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Right now we are during process of refurbishment of stone houses, usual space volunteers stayed is busy. So, right now we accept only people with their own accommodation ( van, car) or if you are ready for it- we can offer you a tent.
***We accept people over 21 years old. Please note that our place is remote and there is no public transport whatsoever. You can walk or use a bicycle, but remember we live in the mountains in the middle of the forest and life without proper bathroom may be hard - If you are not in balance with yourself other places will be better for you. If you are escaping from the city and have never before been in the nature alone you may feel overwhelmed. Living in the forest means that you will meet insects, mice, bats, foxes and wild forest animals are around. You need to know to walk in mountain terrain and have good shoes for this. Is better if you are a bit fit- (walking up and down finca many times during the day) Jobs which we do now require some strength. But also lots of permaculture gardening which is a bit lighter work. There are more works for men or stronger and fit women. We have dog and cats and planning to have more animals. Now we are setting chicken coop. We eat simple food. We cook very well, but we can’t afford expensive diets for our volunteers, if you have special dietary requirements you will have to buy and cook your food as we can offer what we have. And these are seasonal organic vegetables from our garden, wild forest plants ( Goja is a forager), often fermented and anything which we have to add to that. Also we drink fermented beverages and many herbal infusions. Nevertheless if you have allergy to something, we will skip it in the menu for you. We don’t smoke and we prefer that you don’t smoke in our presence, if you have to, we will tell you where is the place to do so and ask you to switch it off with consciousness not to provoke fire. We don’t accept excessive drinking or using drugs. *** now a bit of our story:
We have found our piece of land after few years of traveling and intense searching. The place belonged before to a very beautiful old man of huge heart, who became our good friend and already filled it with his positive energy. Before that it belonged for generations to people of Sierra, who are very happy that we are living there and we keep the place alive. We wish to create as self sufficient life as possible.
We wished to leave the horrible circle of earning money which later you have to pay for rent, bills and food from the markets full of pesticides and we did it. The decision is simple and this life works better than any other :)
We believe that all the trees which we will plant will stay there to give shadow and fruits to next generations. We also believe that people to be truly happy should come back from overcrowded cities to live simpler and healthier in the nature as a part of it.
Producing no trash helps the planet to stay alive longer for others. Sometimes not doing something is already a positive act towards our planet.
Finca (this is how we call a piece of land here) is extremely beautiful and tranquil, situated by the crystal clear river in the middle of the forest. You can observe here the beauty of each season- awakening of spring flowers, fresh rain showers and high rivers, abundance of amazing fruits, vegetables and berries during the summer hot months, mushrooms, chestnuts and colors of autumn and calm, quiet season of winter. This one I love! Cat, book and hot tea by the fireplace and quiet walks in the forest. If you are lucky and quiet you may see here wild protected animals and birds, thanks to remoteness of our place.
Living in a countryside is a huge work to do. We are working constantly, planning and improving. We are family of 3, I am 37,my name is Goja I did my masters in art and biochemistry of plants, my partner Javier is 39 and he has masters in psychology, our son is 16.
In our garden we do not use any chemicals, Javi prepares purines- plants which cure other plants and we make friends with good insects. we are creating an edible forest garden.
We are in general open to people, but there is a profile of person who we would like to host mostly. If you know to work in garden, if you know anything about bio-construction, if you are physically strong and not scared of heavy jobs, like carrying cut piece of tree for example, or maybe you are weaker but smart enough to fix a fence with us, repair the holes, or maybe you have some experience of working as a technician or electrician. Even if you do not know to do any of that, maybe you are keen to learn how to do it. From experience we do better with people down to earth, who respect personal space and who respect Nature, who feel it, who are connected with it. With those who are thoughtful and know the meaning of rule “ never go with empty hands”. And those who put things into place and clean the kitchen after use. Plates are not waiting here to be washed the day after- sinks and tables are in constant use for working with preserves, ferments ( clean kitchen essential), making soaps and medicinal ointments, tinctures, cleaning all foraged wild treasures.
In finca conditions are still basic. We created few temporary spaces, which are allowing us to stay there while building slowly the spaces we wish to end up with. For volunteers right now we can offer accommodation in the tent. Or if you have your van you can park it nearby. We cook in the summer kitchen and having a rest in gazebo near the river or just on the grass near river.
The bathroom is located outside in the forest and it is a solar shower.( this one is in use from spring till late autumn). In winter you boil the water in a kettle and wash yourself in a bowl)
The toilet is in the forest. We do have solar system here it is not properly disposed yet though due to building works. There is internet but at some hours not available because our son uses it for studying.
We expect you to work approximately 5 hours 5 days a week. During summer this must be between 7am to 12-13. Later is too hot to work and we are taking you for a lunch. If you wish you can join us in the evening work turn , and if not we will advice you where to go to spend time nicely. Please note- here summer months are hot-30-40 degrees C. If you are from the North please consider to avoid July and August here unless you like heat and bear with it without problems. I have northern blood and I live here, summer is hard for me though. Javier is Spanish and even so he respects hours of work during summer.
