Get involved in our regenerative unicorn farm in Calabria, Italy

Details

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  Description

  Hi, we are Felipe and Nadine and we have a dream of creating an oasis of permaculture, where play is the meaning of life and where unicorns poop rainbow-coloured ice cream.
  Ok, we are aware that the unicorn ice cream is not so likely to happen, that working together creates friction, that things take always longer than you expect and that we can sometimes have considerable gaps between what we intend and what is the effect etc.
  But we still want to do the best we can to create a space that in our vision is the basis for a sustainable future: a space that enables people to look at the world with curiosity.
  That is our long-term vision and frankly we are still pretty far away from that. But since shortly we do have a plot of land with olive trees and a little ruin to rebuild and suddenly with that came lots of possibilities and also lots of work =)
  We want to build this place in a way that's enjoyable and fulfilling on a personal and community level. This is our dream and we know that to make it real we have to take it step by step. We would like to slowly begin to transform the land using regenerative agriculture and permaculture principles and do that in community, so this is where we would like you to help us.
  
  ABOUT US. We came to this village in the south of Italy a year and a half ago as workawayers. We travelled around Italy and had many experiences doing workaway. Some were good, some not so good. For us it was always important to get something more out of the experience than just an exchange of work for food and shelter. For us this something else has always been a cultural exchange, hands on knowledge and most importantly a friendship.
  We appreciate if you come with an attitude of wanting to exchange more that simply a bit of labour for food and accommodation, but rather to get involved in the place, the project and the people.
  
  Before this project we travelled by bicycle around South America and studies in the fields of engineering, natural science and agriculture. We have both been very interested in sustainability since a long time and also noticed how many facets it has and how difficult it is to see what actually matters and how fast one`s attitude can also get exclusive.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  from South America, Germany and Italy (North and South). We already have some experience in natural building, compost, compost toilets, farming etc and are happy to share and exchange knowledge and also to explore new topics together.
  Apart from this, Felipe is passionate to discuss about philosophy or literature if you are interested in it.
  Nadine loves to experiment with food, especially if it involves fermentation and is looking forward to make you try tasty/ weird stuff or fill more jars with new little "pets".
  Regarding languages, we both speak English, Spanish, German and Italian so if you are looking to improve any of those we can help. Felipe is originally from Colombia and Nadine from Germany. We travelled by bicycle through South America and we have been living in Italy for the last 10 years, so we have seen many places and are happy to share our experiences.
  Finally, in the village there are also other projects that frequently host workwayers with whom you can meet and exchange.

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  Help

  On the farm we do a lot of practical tasks, harvesting olives, tree prunning, building a house with wood and stone. At the moment we are focusing on harvesting and prunning, tree planting and some small construction projects.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent
  Italian: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  Nadine teaches german online and Felipe has followed a course to teach english. we are always happy to share our knowledge and to get into the details of the languages we dont speak as mother tongues.
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  Accommodation

  We are renting a house in the very picturesque village of Badolato, which is about 5km away from the land. We have a room that has a double and a single bed for our guests. We stay in an other room in the house. The house also has a big kitchen and a terrace. Additionally there's an extra room with a bed where you could also stay if you want more privacy, but in winter it is rather cold.
  We love food :) For us that means plenty of fresh local veggies, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, etc and not much processed food and we will be providing you with this kind of food mainly from the local market (trying to avoid supermarket stuff). We usually don't eat meat, but we are ok if you want to buy it and cook it at home. This is also true for any other food: we will provide you with what we usually eat, but we are totally fine if you want to add anything you want yourself.

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  What else ...

  Calabria offers a beautiful combination of sea and mountains. The mountains are generally relatively "wild" and not very frequented and even the beach is calm outside of the main tourist season (July and August).
  There are beaches, rivers, waterfalls, mountains, hot springs and natural parks around, which provide possibilities for hiking, diving, climbing, cycling and other outdoor activities, which we also like to do on the weekend sometimes.
  The local bus going to the "Marina" (bigger village next to the sea, where the train and bus connections are) is only a few times a day, but hitchhiking works usually well and we can also lend you a bike -the distance is 6km and it is 240m altitude difference.
  There is a bar, pharmacy and small grocery store in the village. Most restaurants up in the village are open mainly during summer, but the ones in Marina are open all year round.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  We can only provide internet connection through our hotspots in our phone but we have plenty of data (Nadine also regularly gives german and math classes online). in the village there are a couple of bars that have open wifi connections although they don`t have a proper place to sit down and work.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We have a motorhome ourselves that is parked on the land we will work on (which is 5km away from the village) and you could also park there. We have a compost toilet there, but no running water (yet). Otherwise there are parking possibilities in the village, but they are not suitable for living since they are inside the village. Somehow close to the village there are also other possibilities to park (also at the sea, but it is about 6km away from the village and the land).

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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