Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
23 Feb 2025
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 5 days
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Details
Description
UPDATE.
WE HAVE A BUILDING PROJECT AND ARE LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS WITH BUILDING KNOWLEDGE.
We are an Off grid Quinta in Central Portugal between Tabua and Oliveira do Hospital. The Quinta is 2 acres and shared between myself and my adult daughter and her family.
We have both been workaway volunteers and now we are workaway hosts. We believe our experiences help to make us good workaway hosts as we know what we liked and disliked from our own experiences. We aim to be fair and to make this an enjoyable and benefical experience for everyone.
We are English and came here to get away from the hamster wheel of work, spend, work. We wanted to see if it was possible to live another way ... and there is. We don't have 'jobs' or a regular income and our only bill is for the internet. Our power is solar, our water from our well and hot water is solar heated. Our sanitation goes to a vermicomposting system (worms eat our waste) and my house runs on 12 volt power and has an eco rocket stove for heating which burns the wood which we have felled on our land. We try to grow as much of our food as we can, organically, and follow permaculture and no dig principles. All organic waste goes back into the land. Rainwater is caught and stored and a future plan is to make a natural pond which will increase our water storage and also provide a natural swimming hole for the summer.
Just to make crystal clear a few things that previous volunteers have not fully understood:-
1. Being totally off grid means that charging of multiple devices and especially powerbanks, is limited. Phone charging is fine.
2. Hot Showers will be 1 or 2 per week. Summer means water shortage and Spring/Autumn mean power shortage for the water pump. But our volunteers usually go to the river beach daily to swim, chill and cool down.
3. There is wifi internet near my house for checking emails, social platforms. It is not suitable for downloading anything or for digital nomads to upload anything.
Workaway is an exchange. I put a lot of effort into providing a lovely location, accommodation, food, culture opportunities, walks in the mountains and am happy to educate you about everything to do with sustainable living, being off grid, permaculture and this conscious way of life. I try very hard to make your stay a pleasant and rewarding one. I really enjoy volunteers who want to learn new skills and a new way of life and many previous volunteers have been absolutely wonderful and they have left extremely happy with new skills and new experiences and remained friends. If you are just looking for free accommodation, free food and expect to give very little in exchange, working without any enthusiasm at a pace that makes paint drying look fast, please do not apply
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Our Quinta is totally off grid and we live as sustainably and ecologically minded as we can, so that can be an interesting and learning experience. Our land was basically just disused land when we came here in 2016 so everything on it was built or put there by us. Our power is all from solar, our water is from a spring fed stone well, our sanitation goes to a vermicomposting system. We try to grow as much of our own food as we can, organically and are taking on board permaculture and no dig principles. A stay with us will be a glimpse into a different way of life from the 9-5, 5 day week working life of work, spend, consume, work again. We live on the edge of a small rural village in Central Portugal so that is also culturally interesting and between 3 mountain ranges. We look across to the Serra do Açor and we are 45 minutes from the mountain range serra da estrela (Star mountains) which are the highest point in mainland Portugal and has the only ski resort on Portugal. I usually take volunteers up there for a day hike during your stay.
Help
Our current project is to knock down some ruins of sheds and rebuild into a 1 level concrete block house. We are looking for a person or 2 persons with building knowledge, who would be prepared to help us to get this project going.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Portuguese: IntermediateThis host offers a language exchange
I am a native English speaker and happy to help you improve your English if you have at least Intermediate level already. I am Intermediate level Portuguese and would love to improve with the help of a native European Portuguese speaker.
Accommodation
Accommodation. We have a caravan which we refurbished and it is now a lovely bedroom and will sleep 1 or 2 cosily in ONE bed. There is a wooden structure next to the caravan which is the vermi composting bathroom, with a proper flushing toilet in it, an area to wash and clean teeth and a basic outside cold water shower. There is also a kitchen area with a gas hob and a cupboard which is fully stocked with food. The current sitting area is a sofa next to the caravan under a waterproof shelter and there is also a canvas sail shade to the side and an area in the shade of the oak trees in the wooded area, with chairs, ideal for chilling with a cup of tea.
Hot showers are available, solar heated so dependent on sun for the heat of the water and for power to pump the water, which you can use once or maybe twice, a week. This is because power is limited.
Food. I will supply food for you to make all of your breakfasts and lunches and your evening meals, although we will eat together on your first evening, just to have a nice social interaction. We are wholefood, plant based flexible Vegan/Vegetarian and that is the type of food I will provide.
Snacks and extras if required, you will need to provide yourself and I am happy for you to come shopping with me.
Sorry but I do not want smokers. I keep getting requests from smokers so I obviously need to put this in bigger print...
I WILL NOT HOST SMOKERS.
We have a large mountain dog but he is super friendly and a big softie and a small dog that is even more friendly and 5 cats. I don't socialise in the evenings which is why I think volunteers in pairs is better. I do have wifi internet but this is not suitable for downloading films or streaming netflix or for digital nomads. Also charging devices and power banks is limited but charging of phones is fine.
What else ...
We are in a beautiful area of Central Portugal, with a view of the Serra do Açor (Mountain range of the Goshawk) and the Serra da Estrela (Star mountains). It has just been awarded classification by Unesco as a Global Geopark - Geopark Estrela. It covers an area of 2216km2. There is a video which I can send to you via message as the site does not allow web site links on here. There are dozens of river beaches within a short distance and many beautiful walks and drives. The nearest river beach is in Avô which is a 1.8km/15 minute walk from here. There are some lovely villages in the mountains and the Xisto trail is definitely something worth walking. We are an hour drive from the Serra de Estrela mountains and Torre the highest point in mainland Portugal which has snow on it and skiing in late winter/early Spring. I belong to a hiking group and we usually go on a day hike, every 2 weeks, to one of the 3 mountain ranges that we are in the middle of. You are welcome to join me.
I will try to make your stay as interesting and enjoyable as possible and would really appreciate your help.
Items that would be helpful for you to bring with you would be a good light as there is no lighting outside on the land - and I mean a light ... not a phone, as using this as a torch makes charging issues. There is solar lighting inside the caravan. Clothes that you do not mind getting dirty as all the work is outside work. In summer a wide brimmed hat as protection from the sun which can be intense here-
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Feedback (10)
Such a delight to have these 2 stay with us for a month. Only 18/19 years old but so mature and responsible and eco minded, they were an absolute pleasure to have around. They both had some gardening experience and both tackled whatever was asked of them with commonsense and… read more
We’ve been living in a lovely caravain where we have had lots of privacy, also, we had our own… read more
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(4.9)
Cultural exchange:
(4.9)
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(5.0)
Such a delight to have these 2 stay with us for a month. Only 18/19 years old but so mature and responsible and eco minded, they were an absolute pleasure to have around. They both had some gardening experience and both tackled whatever was asked of them with commonsense and… read more
We’ve been living in a lovely caravain where we have had lots of privacy, also, we had our own… read more
We mainly worked at Panama’s and Gary’s, but twice a week also with Erica on her projects. The work was always nice, we had a good vibe going on and interesting conversations. The work included working with wood, digging and raking up grass.
Erica took… read more
