Experience the magical Celtic charm of rural Spain at our family finca in Nava, Asturias, Spain

Infos

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  Description

  Please read our profile fully to see if we align, we would love to hear from you if you feel you meet our requirements!
  We are currently giving priority to volunteers with experience in animal care - we have two young dogs, three cats, a horse and several chickens - and/or people who can help us prepare to rebuild our stone walls.
  
  Hello, salud, bienvenido!
  
  We are Sarah & Henry, long time Workawayers, travellers & free-spirited wanderers who, after a decade of being fairly nomadic, have finally settled and found a home in Northern Spain.
  
  We recently bought a stone finca with surrounding land and are looking forward to restoring the buildings & rewild the land, giving back to this community & working with some amazing people from all over the world.
  
  We want to be inclusive to families as we found it particularly difficult to volunteer with our kids, and would like to create something of a world-schooling hub & the chance to connect with the Earth in the middle of abundant nature.
  
  THE AREA:
  We are situated within the heart of green & verdant Asturias, half an hour from the main cities (Oviedo & Gijón), half an hour from some of the best beaches in Europe, and half an hour from the stunning Picos de Europa. The closest small town, Nava, is 5 mins away, has a range of supermarkets, shops, bars, cafes & an attractive plaza. It's also home to the interesting Cider Museum, where you can learn about the local culture.
  
  WORK:
  Expect around 25 “on hours” per week (which usually EXCLUDES group responsibilities, such as cooking or cleaning, which are part of living in a communal situation). Generally, this would be 5 x 5hr days, but you may decide to help longer days so that you have more days free to explore the region. Occasionally, depending on projects & situations, we might ask for a slightly longer working day in order to complete a task.
  It would be advantageous if you manage your time well, so that your free time does not get away - which can happen easily!
  
  * If you need to prioritise online paid work, please discuss your schedule with us in advance *
  
  ACCOMMODATION:
  
  We offer our very comfortable caravan, which can sleep up to 4 and has its own heating & small kitchen, with shared use of the bathroom & kitchen in the house. There’s also the option of parking your own campervan.
  
  FOOD:
  We provide breakfast, lunch & dinner on working days. Breakfast is included on non-working days.
  We usually like to eat one meal together at around 2.30pm, so welcome your contributions in the kitchen - cooking, making bread, baking cakes & preserving to keep us all well-fed!
  We are not vegetarian but don't eat much meat, and can usually adapt to most dietary requirements.
  You are also able to make your own meals or snacks in the caravan.

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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

  Baby-sitting et jeux créatifs

  Cuisine/repas pour la famille

  Aide à la maison

  Entretien général
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  Centres d’intérêt

  

  Dev. durable

  

  Politique/justice sociale

  

  Films et télé

  

  Événements/vie sociale

  

  Culture

  

  Bénévolat

  

  Ferme

  

  Animaux de compagnie

  

  Dev. personnel

  

  Soin des plantes

  

  Musique

  

  Dessin et peinture

  

  Jardinage

  

  Bricolage / artisanat

  

  Cuisine et alimentation

  

  Livres

  

  Astronomie

  

  Art et design

  

  Animaux

  

  Activités en plein air

  

  Sports d’hiver

  

  Yoga / bien-être

  

  Sports nautiques

  

  Montagne

  

  Nature

  

  Fitness

  

  Randonnée

  

  Sports d'aventure
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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 love sharing stories & experiences with fellow travellers! We also love introducting people to the natural beauty of Asturias and the many local wonders, so expect to receive lots of tips for things to enjoy on your days off.
  Our property is bordered by an ancient Roman camino - the original 'Camino de Santuarios' - so if you’re looking for something more under-the-radar and less travelled than the famous Camino de Santiago, then you have found the right place!
  
  We live in the Celtic homelands of Northern Spain, country of bagpipes, cider & mythological forest dwellers!
  We are from the UK but enjoy communing with Spanish speakers - we found learning the language very challenging at home & have been learning Spanish now for around 12 years, on & off. We learned in Guatemala and used Latin American Spanish during the time we were travelling. Now we want to improve our mainland Castellano. Our children are fluent & learning Asturiano in school. They also love to learn to count in the languages of all of our visitors!

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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

  We moved into our finca in February 2024 and are working on light renovations & DIY around the house. Mostly painting & decorating or trying to restore & upcycle the decor & furniture.
  
  For general maintenance and smaller jobs, we will be working alongside you so that we can share our skills & experience with each other. We require daily help with feeding, walking, grooming & generally looking after the animals - 3 cats, 2 dogs, horse ('Duque') & chickens (currently 6) - and might sometimes ask for assistance with our boys (aged 6 & 9) if we are occupied with other things, so a good rapport with children is important (as it would be in any family situation!).
  
  We have a wide range of tasks & projects around the property, which change depending on our current situation & the season or weather, or what suits your interests:
  
  painting & decorating inside the house;
  furniture upcycling;
  cleaning;
  gardening (including making raised beds, planting in boxes / beds, organising & creating spaces around the land and, of course, never-ending weeding!);
  transplanting trees;
  paving;
  or simply moving rocks!
  
  This list is not exhaustive and we like to work with our volunteers' strengths & preferences, so you will have lots of flexibility & can choose how you spend your time.
  We work best with volunteers who are able to manage their own time well. We do not not “clock hours “ but please bear in mind we are a family & days can feel long because, with children & animals, it never stops! Some days you may wish to go over and do a shorter day the next, for example - as long as you do around 25 hours of “active” help per week we flow very well.

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Anglais: Courant
  Espagnol: Intermédiaire

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  We wish to provide a real cultural experience for our guests & volunteers, and are well connected with the local community through our children’s village school. Our boys are bilingual and speak Spanish pretty fluently, they are also learning Asturianu at school. So if you’re looking to improve your English or Spanish, we can help with that - it will be full immersion!
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  Hébergement

  We have a very comfortable caravan which can sleep up to 6, or you can park your own campervan on our land. Shared bathroom access is inside the house.
  We provide breakfast and will cook a shared meal for lunch (usually vegetarian but not strictly, any meat is locally & ethically produced). For dinner we usually have a smaller meal but you are welcome to make your own from the caravan, which has its own small kitchen.

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  Autres infos...

  Having your own vehicle is useful, as we are a short journey from many attractions. It’s half an hour from the coast and 45 mins to the Picos de Europa. There are closer mountain ranges within 10 mins drive away. Cycling is a very popular activity in the local area and there are many good walking routes. We have a couple of bikes you can borrow to stay local & there are amazing hikes within 20 mins.
  It is an easy walk into the nearest town, from where you can take the train or bus into Oviedo, or visit the Cider Museum or local bars & restaurants.

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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

  We are open to arranging working hours around some online work commitments. We don't have a very strong internet connection though, nor a dedicated workspace, so it may be necessary for you to have your own wi-fi-source.

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  Espace pour garer des vans

  We have space to park and connect to an electricity point, so our courtyard is perfect for parking up.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Deux

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  Mes animaux

  

  Code & Maya (10 mois)

  Siblings Maya (female) has brow stripy coat & Code (male) black are 9 months old with a lot of energy!!

  

  DUQUE (18 ans)

  Bought December 2024 from a friend - he was 16 years castrated gelding

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