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Évaluation d'hôte
100 %
Last replied
31 oct. 2025
Taux de réponse
90.9 %
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Séjour min. souhaité : Au moins deux semaines
Infos
Description
A harbor of authenticity, a place for ideas and connections. An oasis of independence in the unceasing quest for self-sufficiency.
A botanical garden with many interesting and unexpected varieties, train station 5 min on foot, mount Etna ever on fire, seasonal food, and much more.
--- Local produce, traditional food and seeds from your area are very welcome.
--- Consider having kids around (sometimes babysitting) as part of the experience.
--- To best organize farm activities let us know always your travel plans and terms of stay.
-- Looking for someone with experience in web development and the like to help building our site.
-- Are you familiar with beekeeping? Let us know!
This exchange is intended as a private homestead and cannot carry out any type of business.
Hi, my name is Guido and with my family we live in the area where Mount Etna is the closest to the sea.
This area is renowned for its unique soil and microclimate; inevitable conditions if you have a three and a half thousand metres volcano to less than ten km from the coast.
Our farm consists of a few plots, all of them a few km close-by one another.
My parents (Turi and Caterina) and my grandma (Giuseppa-for everyone just “nonna”) live in one of these plots and the one we hang out at most: a chaotic country house in the middle of a 3-acre grove; an old lemon orchard that my father has transformed into a fruit garden. That is the place we commonly refer to and identify as “the farm”. Today, in that small piece of land, we hold something like 60 different edible varieties of plants and trees, half of which tropical and subtropical. The steady increase in biodiversity together with the non-entrepreneurial management method has in fact fostered the propensity to a number of virtuous aspects of agriculture leading us toward other closely related trends such as sustainable development and self-sufficiency. What had begun as a mere hobby, over time became a lifestyle. This also thanks to the many small farmer markets and purchase coops carried out in the area, where we delighted ourselves in raising our visitor’s awareness about the big issues of our time, drawing their attention with new and exotic products and in recent years also thanks to some international cultural exchange projects. We are and have been always firmly against chemicals and all kind of improper practices, even before becoming certified. We have two friendly dogs (Billy and Bianca) and some chickens. I see many of you want to come to learn or improve Italian, you couldn’t choose a better place! Lots of Italian and dialect gibberish in the house (don’t forget my grandma), not to mention daily traditional Sicilian gestures and body-language and our favorite sport: endless arguing :)
I’ve also been a volunteer myself. I’ve spent several months in the UK and Ireland to loosen up my tongue a bit. My wife is from Hong Kong, we are okay with Latin-based languages and generally curious about all languages.
Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre
Bénévolat
Projets artistiques
Pratique d’une langue
Aide avec des éco-projets
Compagnie pour pers. âgée
Enseignement
Jardinage
Bricolage et construction
S’occuper des animaux
Aide dans une ferme
Baby-sitting et jeux créatifs
Cuisine/repas pour la famille
Aide à la maison
Entretien général
Aide informatique/internet
Objectifs de développement durable de l’ONU que cet hôte essaie d'atteindre
Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre
Depending on seasons there will be always a variety of practical things to learn (grafting, pruning, wrapping, plowing, plucking, etc.), all imbued with a bit of scientific, philosophical and cultural background.
Calendar of main activities
January – lemon (and other citrus) harvest, pruning and branch disposal.
February – lemon (and other citrus) harvest, pruning and branch disposal, grafting (avocado, rosacee – apricots, plums, etc.)
March – lemon (and other citrus) harvest, pruning and branch disposal, grafting (citrus – lemons, oranges, etc.), weeding.
April – weeding, grafting (citrus – lemons, oranges, etc.), pruning (custard apple) and branch disposal, planting summer veggies (tomatoes, zucchini, etc.), transplanting (banana, mango).
May – weeding, lemon and spring fruits harvest (mulberries, loquats)
June – weeding, lemon harvest, irrigation, grapes stripping (take off excess leaves)
July – irrigation, blackberries harvest
August – irrigation, lemon, blackberries harvest.
September – lemons pruning and branch disposal, planting winter veggies (broccoli, fennels, etc.), grapes harvest.
October – autumn fruit harvest daily (feijoa, custard apple, guava, kaki, avocado, strawberry tree, etc.), olive harvest.
November – weekly harvest (clementines, hovenia), olive harvest and branch disposal, transplanting.
December – lemon harvest, hovenia harvest weekly, pruning and branch disposal.
