Collaborate, build and learn at our refuge house in the Asturias mountains, Spain

Details

• 

  Description

  We are recruiting volunteers for the Marz-June 2024 season. Normally we have 2-3 volunteers,
  
  
  I am looking for 3 different profiles of volunteers
  
  
  1) someone with knowledge of carpentry, masonry
  
  2) athletic volunteers, who know or want to learn or practice, climbing, DIY, the garden, chickens..
  
  3) someone with knowledge of trades, with an older profile... (Paco is 66).. with a van that uses our camping type place... that is totally feasible. Your role will be in part to teach the people who help us, enjoy the project, the town and integrate with the people of the town.
  
  This is a project where volunteers give life to a large town almost uninhabited in winter. We love that volunteers talk to current and future volunteers on Watsapp so that they have a precise idea of the project.
  
  Dear reader, we warn you... you are reading things about an interesting project, but demanding on the physical and mental level. Why do I make this statement so categorically...the story is easy...there are no shops...there are no bars...it is an isolated place between mountains...ugh...ugh...painting it another way is deceive the potential volunteer...and why go to this project...well, the people who have been there...look what they say, there are 36 comments...they say that they have learned a lot, about climbing, carpentry, masonry...plumbing...the town is friendly and magical....but don't forget a distant and isolated town with many mountains
  
  Isolated place in the mountains, there are no shops, requires an important physical component, minimum stay Two month, desirable at least two (2-5), everything needs time, it is not a place to stay for one or two weeks, it takes that long to see what is this "story" about, we are lovers of climbing, DIY, the garden, chickens... In the project personal autonomy and initiative are needed, the best description of the project, has been elaborated by the comments of the numerous volunteers who have been visiting us for 14 years, it is best to talk to previous volunteers, if you are looking for a guru... there are none here
  
  We are looking for a two person... for the winter who likes the mountains, and who enjoys working in the fields... and who is not afraid of isolation and loneliness,... the best way to know what it means...to live a time here...is to talk to our previous volunteers
  
  He plan is to work three days and excursions in the area for 4 days....climb...if you read all the comments from other travelers you will find out about the profile of this project...We are looking for a volunteer, for immediate incorporation, with an interest in electricity to connect some solar panels in a cabin, isolated in the mountains... plumbing to install a cistern and carpentry, we are closing the program for the entire summer
  
  The house project: Climbing, orchard and life in nature, from 2023 to 2024. Minimum stay 2months.
  we like to schedule the arrival of volunteers.
  
  We are sorry that we >>>>>cannot accept smokers >>>>or people who have dietary restrictions, >>>>> vegetarian...vegan... the reason is simple, >>>>>we do not want to take unnecessary discusion risks
  
  If you are interested in the proposal, write to us and we will talk about dates. What do we offer? Single room, food and climbing partner. Place an Asturian town, lost in the mountains of northern Spain. that we ask for 24 hours of help in the garden/week and in the activities of the house (3 days).
  
  What we don't have: We are not gurus.
  
  We have 20 neighbors, we are members of an interesting community and volunteers have an important role in energizing our town....they are part of the normally youthful joy...Charo, our neighbor, will be happy to play cards with you , every afternoon you want... to Parcheesi or dominoes... and above all, I will be delighted to be your...authentic...Spanish teacher.
  
  the idea in principle is simple... a project to give .... life to a town that is dying.... in the mountains... a chimera....in Asturias..The plan...you work 24 hours a week for a project to give life. .. building a forest of fruit trees...an area to put up bee hives...our chicken coop....the orchard and that rural life does not die...... it is a project carried out by volunteers...who live an experience of climbing in the mountains...of surviving in harsh conditions...with physical effort....the most important thing is to be able to enjoy the other volunteers. ..talk...share points of view...only % of volunteer proposals are accepted...a certain excellence is sought in the world of ideas...elitism is avoided...of fashions...it is about tending to authenticity...to honesty....on weekends an old man is received....who helps...directs and proposes a path of activity...but the essence is honesty and helping each one continue their path with a greater pool of experiences in the alternative profile community
  ....
  #####€##€€€€€€€€€€€
  
