Ecovillage and permaculture farm in Greece | Ecological, sustainability farming project

Peloponnese

27 reviews • Updated 25 days ago

1. About Our Project, Our Place, and Our Inhabitants We are a lively and dedicated NGO community committed to living in harmony with nature. Our core team is made up of 7 permanent members, supported by 7-15 volunteers throughout the year. Our home is shared with a variety of animals, including playful dogs, invasive cats, a moody donkey, a miniature horse, noisy chickens, and buzzy bees. Our project is centered around living sustainably and respectfully with the environment. Drawing inspiration from permaculture principles, we focus on diversifying production and offering an alternative to monoculture farming. We are advocates for biodiversity and aim to cooperate with nature, not exploit it. Our goal is to create a sustainable and autonomous system as an alternative to today’s self-destructive world. Our model emphasizes high biodiversity, experimentation with new agricultural techniques, and the careful management of soil, water, and energy resources. We are transitioning from a monoculture olive oil production system to a polyculture approach, where humans live in collaboration with nature. 2. Volunteer Activities Our daily activities are as diverse as our project itself. Because we prioritize autonomy and the production of a wide range of goods, no two days are the same—each one offers new challenges and learning opportunities! Tasks depend on the season, ongoing projects, and the needs of the animals and plants. You’ll need to be flexible and creative, as priorities often shift quickly. Here’s a glimpse of what you may be involved in: Beware! Don't idealise farmlife: activities may involve hard physical jobs, cleaning, maintenance... - Planting and Caring for Vegetables: From sowing seeds to tending to fully grown plants, there is a lot of attention needed. Tasks include transplanting, watering, pruning, attaching, and fertilizing. - Tree Care: Mulching, pruning, watering, and harvesting. November is dedicated to the olive harvest, a key highlight of the season. - Animal Care: Feeding and caring for our animals, such as sourcing food (hay, fruits, old bread, veggies), moving them to new grazing areas, and making sure they have fresh water. You may also help with milking our sheep. - DIY Projects could range from repairing furniture to building a cob house or creating other eco-structures. - Processing Homemade Products: Making cheese, yogurt, jams, drying fruits and vegetables, tomato sauce, pickling, and more. - Composting and Mulching: An essential part of our farming system. We use a hot composting method with the help of our chickens, which requires turning and watering. We also prepare organic mulches and compost, adjusting the Carbon/Nitrogen ratio and making nutrient teas from nettles, comfrey, or manure. - Shared Cooking and Cleaning: Cooking and maintaining shared spaces are part of our community living, with tasks rotated to ensure no one is overburdened. 3. A Typical Day for a WWOOFer: We follow a flexible schedule depending on the season. Our working hours respect the WWOOF policy of a maximum of 4 hours per day. Typically, most work is done in the morning, leaving afternoons free for rest or personal projects. Weekends are off, so you’ll have time to unwind and explore. 4. Hobbies and Activities: Beyond farm work, we enjoy a variety of activities! Free time can be spent relaxing, doing sports, hiking, biking, or enjoying creative projects. On weekends, you might also join us for sailing trips or explore the local beaches. The surrounding area offers stunning beaches to go swimming, or simply relaxing. There’s plenty to explore if you enjoy outdoor adventures! 5. A Few Practical Things to Know: Public Transportation: Be aware that public transport in this area is limited, so having your own means of transport or being prepared to rely on carpooling with others is important. Social Media: We use social media to promote our permaculture lifestyle. If this is something you disagree with, please reconsider your stay with us, as we need volunteers who support our work and vision without judgment. Language: We host volunteers with a basic understanding of English, as it’s the common language used for communication. Food: While we primarily cook vegetarian meals, we can’t guarantee vegan options, as we incorporate products from our farm, such as eggs and occasionally cheese. We encourage flexibility around food choices, but please note that vegan-specific meals may be difficult to accommodate. Volunteer Stays: We welcome "Community Volunteers" for a minimum of 4 weeks. Longer stays are prioritized, but shorter stays may be considered—please check our website for details and email us to inquire. The olive harvest (October-November) is an exciting time to visit, and we host many volunteers during this period! 6. What We Need From You - Commitment: We require a minimum stay of 1 month for "Community Volunteers" (there are other ways to join us, please refer to our website). - Hard Work: Many of the tasks are physical, including agricultural work, animal care, and building projects. If you enjoy getting your hands dirty and working outdoors, this is the place for you! Otherwise, please reconsider! - Simplicity: Our lifestyle is minimalist. Do not expect modern city life comfort! - Passion: We are deeply committed to our mission, and we seek volunteers who share that same enthusiasm and dedication. - Skills: Everyone is welcome to apply, but we may prioritize volunteers who can bring specific skills or knowledge to share with the community. Some skills we are looking for are woodworking, plumbing, gardening, social media/content creation/web design... Feel free to mention any expertise you have when applying! If you're ready to roll up your sleeves, immerse yourself in nature, and contribute to a meaningful project, Dio Pigadia is the place for you! We look forward to having you join us and sharing our passion for sustainable living! Feel free to contact us if you’re interested in volunteering. See you soon at the farm!

