Welcoming volunteers to help with household tasks at our animal sanctuary in the mountains of Atajate, Spain

Infos

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  Description

  Join our animal sanctuary in the mountains and get involved in different tasks and projects in Atajate, Spain
  
  ** Autumn 2024:
  We are currently looking for immediate help with building jobs, general DIY & farm maintenance. This includes the restoration of an Arabic watering system; pruning olive trees (and later the harvest); construction of a new entrance way; and other odd jobs.**
  
  
  General:
  The areas of work are numbered below. Sometimes we are in need of help in one area, but not the other. I will endeavour to write an update above of the current state or availability. THE PARAGRAPH ABOVE IS THE CURRENT AVAILABLE POSITION, but I keep other areas listed below for future volunteers as availability changes throughout the year.
  
  If you are interested in any of the other positions, you are welcome to inquire about availability.
  
  Sometimes the work could be carried out by one volunteer, or by two, or any sort of mix and match depending on skills and motivations!
  
  
  About us:
  We are an Anglo Spanish family with two children (born 2015 and 2019). We run a small registered non-profit horse & animal sanctuary in the edge of a small village in the mountains in the province of Málaga. Our family lives a simple life (mostly!) off-grid in a yurt on site.
  
  As our main work and income to support our projects we host programmes with participants from around the world who come to learn about positive reinforcement with our six horses. We are not asking for help with the horses here on Workaway, as those are fee based positions. We are very busy with this, so need help in OTHER areas (not with the horses usually - bit occasionally if we need extra hands odd days)
  
  
  Areas of work we are looking for at different times:
  
  1) Family Support
  
  2) Cooking
  
  3) Small animal care
  
  4) Land, DIY and maintenance support
  
  
  1) Family Support:
  We are looking for applicants to be a part of our life-schooled childrens' days, ideally candidates who have knowledge in Waldorf education, or people who are creative and comfortable around children and can gently guide and support them throughout the seasons. We would enjoy a light structure that can flow with each person's needs, yet has some predictability.
  
  We have various materials, resources, and curriculums available that we have used in the past if anyone would like this sort of loose structure to implement, or would like to use it to grow in their own teaching knowledge. But it is not necessary.
  
  You could be going on walks with the children, or homework support, or doing crafts, or reading, or art etc…
  
  Longer stays are preferred for the right candidate/s to be able to form meaningful relationships. Couples are welcome if one is experienced and willing in another area such as handy work, maintenance, or gardening, or/and cooking.
  
  
  2) Cooking:
  We would like this volunteer to be able to cook healthy vegetarian meals from scratch. We could eat one meal together per day, or each person can do their own thing, but we would still need someone to prepare this for our family and/or volunteers on work days.
  
  This would complement one of the other areas of work.
  
  
  3) Small animal care:
  We have a large colony of rabbits, a couple of guinea pigs, dogs, and cats.
  
  We would welcome someone to help take care of these whilst complementing one of the other areas if work.
  
  
  4) Land, DIY and maintenance support:
  A suitable candidate would be one who is willing, enthusiastic, a good listener, and can work on their own sometimes if we are busy in other areas. Hence being a good listener, so you know how to carry out the task. Experience is welcome and valued. There is a large variety of tasks, however we could be working on one particular project for a time.
  
  You could be pruning trees, fixing fences; gardening; building etc.
  
  
  Other:
  Generally outdoor work is not needed on rainy days, so we are flexible with our schedule.
  
  We are very flexible, but sometimes work is dictated by weather. It is very hot in summer and we start and finish early.
  
  Children are welcome if the parents can contribute towards food and accommodation costs.
  
  We can afford to host two working individuals (approximately 25 working hours per week), but more people are welcome if they can contribute financially.

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Bénévolat

  Projets artistiques

  Pratique d’une langue

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  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
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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

  Come and taste the simple quiet life and live in a small and friendly Spanish village. It is a pretty 15 minute walk to our site where your work will be required.
  
  You can practice Spanish, but it is not essential to speak Spanish to be part of our project.
  
  Learn to live at a different pace to your usual... Learn to listen to your motivations and learn in what ever area if work you have chosen.
  