  workawayer (Matteo ) coment....
  It has has been my first workaway experience, I lived around 40 days in the house between september and november. As a Workaway host he is the most experienced you can find (14 years straight and more with others volounteering projects), he's been a volunteer himself around the world and know how to deal with every kind of people and situation. As a person he is kind, pacient and openminded. It's not to me to explain the project as it is all in detail on the page, I fan talk about my personalità experience. I personally worked with him (in the weekends) and alone or with others volunteers in carpentry and masonry, helping in the house to do a new bathroom and in the field planting and cleaning. I had never done none of these things and I'm grateful to Paco for teaching me all he knows as a real profesional. We also bolted together a multipitch climbing route near the place and others routes nearby, I learnt fast and I'm sure it is a skill I will go on practicing as I love rockclimbing as a big passion in my life, like him. So speaking about the workaway experience I would give it a 10/10. But the place is much much more than only work. Villabre is a village full of enchantment, and people live in it. It's just hard to tell in a review all the deep conversations i had with locals as Josè Daniel (who says I'm not going to come back again to Villabre and I will prove him wrong) and Charo ( an 88 years old strong woman who lives nearby and makes your days better). Finally, is impossible at all to tell the strong bonds I built with the others volunteers: Saul, Tan, and Oihane <3 Together we lived a month, we laught and we climbed, we climbed, we climbed... Thanks guys for making my life better every day. Right now I'm on the night bus to Barcelona moving on to another step of my trip to Santiago de Chile and people around me see me crying. I just can't help it.
  Gracias!!!
  ###€€€€€€€€€€........this is casa.########
  
  Hello...future volunteer...if you have read all of this long description and you are interested.
  
  The project is a project in an isolated place in the mountains, with a very important physical component, that you will be at least one month and preferably 1/2- months.
  
  If what you want is an intense physical experience, try to do something as difficult as adapting to high mountains, climb multi-pitch for a whole day, do classic climbing, learn some masonry, electricity, carpentry and other skills... this is your project.
  
  
  If what you are looking for is tranquility and relaxation... write a long book... something similar to a quiet vacation... I think this............. is not your project.
  
  
  During your stay you will learn some trades, masonry, plumbing, carpentry, Horticulture, chicken care, Spanish cuisine...
  
  What will you find? It is not easy to describe it, because in part, it depends on your point of view. You are a person with a high physical level, if not, it is not a good idea to come, we use wheelbarrows to move earth or sand. This is work. Of course... it's something easy to imagine for someone who knows what a rural job is... but maybe you expect a tractor... there isn't one. Do you like climbing?... if the answer is yes... it's in an area where you can climb a lot, if you don't have some climbing experience ---and you like it---- if not... ufff ... not a good idea ... here we love to climb ...
  
  You will integrate... that is this plan... in a group project, here things are done in a choral way, in a group, we don't lock ourselves in the room... we don't cook individually... we we relate to our neighbors...we try to live in a Spanish-type community....Mediterranean....come to impose city criteria...it is not the idea of the project...here when we meet a neighbor We talked to him...about the weather...about the animals...we are interested in his life...this month the plan for everyone.
  
  We are interested in schedule.. next winter 2023, and next year 2024, >>>>>>>>>>>>we like to organize the arrival of volunteers well in advance, >>>>>>>>> here we do not improvise, >>>>>>>we schedule ... it is about organizing in the face of a great challenge
  
  If you are interested in our project, if you are not scared, write, this is not a project to receive you, the day after you write to us... it is a long admission process, with the idea of being able to explain to you (by video call) ... .us and other volunteers what is the project and what does it mean ...
  
  This is not a vacation hotel... nor is it valid for sedentary people... here there is a high level of physical-sports activity.
  
  The project.....has a series of peculiarities, we have been here for 14 years, one of them is that we have narrators, these are all our volunteers present and those who have shared the experience....... and of course...in the plural, we are . .that is, we have people living this project and telling what we do....that's part of the program....people who participate in the project...we have to write what we do. .. work... .. climb cook... tell others... Sure... and after the project you can stay on the WhatsApp page, or not, it depends on the degree of involvement, we need people to add ...
  
