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Help restoring our retirement dream house.

5.0
(9 reviews)9

The experience

We are a retired couple from Iceland/Scotland with bad health and need some help restoring the house and garden. We are both from big families and love having folk around and treat them like family. We are very laid back and enjoy lots of dinner parties with good friends from around the world. The work is not heavy, just we need extra pairs of hands. Tryggvi can teach you all sorts of restoration work. You can borrow the car on your days off.

What you offer

25 hours of help per week

Painting & Decorating: Help with painting or decorating the property facilities.

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

Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens

What you get

2 days off per week

Private Room: You will have a bed in a private room. In other words, a room just for you.

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.

Free Tours: We’ll take you on tours and rides around town. For free!

Get free drinks or beverages.: Drink up! Get free and tasty drinks for yourself.

Free Parties: Get free entrance for the best parties in town.

Free Events: Get free entrance for the best events in town.

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.

Language lessons: Take free language classes at our place.

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

Fast Internet Access: High-speed internet for you to work remotely

Dedicated Workspace: Specific space for you to work remotely

Requirements

Intermediate English or Intermediate Bulgarian

Between 18 and 80 years old

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

Due to our ill health we don't have a program set in stone, we just take things one day at a time. Most of the house has already been renovated but the extension still has to be worked on, finishing the second bathroom, knocking down a wall and building a new kitchen on the ground floor. We also plan to insulate the outside of the house before the winter kicks in. Sadly there are not many good local workers as they have gone to other EU countries to work. We have had a lot of bad experiences with local "workmen" but often we have had to rip it down and do it again ourselves. So for the past couple of years we have had folk from workaway to help. Tryggvi is a master builder and can teach you how to lay tiles, plumbing, brick laying etc. You will have lots of free time and we love to take our volunteers on sightseeing trips and to fun events.

Activities & Shift

Tryggvi does not usually get up early. So the mornings are usually free for you. Then about noon we go for lunch to a local workmen's cafe. The food is great :) or cook at home.

Then Tryggvi will give you chores to do, either helping him with some renovation or working in the garden. Pauline is making an online course to help women thrive through their menopause naturally and sometimes needs help with computer stuff.

You can decide which days of the week you want off. If you work online at certain times, we can be flexible with that.

Rules

No smoking in the house. No shoes in the house, we will supply you with slippers.