Portugal
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27/06/2022
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Average reply time:
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Hello! We are Suzie & François and welcome to our organic farm & homesteading project 🌱🌱 We are regenerating a beautiful 2-hectare abandoned vineyard using principles of permaculture, agroforestry, & eco-friendly living to create a sustainable homestead where we hope to “be the change” and share this way of life with people interested in Earth-friendly lifestyles.
Our little corner of paradise is nestled on the Eastern slopes of the Magic Mountains in Northern-central Portugal 🌄 It is a beautiful place, where the birds and water sing to us, a stunning view opens our hearts, and the wildness of the mountains beckons at our backdoor. Before we settled down, we were travelers, and many of our fondest experiences were as volunteers. Now we hope to return the favor, keep the travel spirit present, and share more great experiences as hosts.
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
General Maintenance
Multi-lingual (French/English/Portuguese) Belgo-American couple with diverse life, travel, and volunteer experiences; knowledge in permaculture, soil science, homesteading, eco-living, herbalism, French/world cooking, animal husbandry, horsemanship, nutrition & natural wellness, meditation & healing modalities.
Our farm is part of a small traditional Portuguese village with several friendly older people still living “the old way” who are special souls willing to share their rich knowledge and stories; we are also part of a vibrant international community of expats living in the region with many fun & diverse events happening regularly.
Our farm also backs up to a vast expanse of mountain wilderness with crystal clear rivers, pure air, ancient neolithic structures, hiking trails, and endless awe-inspiring views.
We are happy to share what interests you!
Help us organically regenerate our beautiful abandoned farm! Help specifically needed in electrical & plumbing, carpentry, organic farming & permaculture, animal care, peaceful community living in a stunning natural setting.
This is our first year on the farm, and we have many projects already underway. The farm has a lot of existing infrastructure that needs repair & maintenance, and even more potential to be visioned and explored!
Currently, our areas of focus involve repairing the water and electric systems, installing a vermicompost toilet, growing a large veggie and herb garden for personal self-reliance, caring for our animal companions (2 healing horses, fun chickens, 1 lazy dog and 2 lazy cats), removing old vineyard posts and wire, improving and developing community spaces, and continuing our permaculture design process. Possibly also some construction work to complete a barn/shed and covered shelter for the horses before winter.
Tasks will be varied, and we are open to discuss the kinds of projects you would like to focus on to organize schedules that are beneficial for everyone.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Portuguese: Intermediate
This host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
You can contact them directly for more information.
In exchange for your help of 5 hours/day, we offer 3 meals/day (breakfast/lunch independent & shared evening meal where we all take turns cooking/cleaning) and basic accommodation in tents or possibly in our large stone warehouse, depending on who is here and what is needed. We have a comfortable community space with well-equipped kitchen, lounge, shower & dry composting toilet. Access to community movement space (yoga, etc) and many lovely natural hang-out areas around the land including dipping ponds and even a magical hidden waterfall in the forest. Cell phone reception is good, and wifi can be available at certain times.
We deeply value the help of our volunteers and take pride in working along side you. François especially likes to lead team projects. We are open to co-creation and suggestions. Sharing meaningful connection with you is just as important to us as the help you provide. We value honest, peaceful communication, feedback, and learning through experiences and relationships. No drama, good vibes.
We live a peaceful, playful, happy lifestyle. We strive to live in conscious, connected, spiritual ways through healing practices like meditation and embodied movement. We eat a veggie-based diet (meat on occasion) and try to choose organic when possible...and hopefully soon our garden will offer us many more organic veggies to share in joy and abundance!
We'd love to host folks who share our passion for nature, hard work, permaculture, and humble living in harmony & respect with Earth & all life here. We cook awesome nutritious food and are fun hosts who have also been on the helper-end of volunteering before... so we're eager to support & create positive experiences for everyone through consideration and communication and of course hope for the same spirit of positivity & gratefulness in our helpers.
Wishing you the very best, and looking forward to meeting you! Have fun & safe travels!
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Cell phone reception is good, and we have a wifi hotspot that can be available at specified times.
Flat parking is limited for larger vehicles, but contact us and we can discuss possibilities!
Animal companions are welcome, assuming they are peaceful, well-cared for, and not aggressive towards people or other animals such as goats, sheep, chickens, horses, dogs, cats, wildlife.
More than two
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
