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Host rating
100 %
Last replied
15 Oct 2025
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84.2 %
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*** LAST MINUTE SPACE AVAILABLE
We have professionals on site so there is an opportunity to learn or improve a skill you are interested in. There are always tasks in the vegetable, flower gardens and on the land and Olive Harvest is coming up in October.
Hi My name is Annie and I am retired and live in the countryside near Tomar on the edge of a forest and within walking distance to the 70km long Castelo do Bode Lake. I purchased the property in August 2018 with a view to using part as my home and part to create a seasonal letting and to facilitate small retreats with alternative therapies and abundant bio vegetable gardens. I am a keen gardener and cook, so nobody goes hungry and I enjoy walking, water sports, films and live music. We have an indoor wood burner for chilly evenings and love to make really healthy, yummy dinners for everyone. Always lots of baking going on here!
Private double bedrooms in the main house with excellent internet for working nomads. We supply a 'help yourself' breakfast and leave a prepared lunch.
On the patio is a cosy VW camper van set up as a bedroom with heat and light also available for work away and also a hardstanding for your camper van with electric and water and scenic spots for a tent if you prefer this arrangement. There is a shower room and kitchenette/ utility room nearby under cover.
We usually sit all together for the evening meal that I have prepared, however, depending on the day and to give myself a break from cooking there is a freezer with healthy, tasty, home cooked sauces, casseroles, chilli etc and a good supply of pasta, rice and vegetable for you to prepare at your leisure. We grow many vegetables & have lemon, orange and fruit trees, so you will not go hungry! Open to anyone who loves to cook to take a turn in the kitchen.
My son Jonathan who is 40 is often here to help with this exciting project. He is a qualified Ski instructor, Life Guard and excellent surfer and will be travelling to the waves on his time off. He is proficient in woodworking, electrical insulation, plumbing, ceramic tiling, kitchen and bathroom installation, landscaping and qualified in using heavy earth moving equipment. He enjoys various outdoor activities including, cycling, walking, climbing, water sports etc….
My daughter comes for a period of time to help too, often with the cooking during the busy Olive Harvest around October - November - taking bookings for that period now.
The house is on a hill overlooking a small village on the edge of a lovely forest with an exciting downhill bike course and is good for running and walking. We are 6 minutes by car or 20 minutes on foot to the stunning 70 km long Castelo do Bode lake, which has river beaches where we picnic, swim, canoe, paddle board and wake board. The roads around are quiet and good for cycling and running. We have an olive grove which produces delicious olive oil, several vines, lemon, orange, tangerine, plum, pear, peach and apple trees. We have created a flower gardens, bio vegetable, salad and herb gardens. There is a plunge pool for hot days. There is a large bread/pizza oven, paella cooker and BBQ we use often and a fire pit for chilly evenings. The old stone cottage in the grounds currently used as a garage and store requires some renovating also..
My niece, her partner and their two young boys have a similar project in the same village up on the opposite hill. They also invite workaways and we often get together to socialise, share a meal and make some music. We are a relaxed family and welcome people from all over the world.
Our aim is to become as self sufficient as possible and create a harmonious place where people are respectful, help with integrity and have fun! I am eventually planning to resume my fortnightly dinners in the Adega (wine room) when complete towards Autumn 2025 and anyone who is a keen, good cook around that time would be very welcome to help. I am planning to live downstairs when that part of the renovation is complete and upstairs will be available for summer lets and small retreats with hopefully some alternative therapies available.
Please contact me if you would like to be part of our project.
I look forward to hearing from you
love and light Annie
*** Taking bookings for October OLIVE HARVEST 2025. Looking for keen pickers with a can do attitude. We work full days and give time off at the end of the pick. We usually join forces with my niece Janine’s Workaway’s to make a group of 6/8 people. She manages the picking and everyone takes a turn to help me do prep, cooking and cleaning. It is a really fun time with good food and hopefully some music around the campfire.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
Creating/ Cooking family meals
General Maintenance
House sitting
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 around the world and we often gather around the fire pit to share a meal with my niece and her family and their work aways and we are always keen to hear peoples stories and listen to music. I have a love of cooking and I always like to share this and teach people how use the Pizza Oven and create delicious Pizzas.
Opportunity to learn Grape vine pruning and Olive harvesting and pruning. Please see note below regarding Olive Harvesting. Any keen marmalade and jams Makers are welcome as are anyone who likes to cook.
The 70km long lake is perfect for swimming and water sports within 20 minutes walking distance or 5 mins by car,
The local city of Tomar is home to the ’Convento de Cristo’ which is listed as a World Heritage site. The Old part of the city is lovely and is packed with restaurants, bars, cafes and lovely old streets. You will never run out of things to do here. Train and bus station in Tomar with easy travelling to both Lisbon and Porto and open to anyone who wants to take a ‘long weekend’ and adjust their daily hours!
Help
I have listed some of the tasks below to give you an idea of the what we still have to do and what there is available for you to get involved with
Land and garden:
Re-landscaping the grounds
Preparation and planting of vegetable, herb and flower gardens
Pruning olive, vines and fruit trees
Path creating
Anyone with an interest to learn or improve a skill would be amazing.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
There is a newly completed Utility/kitchenette with fridge, toaster, kettle, microwave etc. bathroom downstairs. At the moment work aways have bedrooms and use of the facilities in the main house upstairs whilst the renovation down stairs is completed.
We also have space for small/medium size camper or tents with water/electric and a VW is set up as a bedroom on the patio if you prefer.
What else ...
Swimming, Paddle Boarding and canoeing from the River Beach 5 mins by car.
Sao Pedro 5 minutes by car - Doctors, pharmacy, Bank Machine, cafe, Restaurant, Church.
Serra 10 minutes by car, Petrol Station, Butchers, Supermarket, Doctors, Pharmacy, Post Office, Bank machine, cafe's and restaurant.
Tomar a market Town with the Convento de Cristo - World Heritage site of the 'Knights of the Templar' 10 minutes by car. Cinema, Theatre, Restaurants, cafes, shops, supermarkets, Banks, Post Office, Hospital and sports centre. Large market on a Friday. Bus station and Train station - 90 minutes to Lisbon.
Bus passes through Pai Cabeca to Tomar. Short walk to the Serra Road where there is a bus stop with a more regular service. Good walking, special downhill cycling track behind the house and plenty of forest to ramble through. Transport would be useful but not necessary.
I make regular trips into Serra, Sao Pedro and Tomar. The train service is good and cheap if you want to get around. Coaches run to Lisbon and Porto from Tomar.
Train and Coach travel is cheap.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Part of the property is being designed to accommodate long stay digital nomads with excellent internet and designated work and study areas.
Space for parking camper vans
Hard standing with electric and water next to the house. Further parking down on the adjacent land with no electric. Room for tents in Olive Grove.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
My animals / pets
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Communication:
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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
