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Live and share experiences in an orange & olive garden in Sicily

5.0
(6 reviews)6

The experience

Join us, Jenny & Luca, on ourpiece of land in Sicily, helping with our orange and olive groves. Experience daily routine in a natural farming at the foot of Mount Etna, in the Simeto Valley. You'll assist with seasonal tasks. Enjoy the fresh air and the simple joy of working the land. Come and be part of our small community! Feel free to us in English, Portuguese or Italian. Jenny is Brazilian and Luca is Sicilian.

What you offer

25 hours of help per week

Building & Repairing: Help with a wide range of repairs or building.

Farming: Plant crops, sow seeds and help in outside tasks.

Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens

Additional fee required

Amount: € 15 Per week

Fee pays for: Materials for volunteer activities

Description: We suggest a 15 euros contribution per week. Other than provided shelter and food, we try our best to provide the best good quality, local and/or organic ingredients and products that we can find and afford (for now, we have been investing to buy some wheat, pasta, cereals, legumes, soaps; and also, we drive 5km to go to the local spring for drinkable water) with extra investments we can always improve!

What you get

2 days off per week

Shared Dorm: You will have a bed in a shared room, which means you will share the same room with other travelers.

Team Dorm: You will have a bed in a shared room, which means you will share the same room with other people.

Breakfast: You are entitled to a free breakfast, every day of your stay.

Lunch: You are entitled to a free lunch, every day of your stay.

Dinner: You are entitled to a free dinner, every day of your stay.

Free Laundry: You can use our laundry room freely.

Bikes at your disposal: You can use our bikes any time you want.

Pick Up: We will pick you up when you arrive, and take you to our property.

Use our equipped kitchen: Feel free to use our kitchen and make your own delicious food.

Requirements

Beginner English or Beginner Italian

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

đź“… Minimum stay: 1 month

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For us to be a host on Worldpackers doesn't strictly mean exchange a certain number of hours for food and stay. We are opening our house and sharing what we have learned over the years. We are looking for individuals who want to immerse themselves in this lifestyle, engage in cultural exchange, and contribute positively to our communal space.

If your main goal is to travel cheaply, this might not be the right fit. Likewise, if you are on vacation and just looking for a place to stay, please consider whether you're fully committed to engaging with our way of life during your time here. It’s important to us that people are truly interested in participating in our lifestyle and values during their time here.

So, what we are looking for?
People who are pro-active and have initiative. People who rather have a good talk over a homemade meal than to be on their phones. People who are willing to leave the place better than their found it and take care of communal stuff as they were their own. People who would like to challenge the individual mindset to live a communal life and sharing common spaces. People who enjoy simple living, and who are looking to have their hands dirty and their bodies moving. People who are willing to adapt to a new daily routine. People who would to have nice conversations about sociology, philosophy, food, agriculture and so on.

That said, no specific experience is required—enthusiasm and a willingness to co-create this space are what matter most!

Activities & Shift

How we organize our days:

We usually do activities five days a week, with two days off (we can decide the details together once you arrive). Each day, we spend a few hours in the morning and afternoon on different projects—around five hours in total. For your days off, we’re happy to suggest some nice places to explore nearby, but we do expected full commitement in the work days.

Our activities follow the rhythm of the seasons. Here are some things we’re excited to explore:

- Seasonal gardening, food harvesting & preservation – Preparing and maintaining vegetable gardens for spring and winter; collecting fruits and vegetables; experimenting with food-making processes like jams, liquors, bread, and pizza; sharing recipes!
- Engage in ecological practices - Planting and caring for trees and prunnings, collect and prepare wood for winter, experimenting of small scale creative ways to enrich fertility and water in the land.
- DIY and building projects – Exploring artisanal ways to craft with renewable or recycled materials, or either with natural materials that we’re able to locally harvest ourselves.
- General maintenance and help around the house

We love cooking and sharing meals, so the idea is that beyond the outdoor activity hours, we’ll take turns in the kitchen. We encourage a collaborative approach, usually preparing vegetarian meals with fresh ingredients from the garden. Life here is community-based, which means that beyond specific tasks, everyone helps out with shared responsibilities. Doing the dishes and keeping shared spaces tidy is something that we hope you're able to do waiting to be asked.

You might find yourself working on a project independently, paired with someone, or in a small group—depending on what feels right for each task.

Rules

We hope that you'll be able to feel at home at our place, we'll not tolerate any types of prejudices (gender, race, sexuality, so on). This is a safe place for solo travelers.
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We have a caravan with two double beds available to host worldpackers. It is possible that you share the caravan with another guest depending on the moment and requests. If you are a couple or traveling together with a friend you will have the place for yourselves. Other than that, we have a shared kitchen; a self-buit outdoor shower and outhouse.
If you have your own camper, we'll be happy to host you as well.