Help an English family on their farm in Marche, Italy

Description

**WE ARE CURRENTLY SEEKING HELPERS WITH THE FOLLOWING SKILLS: BRICKLAYING, MIXING CONCRETE, PLUMBING EXPERIENCE, TILING, SANDING BACK DOORS AND WINDOW FRAMES AND OTHER DIY SKILLS, YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE PROFESSIONAL BUT ANY EXPERIENCE WILL BE HELPFUL, ANY OTHER SKILLS YOU HAVE THAT WE’VE NOT MENTIONED STILL GRATEFULLY RECEIVED**.
We are an English couple with our 14 month old son living and working on our farm of about 6 hectares in our small rural community in the Montefortino area, right on the edge of the Monti Sibillini National Park. We made the move here from England nearly five years ago in search of a more satisfying and peaceful way of life and we have certainly found it! Situated in a beautiful location, we have stunning views of both the Monti Sibillini and wonderful rolling hillsides. Close to many walking and hiking tracks, woodland and river walks, but also only 3 km to local shops, we really couldn’t have a better spot.
On the farm we keep a family of goats, ducks and chickens and live a very self sufficient life here, nothing goes to waste! We work our land with numerous vegetable plots, growing everything from potatoes to peas, being as organic as possible. We have a passion for food and cooking, and love to experiment with the various crops we produce. We also have several fruit and nut trees and when the fruit is ripe every morsel is used in jams, jellies, pickles and pies. We also forage for wild produce, combining our love of food with our love of the outdoors, making delicious delights with what we find. In addition, we grow a wide selection of herbs and what we don’t use fresh, we dry or freeze for later use, which comes in very handy in the winter time. We always cook ‘home-made’, from breads and pastries to sauces and stews and buy as little processed food as possible.
We have many ongoing projects, including; planting, weeding, wood-cutting, home improvements such as painting and decorating and building animal houses, along with the day-to-day farming life to which we have become accustomed, such as feeding the animals, collecting the eggs, picking the fruit and vegetables as required and tending to the gardens.
We have a dog and two cats who all do their fair share on the farm too. Our dog helps deter predators such as foxes and eagles, whilst the cats keep the mice at bay! Everyone has their part to play here and we hope that you too may enjoy a stay here and help us with our farming adventures!

Type of help

Gardening
Building
Babysitting / child care
Cooking / shopping
General Maintenance
Farming
Help with Eco project
Help in the house
Animal care

Help

Much of the work we need help with is outdoors, so be sure to pack accordingly, at very least you will need a good pair of boots or wellies, a sun-hat, sun cream and clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty.

We are very hard-working yet fun-loving people and enjoy the simple things in life, we are looking for hard workers who don’t mind getting their hands dirty! We find this way of life very rewarding and hope to find like-minded people to help us with our farm work and odd-jobs, but reap the rewards of these beautiful surroundings.

Languages spoken

English, Italian

Accommodation

You will be staying in one of the spare rooms in our farmhouse, sometimes shared with other helpers and will be sharing our bathroom and kitchen, the house has a very spacious veranda overlooking our land and the neighbouring hillside, which is best enjoyed after a hard days work on the farm with a nice glass of wine! We also have tents available for those who prefer to be ‘al fresco’ (all beds and bedding provided).

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

Volunteering hours expected

5