    *composting
    *seed saving
    *seed planting (get to know season, companion plants, etc)
    *prepping the garden beds
    *crafting, building and DIY projects

  • Ayuda

    Ayuda

    THE HELP NEEDED:
    Many of these areas of help over-lap and are not limited to that month and may be subject to change -- this is just a basic break-down of what could be expected in the month you decided to visit us....

    August — Cleaning the over-growth (using a machete + hand clippers), raking to gather the branches and move them to a burn pile. Maintaining the "summer" garden which is usually tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, beans and other random vegetables. Fence building for the up-coming new chicken coop.

    September — building a fence/trellis, prep the garden beds, collecting + cutting and chopping wood. Building wood shed and/or small duck barn with fence. Painting. Planting.

    October + November — Harvesting olives, planting fruit trees. Planting. Renovation of tiny stone home and building extension.

    Dec + Jan. + Feb. — usually take a break for the holidays and the colder months are slower for us in the gardens. ● see our calendar to make sure we are accepting workawayers at this time.

    March — Trimming olive trees and cleaning the branches, mulching, collecting and chopping wood.

    April — Cleaning the field of branches (if this was not completed in March), transplanting baby seedlings. Turning the compost/poo.

    June — watering the garden, taking care of the animals (goose, chickens and cows), general house maintenance, turning the compost/poo and seed saving.

    July — Harvesting from the garden, preserving/canning, turning the compost/poo, seed saving. Transplanting new seedlings for the "fall" garden. Maintaining the summer gardens which need watering almost everyday.

    *GENERAL AREA of help needed everyday: taking care of the cows *occasionally (feeding, changing water and picking-up the poo), chickens and goose (this is very minimum work, changing the water, cleaning the coop), cooking — although this is something we love doing, we also LOVE to learn new recipes and other ways of cooking yummy food and general house clean-up and maintenance (building a fire in the winter, cleaning, washing the floors, dishes, etc.)

  • Idiomas

    Idiomas hablados
    Inglés: Fluido
    Italiano: Fluido
    Francés: Intermedio
    Español: Principiante

    Este anfitrión ofrece intercambio de idiomas
    Faren is fluent/native speaker in English - would like to learn your native language Arianna is fluent/native speaker in Italian, English is her second language (intermediate level), Spanish (mid-level), French (Intermediate)

  • Alojamiento

    Alojamiento

    Our house sits atop a little hill in a small village, over looking the Pratomagno mountain and the valley of Montevarchi and San Giovanni Valdarno. You will have a private bedroom with small studio/study area and semi-private bathroom. In the bedroom you will find: a queen size bed (bed sheets and pillows included), two bed-side tables, wardrobe, lounge chair, lamp and beautiful view of the Pratomagno mountain. In the study/studio for your use, you will find: desk, chair and side table… along with a plant that may need some minor plant-care. There is a shared kitchen, dining area and traditional fireplace. Not featured but still apart of the house is a living room and upstairs unit where we will be staying.

    Outside the home you will have access to: the long porch, big yard with small pockets of garden space where we grow our strawberries, lavender, mint, sage, rosemary and thyme (and the seasonal basil). There is a garage where we store the wood and other equipment we need through-out the year. We have three tractors (only one is functional at the moment), an attached barn where we keep the hay for the cows.

    As for the gardens we have 7 different areas that are utilized for garden space in between the olive trees, one features a greenhouse (in the colder months). You will be helping Arianna with these gardens most days (if necessary, but the work is usually either in the morning or the evening - you can request to slip the time or do it all in the morning or afternoon - see notes below for details on hours).

    Obviously, but maybe needs to be stated: indoor plumbing (no out-house or compost toilet…. yet), hot water, filtered water, organic food, free laundry (once a week), and wifi included.

    NOTE: vegans are welcome but you may be required to cook your own meals as we are vegetarian and utilize our milk, eggs and honey that we self-produce here on our homestead.

    WE HAVE A FEW RULES :|
    *NO SMOKING INDOORS (we like to keep the home free from strong smells, this may also include heavy perfumes - HOWEVER, essential oils are totally fine…burning incense is okay too)
    *NO COOKING MEAT OR FISH (we are plant-based/vegetarian and we care a lot about our animal friends)
    *NO EXTRA VISITORS / SLEEP-OVERS
    *CLEAN-UP AFTER YOURSELF IN THE COMMON SPACES (if you made the mess, cooked yourself a meal, dirtied the bathroom - this may be obvious but sometimes it needs to be said that cleaning up in common areas is a must to co-habitation).
    *ZERO TOLERANCE FOR STEALING AND LYING
    *COMPENSATION should be given if you request a personal item from the store - see notes below.
    *DO NOT GO INTO AREAS/ROOMS WITHOUT PERMISSION - if the space is not shown in the listing photos you can assume the space is not for your use (unless otherwise stated).
    *DO NOT GO INTO ROOMS/cabinets/storage areas AND TAKE THINGS WITHOUT PERMISSION - if it is not yours, ask to use it!

    >>>NOTES:
    1. If you are joining us here, you will need to be prepared to help 5 hours a day for 5 days a week (weekends are your time off useless otherwise agreed to shift the work schedule).

    2. The weekends are yours to do what you like and that goes the same for food *we do not provide food on the weekends nor do we provide personal snacks or drinks (i.e. beers, wine). However I'd you want these things you are welcome to buy them yourself - you can request us to pick them up for you but compensation must be given accordingly.

    3. Also you will need to come with work clothes, something you don't care to get dirty and clothes that can withstand prickly brushes, along with proper shoes or boots to work in the fields (ideally waterproof).

    4. We do not provide personal medications, supplements, feminine products etc. - we can help where needed but anymore than 1 or 2 need to be compensated at your earliest convenience.

    5. If you don't know, ask! We are here to help you learn and we encourage questions.

  • Algo más...

    Algo más...

    TIME-OFF:
    There is SOOOOOO much to see and do in this area:
    *especially if you love medieval history, you can visit small medieval villages like San Gimignano, Lucca, Siena, …. the list goes on!
    *Bathe in the Ciuffenna River in Loro (a very cute small town just 20 mins away)
    *Natural thermal sulfur baths of Val D’Orcia
    *Visit the wineries in Montepulciano and enjoy the wine and cheese tastings!
    *Chianti …. more wineries and beautiful terrane.
    *biking
    *trekking, there are so many beautiful trails and one of our favourites is trekking the Pratomagno mountain, Vallombrosa forest and Colle Val D’Elsa
    *make friends with the locals - the goose, chickens, cows and…. neighbours.

    AVAILABLE TRANSPORT:

    2. Train ($$ for ticket)
    3. bicycle (with a lock) can be provided upon request

  • Un poco más de información

    Un poco más de información

    • Acceso a Internet

    • Acceso a Internet limitado

      Acceso a Internet limitado

    • Tenemos animales

    • Somos fumadores

    • Puede alojar familias

  • Puede acoger a nómadas digitales

    Puede acoger a nómadas digitales

    wifi connection is a bit spotty in that room, but in the kitchen it is great! In your room you will have your own private studio/study desk area to work.

  • Espacio para aparcar autocaravanas

    Espacio para aparcar autocaravanas

    small vans only because parking is tight in this remote village. However, there is a piazza for parking in the village for larger vans... message us for further details.

  • ¿Cuántos voluntarios puedes hospedar?

    ¿Cuántos voluntarios puedes hospedar?

    Dos

  • ...

    Horas esperadas

    Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Número de referencia de anfitrión: 459249512657

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