  ...talking and telling us stories is something very Mediterranean, very Spanish.... for example, we are waiting for a volunteer to give us a description of his stay in Workaway... ...if we don't remove it from our profile... .is one of his...now...your commitments.
  
  Paco promised to go pick up the volunteer at the airport....I told him...I'm going to take you and of course...to bring him food....that is, the commitments...we have between us. ...they are part of our relationships...it is a story in which we have a series of verbal commitments and today we will talk about the commitment to write and to describe what we do in this project...which is...the most important thing. ..the story...more than what is done....It may be that we cannot pick you up, or take you to your exit, so we will use the taxi +/- 30euros.
  
  How much does Paco spend at home, the answer is easy, "0 euros", the question Paco pays for wine or beer daily? the answer is simple, usually no. Paco brings you shampoo, toothpaste, food, scissors...fruit...clearly and abundantly, Paco has work clothes or boots...the answer is YES
  
  We have been doing things for years and we have not done much, or we could have done more... but that is not the important thing... the important thing is to have lived and
  
  The stays of the volunteers have a clear , but this is not a good destination to learn to speak Spanish.
  
  We need volunteers, we are looking for people who are interested in living in an isolated village without shops in a mountain environment, accustomed to an independent life. We love to climb, visit caves... the plan is to work 3 days a week and have 4 days for yourself (for sports activities)
  
  This project has 14 years of development in a family that has admitted volunteers for 35 years.
  
  We have a wooden house, we want to live with people who don't smoke
  
  (if you smoke you can't come)
  
  At this moment the project is very consolidated, we have a town house finished in the Asturian mountains and we are in the process of finishing a second semi-detached house, we have 3 orchards and 18 hens.
  
  All the volunteers have a separate room, meals and work are done together, it is a choral project, it is not a solitary job or life. The focus of the project is the community, we only admit 1 volunteer at a time, (with the exception of families who are looking for a house to live in our area)
  
  For me it is always a joy to receive volunteers, it is the opportunity to share, but I also like to see people come to their new projects. That feeling of freedom, that this open-door project is located in a small rural community that preserves a unique way of life... in a mountain environment where we can coexist with nature.
  
  Here everything goes slowly, it is best to get in touch with other volunteers who live with us or who have lived. We are not interested in quick visits... Many people tell us..."I want to come for a week..." That is not very real" between what you learn, you know the area... This is a slow project...
  
  The most interesting thing is life together, that is the goal, sharing, food, languages, adventures...
  Please read all the text slowly...we always reply to emails...
  
  We have a Mediterranean style diet... we eat meat and fish... (if you have dietary restrictions you cannot join us, here the food is made in a common way)
  
  We make a shopping list with typical Mediterranean diet products, we are not vegan or vegetarian, and we cannot admit people with dietary restrictions. For example, we consume cow's milk, the shopping list will not contain almond milk or rare milk... we try to find simplicity in everything, including food.
  
  We do not like dogmatism and we laugh at the fashions of the moment. .
  Ours is a rational and respectful traditional agriculture with the environment.
  
  We have animals, chickens, a vegetable garden and we are making a forest of fruit trees... In a garden forest
  It's important... read the comments of the volunteers, talk to them... and that way you will understand the project.
  Some of our volunteers have stayed in the area for a while,
  
  Please read all the text slowly...we always reply to emails...
  
  We have a Mediterranean style diet... we eat meat and fish...
  
  Not a project for stressed travelers
  
  Spending a month here... It won't leave us indifferent... but this... will never be a vacation home at mom and dad's house... you need to read the profile and realize that uploading here is to accept challenging... for an adult... 7 percent of volunteers don't fit in, find it too lonely, too spartan, too isolated, too hilly (this is all true)
  
  on their characteristics...languages...based on this I send you this message. until you have a plane, bus or train ticket, your arrival will be very uncertain...we talk to
  
