Help on a small regenerative farm among the Alto Monferrato hills in Northern Italy

Infos

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  Description

  **Update 31 May 2025 - current vacancies: from July 8th to 30th; from mid August to the end of September :) **
  
  We are Elisabetta (56) and Francesco (28), farmers by choice. :)
  Two generations who decided to look after their little corner of paradise by growing healthy food while respecting the soil and the environment. No chemicals admitted!
  
  Our little farm is based on a 12 hectare property, half of which is still untouched bush, leaving the other half to verdant hilly fields. It is located outside the town of Cremolino, in the Monferrato region in Piedmont: famous for its great wine and nestled among quiet hills, but not far from the Ligurian sea. The closest small city is Ovada (15 min drive), while Alessandria and Genova (1 hour drive) are bigger ones.
  The house is located on top of a quiet hill with a beautiful view on the surrounding valleys. Two cuddly dogs keep us company: Haru and Nikita.
  
  We grow vegetables of all kinds using the principles of organic regenerative agriculture, agroforestry and permaculture. Collecting rainwater is a constant mission too.
  We organise our vegetable garden in rectangular plots interspersed with lines of bigger trees and perennial herbaceous crops: this is just the beginning!
  
  The produce we harvest is used for our own consumption and for a group of families in the area. It's a sort of community of like-minded farmers and people among which everyone share their produce. At times we process the excess veggies into jars and cans that we use during winter. We do not sell at local markets or have a shop of our own; we currently do not have any employees since it's only two of us (mother and son) working on the property.
  
  We also have bees and some hens, so we have amazing honey and fresh eggs always available. Recently we embarked on a little adventure for growing mushrooms too.

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  S’occuper des animaux

  Aide dans une ferme

  Cuisine/repas pour la famille

  Aide à la maison

  Entretien général
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  Centres d’intérêt

  

  Ferme

  

  Dev. durable

  

  Végétarien ou végan

  

  Animaux

  

  Soin des plantes

  

  Bricolage / artisanat

  

  Jardinage

  

  Menuiserie

  

  Nature
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  Objectifs de développement durable de l’ONU que cet hôte essaie d'atteindre

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  Qu'est-ce que c'est ?
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  We would love to share our knowledge in every field: agricultural techniques, sustainable living, Italian cuisine, food processing, small maintenance jobs, language exchange. You are encouraged and more than welcome to share your culture and knowledge with us: local dishes from your area, language and idioms, specific skills, anything really!
  
  We mainly speak Italian and some basic English, but as Italians hand gestures are our universal language :)

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  Aide

  This is our second season hosting volunteers and we had an amazing experience in summer and autumn 2024!
  We are looking for one helper at the time, anyone willing to learn and help with the most diverse activities: proactivity and teamwork are the key. If you have some specific skills that you would like to share, even better! We would need someone who doesn’t fear getting their hands dirty, who’s comfortable around dogs, and very adaptive to a simple rural life (we don’t own a tv and currently have no wi-fi but we can hotspot you for emergencies). Most likely, we would need help for 3 consecutive full working days, leaving you the rest of the week free to explore; the schedule can be discussed and arranged depending on the workload, the weather and your plans.
  
  During early spring, we get the soil and the fields ready to host all the summer veggies. Tasks will vary from airing the soil with some hand tools, weeding, preparing and spreading woodchips and natural fertilizers.
  In the summer season the day starts early to avoid the heat: feeding the chickens, spraying natural fertilizers and water the crops, transplanting and seeding, cleaning up the underbrush, chipping wood branches, harvesting veggies etc.
  After lunch, during the hottest time of the day, it’s time for some rest in the shade or for some small jobs in the workshop or little houseworks. We then go back to the fields in the late afternoon.
  Every now and then we like to bake fresh bread and focaccia in our woodfire oven and take part in small gatherings with like-minded friends from the surrounding towns: fun company and amazing food!
  
  We'd love to find someone who's also happy to take part in every aspect of the life in the house: we deeply enjoy sharing meals with our Workawayers, since it helps getting to know each other better and creating a stronger bond. We kindly ask that volunteers participate also in some basic house chores and duties, to help maintain the common areas tidy and clean. There will be a "cleaning roster" for everyone in the house to perform light house duties.
  Since there are many tasks involved in our day-to-day work in the field and in the numerous side projects, we would like helpers to be available for a minimum of three weeks. This would give us enough time to properly guide and teach the helpers, allowing them to learn new skills and become independent in performing some tasks.
  
  As much as life on a farm can be beautiful and rewarding, we do not want to sugar coat the reality of facts: some tasks are quite physical, sometimes repetitive, and could be very tiring. And yes, you will get dirty and sweaty! There are plenty of different bugs and insects in the field, and on rainy days it gets all pretty muddy. We only use natural fertilizers, created by fermenting manure and other organic materials: if the idea of carrying a bucket of horse poop grosses you out, this is probably not the right place for you. We need someone who's not worried to wear some old clothes and dive right in to participate as much as possible in all kind of tasks.

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Italien: Courant
  Anglais: Débutant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  We would like to improve our English, but if you can speak some Italian or are a Spanish/French native speaker, that would make daily communication much easier!
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  Hébergement

  You will be staying in either a private or shared bedroom (with two single beds) in our house; this will depend on the number and gender of volunteers of that period. You will be sharing either with him/her or one of us (of course, boys with boys and girls with girls). We can discuss and come to an agreement on the accommodation. We have space for a camper van or a tent on the property, if you have your own.
  Shared meals with us are included; we mainly have a vegetarian diet based on our own products, but the kitchen is available for use if you wish to cook something of your own. Unfortunately, due to our diet relying a lot on the cereals we produce, we are not able to host helpers with celiac disease; we feel like it would be risky for them due to possible contaminations.

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  Autres infos...

  In the area in which we live wildlife is abundant and lively: we often sight or hear foxes, deers, boars, hares, woodpeckers, hawks, dormice, etc.
  From a cultural point of view, there’s plenty to see and explore: every town in the area has a medieval center and a castle. In summer, every weekend, some kind of food fair or festival takes place in the area.
  The sea isn’t far at all, with Liguria and Genova being only 1 hour away from us. It can be reached by train or by car to spend the day or a couple of days exploring. There are plenty of trails on the hills if you’re into trekking.
  
  In terms of transportation, we can pick you up and drop you off at the train stations in Ovada or Alessandria, and we can arrange lifts to the train stations if you wish to explore on your days off.

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  Cet hôte a de la place pour les vans.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Un

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