Learning opportunities

Vegetable farming

Poultry farming

Sheep or goat farming

Beekeeping

Meat processing

Vegetable or fruit preservation

Bakery

Green Building

Renewable energy production

Mechanics / tools / technology

Methods or systems

No-till farming

Permaculture

Regenerative agriculture

Host type

Production farm

Accommodation

4+ WWOOFers

Camper / RV

Campsite

Yurt / Tipi

Children not accepted

Pets accepted

Meals

Omnivore

Vegetarian

Length of stay

Over a month

Jules

Member since 2022

Languages spoken: English, French, Greek, Spanish Response rate: 95% Response time: typically within 4 days

November 2025

Open

Planned visit

Closed

MapLibre | Protomaps | © OpenStreetMap

Peloponnese

Pylos KTEL bus station.

Reviews

Rory

United Kingdom • June 2025

We had an incredible time at Dio Pagadia and would highly recommend a visit! The farm is beautiful and the work was varied. All members of the community were kind and welcoming to us throughout our time there. Thank you so much to everyone who hosted us and wwoofed with us :)

Thijs

Netherlands • June 2025

My time here was transformative. The dynamics of the community were so fluid and welcoming that at first I couldn’t comprehend to find my way in it, and allow myself to be myself in it. And as usual, when I was about to leave I completely found my way and met a version of myself that I haven’t seen in years! This place is sacred and every member makes it so in their own special way! Never change that!

Laura

Austria • December 2024

Dio Pigadia is a very special place. I spent 8 weeks there during the olive harvest season which is special in itself because the farm works differently, there is an olive harvest schedule and there were way more volunteers than usually live at the farm. I really enjoyed the harvesting which is not the easiest work but really satisfying. Every volunteer also harvested only for 3-5 hours/3 times a week. Apart from the harvesting we were able to work at the house extension and help with other tasks around the farm. There were two meals shared every day and everybody could take care of their own breakfast. I really appreciated the weekly feedback meetings where we would share how our week has been and how farm and community life could possibly improve. Every person could share their thoughts and the feedback was treated with much respect. I really loved my time there and already miss it. I loved the community life, forming connections, being confronted with new ideas and perspectives, taking part in great workshops and presentations, singing, dancing, playing games, going on trips, watching the stars and so much more! Thank you for everything! I will definitely come back.

Lisa

Germany • October 2024

I was staying for two months and had a really good time. I learnt a lot of different things: about permaculture, house building, gardening and of course community life. I love the mindset of „make it your own“ which gives you the feeling of being trusted and expressing your creativity in any way. I loved the Yoga classes with Argyro, making seed balls with Petro and other workshops. I felt really connected to (and especially as a part of) nature. And Jules has this crazy inspiring „Let’s do it“-energy and encourages you to try out new things - so grateful for that! There‘s also feedback every week and permanent members always have an ear for any concerns, which sticked really positive to my memory. I‘m coming back!! :)

Ronja

Sweden • September 2024

The farm is really inspiring, and my experience was amazing. The teamwork is so good, it is not like you come there and they tell you what to do, you will instead be a part in the team and you feel valued. You have free time on the afternoon, and on the mornings you will work. The best part is that you learn something new every day. Thank you so much to Jules and everyone else, I already miss you.

Nanna

Denmark • September 2024

The most beautiful and nice experience at Dio pigadia! I have learned so many new things and met a lot of kind people, and I will for sure come back again! It was my first time traveling alone, and this farm made it to a good experience for me:)