Help with daily life on a smallholding in rural Alentejo, Portugal

Details

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  Description

  Holy Fnord! Well! Ahoy! We are an off-grid smallholding run by two magical minded self-sustainability freaks who want to learn and love the land in as compassionate and cosmic a manner as possible! In 2016 we bought 1.2 hectares of land (mix of cork, olive, fruit trees) and a beautiful house made from local stone and clay. Our space is located not so far from a village called Luzianes Gare in Alentejo, in the alchemical south-west regions of Portugal.
  
  We have retired from consensual reality and want to create a slower, more conscious world, with connections to all elements in our daily lives. How this translates into the physical plane is: we grow food, we eat the food, we raise animals, eat the animals, plant and care for trees, and enjoy building with wood, clay, and stone. We have wild nights of conversation and music, we have rituals, we have non-rituals, we celebrate the sacred, we celebrate the profane, we like to make and encourage art, and are trying to transition into complete self-sustainability, as long as we can still buy our rice and coffee from the outside world...! Lots to learn, lots to do.
  
  We often have friends and family drifting through our space, but the permanent guardians are Rory and Margot, a Scot and a South African who met in South Korea and decided to embark on some wyrd and wicked wanderings together. This smallholding could be seen as a radical experiment in creating an alternative to the work/money/career reality, but to us it seems like the normal, sane thing to do.
  
  We work hard, we play harder, and we sometimes remember to take time away from the land and explore the neighboring glens or nearby coast.
  
  Rory has a lot of work for clients in the surrounding community, mainly doing construction, renovation, and land work. He keeps all the various activities and construction projects on the smallholding going while not away working.
  
  Margot is currently raising our 16 month old twin daughters, so her days are centred around that, while still maintaining things in the house, and continuing her goat milking, and cheese and yoghurt production routine.
  
  
  
  
  IMPORTANT NOTES:
  
  1. We prefer volunteers who can join us for longer periods of time, so give priority to those volunteers who can commit to a minimum of two weeks.
  
  2. Off-grid living deep in nature is not for everyone. We live in the countryside. We have no close neighbours. There is an abundance of nature to explore around us, and our lives are centred on our land. If you are not content with this lifestyle, then this opportunity is not for you.
  
  3. We have a very open approach to volunteers who stay with us. We share our space, we cook and eat together, and we bring you into our lives which means working, playing, partying, and exploring together. We are not the sort of hosts who erect barriers between us and our volunteers and keep everything separate. By joining our space you will be coming as friends, albeit with the understanding of a work exchange, which is something we practice with all of our friends in the area anyway. We only want volunteers who are genuinely interested in this type of life and the connectedness of rural living, so we are NOT somewhere you can use for free accommodation in the area, doing a few hours work, then going off and doing your own thing.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Babysitting and creative play

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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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

  Our place is entirely off-grid so you are going to learn a whole host of useful skills. We organise all our own water, electricity, fuel, etc., so we can definitely show you the ropes if you are new to this, and would like to learn.
  
  With a huge amount of books on permaculture, land management, animal care, vegetable growing, etc, you can do all your studies at night as well!
  
  If you want to learn something specific, i.e. a focus on animals, vegetables, foraging, or tool use, then let us know and we can craft projects to this. We are not mind readers so it is on you to communicate your desires and we will do our best to accommodate.
  
  We live deep in the countryside of Portugal in a very traditional wider community, and being good friends with the locals you can get a great insight into how self-sufficiency looks here. Whilst we live in a very quiet valley with no immediate neighbours, we have friends practising all sorts of traditional and more modern (permaculture type) agriculture and other eco-projects in the immediate area.

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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

  So, we have two positions available at the moment.
  
  1. Help Margot with childcare and housekeeping.
  
  The work involved here will range from taking our daughters walking through the beautiful forested valleys we live in, to childminding at home, to helping keep the house clean and tidy, and everything in between.
  
  Another fantastic opportunity is to join Margot in milking the herd of goats that she helps a local farmer with. You can see and learn the whole process, from milking, to making cheese and yoghurt.
  
  While this will be your main focus, if you are interested in doing, or learning, anything else, in regards to all the other activities that go on on our offgrid smallholding, then you can ask us, and we can arrange it.
  
  
  2. Help Rory with smallholding work, while he is out working for clients.
  
  We are open to anyone that is an all rounder. If you are that person, you will know what that entails. I am usually away working for clients during the week, continuing the work and projects on our land around this, so I would greatly appreciate a volunteer joining us that could help speed up this process. I am looking for someone that is practical and experienced. Ideally you are someone that has experience in construction, wood work, farming, vegetable propagation and growing, land work, use of power tools, animal raising, butchery, hunting, etc.
  
