Join our season-long team at an off-grid riverside retreat centre in Portugal

Details

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  Description

  Hello, and thanks for your interest in life at our Eco Lodge! :-)
  
  We’re an off-grid retreat centre in a beautiful river valley in central Portugal.
  
  For our **2027 season**, we’re looking to bring together a small, steady team who enjoy communal living, practical work, and being immersed in nature.
  
  Some of our 2026 team will return, so we may only have a couple of spaces for new people. You’re welcome to get in touch with your availability and experience.
  
  **WHEN YOU CAN JOIN US**
  
  **Preparing for opening: mid-February to March 30**
  
  During this period, we welcome shorter stays with a **two-week minimum** to help prepare the place for opening.
  
  Projects include small repairs, power washing decks and the pool, tidying and cleaning, weeding, garden preparation, repairing steps, and moving and organising things around the site.
  
  There may be an opportunity to extend into the main season if we have space and it feels like a good fit for everyone.
  
  **Main season: beginning March 31**
  
  For the retreat season, we’re looking for people who can **commit to staying for the whole season**. A consistent team gives everyone time to settle in, learn how the place works, and build a supportive community together.
  
  **OUR PROJECT**
  
  This is a sustainably built, off-grid retreat centre located where two rivers meet, near the Serra da Estrela mountain range.
  
  Since 2017, Workawayers from around the world have helped us build, develop, and maintain this place. It has been a pleasure to meet so many lovely people, and we’re grateful for all the helping hands along the way!
  
  We host retreats, workshops, and yoga teacher trainings, welcoming groups who come to rest, learn, and reconnect with nature. Life here offers an opportunity to experience what goes into caring for an off-grid retreat centre and living closely with the land.
  
  **THE TEAM AND HOW IT WORKS**
  
  We’re Ashley and Rory, the founders and owners of this place. Ashley oversees the retreat business and teaches therapeutic Yoga and runs Yoga Teacher Trainings. Rory’s background is in civil engineering, natural building, and he manages the property site.
  
  The day-to-day running of the site is supported by a small volunteer team, **working alongside one another** and sharing responsibility for cooking, cleaning, and maintaining the space.
  
  This suits people who can take initiative, communicate clearly, and follow through on tasks without needing someone working beside them throughout the day. You don’t need to arrive knowing how everything works, but you do need to be willing to learn, ask when you’re unsure, and take responsibility for your part in the team.
  
  **THE WORK**
  
  The regular commitment is **20–25 hours per week**, with **two consecutive days off**. Tasks vary with the retreat schedule and what the site needs.
  
  They include:
  
  - Cleaning guest accommodation and preparing it between retreats.
  - Cleaning communal spaces, toilets, showers, and yoga spaces.
  - Cooking, kitchen preparation, washing up, and keeping the kitchen clean.
  - Maintaining the natural swimming pool, including scooping algae.
  - Gardening, weeding, planting, and watering.
  - Preparing firewood and lighting the sauna and hot tub fires.
  - General site maintenance, small repairs, and practical jobs.
  
  Cleaning and kitchen work are a substantial part of life here during retreats. We’re looking for people who are happy to contribute across the different tasks, even if they also bring a particular skill or interest.
  
  Outside scheduled hours, everyone shares the ordinary responsibilities of communal living: cleaning up after themselves, keeping the team’s living spaces tidy, and sharing their own cooking duties.
  
  **WHAT’S INCLUDED**
  
  In exchange for your **20–25 hours of help per week**, we provide **accommodation and food**, with access to the team’s communal kitchen to prepare shared meals.
  
  You’ll have two consecutive days off each week to relax or explore. You can swim in the rivers, walk local trails, enjoy the natural surroundings, and use our paddleboards.
  
  During Ashley’s yoga teacher training, there may also be opportunities to join the **morning** practice when space allows.
  
  **OPPORTUNITIES FOR PAID WORK**
  
  There may also be opportunities for paid work, depending on your skills and the needs of visiting retreat groups.
  
  These could include:
  
  - Cheffing for retreats—relevant experience is required.
  - Offering massages or other suitable treatments.
  - Teaching yoga classes.
  - Facilitating workshops or creative activities.
  
  Please tell us about any relevant experience, training, or qualifications when you apply. These opportunities are agreed separately and are not guaranteed. Everyone joining the team must be happy with the core role itself.
  
  **LIFE HERE**
  
  This is a place for wellness in wild and beautiful nature. It’s essential that you’re happy living with all the elements—rain or shine, hot or cold!
  
  You need to be comfortable with outdoor living, insects, uneven paths, and the practical realities of being off-grid. Life here is rustic, and modern conveniences aren’t always available.
  
