Offgrid living in Central Portugal

Details

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  Description

  Our owners are a pair of Aussies who left Australia in 2014 and went walkabout. They ended up settling in Portugal in 2015 and adopted us (their fur babies) in 2016 making their lives complete. We own a slice of paradise 10 kms outside Castelo Branco that needs keen and enthusiastic workaways, no experience necessary, just the right can do attitude to help them recover the olive grove and build us a house to live in.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  General Maintenance

  Animal Care

  Art Projects
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Things possible to learn:
  How awesome Australians are... Cos they are like super awesome bonfire builders...
  How to eat Vegemite on toast (important cultural activity)
  AFL, meat pies and an explanation of how a team can 'be in front by a behind' are also part of the taste of Australia whilst being in Portugal during the footy season.
  Building and construction, both in concrete bricks and other materials such as plasterboard walls. This includes, how to correctly make cement, different types of cementing and the uses, how to build a wall / building / bathroom / kitchen, including rendering and using coloured dyes for effects. (Yep they get a little excited about cement)
  Building a kitchen, tiling, plumbing
  Gardening, growing and cultivating a vegetable garden which will help to feed them eventually
  Use of general equipment skills, such as chain saws, strimmers, ( weed whackers, whipper snipper etc.) please note that you only have to use these machines if you feel comfortable.
  Painting and other forms of decorating.
  How to make glass bricks with empty bottles and build a wall

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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

  Our little slice of paradise was abandoned for over 25 years and is in need of some serious love and attention and our owners can't do it by themselves because they only have 2 feet instead of 4. The property has an overgrown olive grove on terraces with grapes vines that look more at home in a Tarzan movie. The other half of the Quinta has native bush shrubbery and a variety of trees leading down to the valley floor. The property also comes with the best neighbours in Portugal who love meeting, and feeding workaways when they visit 🍛🥘🍝
  
  They are slowly converting an old stone shed into a small house and have added on a bathroom and kitchen extension bit. It's mostly done except for:
  They have no hot water except by the sun
  Actually they don't really have a kitchen at the moment, that's on the list of things to do...
  The front door is a wee bit bent so doesn't quite close...
  At the moment they are converting an old water tank into a plunge pool and are currently tiling it and creating shade screens.
  
  So what sort of help do they need from the workaways..
  Whatever they need doing on the day...
  This can be pruning trees and collecting firewood, to mixing cement and rendering walls to trimming the grass and making wine, picking olives in November / December.
  At the moment the focus is on getting us a kitchen area where our owners can slave away catering to our lavish cat and dog tastes so installing windows, doors, rendering and most importantly creating some bottle walls is essential.
  
  More than anything else, the right attitude is what is needed. They are more than happy to teach anyone the skills needed to undertake whatever task is asked of you. A willingness to muck in with whatever task is in front of them on the day is all we ask for.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: We are unable to accept anybody under the age of eighteen for safety reasons be it either as a worker or dependant.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  Our owners have tents for workaways as it is cooler to sleep in over the summer months and even into autumn. Even they sleep in a tent which makes it easier for us to pounce on them unsuspectingly which is the cat's new favourite game with them.
  Once they finish the kitchen it is the bedroom they are working on and that's going to be an underground room with bottle wall... kinda like a small hairy footed thing that lives in The Shire and can't be named for copyright reasons 😜
  They will supply bedding and a towel for use, but workaways need to provide their own toiletries.
  
  There was some loose lipped talk one night when they were emptying a few bottles about doing something interesting with the Caravan from hell... who knows they didn't share their drinks so we stopped listening
  
  They come with free wifi and enjoy watching movies outside (mainly because it's cooler in summer and they don't have a lounge room yet)

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  What else ...

  We are 10kms outside Castelo Branco and are on the public transport route.
  We are a 45 minute drive from Serra de Estrela where you can ski in winter and hike through in summer as well as 3 hours from Lisbon by train.
  In 30 minutes we are in Spain and Monsanto, the most Portuguese village in Portugal is also close by.
  There are cinemas, public pools, libraries, museums, bars etc available in Castelo Branco on your time off.
  In summer the barragem to swim in is close by, and they are right in the middle of some beautiful hiking country.
  They are not vegans / vegetarians and enjoy all types of food. They don't cater for special diets, unless it is a food allergy or you are a cat. If this is is not for you, we thank you for your time in reading our profile and happy travels.
  Abby 🐶
  Blue 🐱

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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?

  Two

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  Hours expected

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

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