- As tradition dictates we harvest lemons three times a year, in winter, spring and summer; each is the end result of a different flowering (lemons generally bloom three times a year). Harvest dates are not always fixed. Winter harvest may happen from December to March, spring harvest at some point in May, summer harvest from end of June to August.
- We have minor amounts of other citrus fruit which we pick weekly, not all at once like the lemons.
- Pruning takes place in winter, from December to March and it involves most of the plants except lemons in September and custard apples in April.
- Branch disposal involves cutting and selecting branches for shredding, firewood or other uses.
- Weeding can be performed mechanically with a strimmer/weedwhacker or manually around trees. It normally takes a few weeks per year but due to seasonality and planning it can be spread for a couple of months throughout the year.
- Irrigation consists of checking and unclog water sprinkles.
Projets impliquant des enfants
Ce projet peut impliquer des enfants. Pour en savoir plus, consultez nos directives et conseils ici.
Aide
As per guidelines we believe 25 hours a week is a good match for room and board in exchange. Albeit generally in the morning, it is not rare to ask you to help us at a different time of the day (especially if raining or harvesting) or in different places. Our primary target of course will be everything involving the garden maintenance (weeding and cleaning, working the land, harvesting, maintaining and repairing, etc.). Some of our ever-going projects are the enlargement of our vegetable garden along with the improvement of the irrigation system and in our to-do list the start of a small plant nursery/greenhouse and the renovation of a few old caravans for volunteers to use.
(11/2021: since she is going to walk very soon, update 01/2022: she is now running up and down...heeeelp!!). Update 10/2025: they are two and they both stand upright, they are fast and ruthless. We now need some prey… I mean playmates for our kids Agnese and Theo. So consider them as part of our routine.
Suggested clothing: long work trousers/jeans, shirts (long and short sleeves), old jacket/hoodie, boots (work/hiking shoes - the ground tend to be wet in the morning), hat, thick leather gloves, hear plugs.
Solar cream needed on summer, mosquitoes repellent on spring/fall mainly.
Langues
Langues parlées
Anglais: Courant
Espagnol: Courant
Italien: CourantCet hôte propose un échange linguistique
Cet hôte a indiqué qu’il souhaitait faire partager sa propre langue ou en apprendre une nouvelle.
Contactez-le pour en savoir plus.
Hébergement
You will be staying with Guido in our apartment in the nearby hamlet of Carruba. The apartment is 4.5 km away from the main plot (the farm). We move together by car.
Depending on the number of people that come and go, you might be sharing rooms. Bathroom will be always shared. The apartment is on the last floor, surrounded by balconies and with a big terrace from which you may catch sight of the sea (just 15 minutes away) or tan yourself to a crisp under the sun.
Washing machine available but old, we operate it. Also, we try to save and reuse water. We encourage you to do the same, after your laundry use the water we collect to flush toilets.
Wi-Fi available at the farm house but not available at the apartment for the time being.
In case you want to try there is a local bus stops next door and the train station a matter of minutes away on foot.
Autres infos...
Food:
Based on Mediterranean diet with often some Asian fusion whereas fruit and vegetables coming primarily from our land and friends’ farms. Of all meals, lunch and dinner will be normally shared. We will do our best to make delicious meals and also would love to try some of your home recipes. Let us know of any animal/food allergies you have.
We are not fun of waste, if you put some cereal in your bowl eat everything instead of washing them away in the sink.
IMPORTANT: we believe if you are in Italy you deserve to try food made by us, therefore we usually take care of the cooking and enjoy it. But in exchange for this you need to help with the washing. We strongly encourage all volunteers to learn well how to wash dishes, done with sponge, soap and water management. Being able to wash dishes well is THE most appreciated quality hosts acknowledge to guests. Not everything need to be washed all the time like pans we plan to use the next day (we try to keep away soap from our diet when possible) or plates used for fruit or non-greasy food. So no need to put soap on a plate with a couple of breadcrumbs.
BIG REALITY CHECK
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Help in the farm is not always easy. A farm day with us can be and feel a long one especially in winter time when daylight is brief. Our day is often full of ons and offs and idle time, imagine while making meals and after or moving from a plot to another. There are days at the peak of yield from end of September to November we leave the apartment at 9am and get back at 6pm. Therefore, if you are looking for a more job-oriented experience with a start – work – finish scheme be aware we are not always able to provide that.
Our lifestyle does not allow us to be constantly present in the field during the day – it is the very reason why we seek help. The type of help consists of simple tasks that can be entrusted on our behalf, giving us some respite and more time to carry on our daily routine. That is why helpers need to be reliable, self-motivated and independent. Of course, that is not always the case, there are things we necessarily need and enjoy to do together.
