Collaborate with us on our micro-homestead near Caldas da Rainha, Portugal

Details

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  Description

  Olá, buongiorno, good day, & 你好, we are a couple of simple folks living on the outskirts of Caldas da Rainha near the Portuguese coastal town of Foz do Arelho. We have a small 1200m micro-farm - or simply, large garden - with chickens, ducks, and a cat ~ with likely more on the way. Over the last three years, my partner, Lu (Taiwanese, graphic designer, illustrator, animator, lover of all things cute and queen of the birds), and myself, Francesco (Italian-Unitedstatesian, chef, gardener, aspiring-tinkerer maker), have resuscitated the soil of this once highly degraded sandlot which now abounds with life. In addition to our regular work, the objective of nurturing life on this little piece of the planet keeps us pleasantly busy.
  For however long we are here, we want to feed this place that feeds us so well. The abundance is such that there is plenty to share. This experience is a reminder of the great generosity of Terra Madre or Pachamama or whatever you want to call this home planet from which we all come from to which we all belong.
  FYI - We speak English, Italian, Mandarin, Portuguese, and a workable bit of Spanish.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Farmstay help

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We hope to share work as well as stories. We hope to make new memories with new friends, both in the garden, while working on building jobs, and especially at the table when we share food together. It's kind of a prerequisite for anyone who comes to join us - they must want to be involved. Seriously. Although, this does not mean all work is always done together. Most will be.
  As for what you can learn, well, in addition to being an active regenerative agrarian working on a few different projects, before moving here for many years I cooked in professional environments ranging from warm and soulful osterias and bakeries to pretentious over the top places largely devoted to serving the over-served. It was all great experience. I even grew up in a mom and pop restaurant. I loved it. And I still seek that connection via food. Food is one of my primary languages.
  Lu, well, what can I say - she's brilliant! Her design prowess is like no one else I know, and her sensibility and general way of being in the world is so very kind and gentle, but I assure you that she is also tough and goes straight to the point.
  There's so much creative goings on that can happen there. It all depends on the dispositions and talents that volunteers bring to meet and mix with what we bring to the table too. Chemistry is key!
  
  I have volunteered all over the world in so many different kinds of spaces. Among the primary complaints that I received from hosts was that volunteers often simply want to vacation and do as little as possible and take as much as possible. Well, again as someone who was a volunteer too, I remember hosts who exploited the arrangement and overly depended on volunteer hands to survive. That's an unfortunate co-dependence. I remember many for-profit operations who depended on volunteers to help keep afloat businesses that are seriously challenged in the prevailing marketplace of labor.
  But this is not a marketplace arrangement. At Lu's and my house, we are simply looking for some help with what's going on, whether in the garden, or working on a fence, or finishing the new outdoor kitchen, we simply aim to open our home to folks who want to work together and in the evenings occasionally make a fire after dinner, or better yet, if we are organized and can achieve daily goals, cook together around the fire. In any case, in a world increasingly afflicted with alienation and so many forms of fragmentation, tuning together via cooking and eating together is a very important daily ritual of ours.

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  Help

  For your time here, we ask for only four or five hours per day, four or five days a week with a minimum stay of a week. The actual amount will vary on the person.
  Some people don't know how to focus well and something that could take 20mins might take hours. We don't have a rigid set of expectations other than that people are honest and more thoughtful than the average of society, meaning - that you are here to meaningfully collaborate.
  Most daily tasks this season will involve gardening and building. In addition to carpenters and green thumbs, we have room for creatives in general - i.g. painters, musicians, tinkerers, deep thinkers, dancers, tree-climbers, and in general there is space for people who still believe the world can be a more nurturing, more beautiful, and just place, but no that they have to get involved to make it happen.
  Among the places I volunteer is at a nearby school where with a group of friends we are realizing a community garden project that not only aims to build soil and grow food, but also - and perhaps most fundamental - nurture expressions of greater community solidarity.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Italian: Fluent
  Portuguese: Fluent
  Chinese (Mandarin): Fluent
  Spanish: Intermediate

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  While staying with us, you will enjoy a rather nice little hobbit house cabin of sorts that sits at the north edge of our garden. There is electricity, but no running water. Personally, I find it very comfortable. Lu and I happily stayed there during parts of the extensive renovations that we did to the house last year. The bathroom, which includes a shower, is near the South side of the garden, connected to our house.

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  What else ...

  We live a 30min bike ride from the coastal town of Foz do Arelho and 15min bike ride from the center of Caldas da Rainha. In town, there's decent public transportation. We have a bike here for you to use while here, of course. We want visitors to feel free to wander and on occasion we will even happily bring you around to experience some of our preferred local spots. If you're into wild foraging, we can help with that too.

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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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  Can host digital nomads

  For truly active and motivated persons, we will go the extra distance to either put wifi in the Hobbit House - again, where visitors stay while visiting and working with us - or allow regular access to the wifi in our in-home lounge space. However, we do not want to succumb to an inordinate amount of screen time when in fact the main objectives of this relationship should be creative and collaborative mutualism. Of course, if you have a specific perspicacity for being digitally creative and you absolutely prefer contributing that way, we may very well be able to accommodate you. We must see on a person-by-person basis.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  There is street parking space in front of the of the house.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week