In Sierra during the summer season are open natural pools, which are amazing, villages have fiestas, one after another. We can lend you a bicycle but you have to know to maintain it. You will experience locals only sightseeing, we will teach you whatever we know, you will leave richer in experience and few skills. I think this kind of program of exchange spice the life. We do speak very well 3 languages- Spanish, English and Polish, learning Mari-el (ancestry of Goja) if you wish you can practice them with us. But most you will learn during your working hours.
You can come for few days or a month. If you like in here and there will be magic between us, you can stay longer :)
The exchange is as equal as any subjective thing can be. But I hope you will leave us richer in new experiences and happy having some new skills.
:) Goja and JavierTypes d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre
JardinageBricolage et constructionEntretien généralAide dans une fermeAide avec des éco-projetsObjectifs de développement durable de l’ONU que cet hôte essaie d'atteindre
Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre
gardening, self-sufficiency, creating forest garden, basic knowledge of preparing natural cosmetics, soaps and medicinal ointments, tinctures( it really requires years of studies to know it well), basic knowledge of fermentation, basic knowledge of foraging
Aide
Mainly gardening and general maintenance.
Spring jobs- this is the busiest season-
Removing perennial and annual weeds.
Protecting plants from slugs and birds.
Finishing digging and fertilizing areas to be planted or sown-cleaning areas in the gardens where before were sown fertilizing herbs.
Providing ventilation to plants under cover.
Selecting new herbaceous plants.
Lifting and dividing established plants.
Sowing half-hardy annuals and alpines under cover.
Pricking out seedlings from previous sowings.
Taking cuttings of various flowers, herbs and shrubs. Grafting of fruit trees.
Plant gladiolus and other corms, starting new seeds under cover in greenhouse.
Weeding and hoeing under hedges and in beds and borders.
Watering plants in dry weather.
Sowing seeds of annuals and perennials.
Start feeding established perennials (with the plant extracts prepared earlier)
Harvesting for first vegetables, harvesting last winter fruits: oranges, lemons, avocados, kiwis, kakis
Summer jobs-
Continuing watering and weeding.
Keeping greenhouses well ventilated and shaded where necessary.
Taking softwood and leaf cuttings.
Protect helpful insects, building insect hotels near garden areas, fighting with insects which may destroy the crops using natural, herbal methods and helpful insects.
Place hardier house plants outside.
Continuing watering and mulching.
Applying natural fertilizers for plants which need more minerals.
Taking cuttings and propagate woody and herbaceous plants by layering.
Saving seeds for future sowing.
Checking for pests and diseases.
Thin or prick out seedlings of annuals, biennials and perennials sown last month.
Sowing winter flowering plants.
Check house plants pests.
Layer border carnations.
Plant late-flowering bulbs.
Continue harvesting.
Plant the planting of spring bulbs.
Preparing preserves for winter.
Autumn jobs:
Maintaining all the spaces, watering, cleaning, more work in flower gardens.
Continuing preparing preserves.
Planting spring bulbs and roses.
Winter jobs:
Meeting friends and exchange seeds, making plans for next year's garden.
Taking root cuttings, diving plants by roots.
Cover non-frost hardy plants.
Cutting trees for building and preparing them, cutting wood for fireplace.
cleaning finca and making fires often to burn rests.
Starting new seeds in the greenhouse.
Picking up olives and making olive oil.
Taking care of all trees, cutting old branches, applying organic fertilizers (friendly animal´s shit)
During the whole year we are also preparing plants, herbs, drying them for medicinal and cosmetic use.Langues parlées
Anglais: Courant
Espagnol: CourantHébergement
You can stay in one of our tents or your own van. Conditions are basic, as you will later see in the photos- toilet in the forest, solar shower, clean water from the spring to drink, clean river to take a bath, gazebo to rest, summer kitchen
Autres infos...
All the rules we will explain in details once you arrive, if you have any questions-ask! We expect from people common sense, for first we do not allow to make any fire in finca during dry months and use any chemicals or cosmetics which are not organic (including shampoos and conditioners). If you smoke you will have to switch off your cigarette with consciousness, not to provoke any fire. And of course not to leave rubbish and clean after yourself. We will also cook lunches for you and leave food so you can prepare your own breakfasts and suppers. Kitchen is also working space and can’t be occupied when we work there. We do a lot of wild food, foraged wild edible plants- thanks to it we eat very cheap- if you are not used to these tastes you may prefer buy something in the shop😉. We will tell you what is worth visit here or if we have time we will take you around and introduce to our friends.
Informations complémentaires
Accès Internet
Accès Internet limité
Nous avons des animaux
Nous sommes fumeurs
Familles bienvenues
Espace pour garer des vans
Any van can be parked as we have big spaces. We though don’t allow to use chemicals in our forest - if you use chemical toilet you have to find safe place of utilization and go there to do that.
Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?
Deux
Nombre d'heures attendues
5 hours a day, 5 days a week