Portugal
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We, two openminded Dutch, are setting up an eco-retreat in the green mountainous heart of Portugal near the Estrella mountains
We would like to invite people that want a time-off from their busy western lifestyle to work and live with us for a short or long term period
To cover maintenance and building costs we allso take non-working guests on a donation basis
Our 1.2 ha quinta ( Portuguese for farm ) has vine bordered terraces with lots of sweet chestnut, cork, olive and fruittrees
We are surrounded by forests and have a beautiful view on our neighbouring village and land with crystal clear streams and super clean air
There are waterfalls and river-beaches in the area to relax and lots of pictoresque villages and markets with local produce and arts & crafts to visit
We are part of an international community that lives mostly off grid and selfsustainable
We build with local stone, lime and wood and have alternative sewage and waste disposure systems
Our food comes from organic/permaculture gardens
There are lots of artists and musicians around and people who organize affordable workshops you could attend
Unfortunately we were struck by the wildfires in october 2017 when trees and our slate house burned
It would be great if you could help in the organic/ permaculture vegetable garden, replant trees, maintenance (brushcutting, watering, sowing, planting), prepair firewood, cook vegetarian/vegan meals, harvest and preserve produce from the land and help with some light construction work, build platforms for tents, a shed, prepare firewood and (re)build walls of the terraces and stairs with slate
Nico, 52 has a technical background and loves to work with stone and wood
After he got severe back problems and had an near death experience he changed his life radically and worked with children that are difficult to raise
He gained a lot of spiritual knowledge through all this and likes to share his wisdom with people who like to learn about life
He is an intuïtive massage therapist puts up tipi tents, loves to make campfires and plays the drum and mouth harp
Patricia, 54, studied fashion design and sold her extravagant and colorfull designs at small alternative festivals around Europe
She traveled a lot, especially to Asia ( India, Bali, Thailand) where she produced her designs with small fairtrade manufacturers
From childhood she always loved to be in nature and studied natural healthcare
In combination with her intuïtive skills she can 'read' people ( fysionomics and typology) and heal/rebalance them with foods, herbs and lifestyle changes
Her sense for esthetics is shown in the garden and the design of the buildings on the quinta
She organizes workshops about natural healthcare, bio-energetic & vegan cooking and how to design and make your own clothing
We are a 1 km walk from the village Cerdeira with a café with wi-fi and small supermarket
It's a 6 km drive to Côja, a small town with shops, library, restaurants, saturday market and cafés with outside sitting areas
Coïmbra, university city and former capital of Portugal, is 70 km by bus
Porto and Lisbon, but allso the coast of the Atlantic ocean with lots of beaches are only about 2 hours by car and a bit longer with public transport
We have two big dogs that we adopted from Romania
They are kind of wild and need some time to get used to you
After that, they will get very friendly
We offer accomodation for two volunteers, sharing a spacious tent with decent beds
We provide all ingredients for the meals and prepair them together or on turns
We have a communal building with fully equiped outside kitchen, outside seating area with fireplace and a bathroom with toilet and hot shower
There allso is a living room with woodburner available, where we live at the moment, in case the weather gets cold or wet
We ask you to take your own solarshowerbag
To encourage this ecologic wat of hearing water we ask €1 for a gas heater hot shower
We only allow natural soaps etc
Please allso bring a sleeping bag working shoes with good profile, a coat, clothing to work in, a headlight, sunglasses, sunscreen, swimgear, instruments to play next to the campfire and most of all your enthusiasm and possitive attitude and we will a have great time together !
Gardening
Building
General Maintenance
Cooking / shopping
Farmstay
Help with Eco project
Help in the house
Language practice
You can experience pure rural mountain lifestyle
There are many old slate villages ( UNESCO Heritage) with local knowledge and habits
Learn about the ecological, selfsustainable off-grid community
Lots off workshops to attend about permaculture, natural building, herbs, wild food, soapmaking etc
You could learn to speak Portuguese but note that the people speak a dialect here
We are still learning it ourselves..
Some experience with gardening, construction/building, and vegetarian/vegan cooking would be great but isn't necessary
For more information about the help needed, please have a look at the general description
We only expect that you do your best to help us and enjoy your stay in nature
Native Dutch, English, German and some French
We offer accomodation for 2 in a bedded spacious tipi tent ( diameter 3.65, hight 2.50 meters)
There 's lots of space to camp on our beautiful terraced land
Vegetarian/vegan food for all meals will be provided and prepaired together/ on turns
The communal building has a bathroom with toilet and hot shower, outside kitchen and seating area
Your own solarshower is welcome
We are not strict with the 25 hours a week work policy
Especially when the weather is hot or rainy we are not working 4-5 hours a day
So there will be lots of time off and things to do, alone or together
Public transport is only available by schoolbus ( out early morning/ back in the afternoon ) but you could hitch-hike to Côja, Arganil or Catraia de Moronho ( the last two have a bus station)
We go to town on a regular basis From there you can take a bus out
We can pick you up or drop you off in Catraia do Moronho busstation when you pay for the petrol costs
There the Rede Expressos busses stop from/to Porto, Lisbon and other cities
Two
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
