We are Tim and Nicky and our home desperately needs a new roof! Back in 2009 we bought a house with 5 acres of land in Galicia, NW Spain, to fulfil our dream of creating a (mostly) self-sufficient permaculature homestead. The original plan was to fund the necessary renovations from the sale of our UK home. Due to the collapse of the global housing market we were unable to realise as much as we'd hoped, so we weren't able to fix some of the issues with the house, most importantly the roof.

Historical records are spotty around here, but we have found a record of a local magistrate moving out of this house to another town in the early 1500s, so it's pretty old! It is built in the traditional style of local stone with a slate roof supported by large chestnut beams. The slates are all hand-cut, some of them as large as a table-top. Unfortunately, some of them have begun to move, as the nails which held them in place have long since rusted through, and there are now significant leaks. The winter rains here are pretty relentless and we can see the structure beginning to crumble. If we don't stop the leaks soon it will be beyond rescue.

The house was originally built by someone with money, based on the size of it and the quality of the stonework. It includes many original feautures, such as a built-in wood-fired bread oven. According to our neighbours, the family who owned it before us had been prominent local landowners who fell on hard times. However, a big house means a big roof - over 400 sq m/4,000 sq ft, not to mention the outbuildings. It's a big job, and one for the professionals.

We have been working hard on the land, planting a forest garden and establishing raised beds, and are at a point where we are now growing the bulk of our food. We have also tried to make this a haven for wildlife, and have been rewarded over the years by a visible increase in biodiversity at all levels. Butterflies and bees are abundant, attracting birds, reptiles and amphibians, including a rare species of newt, and we were delighted this year to see a dragonfly hawking over our new pond. But the house is the heart of the homestead.

It hasn't been plain sailing - Nicky was diagnosed with cancer in 2017, which spread in 2019, and after multiple surgeries and chemotherapies is still being monitored for a possible recurrence - and we have struggled financially throughout that time. We are both in our 60s, and while Tim works remotely as a freelance editor part-time we have never been able to save much money, despite our best efforts. Our car is over 20 years old and we live simply.

This place is our life. It is also the heritage we hope to leave to future generations. Please help us to be better stewards of this remarkable house. Any donation, however small, will help.