  Dear volunteer, who are you planning to come to this Project? The first thing to do is to tell you that I thank you for thinking of spending some time with us, but I would like to tell you something. If your idea is to work online, if you consider that you are going to spend a vacation calm down....i think....that. You haven't read my internet profile...I suggest you read it again slowly please...everything...this Casa is a place for intrepid travelers..., like The Endurance Adventure at the Pole sur... you know it... and if you are a National Geographic Society type, look for something more in line... here the physical intensity required of volunteers is high... we are... building a chimerical project...to welcome new
  
  EASY CLASSIC CLIMBING WITHOUT COMPLEXES, THEY WILL BE A SERIES OF CLIMBING ROUTES, MULTILARGOS, OF VARIOUS PITCHES, OF CLASSIC STYLE, OF AN UNPREVENTIONED CLIMBER, BEYOND ENJOYING AND BEING ABLE TO CLIMB UP TO 70 YEARS OLD and to be able to share this hobby-passion ,
  This route is not for eating cliffs, this is an easy climb, to learn to progress in several pitches and not to suffer...it's another concept...it's to enjoy...Enjoy climbing.
  We must always check each other, that it is perfectly strung, a well-groomed knot, that the insurance system is well assembled, we will use the most popular.... The cricket or gregre..or Revo....
  Currently we are happier with a new one, the Revo... a basket-type system but that locks and can be secured with the rope in all possible ways, minimizing the possible error of putting the gregre on the climber's rope by the belayer, in the revo it is the same it blocks the same
  It is always better to climb with a friend who knows, if not a monitor. It is useful to take a course.
  The video considers a climb for two people, where the first person always goes first on the rope, this does not always have to be the case, we can vary, it is climbed alternately, or depending on the difficulty or level.
  Here we are in a climb of very low difficulty, on a route that did not have the meetings set up, the openings placed the meetings on rock bridges with ropes.
  It must be done in a chord interval adapted to its length.
  
  ASTURIAS IS THE PARADISE OF LIMESTONE.
  
  A very adherent type of stone, where the feet of cats adhere to their shoes like superman...
  Other videos will explore other types of rope.
  The climb of three is slower, but this allows us a slower progression, unless the first one with the basket secures the remaining two at the same time in their progression.
  ALWAYS WITH A HELMET...because it's cool...when a stone falls..., with meetings every 30 meters, where we can practice the use of:
  -rock bridges
  -Locks
  -Friends... They have their tricks..
  -Insurance systems. Here we focus on something basic.
  -Meeting equipment
  -Use of rope
  -Knots
  -Sequence of several pitches,
  -
  
  
  
  Resumen en español: Lugar aislado en las montañas, no hay tiendas, requiere un componente físico importante, estancia mínima un mes, deseable al menos dos, todo necesita tiempo, no es un lugar para estar una o dos semanas, tardas ese tiempo en ver de que va esta "historia", somos amantes de la escalada, el bricolaje, el huero, las gallinas... En el proyecto se necesita autonomía personal e iniciativa, la mejor descripción del proyecto, la han elaborado los comentarios de los numerosos voluntarios que nos visitan desde hace 14 años, lo mejor es hablar con voluntarios anteriores, sibuscas un guru...aqui no los hay
  
  
  
  Venir a este proyecto no te dejara indiferente, es una experiencia vital muy intensa, te recomendamos que leas todos los comentarios de los voluntarios, ellos tienen una visión probablemente muy cercana a la impresión que te provocara el estar aquí. El plan está claro para nosotros: trabajar tres días y hacer deporte 4 (escalar...visitar cuevas) No es un proyecto sedentario ni de vacaciones relajadas... si buscas esto hay otros proyectos tipo Cuidar niños....te irá mejor
  
