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Host rating
100 %
Last replied
9 Dec 2025
Reply rate
81.0 %
Usually responds within 5 days
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Description
*** LAST MINUTE SPACE AVAILABLE***
Hello, I’m Annie, a retiree living in Pai Cabeça, a small village near the historic town of Tomar. My home sits on the edge of a forest and is within walking distance of the beautiful Castelo do Bode lake.
There are many small projects that I need help with in my private home and garden. This could involve anything from simple jobs, basic home maintenance, painting and household decorating, fixing small things around the house or light craft or upcycling projects.
I always try to match your skills and interests with the tasks available and my family and I are always happy to share our knowledge.
I’m a keen cook and gardener with an abundant vegetable garden. I love cooking and hosting shared meals, spending time on the lake, and taking part in local events. If you enjoy hands-on projects, nature and community, you’ll fit in very well here.
FOOD
Breakfast is “help yourself” style with bread, fruit, yoghurt and similar basics provided. Lunch is usually simple (soups, salads, sandwiches). For the evening meal, I provide a large dinner and I’m happy to accommodate different dietary needs. It’s also great when guests introduce me to dishes from their own countries and occasionally share the cooking.
The freezer is always stocked with homemade meals and our garden produces plenty of vegetables. We also have olive, citrus and fruit trees, so you will eat very well here and never go hungry!
ABOUT US
This is a relaxed family project with people coming and going throughout the year. My son Jonathan is often here helping out and I employ a local builder who is working on my home. They have a wide range of practical skills and knowledge that they can pass on to others including woodworking, plumbing, electrical work, tiling and landscaping.
My daughter also visits frequently, especially during the olive harvest in October and November, helping with cooking and organisation. My niece, her partner and their two young boys live on the opposite hill and they also host Workawayers. We collaborate for the olive harvests and often meet up for other local events.
If you’d like to know more about this experience and the type of work and cultural exchange we offer, we would love to hear from you.
Best regards,
Annie.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
Interests
Events & social
Self development
Music
Gardening
Cooking & food
Drawing & painting
Sailing / Boating
Nature
Dancing
Beach
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We welcome people from all over the world and enjoy creating a relaxed, communal atmosphere. It’s a friendly, open environment where people exchange stories, play games, listen to music and talk about their cultures and life experiences.
I’ve owned several catering businesses and am always happy to share my recipes, teach guests cookery skills and how to make cakes. Anyone interested in making jams, marmalades or preserves is also very welcome to get involved.
There are opportunities to learn practical rural and construction skills. Depending on the season, this might include fruit-tree pruning or taking part in the olive harvest. The harvest in October and November is a highlight, as we work together in groups, share meals and rotate tasks in a supportive, social setting. It’s a wonderful way to learn traditional Portuguese methods and experience life in a small village community.
Our favourite part of hosting is learning from the people who stay with us. Every visitor brings their own knowledge, ideas and stories, and we hope you leave with new skills, confidence and friendships.
Help
General care of an old traditional Portuguese house.
Gardening:
Weeding, planting, pruning, watering, fruit and olive picking and vegetable garden care.
Olive harvest (October–November):
Every year we team up with my niece’s workawayers and our friends to pick the olives, cook meals for the group and help with daily tasks. It’s a fun, social and rewarding couple of weeks and one of our favourite times of year.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
Workawayers stay in a private room with a double bed, wardrobes and desks in the main house with excellent Wi-Fi. There are several shared indoor and outdoor areas suitable for work or relaxation and a plunge pool. The house is an ideal place for remote workers and people who need to work on their own projects while staying here. We also have a heated VW campervan set up as an extra bedroom.
What else ...
Lake activities at Castelo do Bode:
Swimming, paddle-boarding, canoeing, boat rides and hiking routes are available at different places along the lake.
Local amenities:
Two local cafes within walking distance of the house.
São Pedro – 5 minutes by car: doctor, pharmacy, ATM, café, restaurant and church.
Serra – 10 minutes by car: petrol station, butcher, supermarket, doctor, pharmacy, post office, ATM, cafés and restaurants.
Tomar (15 minutes):
A beautiful historic town with cafés, restaurants, shops and the famous Convento de Cristo and Templar castle (World Heritage sites). There’s a large weekly market on Fridays and Tomar has both bus and train stations with easy, inexpensive connections across Portugal, including to Lisbon and Porto. Taxis and Ubers to and from Tomar are cheap.
Transport:
A bus passes through Pai Cabeça to Tomar. Another bus stop with a more frequent service is a short walk away on the Serra road. Having a car is helpful but not essential, as I make regular trips to nearby towns and can offer lifts when possible. Car rental is very cheap and train and coach travel is reliable and low-cost.
Walking & cycling:
The area is excellent for hiking, running and cycling, with forest trails, quiet country roads and a downhill mountain-bike track directly behind the house.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
My home is great for remote workers as there is reliable high-speed internet all throughout the house and plenty of quiet spaces to read, write or work on personal projects during your stay.
Space for parking camper vans
There is one hard-standing parking area suitable for a campervan with electricity and water, plus additional space in the olive grove for tents. There is a private kitchenette and bathroom with hot shower also available for campervan use.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
My animals / pets
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Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(4.8)
Cultural exchange:
(4.6)
Communication:
(4.8)
I had a great time staying with you guys and felt very welcome!
There was a lot to do around the house and although the work was hard sometimes there was always tea breaks and delicious home made cookies to keep you going :)
Speaking of delicious, Annie, Safy and Jonathan are amazing cooks and we spent some cozy… read more
I was there at a special time during the renovation with many possibilities to do things I never did before, like building a stone wall or concrete a lot of things and floors. We did a lot, sometimes it was exhausting and at the same time it was really cool and so nice to see… read more
I had the pleasure of working in her beautiful garden, doing activities including watering and picking the fruit and veg, making chutney and other food processing activities, weeding and clearing the compost piles.
I stayed in her comfortable self… read more
We worked mainly on the land (creating vegetable gardens from scratch, processing firewood, jetwashing the courtyard...) and helped with the renovation project. It was often hard but always rewarded with delicious food. And if you love… read more
The food was just AMAZING each time. Harvesting was so much fun! And it felt just good to be in the nature, listening to music and laughing, even on rainy days.
I stayed at Janine's and would… read more
She generously welcomed us into her home and instantly made us feel like family - Janine (Annie's niece), partner and two sons live a 5-minute walk away and also have workawayer's to stay. Both Annie and Janine hosted barbeques, took us wakeboarding, gave us… read more
Always smiling and offering help even after a long days picking. We miss their smiles! Wish them well on their travels and hope to see them again sometime!
Thank you for giving… read more
Jonatan is a great partner for work and we spent an amazing time after work, he always invited me to do diverses outdoor activities and we enjoyed a lot! definitely I have a new friend after this time! Im so glad to spent… read more
It was my first workaway experience and I loved it.
I spent 2 weeks in this project, between 15 and 26 February .
Annie, Jonathan and Sophie are very friendly, the cultural exchange and socialization was very good.
It was also an opportunitty to improve my english skils.
During that time Jonathan wanted to transform a big division of… read more
there's plenty to do regardless of what skills you have.
the area is beautiful with a must see lake nearby.
Her place has many fruit trees, olives and a vegetable patch. A few minutes walk away near a beautiful forest ideal for hikes with lovely views.
Annie is a wonderful host and a great cook she made us lunch and dinner and had a variety of breakfast to help… read more
The house is far from… read more
We cooked together for her diner club, and many home meals over great conversations and wine of course.
Annie was extremely gracious to take me around the area… read more
