Creative life with our family in Lofoten Islands, Leknes, Norway

Infos

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  Description

  Me Sofia (28F) and Riccardo (31M) bought a house in Lofoten, and we're looking for help in organising it, cleaning the land and renovating it!
  We're Italians and we both speak fluent English, but Riccardo speaks Norwegian as well.
  
  Riccardo is a mechanic that loves nature and has too many (definitely too many) hobbies. He really has a logical mind and nothing is an impossible challenge for him. He knows that much stuff and to do that many different tasks that it scares me sometimes, tbh. Kinda easy to feel confused around him when he's working knowing everything he's doing and I... don't. He's a kind person, but also really shy, and he values his own space and his own solitude. He can appear coy at the first approach, but over time he opens more and more and his curiosity is astonishing.
  
  I, on the other hand, have a more emotive intelligence. I come from a difficult background and moving here meant a fresh start and a place where I could finally have the time and the stability to explore and cultivate my interests. I love painting, clay sculpting, carving, renovating old furniture and cooking. I have always embraced the mentality of "do as many things as possible well enough" and over time I'm perfecting my skills in every task. So, yes, I have my backpack of practical skills as well.
  
  We both love old cars and carpentry, and we bought a place where we'll have all the space we need for every interest, and more! We're quite capable of dividing the jobs between us based on our skills – for carpentry and renovating, cooking and organising there's me; and for idraulics, electricity and designing, there's him – so we're doing everything on our own so far.
  
  Honourable mention to my baby cat Jsmaele (8F), who is a hypoallergenic Asian cat. Her fur is thick at the base and smooth at the tips, making it hydrophobic and does not absorb her saliva. So, if you're allergic, and she doesn't scratch you (she has never done it before to no one in her life), you shouldn't have problems, since the allergy comes from the saliva on the fur and not the fur itself. That said, bring your antiallergen medics, to be safe. She's really playful and she speaks A LOT. She loves company, and she's always looking for attention and cuddles. She just needs to get used to you, and it's usually done in 10 minutes, so... yes, she's easy to kidnap and that's why she's not allowed to go out unwatched.
  
  
  The house is in Lyngedal, situated in the heart of Lofoten. We're exactly in the middle between Svolvær and Leknes, and less than two hours from Å. Our land goes from the fjord to the mountain behind us and there are a lot of paths starting around the neighbourhood.
  The land is often traversed by moose, foxes and eagles, but we are fairly certain that an otter lives in the lake as well. We spotted her sometimes, but they usually move around the fjords to catch the fish, so who knows?
  We want to make this place our house, but also a "refreshment point" where travellers can stop to sleep, camp or – why not – eat and drink before hitting their path again. For this reason, we have plenty of work to do along all the land that we have. We'll need to build a camp site for bonfires and tents, and the paths where people will walk through. We own around 5he, so it's not a joke... We'll definitely need help.
  
  The house is an original wooden house from 1927, and we're trying our best to keep it original, but we're really far from the end of this journey. The walls need more isolation, some windows to be replaced, renovate the bathroom and move walls, repaint all the outside, the inside, the floors, the ceilings. We need to rebuild the roof and change the tiles, renovate the original stoves... and the list continues.
  
  
  We're looking for handy people that can do by themselves or with us but without our attention.
  The tasks that are difficult for us to complete alone are the slow and lengthy ones for which we would have to sacrifice precious time that we could instead dedicate to more important tasks to prepare for the coming winter. For this summer we're looking for people that can help us organise and prepare the barn and cut down trees and grass along the land. The barn is full of good and bad wood to separate, furniture to move (or remove), old fixtures to organise, and garbage from the old years to throw away or recycle. The land is instead full of diseased, broken and falling trees to cut down and prepare to get dry for the next year.
  Not difficult or challenging tasks, but not our favourites. We could do it on our own, but it would be too heavy with all the other tasks that needs to be done before the cold comes again – "Winter is coming!" – and we don't want to warm up the house with our burnout...
  