Also, depending on seasons farm help requires a certain dead of flexibility: when we write 25 hours per week it does not necessarily mean 5 days a week and 2 days off. There will in fact be extraordinary circumstances (i.e. during olive/lemon harvest, in case of short stays, uncertain weather conditions or absolute deadlines) where we ask you to take more time off before reaching the required amount of hours per week or conversely extend the relative weekly hours limit to then recover the time off later- let’s say, if you stay 2 weeks and we really need help for the first 10 days, you can help us for 50 hours the first 10 days and then get the remaining 5 days free (25/7=3.5*15=52). That why it is not always possible to accept people for short stay.
About expectations: despite our attempts of a faithful description and the feedbacks in the profile this experience might turn out to be not what you have envisioned. It is a perfectly normal thing and nothing to worry about, especially if you come from a very different environment, culture or simply age group.
Now, this is an extremely important point, after we reach an agreement on a stay, often several weeks before it happens, we will turn down tens of requests for that same given window and above all we plan farm activities and everything else considering you being there as part of the team. That to say how important is an agreement and how serious (and I mean very bad) is to go back on a given word after all the planning behind especially without a good enough reason.
With this in mind ask yourself what are your reasons to apply and how many days you would be willing to spend at our place realistically. Contact us only if you are 100% sure about this experience and ready to commit until the end (of your terms) even if that mean compromising and endure a few more days. This is not a commitment you can take lightly, as said we make plans based on your presence, there are many others who loose the opportunity to have an experience in our farm.
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The main plot (the farm) is located in Giarre’s southern outskirts, less than a mile from the motorway’s (A18) exit and easily reachable by all buses covering the SS114. We are approximately 40 km from Catania International Airport, 35-50 minutes depending on connections between public transport – the train takes no more than 25 minutes to get to Catania Centrale railway station from Giarre. The apartment is 4 minutes on foot from the train station.
Another word of advice: dealing with the mysterious realm of our public services might sometimes be an “extraordinary” experience. Therefore, plan your connections carefully!
Being a densely built area, villages often come in succession, merging together (sometimes it’s hard to say where the one starts and the other ends), each with its own historic core - churches, bars, squares, etc.
The "Riviera dei limoni", a portion of coastline stretching from Catania to Taormina (Acicastello, Acitrezza, Acireale, Giarre-Riposto, Fiumefreddo, Giardini Naxos, and minor coastal villages/seaside resorts such as Fondachello, Torre Archirafi (not too far away from Carruba), Pozzillo, Stazzo, Santa Tecla, etc., offer a variety of cultural, historical and touristic attractions. However, excluding the biggest and most popular places, the remaining part is not otherwise subjected to foreign residency, which in my opinion makes it even more interesting.
My family might take a moment to decipher your words, my grandma transcends the need to, but they are getting better and better at it.
Having been a helper myself and after 10 years hosting people I have an overall idea of what it’s like to be treated and I will do my best in trying to make your experience as enjoyable and varied as possible. Apologies in advance for our possible lack of organization :)
See you soon!
Guido
Informations complémentaires
Accès Internet
Accès Internet limité
Nous avons des animaux
Nous sommes fumeurs
Familles bienvenues
Espace pour garer des vans
Cet hôte a de la place pour les vans.
Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?
Plus de 2
Mes animaux
Discutez avec des workawayers qui ont séjourné chez cet hôte
Feedback (37)
we enjoyed picking up the lemons and weeding in the farm.
thanks for the opportunity for being a part of your project.
i learned new skills (grafting) and Maya could practice English with Agnese, who was like a big sister to her.
thank you
They are very warm and interesting people who teached me so many things about sicilian way of life and about their area. I learnt with Guido how to make tomato sauce and, with a friend of them, how to cook pasta, among other things.
I discovered in their paradise some… read more
Photos
Discutez avec des workawayers qui ont séjourné chez cet hôte
Feedback
Ce sont des évaluations supplémentaires en option lorsque les membres laissent un feedback. La note moyenne pour chaque option est affichée.
Exactitude du profil:
(4.9)
Échange culturel:
(4.8)
Communication:
(4.7)
we enjoyed picking up the lemons and weeding in the farm.
thanks for the opportunity for being a part of your project.
i learned new skills (grafting) and Maya could practice English with Agnese, who was like a big sister to her.
thank you
They are very warm and interesting people who teached me so many things about sicilian way of life and about their area. I learnt with Guido how to make tomato sauce and, with a friend of them, how to cook pasta, among other things.
