The Good Life! Join us as we create a little piece of paradise near Ervedal da Beira, Portugal

Details

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  Description

  Whoever said Permaculture was lazy gardening lied! 😂
  
  Having created a beautiful Permaculture project in England's Lake District, we relocated to Portugal to bring love, sweat and toil to another piece of land.
  
  We are situated in our own valley, with over 3 hectares of beautiful terraced land, dropping down to the river at the bottom. The aim is to create a wonderful home for our family, friends and guests.
  
  There are various zones and ongoing projects, including no-dig veg gardens, the beginnings of a large forest garden, a chicken run, a sports terrace (volleyball, boule), an archery range, imminent plans to create a gym, a bbq area, a big firepit for bonfires (in winter months only) and various other terraces with ongoing projects, such as the creation of a volunteer area with its own kitchen, showers, compost loo etc.
  
  As well as the two of us, our family consists of two wonderful young children, two super friendly dogs, a kitten and a flock of chickens.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  General Maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet

  House sitting
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  Interests

  

  Drawing & painting

  

  Languages

  

  Politics / Social justice

  

  Vegetarian or vegan

  

  Sustainability

  

  Culture

  

  Self development

  

  Movies & TV

  

  Animals

  

  Carpentry

  

  Performing arts

  

  Gardening

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Art & design

  

  Books

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Music

  

  Plant care

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Team sports

  

  Nature

  

  Fitness

  

  Camping

  

  Winter sports

  

  Mountain

  

  Dancing

  

  Beach

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Hiking

  

  Cycling
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We generally try to work alongside our volunteers, doing whatever needs to be done that day, but equally there may be times when we ask volunteers to do tasks alone and we trust them to be self-motivated and responsible. But unless we are working on something specific, there are usually options to suit people’s preferences.
  
  We have experience in most of the skills needed for off-grid sustainable living, having previously run a Permaculture and Natural Building education centre in Thailand, before creating a Permaculture demonstration site in the Lake District that focused on running practical handicraft courses (wood carving, willow weaving, stone carving, mushroom foraging, painting, sculpture etc ) as well as hosting longer intensive courses on Permaculture, yoga, tantra and shamanism.
  
  Whilst we have lots of experience and skills to share, we love nothing more than learning new skills from our volunteers and creating beautiful things together.
  
  It is often hot and sunny, so there may be times that we need to work early and late, with time off in the heat of the day for a snooze or swim in our beautiful river. Tasks are often physical, so if the thought of working up a sweat doesn’t put a smile on your face, you may want to re-consider applying. That said, we strive to find a balance between work and play. You will also find plenty of time to explore this beautiful part of the world on your own or with our two adorable dogs, who love an adventure!

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  The beauty of living the good life is that every day is different. We generally work quite hard, but we enjoy every task that comes our way, so it rarely feels like a chore.
  
  There is always help needed in one of the veg gardens (planting, weeding, harvesting). So if you have green fingers or want to learn how to grow your own food there is never a shortage of things to do.
  
  There are lots of young trees in the forest garden that are fairly bedded in now, but may need occasional watering and mulching in the summer months. Then there is wood collection and processing, strimming, grass cutting, pruning, de-brambling etc. All the good stuff!
  
  For those more drawn to construction, we almost always have a building project ongoing . Upcoming/potential projects are creating a rustic ‘Rocky 4 style’ gym in an old ruin, the creation of a roof and porch above our second caravan, building a second compost loo (on the other side of the land from the wonderful poo palace), creating a kids play area (tree house specialists welcome), building another log-store, constructing a chicken coop…the list goes on!
  
  We have two young children, which makes life rich but doesn't always make getting things done easy, so if you have the energy to entertain kids, we never say no.
  
  Basically there’s no shortage of fun to be had, regardless of your skill set or interests .

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  Czech: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Portuguese: Intermediate

  This host offers a language exchange
  We would welcome Portuguese speakers to help us learn the language. We would happily teach English (or Czech) as an exchange. All nationalities are welcome - we are good at charades!
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  Accommodation

  We have two nice, dry caravans, one has a big decked area in front and is under a big roof (with the same planned for the other at some stage).
  
  In the summer months we also have the option of several big bell tents for a glamping style existence.
  
  There is a lovely compost loo with views down the valley and a fab solar shower, set into the nook of a boulder. We are in the process of creating a volunteer kitchen/hangout space.

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  What else ...

  Our quinta is situated in a beautiful valley with no neighbours and great walks in most directions.
  
  There is a fabulous and private swimming spot in the river just a few minutes walk away with great rock jumping for any adrenaline junkies and quiet pools and sun-basking spots further up river for those wanting peace and quiet.
  
  For those wanting a bigger adventure, the gorgeous Serra da Estrela Natural Park is only 45 minutes drive away.
  
  Ervedal da Beira is our nearby village, a couple of kilometers up the road. It has a range of local shops and a few cafes/bars, serving cold beer and pastries and is walkable (albeit uphill).
  
  Further afield are the towns of Oliveira do Hospital, Tabua and Seia, all about 20-30 minutes drive away. These have most things you might ever need.
  
  The whole area is inundated with river beaches, ranging from huge lakes with a wide range of facilities to quiet hidden gems.
  
  For ocean lovers, there are beautiful deserted sandy beaches on the west coast, about 1h40min away. Great for a weekend trip!

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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

  We have reasonable wi-fi.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We have a car park, so no problem parking vans. There is a compost loo nearby.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  We have two dogs, a kitten and chickens. Well-behaved, nice pets could potentially join us.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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