phase 1
We are very happy to have secured an interest free loan to purchase the land.
Repayments will begin when we move onto the land, using the money we will be saving on rent.
We have found a piece of land that we believe is ideal for MintWood.
It is *10,000sqm,.
We have begun discussions with the landlord. Our hope is to be able to purchase the land for 105,000 Euros
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The plot is just on the outskirts of our beloved Francavilla al Mare.where we have lived for the past 12 years
It is a gently sloping and south facing plot, with lovely views of both the sea and the mountains.
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*only agricultural plots 10,000sqm or larger come with building permission in our region of Italy.
phase 2
We are seeking donations to cover the cost of the build
We are seeking friendly donations to fund the building phase. We anticipate 100-150,000 Euros for the build.
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We currently have received around 60,000€ in pledges.
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We hope to both reduce our month expenditure through this project, to the value of:
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- Aproximately 200€ per month on utilities when we have installed the systems rain water harvesting, solar panels etc
- Approximately 150€ per month when we are are producing some food on the land.
We also hope to earn approximately 1000€ per month when we have built the guest eco-pods and begin renting them out to visitors
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phase 3
We are seeking friends to help with the building phase
With the land comes permission to build a 100sqm residential unit and 150sqm of annexes.
We plan to use the 100sqm of residential space to create a tiny house for our family of 55sqm and three eco-pods of 15sqm.
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The annexes would comprise of a simple garage and a sports barn
We will keep the building costs to a minimum by doing much of the work ourselves.
Our oldest son Ryan plans to work full time on this project. Ryan loves all practical work!
We are hoping some of our friends can help, both the skilled and unskilled among you :-).
Anyone for a working holiday in sunny Italy!
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phase 4
We are excited to Host our friends, family and visitors at MintWood
As a family we have always loved to host. Literally hundreds of people have visited us here in Francavilla.
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We are so excited to welcome old friends and new to MintWood.
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Besides hosting our friends we will be renting out our guest eco-pods to visitors.
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Each eco-pod will have an en-suite bathroom and a simple bbq on it's private terrace.
All terraces will have a view of both the mountains and the sea!
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On the land we are hoping to build a container swimming pool and a sports barn, for our visitors (and us) to enjoy.
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Here in Abruzzo, the Italian region we live in, people living on agricultural land can rent out up to 6 beds on their property without a tourist licence. (a government initiative to support farmers).