  We have Wi-Fi, but this is best suited to people who want to spend time in nature and community. If you depend on uninterrupted connectivity for daily online work, it may not be the right setting.
  
  The venue is **alcohol-free, drug-free, and non-smoking**. We aim to maintain a peaceful, healthy environment for everyone staying here.
  
  We respect different dietary preferences and nutritional needs within the team. Please let us know yours when applying.
  
  **ACCOMMODATION AND SHARED SPACES**
  
  The Workaway team has its own rustic outdoor communal area with a fully functional kitchen.
  
  During the main season, accommodation is in a shared bell tent, usually with three or four people, or a regular camping tent, with comfortable twin mattresses. Before opening, retreat accommodation may be available.
  
  The team’s bathroom facilities include compost toilets and a solar-heated shower.
  
  Communal living requires consideration, flexibility, and care for shared spaces. We’re looking for people who enjoy contributing to a comfortable home together.
  
  **OFF-GRID LIVING**
  
  Our electricity comes from solar power, so energy use needs to follow what is available. Appliances that draw a lot of power cannot always be used.
  
  Our water comes from the land. Everyone helps conserve it through short showers and thoughtful use in the kitchen and around the site.
  
  **WORKING IN A RETREAT ENVIRONMENT**
  
  Although team life is relaxed and communal, this is also a working retreat venue. Guests may be here for quiet reflection, rest, or personal work, so sensitivity to their space is essential.
  
  During shifts, we expect reliability, a professional attitude, and attention to the details that help guests feel welcome. Hospitality experience is helpful, but willingness to learn, teamwork, and consideration matter just as much.
  
  **A LITTLE MORE ABOUT US**
  
  Ashley is originally from the Boston area and previously worked as a pediatric critical care nurse. She is now a yoga teacher, yoga therapist, and Compassionate Inquiry practitioner, and leads yoga teacher trainings.
  
  Rory is originally from Ireland and is a civil engineer and natural builder specialising in timber frames. His experience includes engineering, building eco-friendly homes in Guatemala, and running tourism businesses.
  
  We moved to Portugal in 2017 with a vision of caring for this riverfront land and creating a place where people could enjoy nature and find space to reconnect with themselves.
  
  With many helping hands, we’ve planted native trees, managed invasive species, and built our home and retreat buildings using natural materials. We began welcoming retreats in 2019 and have since hosted groups from around the world.
  
  **IS THIS A GOOD FIT FOR YOU?**
  
  We’d love to hear from people who:
  
  - Can commit to the whole retreat season, or at least two weeks during preparation.
  - Enjoy practical work and are willing to help with cooking and cleaning.
  - Can work independently while contributing to a supportive team.
  - Are comfortable with rustic accommodation and outdoor living.
  - Respect guests, shared spaces, and the peaceful nature of the venue.
  - Can communicate comfortably in English and/or Portuguese.
  
  When you message, please include your available dates, whether you’re applying for preparation or the whole season, your relevant experience, and what draws you to life here
  
  Please ask if anything is unclear. We want everyone to arrive with a clear understanding of the work and life here. :-)

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Help with Eco Projects

  Light gardening

  Creative DIY projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  Light maintenance
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  There's many weekly/monthly markets in the towns nearby is a great place to meet people in the area, both Portuguese and estrangeiros (foreigners).
  
  There is a river beach, sauna and hot tub on site plus a deep creek for swimming in. During the off-season workawayers are welcome to the sauna and hot tub. During the on-season workawayers are welcome to all the beautiful nature spots like hammocks along the river, the creek, waterfall hikes etc.
  
  Workawayers will have the opportunity to learn about off grid living and working, building with natural materials, gardening, and helping host retreats.

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  Host offers payment in line with the minimum wage

  This host offers accommodation and payment.

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  Help

  Helping on various projects and maintainence. 5 hours of help per day, 5 days per week. We expect help with cooking and keeping the volunteer hub clean and nice.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Portuguese: Intermediate
  Spanish: Beginner

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  Accommodation

  Shared large Bell Tent (3 single beds), or one of the retreat center's glamping eco pods (similar to yurt or bell tent)

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  What else ...

  The property and area around it is ideal for free outdoor activities such as swimming, hiking and Stand Up Paddle. There are plenty of river beaches in the area, and we have paddle boards available for use. With the Serra de Estrela mountain range nearby, there are plenty of breath-taking hikes. But if you want a break from the country side there's a train just 15 minutes from the project that connects to Lisbon, Porto, and anywhere else you'd like to discover on time off.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Space for parking camper vans

  Parking available.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  My animals / pets

  Hugo

  Shiva

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