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Helping in a family/community based organic farming experience in a beautiful valley of central Portugal

  • Favourited 5820 times
  • Last activity: 18 Apr 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: 1 month or more

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    We are a vibrant, heart centered Christian family/community. We work, live and eat from abundant, organic gardens that are spread out below beautiful terraces, surrounded by a wonderful river with a waterfall and many secluded places to find peace and tranquility.

    Although our gardens have been well established for over 17 years, we are still learning, growing and evolving with the intention for the garden to provide sufficient produce for our own meals and to bless our neighbors as well. We also take advantage of opportunities to bring beautiful, nourishing organic produce to those who have little to eat.

    We love to share spiritual object lessons of Christ which show the wonderful works of the Creator in the nature of which we are a part of. He used natural phenomena in most of his object lessons to help us understand spiritual things. The Bible is our first and foremost inspiration.

    It is our goal to promote physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. In this world, which is so grossly out of balance, our workers and volunteers are exposed and taught that natural laws, established by God, are strongly conducive to well balanced and healthy life. These laws are very simple, yet only few seem to pay practical attention to them. Here are some of them: proper nutrition; plenty of physical exercise; internal and external application of pure water; proper exposure to sunlight; temperance in all things; pure air in living environment; balance of proper work, proper rest, and proper entertainment; and the most important thing of all - trust in God.

    Most of our volunteers very much appreciate their stay with us. Some come back multiple times. Many workawayers, and even visitors, say that the testimony of our life here made them change the direction of their own life. Some abandoned their life in cities and moved to the country to practice what they learned here. Some stay in contact with us a long time after they left, and ask for advice when they meet challenges of life. We pray for them and with them.

    ... and you may be one of those who we pray for if you choose to come and stay with us.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Help with Eco Projects
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Animal Care
    Farmstay help
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
    Help with Computers/ Internet
  • UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN goals
    No poverty
    Zero hunger
    Good health and well-being
    Quality education
    Gender equality
    Clean water and sanitation
    Affordable and clean energy
    Decent work and economic growth
    Industries, innovation and infrastructure
    Reduce inequality
    Sustainable cities and communities
    Responsible consumption and production
    Climate action
    Life below water
    Life on land
    Peace, justice and strong institutions
    Partnerships for the goals
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    We are very open minded and welcome individuals from all walks of life and faith. Our common interest is to be kind, loving and serving others. :)

    We love to sing and play music and enjoy each other’s company in nature. There are plenty of opportunities for walks, talks, swimming and relaxing. Ours is a quiet place with a simple life. It is not action packed. Come and see for yourself the benefits of this kind of living - how joyful, peaceful and rejuvenating it can be. We often pray and study the Word of God together, which is very much a part of our healing work.

  • Help

    Help

    We are about to begin a new project. A former Workawayer is now responsible of our gardens.

    We are looking for Workawayers who are passionate or interested in gardening. We will be able to teach and guide you out of our best knowledge.
    We like you to stay for a minimum of six weeks, so you have sufficient time to settle in and learn different practices. We are especially looking for long terms (2-3 month or longer) volunteers. This way you would have an opportunity to get fixed responsibilities according to your skills.
    Tasks to do throughout the seasons:

    December - March
    • Cleaning the land (our whole property need to be freed from thorns, bushes, trees etc.)
    • Field preparation (cleaning stone walls, preparing beds, feeding trees, cultivating)
    • Building infrastructure (germination station and washing station)
    • Organizing and mulching
    • Pruning trees (kiwi, vine, apple, persimmons, figs...)
    • Brush Cutting
    • February we begin our first seedlings for Spring planting/Summer harvest
    • Harvesting oranges, lemons, and shu-shu fruits
    • Clearing the river beds
    • Firewood chopping
    • Compost building
    • Cleaning stone walls
    • Mulch making

    April – August (busy months: summer harvest)
    • Seeding
    • Transplanting
    • Harvesting (including harvesting nearly 2 tons of potatoes, 3000 garlic heads, ca 300 kg strawberries, etc.)
    • Cultivating
    • Bed preparation
    • Irrigation
    • Brush cutting
    • Greenhouse managing (tomatoes, paprika, cucumber, egg plants...)
    • CSA beginning in May/June

    September – November
    • Harvesting (winter squash, grapes, olives, kiwis, figs, etc.)
    • Making grape juice (approx. 4-500 bottles)
    • Preparing fields for winter cover crop
    • Bed preparation (clearing greenhouse, preparing for winter crops)
    • Transplanting
    • Cultivating
    • Brush cutting
    • Garlic planting (November)

  • Languages spoken

    Czech: Fluent
    Danish: Fluent
    German: Fluent
    English: Fluent
    French: Fluent
    Portuguese: Fluent
    Slovak: Fluent
    Russian: Intermediate

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    Due to the great fire of June 2017 we are able to offer for the men only a limited accommodation, a room that is shared with 2 - 3 other men because all our caravans burned. The ladies are sleeping in a dorm, shared with 4 - 5 ladies. You can also pitch your own tents in the woods.
    We cannot accommodate couples and families or take animals.
    We accept volunteers throughout the year. Arrivals should happen from Sunday to Thursday.
    Sorry, only limited internet access at this time. The library in town 14 km away by your own transportation or a taxi. During the lockdowns, however, even the library and cafes are closed.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    People with experience in volunteering are welcome and also those who may need to experiment something different and perhaps better. We have over 30 years of experience in this kind of work, and we believe you will love it here.

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    We can accommodate one caravan in our parking premise.

  • Can possibly accept pets

    Can possibly accept pets

    We do not recommend workawayers to bring their pets.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    25 h a week max

Host ref number: 875234541948

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The mountains are calling for you to enjoy nature, eco-building, beekeeping and gardening in rural Benfeita, Portugal