  
  ESCALADA CLASICA FACIL SIN COMPLEJOS,
  
  
  SERAN UNA SERIE DE VIAS DE ESCALADA , MULTILATGOS, DE VARIOS LARGOS, DE ESTILO CLASICO, DE UN ESCALADOR SIN PRETENSIONES, MAS ALLA DE DISFRUTAR Y DE PODER ESCALAR HASTA LOS 70 AÑOS y poder compartir esta afición-pasión,
  Esta vía no es para come riscos, esto es una escalada fácil, para aprender a progresar en varios largos y para no sufrir...es otro concepto...es para disfrutar .."escalada Disfrutona.
  Hay que comprobar siempre unos a otros, que este perfectamente encordado, un nudo bien peinado, que el sistema de seguro está bien montado, nosotros utilizaremos el más popular.... El grillo o gregre.. en la actualidad estamos mas contentos con uno nuevo el Revo...un sitema tipo a la cesta pero que se bloquea y que se puede asegurar con la cuerda de todas las formas posibles , minimizando el posible error de poner el gregre la cuerda del escalador por el asegurador, en el revo es lo mismo bloquea igual
  Siempre es mejor escalar con un amig@ que sepa , si no un monitor. Es útil hacer un cursillo.
  El video se plantea una escalada de dos personas, donde el primero siempre va de primero de cuerda, esto no tiene que ser siempre así, podemos variar, se escala bien de forma alternada, o dependiendo de la dificultad o el nivel.
  Aquí estamos en una escalada de muy baja dificultad, en una vía que no tenía montada las reuniones, los aperturistas, colocaron con cuerdas las reuniones en puentes de roca.
  Hay que hacerlo en un intervalo de cuerda adaptado a la longitud de la misma.
  
  ASTURIAS ES EL PARAÍSO DE LA CALIZA. Un tipo de piedra muy adherente, donde los pies de gatos se adhieren como a Superman sus zapatos...
  Otros videos exploraremos otros tipos de cordada.
  La escalada de tres es más lenta, pero esto nos permite una progresión más pausada, a no ser que el primero con la cesta asegure a los dos restantes al tiempo en su progresión.
  SIEMPRE CON CASCO...por qué mola...cuando cae una piedra..., con reuniones cada un 30 metro, donde podamos practicar el uso de:
  -Puentes de roca
  -Empotradores
  -Friends... Tienen sus trucos.
  -Sistemas de seguro. Aquí nos centramos en algo básico.
  -Equipamiento de reunión
  -Uso de cuerda
  -Nudos
  -Secuencia de varios largos,
  -Des trepe.
  Se puede abandonar siempre repelando, por si llueve.... pero hay que tener cuidado de no tirar piedras...
  -Se sale por arriba a una canal y en 10 minutos en el punto de PARTIDA. La primera reunión.
  La escalada es un deporte, con una base técnica compleja, donde tenemos que centrarnos en aprender unas formas de hacer el deporte seguro, de progresar en el uso y manejo de la cuerda.
  Cuando escales lo más importante es la seguridad y lo segundo céntrate en sentir el placer de fluir por la roca, un progresar DISFRUTON.
  Escalar para mí no es sufrir, yo no vengo a las montañas a pasarlo mal, a sentir que he llegado al máximo.... No... No me interesa ese tipo de escalada, después de llevar 50 años practicando este deporte reivindicó un tipo de escalada Disfrutona ESCALADA CLASICA FACIL SIN COMPLEJOS

• 

  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
• 

  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

  ×

  

  ...

  ...

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  What's this?
• 

  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Participating in a project like this has the interest of learning, masonry work, carpentry, to repair a path to work as a team, work in an orchard ... learn another language, in a mountain environment ... full of life and of history.
  There is a lot of free time.
  In less than 100 meters you are in the woods with a mountain river.
  
  You can have the experience of living a life with "neo" rural
  If you have time and energy it is a good project ....
  
  
  The Puertos de Marabio Natural Monument is made up of sinkholes and blind valleys.
  
  It is a natural space protected by the existence of a peculiar karst complex, formed by sinkholes and blind valleys that give it great hydrogeological interest. It has three large cavities: the Sumidoiro del Fondadal, 156 meters deep, the Vistulaz Cave and the Vegalonga System, which with its 5,900 meters of development represents one of the main underground complexes in the region.
  
  In the ports we can find grasslands with deer and scrub surface, generally heaths, gorse, holly, Genista occidentalis, hawthorn and blackthorn.
  
  This Natural Monument is included in the Protected Landscape of Pico Caldoveiro.
  
  Location in the Area
  
  The Ports of Marabio are located between the councils of Yernes and Tameza, Teverga and Proaza, and are delimited to the east by the Sierra de Peña Padiella, to the west by the Sierra de la Granda, to the north by Pico Caldoveiro and to the south by the watershed of the River.

