Volunteering FAQ’s

After nearly ten years of welcoming volunteers to Casa Caponetti, we’ve learned that there are some things you might need to know before coming to live and work on a farm.

Below we’ve listed some of the most common inquiries which we encourage you to read before deciding if you’d like to volunteer with us. For any other inquiries that are not covered, contact us at nonprofit@casacaponetti.com and we’ll do our best to answer your specific questions (but we may be working in the fields, so it could take a while!)


No. We run a non profit organization within the farm and its other activities and the maintenance of the volunteer program comes through donations. While we do offer accommodation and provide food, we cannot fund your stay nor can we give you any money for travel. Please make sure you have sufficient funds to get here and home, and to enjoy yourself during your stay!
Our volunteers are housed in cabins on the property, and each cabin has a full bathroom and bed with sheets and towels provided. There is a communal kitchen that is kept stocked with basic staples and supplies. We eat lunch together in Lorenzo’s house every afternoon, but breakfast and dinner will be up to you to cook for yourself. You are encouraged to pick your dinner from the garden every night, and we always appreciate pitching in to cook for the team at lunch.
In order to give you a chance to really experience life on the farm, we ask that you commit to at least a two week stay. This will give you time to familiarize yourself with most of what goes on here, and to help with any one of the ongoing projects we’ll be working on during your stay. However, as space is limited, we ask that your stay not exceed one month so that we can welcome new volunteers to stay and so that you are able to use what you’ve learned here in your continuing adventures.
We can accommodate up to 4 volunteers at a time, with two cabins housing two people each. Depending on our schedule, you may be housed with another volunteer that you do not know on arrival, which we believe gives you an opportunity to meet different people and enhance your experience. Couples and friends are welcome as long as each understands that a commitment to working is made by everyone staying here!
We will never ask volunteers to do anything that we are not willing to do, but before coming here you should understand that farming can be demanding and sometimes exhausting work. We work 5 1/2 days per week, normally Monday-Friday with a half day on Saturday and Sundays free. During the summer, we work from 7:30 am to 12 with lunch directly after, then take a break until 4pm because of the heat. We then return to work until nearly 8pm when we finish the day. During the spring and fall we generally work from 8:30 am until 1pm and then return to work from 2-6pm. Depending on the task at hand, you may find yourself doing very physical work; please be sure beforehand that you are able to perform such work. Outside of these hours you are free to explore the surrounding areas and we encourage you to do so, and we take our time off very seriously!
Trains from Rome, the closest major city, depart from Termini station to Tarquinia and Viterbo, the closest cities to Tuscania that are available by train.  From there you can take a bus that will bring you to Tuscania, which is about 2km away from the farm. We will arrange to pick you up in Tuscania any day that you arrive, and we provide a weekly pickup/dropoff for volunteers in Tarquinia or Viterbo. Visit http://www.trenitalia.com/ for the train times and http://www.cotralspa.it for buses from Tarquinia and Viterbo to Tuscania.

*If you do plan on arriving in Tuscania by bus, please keep in mind that you’ll need to take a bus from the train station in either Viterbo or Tarquinia to the bus stop, and that the buses can run somewhat infrequently depending on the time of year you come. In addition, the buses to Tuscania are short distance buses so they do not have much space for luggage. In short, if you plan on arriving in Tuscania by bus please give yourself ample time (and patience!) to navigate the transport, and please feel free to contact us at any point along the way! 

Make sure you’ve got some clothing that you don’t mind getting dirty! We provide you with laundry facilities to do your wash but depending on the work you’ll be doing, you’ll want to have a few things that are somewhat disposable and other clothes you’ll save for outings. You’ll also want to have a sturdy pair of workboots, rainboots if you come in the winter or fall, and sneakers to wear while walking around. At night, you’ll need a flashlight if you’re walking through the farm (we recommend head torches) or to and from Tuscania as some of the roads are not lit. If you’re coming from outside Europe, please keep in mind that you’ll need plug adapters or converters to run or charge your devices.
If you are registered with your university as an intern, you can. We work with universities to help students interested in agricultural fields to complete their course work here by doing independent study projects and research that students propose. However, we do not contact universities directly, and we cannot lobby your university on your behalf. If you are interested in internships, please visit our internship page to find out what you’ll need to do. Internships, like volunteer posts, are unpaid.
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