  Make new friends and connections with our family, other volunteers, equine programme participants, and locals.
  
  Be part of something meaningful whilst de-stressing with some physical movement.

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  Projets impliquant des enfants

  Ce projet peut impliquer des enfants. Pour en savoir plus, consultez nos directives et conseils ici.

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  Aide

  Our Children:
  Our older daughter keeps herself very busy and loves interacting with other volunteers we have. She is sensitive and enjoys the outdoors, imagination, reading, photo and video editing, swimming, animals... When she gets to know people she is very chatty and loving, but can be shy at first. She needs patience and gentle guidance. No one ridged or authoritarian please.
  
  We have a young girl who is very easy, and just becoming more interested in structured activities. She is extremely happy, energetic, and loving.
  We are always close by and would like someone who is very attentive, yet relaxed and doesn't hover over them, but can find things to do for themselves which is open for the children to join in with.
  
  The children may need a few days to get to know a new person, so we prefer if you are not just coming for a short time. If you feel you have a natural connection or draw to children, this role might be for you.
  
  Our Home:
  We live in a single yurt so we are constantly clearing and organising to make the small space work. This isn't just a job in itself, but could go with one of the others. Mostly if you like cooking or are with the children! Sometimes there are other volunteers here who also like to share the cooking or join for meals. We only eat vegetarian food at home, and vegan is very welcome. We would need someone who can work from their own initiative and doesn't need support in every area here so we can be free to escape to work!
  
  Volunteers don't stay with the family on-site.
  
  The Land:
  We have trees and veg gardens. We are always happy to have someone who is interested in this to take on part of the daily watering responsibility for example, or someone who has experience, and can bring some substantial self driven work. There are other tasks such as fire wood preparation in winter, planting, clearing the land etc.
  
  Projects:
  We have many! From preparing our village house (clear, organise, paint) for people to stay in, to building a chicken run, horse fencing, art and craft projects, shade, seating, horse toys, electric fencing, building sheds and improving the outdoor kitchen, a pool for the horses, rubbish removal...... The list is endless!
  
  We are not looking for volunteers for the horses as we run programmes for this and are usually booked up. Of course we don't mind if you get involved a little, or even want to book on our 'Equine Sanctuary Programme'. But this isn't the reason we are looking on Workaway. Just ask if you want more info about this!

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Anglais: Courant
  Espagnol: Courant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  Clare is a native English speaker and Chico is a native Spanish speaker. Our children are bilingual and have interests in learning other languages. We are happy to receive all nationalities, and the interest in bringing another language to our bilingual daughters is a bonus.
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  Hébergement

  Volunteers stay in our village house which is a 15 minute walk away from the project site and family yurt. We can provide food to keep there, and/or you can join us for meals when you are with us. You don't have to take meals with us, we are happy for you to have your own time and space.
  
  Volunteers will stay with our equine programme participants in the accommodation, and these participants don't eat with us in a regular basis, but we occasionally invite each other. If this accommodation is full, we rent rooms close by and you can share the kitchen together.
  
  In the main volunteer house there is electric, heating, hot water, washer machine, two bedrooms, and a kitchen. There is also WiFi.
  
  We provide groceries for three vegetarian meals per day.

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  Autres infos...

  There are beautiful places of natural interest around to visit. This is a truly beautiful part of the world. There are many trails to walk and sites to see. You are welcome to spend time with our horses in your free time if you like this.
  
  There is a daily weekday bus to Ronda and back where there are many shops, tourist attractions, and cultural history. From Ronda there is plenty of public transport options to other cities and airports.
  
  It is possible to arrive via public transport. Our nearest airport is Málaga, and there would be a change of bus/train in Ronda. Buses from Ronda to Atajate are not possible on the weekends. We can also offer airport collection, or collection from Ronda at a cost. We can offer more information via message.
  
  Take "time and space" to reset or de stress, or find yourself....

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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

  Cet hôte a indiqué qu’il aimait accueillir les digital nomads.

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  If you have a campervan it is best if we chat about this first because it depends on size as to where it could be parked.

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  Possibilité d'accueillir les animaux

  We can have a conversation about your pets to see if it would be possible to bring them.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Deux

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