• 

  Help

  We need help building and repairing a cabin in the woods with people to help
  
  YOU DON'T NEED TO BE AN EXPERT...THIS IS AN EXCHANGE PROCESS...WE CAN TEACH YOU WHAT YOU NEED... But learning is a process that takes time... .. we need calm minds, kind people and helpers with a sense of humor
  if you are a professional perfect weeks if we have to teach the process is slow, and the minimum stay 1 month

• 

  Languages

  Languages spoken
  Spanish: Fluent
  English: Intermediate
  French: Beginner
  Italian: Beginner
  Portuguese: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  WE SPEAK CASTELLANO SPANISH, WE HAVE NO DIFFICULTIES TO SPEAK ENGLISH AT A MEDIUM LEVEL ... WITH GRAMMATICAL ERRORS BUT GOOD COMMUNICATIVE LEVEL. THE FRENCH IS A LITTLE RUSTY, WE ARE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND PORTUGUESE AND ITALIAN The language of communication is English, I am here one weekend a week, the rest the volunteers decide the language of communication. The stay is to practice climbing, to learn to cut a tree, to make a path... to speak but in English, French, Italian or Portuguese, this is not a good destination to learn to speak Spanish
• 

  Accommodation

  All volunteers have their own room and there is even a small apartment
  
  Volunteers have "all inclusive" food, transportation visits to the area ...
  Volunteers have a room Comfortable and functional.
  
  Volunteers have "all inclusive" food, transportation visits to the area ...
  
  Have private room
  
  Everything we need to work we have, your clothes, if you have a normal size, but this is never a problem .... we are used to finding solutions.

• 

  What else ...

  we receive numerous requests, to your request for stay we have said yes but we need to have an approximate calendar of the date of your arrival, since we need to answer the e-mails today yes or no.
  
  
  A small comment about respect for other ways of living.
  In the town our neighbors are cattle ranchers, with their peculiar way of understanding life and the struggles to survive in the balance of the natural environment.
  The neo-rurals -e
  Among those I find myself very given to preaching that it is the right thing to do and not about how the balance between wildlife and livestock should be.
  I think we should reflect from a respectful point of view. We must not fall into cultural ethnocentrism, walking slowly and listening previously allows us to build another way of thinking but it is a process of years, the countryside is not changed with speeches from the city. I think respect and listening is a good point of view.
  
  Volunteers are expected to be autonomous, if / the project adapts you will enjoy it, if you don't adapt. Don't suffer, look for another site that suits your philosophy.
  
  We are interested in receiving people who understand what it means to live autonomously in a rural environment. Sometimes visitors expect to find the same as in a city and that is not the case. It is not necessary to have experience but to be disciplined and autonomous. There is a lot of free time. The work schedule is 24 hours a week, we usually concentrate it on three days so we have more days off ... if you want another distribution there are no problems.
  
   The cabin no. It is comfortable, HAS ALL KIND OF CLOTHES, WATER BOOTS ... but life in the countryside has some characteristics that need important energy and adaptability from visitors.
  
  This is not a good option for travelers who believe that this is a hotel ... no, here this is a house where three days a week really works and four is enjoyed .... it is your time ... for what That you decide, THIS IS AN EXCHANGE PROGRAM ... IT IS SOMETHING LIKE A WORKSHOP SCHOOL ... PEOPLE ARE THE IMPORTANT ... THE HONESTY..THE BEING ABLE TO SHARE .... the fundamental ... enjoy of what you live
  
  ***

• 

  A little more information

  • 

    Internet access

  • 

    Limited internet access

  • 

    We have pets

  • 

    We are smokers

  • 

    Can host families

• 

  Can host digital nomads

  Digital nomads are accepted, we have an acceptable Internet speed for a remote village, the maximum for the Vodafone company.

• 

  Space for parking camper vans

  Large vans do not fit well on such narrow roads. A typical WB van fits well, in the town there is a lot of place to park in front of our house there is a park and a fountain

• 

  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

• 

  Hours expected

  5 hours/day, 5 days/week maximum

Feedback (38)