  We're not expecting to get everything done in a week, and we're not expecting people to work all day long. We're open to showing you the islands and making sure you will not miss anything you want to see before leaving. This place is really beautiful, and it would be a shame not to see it!
  During the winter, there's the possibility to walk/ski on the iced lake. We have 5 mins walk from the house, and we can see the northern lights quite often – this January almost every night! – even from the window. It's an isolated neighbourhood, and you can see the colours dancing in the sky for hours. During the summer we can see the midnight sun, and we're 15 mins away from one of the most known beaches for the midnight sun. We love to do bonfires and collect fruits to make marmalade jars!
  So the magic here never stops through the year. :)

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Projets artistiques

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Jardinage

  Bricolage et construction

  Aide à la maison
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  Centres d’intérêt

  

  Dev. personnel

  

  Animaux de compagnie

  

  Vie en van

  

  Ferme

  

  Politique/justice sociale

  

  LGBT+

  

  Bénévolat

  

  Écriture

  

  Dessin et peinture

  

  Photographie

  

  Musique

  

  Art et design

  

  Livres

  

  Bricolage / artisanat

  

  Cuisine et alimentation

  

  Menuiserie

  

  Animaux

  

  Nature

  

  Camping

  

  Montagne

  

  Activités en plein air

  

  Randonnée
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  Riccardo is really very handy with engines and mechanics of all kinds, and he's available to introduce those interests to anyone that wants to learn more on this topic. We just have vintage cars, so there's always something to do and to show. I, on the other hand, can involve you in the preparing of particular dishes that you like and make you work with me on my handwork – as painting, sculpting and carving. During the summer I will make some stands around the cities to show my handworks and to display my finished items, and if you would like to share your art, you will have my complete support and the space you need on the stand as well.
  We can both show you the islands and their history, and help you make an itinerary for your journey here in Lofoten. We both work in Svolvær at different hours, so you will also have a drive twice a day if you want to visit the city or during the mornings or the evenings – Riccardo starts working at 7am and finishes at 3pm, and I start mostly around 4pm and finish in 3-5 hours.

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  Aide

  We need people that can work by themselves or with us but without our attention, but we also need people that speak English or Italian.
  
  The tasks will mostly be moving stuff around, deep cleaning old things, materials, tools and spaces, and cutting or moving trees. So it's important that you understand if it's something you'll be able to do or not before applying. We don't want someone getting hurt!
  
  Now, some important things:
  we prefer to give the space to the people that need it to travel. So, If you have the money and the freedom to come here whenever you want, we would ask you not to take this opportunity from someone else that couldn't do it without it. This is a safe space, and we want it to be for our potential guests as well.
  We believe in equality and that borders are artificial, so we're not opening our doors and giving our hospitality to fascist, racist, homophobic or transphobic "people". We're fluid and open-minded, and we don't want to compromise our freedom or damage other ones.
  We're feminist, part of a Palestinian committee and fighting for women's rights in Italy, so we're political, and we stand for it.
  We hope you'll understand how much those things are important for us and that you'll respect that.

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  Langues parlées

  Anglais: Courant
  Italien: Courant
  Norwegian bokmål: Intermédiaire

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  Hébergement

  We offer a room with access to all the comforts that a "work-in-progress house" can offer, but we can't promise that the cat will not sleep with you, if she likes you. This place is a dictatorship and Jsmaele is the boss. ;)
  
  I'm Italian enough to be jealous of my kitchen, so I'm the one cooking in the house and I will change the dishes based on our agreements. We're not vegetarians/vegans, but we can definitely avoid the use of meat and its presence in the house if you are.
  I'm celiac, so if you are as well, you'll not be poisoned by me!

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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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  Possibilité d’accueillir les digital nomads

  If you're a digital nomad, and you work abroad, you're more than welcomed and I'm also personally curious about this kind of life and how it works. We can't promise you a stable and fast internet connection, tho. So, just be aware of that!

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  The entrance road is quite small, but inside we have space for your vehicle. Maybe avoid caravans if you're not reaaaally good at reversing manoeuvres on difficult roads.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Un

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  Mes animaux

  

  Jsmaele

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