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11 May 2026
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Description
I am in my early 60s , fit and healthy and have two wonderful girls in their 20s who are at university in England and who visit regularly to help out. I am developing a community syntropic/agroforestry farm in Central Portugal. The land is 8 hectares of terraces, oak woodland and river front and overlooks the valley with a view of both the Caramulo and the Serra da Estrela mountain ranges.
In Portugal there is a lot of land that is no longer cultivated. My aim is to bring the local community to the farm and grow food together for all, what we refer to as "feed the village". The community farm aims to solve an number of issues:
1) There is a lot of uncultivated land following many exoduses from the countryside since WW2 and production has moved to highly intensively produced, low nutrient food.
2) The struggles with mental health and loneliness of many, across generations, where working in nature with others has been proved to bring tremendous benefit.
3) The impossibility of making this sort of farmland in this area profitabe at scale (too far from the markets opf Porto and Lisbon)
4) The need for healthy nutrient-rich food for all at affordable prices
Do come and join me as volunteers in our journey to bring people back to the land!
I have been working on the land now for 2 years and have made a lot of progress in transforming the land and planting 1 hectare with productive crops and trees and planting over 2,000 forestry trees. The land was devastated by fire in 2017 with over 5,000 pine trees burned to a cinder. When I bought the land it was, for the most part, covered in 3.5m high broom and had been untouched by the huge fires of 2017. I have removed this with the help of a mulching machine to both reduce the fire risk, bring goodness into the soil and to provide room to plant.
I looking for up to 2 volunteers at any one time to work on the farm with me for 5 hrs a day in return for food and board.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Farmstay help
Interests
Politics / Social justice
Technology
Farming
Culture
Photography
Languages
Music
History
DIY & crafts
Books
Cooking & food
Gardening
Writing
Drawing & painting
Carpentry
Outdoor activities
Hiking
Cycling
Dancing
Mountain
Nature
Fitness
Camping
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
The core of the project is to bring local Portuguese to the farm to grow food for all. I am increasingly integrated with the locals and there are lots of opportunities to meet and talk to local Portuguese, many of whom speak languages other than Portuguese such as Spanish, German and English.
In the surrounding area there are many markets at weekends and festivals in the summer with music and stalls and activities. There is a diverse international community of all ages and backgrounds. There are also other farms that we will visit from time to time. We can specifically arrange visits for interested volunteers.
On the farm itself you can learn about every aspect of farm life from building to watering to planting. What we don't know we find out from locals or online and are always learning.
Help
The work will involve helping to plant, water and crop and to finish the natural build waterhouse (kitchen, showers and loo) . You will learn all about permaculture, syntropic agroforestry, water management and building projects.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
Portuguese: Intermediate
German: Beginner
Accommodation
Accommodation is in a large bell tent or caravan (your choice). The waterhouse is a communal area for chilling, cooking, showers and a toilet.
All.bedding is provided.
We will provide a self service breakfast, lunch either on the farm or at a local restaurant and a light dinner.
What else ...
Oliveira do Hospital is a 20 minute cycle, largely flat apart from the initial 400m to the local village Travanca de Lagos. We have two very nice mountain bikes. We go into Oliveira most days by car as it is only 8 minutes away.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
The internet is excellent and based on 5G and 4G routers. I work remotely and have never had a problem.
Space for parking camper vans
Campervans are welcome
Can possibly accept pets
You are free to bring your pets
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
My animals / pets
