Help on our organic smallholding in Ostuni, southern Italy

Infos

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  Description

  My name is Patrizio. I'm a semi-retired Brit, who realised a long-held dream to move to the Italian countryside in July 2015. I live on my one and a half acre smallholding, for roughly half the year, while my wife, Susan, spends one to two months a year with me in Italy. We are both former journalists, who have left the high pressure world of television news behind. Together we are trying to create an eco-friendly place to live, as well as to host friends and family. We are both native English speakers. Between us we can get by pretty well in French (me) and Malay (Susan), and have a basic knowledge of Spanish (me), Italian (me) and Cantonese (Susan).
  
  The house has been dragged into the 21st century, with new plumbing, electrics and solar water heating. Outside, the land has 25 olive trees, as well as dozens of other fruit and nut trees. Both myself and Susan are keen edible gardeners, committed to organic, sustainable cultivation. Lack of water, heavy clay soil, and extremes of temperature, between baking hot summers, and sub-zero winters, makes farming without chemicals or mechanical tools a real challenge.

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Pratique d’une langue

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Jardinage

  S’occuper des animaux

  Cuisine/repas pour la famille

  Entretien général
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  Centres d’intérêt

  

  Végétarien ou végan

  

  Dev. durable

  

  Animaux de compagnie

  

  Films et télé

  

  Ferme

  

  Soin des plantes

  

  Écriture

  

  Photographie

  

  Histoire

  

  Jardinage

  

  Cuisine et alimentation

  

  Livres

  

  Architecture

  

  Animaux

  

  Nature

  

  Montagne

  

  Cyclisme

  

  Plage
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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 hope vulunteers will not only learn practical skills, particularly in terms of growing organic produce, but also an appreciation of the challenges and rewards of living on a rural property, with as light an environmental footprint as possible. I love cooking, so eating communal (vegetarian) meals, will form an important part of the experience of staying here. All help in the kitchen would be appreciated. We very much hope that staying here will be a rewarding experience for volunteers. And for us too.

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  Aide

  We need help mostly outside the house on the land. This could be anything from seasonal tasks, such as helping to create new vegetable beds, to harvesting olives, our most important crop. Seeding, transplanting, watering and weeding, are year-round activities. Volunteers must have an interest in sustainable edible gardening. Enthusiasm is far more important than past experience. We have two cats, Bella and KitKat, who have access to the house, apart from the guest bedroom.

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  Langues parlées

  Anglais: Courant
  Français: Intermédiaire
  Malay: Intermédiaire
  Espagnol: Débutant
  Chinese (Cantonese): Débutant

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  Hébergement

  The main house has two bedrooms, a large living room, breakfast room, well-equipped kitchen, and modern bathroom. The guest bedroom has twin beds, which are usually pushed together to make a king size bed. Please bear in mind that this is a rustic country house. The electricity capacity is low compared to what most city dwellers are used too. For this reason all appliances are low energy, while the hot water is provided by solar power.
  
  Water is a scarce resource in Puglia; we have to get it delivered by a water truck, as well as collecting rain water from the roof. Any sewerage goes into a basic septic tank on the land, meaning that all cleaning products, and preferably toiletries too, should be eco-friendly. Living as sustainably as possible is a requirement for any volunteers. The house has good internet, but it is not suitable for streaming, downloading or online gaming.

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  Autres infos...

  Puglia is a beautiful region of Italy, with fantastic beaches, historic towns and cities galore, superb food, and a climate which tends towards the dry and sunny for much of the year. Public transport is reliable and cheap. The house itself is served by a very useful bus service from Brindisi, the most convenient airport for visitors. And the nearest town, Ostuni, is a pleasant thirty minute walk away along country lanes. Both Ostuni and Brindisi are on the main railway line from Rome. I am happy to go into much greater detail with prospective volunteers.

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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

  Secure parking for campervan. No space for motorhome, but could park on the lane behind house.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Deux

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  Mes animaux

  

  KitKat

  

  Bella

Sécurité du site

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