Come spend time on our tranquil farm in a thriving community in Benfeita, Portugal

Details

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  Description

  I am a single mum who chose to move to Portugal to let my kids grow up surrounded by beauty and nature. My daughter, Shyamalii, is 11 and my son, Narayan, is 8 years old and they are both full of love, life and curiosity and love meeting new people. We also live with our cuddly black cat waffles.
  
  I have been practicing yoga and meditation for many years now which has been been my rock through the highs and lows of life. I am a birth worker, doula and yoga teacher and focus a lot on womens health and wellness in my practices. Life for me is all about learning, growing and opening. I am practicing more how to be still, to feel and to listen with all my senses. I am into natural holistic health and wellbeing. I love to spend time in nature, swimming and dipping in idyllic waterfall pools of which there are many near us. I enjoy dancing and singing and creating with my hands.
  
  I have recently moved from a remote farm in the valley to a farm on the outskirts of the village of Benfeita. We are close to the national park, Mata da Margaraça, in the mountains of the Serra do Açor and other natural places of beauty such as Fraga de Pena. We live in a big house with different areas to it which I’m in the process of developing, a beautiful garden by the house and then a large piece of land on terraces full of fruit and nut trees including a big walnut forest. My vision is to restore the house and form part of it into a community hub and centre for health and well-being.
  
  This area of Benfeita and surrounding villages is a thriving place to live and bring up children. I like to describe the community as very colourful
  with people from many countries and all walks of life, collaborating, learning from each other, sharing art, music, skills and talents.
  
  My children attend a home education project walking distance from where we live. You can easily wander down to the village centre of benfeita which has a cafe, restaurant, little shop and river beach and pool in the summer but we are also surrounded by other lovely places to walk and be in nature.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Farmstay help

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  You can learn about living in nature, in the Portuguese country side and be involved in an exciting community wellness project. I am British, but have some Chinese Malaysian roots and my kids are a mix of many cultures themselves including Chinese, Malaysian, British and South American. You can also learn about the yogic diet and lifestyle and spending time with children who are very free thinking. You can also learn a lot from other members of the local community here as there are always activities and events going on bringing people together.

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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

  I have lots of little projects I would like help with on the farm. I have a big vision of creating a space of well-being and health and there is plenty to do to get it ready. I am in the process of renovating lots of different spaces including a beautiful meditation/yoga/dance/healing studio, a community cafe space brining people together and serving healthy local snacks, two apartments and a pottery studio. There are lots of little projects to be done including clearing out spaces and making them ready for new uses. I have some building work that needs doing if you have building skills and plenty of DIY. I’m also looking for people that like interior design as I would love help in designing the space and also people who have skills with digital marketing/social media as this is new to me. On top of this I have beautiful gardens which could do with a spruce up and also some maintenance and ultimately I would love to have a productive vegetable garden also. At certain times of year, normally autumn time, there is plenty to do with harvesting and preserving.
  
  My kids love meeting new people, spending time and learning from them and It is always nice to have people around that like to engage with kids in different ways.
  
  Finally it is always enjoyable to have people around sharing time together and sharing cooking and creating and also helping me keep the home in order. My daughter particularly is very creative and absolutely loves to work with creative people on different projects so any creative skills especially with the hands - sewing, knitting, crochet, mosaic, basket weaving, cooking, baking etc etc are always very welcome. My son loves board games indoors and out so people who enjoy playing games are also very welcome :)

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  German: Intermediate
  Portuguese: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  I love to learn languages and am really keen to learn portuguese especially with native speakers so we are particularly interested in having native Portuguese speakers (from any continent) come and stay with us. I am also very patient at teaching english.
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  Accommodation

  There are a couple of rooms where volunteers can stay at the moment. It is in another part of the house to where me and the kids live so you would have your own bathroom shared with other volunteers if there is more than one volunteer here. If I have interest from more than two volunteers at any one time then I would discuss if anyone would be happy to share a room but this is very flexible and would only happen if everyone agrees and is happy with it.
  
  We like to share cooking and eating with workaways so when the kids are with me we tend to eat together. My kids spend two days a week with their dad so on those days I often prefer to spend time in quiet so I may not eat every meal together on those days depending on how I’m feeling but you can prepare meals for yourself whenever you like in the family kitchen.
  
  I cook healthy, hearty, nutritious vegetarian food and love to learn new recipes from others.

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  What else ...

  There is plenty to do around here. There are lots of beauty spots such as the Mata da Margaraca, national park and Fraga de Pena within walking distance. There are also lots of hidden beauty spots along the river and amongst the trees. There is a lot going on socially especially as we approach spring and summer. We have regular markets, bhajans and other types of gatherings and workshops ranging from permaculture to natural building to basket weaving to circus skills. The list is endless!
  
  The easiest way to get around is either by foot or in a car although there is a local bus which comes in and out of the area a couple of times a day.
  
  While volunteers don't need to be vegetarian they will need to respect only eating and preparing vegetarian food at our place.I also don’t cook or prepare onion or garlic in the house due to following a yogic diet but I have plenty of tricks for making food tasty and delicious none the less.
  
  While I accept people for a week my preference is for people to stay at least 2 weeks as it can take time to get into a rhythm with eachother. Normally we like to review after a week how things are going which gives everyone involved an opportunity to assess how it is working.

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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

  I currently don’t have optic fibre internet but am planning to get it installed soon. I currently use a dongle which works well enough for zoom calls.

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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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