  
  
  NOTE FOR VOLUNTEERS
  
  We strive to make every volunteer's time with us enjoyable, and will be bringing you in to both our family circle, and our wider circle of friends in the local community. We are very clear with the help that you are expected to provide in exchange for you staying with us, but it is very important for us that there is a fair balance maintained between us, so you have a good time and don't feel exploited.
  
  We will ensure you have plenty of your own time to pursue whatever your own interests are, but as we do live deep in the countryside, you need to be adept at managing these interests and your free time yourself. If you have your own vehicle, then you will be able to explore the larger local area yourself in your free time. Otherwise, we make sure to include you whenever we go to local markets, nature spots, local restaurants, or friends' houses for dinner. For someone that enjoys nature, and the peace that this location provides, our place is perfect. If you are looking to go sightseeing in towns and cities every weekend, then you should look for somewhere else.

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  Languages spoken

  Afrikaans: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  French: Fluent
  Portuguese: Intermediate

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  Accommodation

  We have various possibilities available to you, which means that you can experience a different sleep/dream experience every night if you do so wish. First off we have a caravan in the workshop/storage space. It's under a roof, so plenty of shade from the oppressive Portuguese sun, and can comfortably sleep several people if necessary.
  
  Next we have a very basic treehouse leftover from previous occupants of the house. We can make a dream palace bed there if you enjoy sleeping two meters above the ground.
  
  If you enjoy your dreams in tents we have lots of space where you can pitch up, and plenty of trees if you prefer to string up a hammock. Often in summer we dump our mattresses outside and sleep beneath the canopy of stars. With no light pollution the night sky is rather remarkable.
  
  We have a nice, comfortable bedroom in the house which is specifically for guest or volunteers.
  
  We also have a very special guest cottage, but this is normally reserved for visiting family or friends. It can be made available to volunteers at times, if necessary.
  
  
  How will food work? Well, unlike Gandhi I do believe you need more than raisins, goat milk, and lemons to survive, although we do eat all of these in abundance! We are trying to move towards being as self sustainable as possible. We eat mainly from our garden and our animals, but supplement with things bought from outside, swapped with friends and neighbours, or hunted from the wild. Almost all of our meals are meat based; we never eat vegan.
  
  In the morning we generally have coffee, fruit, bread, oats, yogurt etc. Lunch is usually a 'whatever is there' affair, and dinner is generally a sumptuous feast of mammoth proportions. Breakfast and lunch are never long, and generally we help ourselves whenever we are hungry. This means we can be more efficient and get more work done! The only meal we sit down and eat all together around one table is dinner! Yum!
  
  So, we shall provide breakfast, lunch, and sumptuous dinner each day. You will usually (not always!) prepare your own breakfast and lunch from what is in the kitchen or garden, and in the evening Rory will usually be the one to prepare the meal, which we will sit together and enjoy at the end of the day.
  
  If you have any dietary requirements that you imagine will be difficult to cater for deep in rural Portugal then please bring your own supply of alternatives (gluten free whatever, etc).
  
  Phone service is limited. We have satellite internet.

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  What else ...

  Lots of beautiful things to explore in the area.
  
  Relatively close to the south west coast of Portugal, which has a huge array of incredible beaches and cliffs (50minute drive by car).
  
  Huge dam (Santa Clara Barragem) is a 15 minute drive away, great lake for picnics and swimming.
  
  The 230km Rota Vicentina hiking trail passes through the area.
  
  Lots of markets, local, gypsy, and freaky foreigner types.
  
  We have secret swimming spots in nearby valleys, abandoned villages to hike to, and sometimes events in our local village.
  
  Volunteers often walk into the village (30-40minutes through beautiful valleys) where there are several cafe/bars.
  
  As we are so deep in the countryside it is obviously easiest if you have your own transport if you wish to do some serious exploring.
  
  Nearby is the community of Tamera which is a super experiment in alternative ways of living and they hold regular open days and workshops.
  
  If you are inclined towards bhakti yoga Mooji and his community is only a 20minute drive away.
  
  There are frequent markets in the area, both agricultural and artisan, as well as psychedelic parties, music festivals, and workshops.
  
  Our village and neighbouring ones also have traditional parties, feasts, and festivals throughout the year.

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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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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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