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We are looking for people to form the groundskeeping team and support us in taking care of all of the land of this property. It's a lot of land! So it's a lot of work. This team will be outside the entire time, doing manual, physical work to maintain and improve all our land. You will be cutting grass, bushes, overgrowth, trees, making firewood, foraging, and preparing the garden soil and infrastructure for planting in 2027.
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
2 days off per week
Private Room: You will have a bed in a private room. In other words, a room just for you.
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.
Tent: You will sleep in a tent at a camping site.
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.
Fluent English
Over 18 years old
Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers
Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa
This position means you are applying for the groundskeeping team in Alpe Bognago, an off grid mountain village. This means that for the entire length of your stay (which is a minimum of 1 month) you will be working with other individuals and managers as part of the groundskeeping team.
The entire groundskeeping team will work collaboratively and share tasks and responsibilities. Your managers will have a long term plan and overview in mind; their responsibility is to to guide you and the work, and keep the overview of the property, not to think for you. Your input and own past experiences and knowledge are always sought after! The emphasis here is really on team work and collaboration - you will therefore have to be proactive, have excellent communication skills, be ready to support your team members and the project wherever necessary, and possess a team player attitude.
Great levels of physical fitness are non negotiable for this role as working the land entails a lot of real, heavy labour. Confidence in handling basic garden tools and basic DIY and carpentry skills are also required for building basic outdoor infrastructure (fences, terraces). Previous experience/knowledge of how to use more challenging tools like a chainsaw are a huge bonus, but if you don't have the experience, what we really want to see from you more than anything is a readiness and willingness to learn to be a positive and active participant in the mountain life and work around you.
Everyday working hours for all volunteers are from 8am-13pm. All tasks should be completed within these 5 hours. Your daily routine will vary a lot according to season and need.
Your general responsibilities as a team are split into three main areas; preparing the garden land for 2027 (3 old terraces, 3 new with completely infertile land), general groundskeeping of the rest of the property, and foraging for wild plants. The garden prep includes fertilising and working the soil (hand tiling, digging, mulching), making compost, fencing, building stone terraces. Foraging for wild plants is pretty straightforward - learn to identify edible plants - dry them for storage or bring them directly to the kitchen. General groundskeeping includes pruning trees/bushes, cutting down trees, cutting, sawing and splitting cut/fallen trees into firewood, cutting all the grass and drying it for hay, cutting back all unwanted overgrowth (blackberries, ferns, and other invasive species), fixing paths, fences, sheds, and other general outdoor infrastructure around the property.
You will also need to possess a great willingness to learn, to research, and get to know this specific area, if it is required of you. Groundskeeping consists mainly of a lot of repetitive, heavy, labour, but when we face problems or obstacles, you still need to have the ability to be creative with solutions, and flexible in the face of unforeseen challenges.
Although the groundskeeping tasks are very much based on teamwork, you should also be able to work well independently as well as in a group, and be flexible enough for daily changes. It is likely that during work hours your team leader might delegate tasks to you for the entire day while they take care of other tasks.
Working in Bognago also means understanding and adapting to the challenges of its remote off-grid location. Being a 45 min. hike away from civilisation, and another 45 min. drive to the closest supermarket, means a lot of consideration from all people living and working here. You will have to be incredibly sensitive to the lack of convenience of the lifestyle here, as well as our financial situation and very strict budget. Alpe Bognago is a very young volunteer project; our funds are therefore extremely limited - this means instead of buying materials or tools brand new, we first try to reuse and get creative with what we have on the property. The garden is incredibly important to Bognago and our journey towards sustainability and self sufficiency.
Working in Bognago has certain limitations that you need to be able to adapt to. The limited resources, and lack of big machines/tools are challenging. This means, more than anything, that you have to be creative, solution oriented, and proactive when things aren't easy or straightforward, and be ready to really work hard.
We will constantly wish for your initiative and input to make this place and your experience here the best it can be. We need you to have the attitude that you are coming here to work together with us, not wait until you are given instructions. Bognago is built on the values of community, honesty, and respect; respect for each other, your work, your environment. We ask you to take your role here both seriously and joyously, and are ready to share a wonderful summer if we are on the same page.