I discovered in their paradise some… read more
It was a lemon picking season, so we were working with that. The daily hours were longer, but I got many days off, which I prefer. So, I was able to explore Mount Etna and other nearby cities. The train station is just 5 minutes away.
Guido and Jenny were always ready to… read more
I felt like part of the family from the moment I arrived. Guido and Jenny are very welcoming and open-minded people who make you feel at home. They were always willing to help and answer questions and I had really interesting conversations with them that I will… read more
The house is well located, by the sea, 5 minutes walk from the train station,… read more
I strongly recommend to go on a workaway as a family to this place. Jenny and Guido are wonderful people - open minded, curious and generous. They openly welcomed our children of age 11 and 13. Having been volunteers themselves, Guido and Jenny… read more
I spent 3 weeks in late October which was during the olive harvest season. I got to help pick olives and Guido even took me and another volunteer to watch how olive oil is produces.
Most days we woke up at… read more
It’s sad only to read here that there has been a flaw in her experience. Unfortunately, with the weather… read more
His mum always made nice meals and is very caring person and you can practice Italian with her and with grandma.
The only downside in this experience was that, 25h of work was not honored. And automatic days off didn’t exist, but you… read more
With that being said, some important things:
1) You'll really get in contact with nature and farm life. That means you will be working in a wonderful place, surrounded by nature, but also means that you are gonna… read more
They own and run a productive farm, on which they have tons… read more
And this is also the way we would define Andrea. She said everything is to tell about what happen in those nine days, describing exceptionally well how our reality works. As summer goes by, shifts will go back to more comfortable and “civilized” hours as we do not have to… read more
Natalia came in one of the hottest periods of the year, time when our days in the garden end long before the sun rise its zenith.
We praise Natalia’s strong professionalism and how she kept such attitude no matter how hard the task at hand was. In this we thank her for the… read more
Before going to Guido’s place I had never been to Sicily and I’m really happy that he (and his family) became my first host ever. They introduced me into the world of Sicilian culture and everyday life which was essential for me and can’t be overestimated.
help:. Various, not difficult, generally not… read more
Guido and his family are friendly people and very hospitable. They helped me with my Italian and were very patient. The apartment I stayed in was very nice and comfortable. In short, good people, good food and great cultural exchange.
I wish I could have stayed longer
All… read more
We are grateful for the thorough job she did sorting out our Alkekengis, Bananas and Monsteras mess. Attentive and tidy person, she might seem reserved but wait until you find the right topic to talk about – we had a couple of very interesting conversations. Her politeness and general knowledge definitely make… read more
I’ve stayed three weeks and was pretty sad to leave. Toure, Catarina, Guido and la Nonna made me feel like a family member, welcoming me warmly at their table each day for lunch. And what a meal! Catarina (and the others too!)… read more
She is passionate about sustainability, virtuous cycles and the organic way. We saw in her a strong advocate of old China’s wisdom and traditions too. A concentrate of enthusiasm no matter what was the task to her assigned: was it spreading sheep manure, which… read more
The first ever New Zealanders to set foot in the farm.
Very proud of their country, they brought, along with their charming accent a wave of Kiwi vibe in the place.
They are two honest and experienced personalities and you can see they are truly enjoying every bit of their time and what they do. You will… read more
We very much appreciated all of his efforts and the suggestions he made. His English is exceptional but he has many other talents like cooking and jam making.
It was a delight to… read more
Best of luck with your travelling and be ready for me (Guido) busting your door in NY :)
All the best,
Ben
Thanks Sarah for everything you did in the garden and your inexhaustible patience.
I (Guido) very much… read more
Half of her bag was full of sweets and typical Estonian goddesses she gave us as a present.
Incredibly talkative, and quick at that too :) It was a good exercise listening to her. She can speak English and Russian to the highest informal level they possibly could and Italian to an… read more
Grazie per il tuo aiuto… read more
After work we always had an amazing gourmet lunch with all family members (whom I really, really miss with… read more
Our first impression about him was that of a honest, kind and educated person… and we were right. Later on we found out more about him: his wisdom and level-headedness.
He had never helped in an organic farm, yet his willingness proved him to be a great asset, passing brilliantly the test.
A… read more
He's a passionate plant lover and it's hard not to share his passion when you spend some time in his beautiful farm. He's been… read more
