Rural life and learn about wine making, sustainability, permaculture and more in Nelas, Portugal

Details

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  Description

  My parents are Portuguese Imigrantes and we moved back to my origins 8 years ago. I moved here with my husband and 2 small children, we bought an old stone property with land and are creating the first ever Passivhaus in our area (there aren't many in Portugal). We are half Portuguese and half English with most of my family who lives and is from this area.
  
  The land has suffered after the September 2024 fires so we are working to create new ecosystems and bring nature back to life, using permaculture/food forest principals. It's a beautiful area, lots of history.
  
  My husband works remotely and our children go to school here. We also look after a vineyard and produce our own wine including sparkling wine which we would not expect workaways to make but taste if they wish to. It's been a busy time as we are doing lot of the house build ourselves.
  
  We love walking in the Serra de Estrela mountains which are not far away, and there's lots of garden projects on the go too. Myself and my family are fully Bilingual in Portuguese and English, we love exploring and developing the area and are also involved in the community. Both Seb and Matt play the trumpet in the local band. Our kids are aged 8 (Aura) & 10 (Seb) and have a good understanding on were food comes from and how to grow it!
  
  We used to explore caves as a hobby and have our own training space as part of our house where Liz does Areal Silks and Single rope technique.
  
  We believe in making life sustainable, working with the land and animals. Looking at ways to improve the community and generally a better place for everyone!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Elderly Companionship

  Teaching

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  House sitting
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  Interests

  

  Performing arts

  

  History

  

  Books

  

  Vegetarian or vegan

  

  Technology

  

  Sustainability

  

  Self development

  

  Pets

  

  Movies & TV

  

  Farming

  

  Events & social

  

  Culture

  

  Plant care

  

  Music

  

  Languages

  

  Gardening

  

  Drawing & painting

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Art & design

  

  Animals

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Nature

  

  Mountain

  

  Hiking

  

  Cycling

  

  Camping

  

  Beach

  

  Adventure sports
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We are Bilingual in English and Portuguese so you can practice language skills, get to know rural life in Portugal. We like to go walking in the area/and mountains at the weekend. We go to local events, experience festivals and get to know the local culture. Learn about wine making from us, and basic agriculture on a small scale. Try aerial silks in my training space.

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  Help

  Jobs for the Month of JUNE/JULY/ AUGUST/SUMMER HOLIDAYS 2025 (Information to families wanting to visit at the end, please read before messaging):
  During these months mainly July and August it's too hot to work during 11am-4pm so we do jobs early in the day and late evening. During the day we may do jobs like making jam, chutneys and tomato preserve. It's fire season so if you have any experience fire fighting this is always welcome.
  Our children are on school holidays from end of June until beginning of September so during this time they will be around and partaking in tasks with workaways.
  Daily tasks:
  -Walking the dogs (really important to make an effort to get to know the dogs and have an understanding of what puppies are like) or have previous experience with dogs or big dogs (St. Bernard size)
  -Checking chickens have food/water, cleaning them out
  -General cleaning/cooking
  -squeezing orange juice
  
  Day tasks in the garden:
  -cutting the grass with the strimmer/ also in vineyard.
  -weeding/planting trees
  -cutting up branches that have been cut down to make suitable piles for woodchipping.
  -Vegetable season harvesting vegtables.
  
  tasks we do together: wood chipping, cutting up firewood, planting, making a chicken house.
  Indoor tasks: Simple tasks in my parents' house next door, help prep for painting, painting, sanding, clearing/ and cleaning up.
  We have various projects we are doing at the moment these can be discussed first to find out each individual is confident in completing, like building a chicken shed. We like to know our workaways' skills so we can pick the right jobs for you, or you can let us know if you have certain skills and we can incorporate them into our farm.
  
  If workaways are unwell we expect there to be an element of a backup plan on their part. We understand that sickness is mostly unplanned but if you are having prolonged sickness for longer than 3 days discussion needs to happen as to what medical care you might need and if it's appropriate to stay. This is important as we have children and vulnerable adults (my parents around).
  General stay is 2 weeks, but if you want to stay for longer we always say we will do a trial period for 1-2 weeks and have a catch-up talk to see if both workaways and us as the host are happy to continue with a longer stay (6 weeks-2months). Building relationships is important, making connections and sharing so communication is vital.
  
  IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO FAMILIES WANTING TO VISIT PLEASE READ BEFORE MESSAGING:
  We enjoy experiencing other families visit, it's interesting to share educational experiences. However things to consider we are not a holiday camp, we are a working farm.
  -For every family visiting there needs to be a adult to supervise and look after the child/children
  -Families are welcome but there is not enough indoor space for families to sleep so you will need to bring a tent or Campervan.
  -We cannot supply all family meals we will share 1 meal a day with families.
  -As we are a working farm young children have to be respectful of our animals and vegetables growing, it's a whole new environment for them so we expect this to be explained to them.
  -At the end of day everything needs to be tidied away by the whole family we work as a team.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Portuguese: Fluent

  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

  Whilst we are restoring our house you are staying next door in a rural country house. It has 2 bathrooms , one out on the balcony and one indoors, there are many options for accommodation from camping/living indoors/campervan space for those with their own accommodation. The rural country house is small, and also being renovated. We have a washing machine, hotwater, dishwasher and heaters.

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  What else ...

  1 hour from the highest mountain point in Portugal, 1 and half hour from the beach, 1 hour from Coimbra. We have mountain bikes which you can borrow and there are some local mountain biking and walking trails. Nelas is the nearest town 2km away with supermarkets and pharmacies. Lots of vineyards to visit, historical buildings, at different times of the year have key events; wine festivals, cheese festivals in the mountains, carnivals, medieval festivals, saint days with traditional parades.
  We are not too far from river beaches, most places one needs to drive to, but one can also get buses and lifts which can be arranged with planning.
  At the moment we are very busy with the house and family life we usually take Sundays off to go and do something different, like walking, a day trip or visit family.

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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

  This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We have space for a campervan in our patio area that has access to electrical point. Workaways can use the internet for checking emails and messages but doesn't work to download films. If Families wish to visit there needs to 2 adults as part of this team so there is always someone available to care for children especially if they are under the age of 12 years old.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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