Non-profit rural project with a herd of "firefighter goats" in Alfafar, Portugal

Informationen

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  Beschreibung

  Hi! We are Anna and Sergio. We run a small, non-profit, rural project with a herd of 20 "firefighter goats" in the village of Alfafar, Portugal.
  
  We are ideally situated . 25 minutes from Coimbra, 8 minutes from both Condeixa-a-Nova and Penela, and a 45-minute drive from the sea at Figueira da Foz.
  
  The area is rich in history and nature, featuring:
  Numerous river beaches, waterfalls, walking trails, and caves.
  The famous Roman ruins of Conímbriga. Castle of Penela or wonderful city of Coimbra.
  A swimming pond just 4km away belonging to our friends at the Tergar meditation community, who also offers free meditation sessions.
  
  Culture: We co-founded the cultural association, which brings live music and dance performances right here to the village.
  
  Our Big Mission: Addressing Rural Depopulation
  Portugal faces a significant challenge with rural depopulation. Many villages lack the resources to manage private land, creating a massive fire risk for the remaining elderly population. Our project addresses this through three main pillars:
  
  Fire Prevention: We use goats to clear undergrowth on abandoned land. Our goal is to restore these terrains, eventually creating a small nature reserve and a permaculture forest.
  
  Restoring the Landscape: The region is famous for its dry stone walls, but this vernacular architecture is falling apart. We aim to save and rebuild these centenary walls to preserve the landscape.
  
  Preserving Traditions: Alfafar has a long history of winemaking and olive harvesting. As the elderly population finds it harder to maintain their land, we aim to create a support network to ensure these beautiful traditions and orchards do not disappear.

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  Arten von Hilfe und Lernmöglichkeiten

  Hilfe bei Ökoprojekten

  Gartenarbeiten

  Heimwerker- und Bauarbeiten

  Betreuung von Tieren

  Mithilfe auf einem Bauernhof

  Zubereiten / Kochen von Mahlzeiten für die Familie

  Hausarbeiten

  Handwerkliche Arbeiten

  Haus- & Haustiersitting
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  Interessengebiete

  

  Kultur

  

  Haustiere

  

  Nachhaltigkeit

  

  Events & Sozialleben

  

  Farmarbeit

  

  Darstellende Künste

  

  Zeichnen & Malen

  

  Gärtnern

  

  Gartenarbeiten

  

  Sprachen

  

  Bücher

  

  Musik

  

  Kochen & Backen

  

  Kunst & Design

  

  Tiere

  

  Wandern

  

  Outdoor-Aktivitäten

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Natur
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  UNO-Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung, die dieser Gastgeber verfolgt

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  Was ist das?
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  Kultureller Austausch und Lernmöglichkeiten

  We are a very small community but trying our best to animate ourself by organizing concert, movies nights and dinner parties. Together with our neighbours we founded a cultural association.
  We are close to Coimbra where there are theaters, concert halls, cinemas .

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  Arbeit

  Please remember we are a non-profit project. That means, all we do - cleaning the terrains around the village - is done for free, this project does not earn profit.
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  Who We Are Looking For?
  We are seeking handy individuals with a strong work ethic, animal lovers with "can-do" attitude , logical with some experience of DIY, who don´t mind waking up in the morning. We will give preference to 25 y.o. and up.
  We need you to be sociable, as we frequently have friends and family staying with us but, at the same time independent, as we divide our time between here and work in Lisbon, that means you will be alone for few days now and then.
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  The tasks here are straightforward and rewarding.
  A typical day begins by checking on the goats and feeding the guard dog, Nevão. (He is a Serra da Estrela—a beautiful guardian, but still a goofy pup who needs a long daily walk to burn off his energy! ) We ensure the animals have clean water and (depending on our calendar ) we either open the gate of the "home" and let them graze on the terrain directly around or we move the herd to another pasture. Once the goats are out, we prepare their "bed" for the evening. At the end of the day, we check on them again, count the herd to ensure everyone is home, we stay with them a bit to make them feel safe and give them feed (special for goat mothers and general for the rest), some pets as they depend on the relationship with humans, than before leaving we feed Nevão, say goodnight and close the gate.
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  Time Commitment: These tasks usually take about an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening
  Note: While we occasionally milk the goats, we are currently simplifying our system, so milking is mostly off the list for now.
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  During the rest of the day (the rest of 5 hour commitment), we focus on work around the house ( in and out).
  We may ask for some light house cleaning like loading dishwasher / dusting or hoovering (its a small house).
  The goats tend to jump onto the drystone walls around our property and pastures so we try to put the stones that they thrown down, up again. We tending to our small seasonal vegetable garden and greenhouse and pruning or harvesting (depends on the season) our olive trees. Organizing the woodshed /toolshed.
  
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  We would like to ask you for one video call before we make our decision to see if you understand what the project is about and if our thinking aligns.

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  Gesprochene Sprachen

  Englisch: Fließend
  Italienisch: Fließend
  Polnisch: Fließend
  Portugiesisch: Fließend

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  Unterkunft

  You will have your own room. There are two bathrooms so no shower or toilet queuing. If you are a person travelling in a van and would like to live off your own vehicle we have space outside for a safe parking and of course you can use the bathroom /kitchen or plug yourself to the electric greed.
  
  Food-wise: We are omnivores, but we cook plenty of meatless dishes. We provide breakfast and 2 home-cooked meals daily, and don't worry—no one ever leaves the table hungry! When we aren't around, we’ll leave the fridge and pantry well-stocked so you can prepare healthy meals for yourself. Please note that wine/ beer and spirits are not included. Sorry but we can´t host anyone with special dietery needs or alergies .

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  Was noch ...

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  As we are in a rural location the public transport is scare (4 - 5 buses a day ) and we may not have time to give you lifts in your spare time so having your own car would be ideal . we have a work car here but its old geeser that is not super relable so we use it only for short shopping trips .

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  Etwas mehr Information

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    Internet Zugang

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    Eingeschränkter Internet Zugang

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    Wir besitzen Tiere

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    Wir sind Raucher

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    Familien möglich

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  Kann Digital Nomads unterbringen

  We use a mobile hotspot for internet. It handles streaming and video calls for 2–3 devices at once, but it's not super fast. If you have heavy data needs for work, it’s best to bring your own mobile data/router.

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  Platz zum Abstellen von Camper Vans

  We are able to accommodate small to medium-sized vans. Electricity is available, as well as access to kitchen and bathroom facilities if required.

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  Hier sind Haustiere in der Regel willkommen

  Pets are welcome, provided they are house trained, calm, friendly towards cats and goats and well-behaved with other dogs.

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  Kapazität - wie viele Workawayer maximal

  mehr als zwei

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  Meine Tiere/Haustiere

  

  Mia, Miinha, Mião, Fusco, Krzysiu, Branquinha, Perola e Suspiro

  Photo shows just few of the family. Mia is the queen the rest her children and some local "neighbours" who decide to hang out with us. Our free living friends

  

  Nevão

  Serra de Estrela - The guardian dog of our herd of goats

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