Profile information
Host rating
80 %
Last replied
19 Jun 2025
Reply rate
59.5 %
Usually responds within 4 days
Feedback
45
Email verified
Badges (3)
Details
Description
We are David & Eli, a Belgium couple and since 2014 we live and work on our 12 hectare beautiful land with view on the Serra da Estrellla mountains.
We have cats, dogs, chickens, ducks and goats and we have a (seasonal) organic fruit and vegetable garden. We try to live a sustainable life and provide our essentials as much as possible from our own land, fruits, vegetables, eggs, milk, meat, wood, timber, water, ...
We love to share all of our farm experiences with anyone who is interested to learn about owning land and keeping goats in Central Portugal.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
House sitting
Interests
Van life
Pets
Farming
Music
Gardening
Drawing & painting
DIY & crafts
Cooking & food
Carpentry
Animals
Outdoor activities
Nature
Mountain
Hiking
Camping
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Our land is privately located between 4 little Portuguese villages, on walking distance (+-30min) each with a tiny grocery store and a local bar where the locals meet for coffee and social company. They are always very pleased and exited to see strangers coming by and having a little chat with you. And who knows, if you're lucky you might even end up experiencing a traditional Portuguese local event or fair...
We are located about a one hour drive to the top of the Serra da Estrella mountains and the way to it leads you through beautiful and exiting places.
You can come and experience daily life in rural Portugal and learn what it takes to manage and run a farm on a 12 hectare land with goats!
We are always happy to tell you about the local culture and our experiences we gained over the years, living a basic rural life in Central Portugal. We can even teach you a bit of the basics of the Portuguese language if you wish.
Help
The land is partly open, terraced and partly forest. Sadly enough the main part of our forest has burnt in a wild forest fire in 2017. But in the meantime, over the past years we have given the native vegetation and trees a chance to regenerate. Since then we are managing the land with a good balance between human interferen and giving our goats a daily moment of free grazing to keep the excessive regrowth under control. Owning land in central Portugal asks a big focus on fire prevention. Summers are extremely hot and dry here!
During the cooler and more humid seasons we often need some strong and energetic people with a good physical condition to help us out with managing the land: the grass needs to be removed before summer arrives as a fire safety measurement and in winter we will be processing wood, clearing bits of land and excessive vegetation , pruning trees, making (controlled, authorized) fires, etc...
So if you have any experience in this area or you're just fit and like to do a bit of physical workout from time to time, depending on the season, we could be very happy to host you and teach you all bout land care and fire prevention.
The animals, the garden, the kitchen and household also ask a lot of our daily effort. In this area we are often looking for help with feeding the animals, milking the goats, making cheese, cleaning stables, planting, watering, weeding, and harvesting, cooking and washing up and some general household tasks. But also our goats need their daily guided stroll on the land. Experiences are not required but doing the tasks with a smile and a good attitude are a must! You can learn all about goats and making cheese, learn how to preserve food for winter, etc.
The help needed is usually very divers and always depending on the season! Different things to do in different times of the year... Sometimes the tasks will be more practical and sometimes more physical but we always try to take in account the interests and qualities of each individual volunteer. So let us know what your interests, experiences or skills are and we can discuss in what area we would be able to fit you in.
Its important for us to have a good vibe going with our volunteers. We love to cook and during our shared dinners we like to exchange stories and life experiences with each other and learn about other cultures from all over the world.
If this sounds like where you would like to be part of then send us a message with a clear description of yourself , what area of the farm you are attracted to and why you chose to write us.
If you are interested in animal care we do require a MINIMUM stay of one month! (No need to apply for less) We are very happy to teach you all about it but it really takes a while to get comfortable with all the routines, milking, making cheese, herding, to get to know their behaviours and personalities, etc.
For other divers task we can consider shorter stays depending on the season and on the offers that we receive...
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
Portuguese: Intermediate
Accommodation
We have caravans for our volunteers to sleep and a sheltered kitchen where our volunteers can cook and eat.
Sheets and blankets are provided and we have a comfortable hot shower and toilet.
Daily tasks like cooking, washing up and keeping the common area clean and tidy are shared responsibilities and we expect everyone to cooperate in these things.
We try to find a good balance between cooking and eating together but also expect our volunteers to be able to take care for themselves from time to time (but then of course we provide the essential ingredients).
What else ...
We offer our volunteers food and accommodation in exchange for help on our farm. We are not very strict in counting the hours per day you help out but appreciate our volunteers to be flexible too. Some helping days will be longer and harder than others so now and then we will build in extra days of rest depending on everyone's needs and how hard the work has been!
The routines of the animals need caring during the weekends as well, so we will sometimes ask some flexibility in that but we are happy to discuss and plan the off and on days so we can suit everyone's needs.
We are open minded and try to divide the tasks depending on our helpers experiences and capacities. So it's important to us to get a little information about who you are, why you would like to join us and what you expect of your experience on our farm!
In general we like one or two volunteers preferably staying over a longer period of time to help with all the daily routines with the animals and household. But in certain periods we will need more than one or two volunteers at the same time when we are planning on a bigger task.
We are looking forward to meet motivated people who are open for adventure!
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
The mobile reception is very good on the land so people who bring their own hotspot can work online... Our wi-fi only works around our house and doesn't reach our accommodations.
Space for parking camper vans
People traveling with their own home on wheels are always more than welcome! The access to our land is by a long sand track but even medium to large vehicles can easily get here. We have a camper spot with water and electrics and have hot shower and toilets.
Can possibly accept pets
Only well behaved pets can run free on the land. We have dogs, cats, goats and chickens and we don't accept other animals chasing them! Also realize that it's often not possible to have your dog at your side during certain tasks. Your dog might have to stay at your caravan during the working hours.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
My animals / pets
Feedback (24)
They are kind and practical people, always making sure to provide you with everything you need, from the basic groceries (with a surprise here and there ;)) to, delicious home made meals, and even milk and cheese from the garden :). They make sure to ceep a straight forward and… read more
Valerie has shown us a lot of enthusiasm in taking care of our goats and chickens and it all happend in a very natural way. She didn't need much explanations and she obviously felt very comfortable… read more
David and Eli are very kind and flexible people.… read more
My main job was… read more
Photos
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.5)
Communication:
(5.0)
They are kind and practical people, always making sure to provide you with everything you need, from the basic groceries (with a surprise here and there ;)) to, delicious home made meals, and even milk and cheese from the garden :). They make sure to ceep a straight forward and… read more
Valerie has shown us a lot of enthusiasm in taking care of our goats and chickens and it all happend in a very natural way. She didn't need much explanations and she obviously felt very comfortable… read more
David and Eli are very kind and flexible people.… read more
My main job was… read more
First of all, he's been an amazing 'goat-daddy' during all this time. The most impressive was his interaction and patience with the goats... Milking them in the morning and taking then out twice a day for their grazing stroll were his daily routines. He even assisted 3… read more
Eli and David are one of the most wonderful hosts I've ever met. I stayed with them nearly 4months over wintertime and they made me and my cats feel at home from the very beginning untill the very last minute.
Definitely one of the best workaway experiences I've had!
I was… read more
She has mainly been taking care of the goats,... Milking, feeding, herding them during grazing twice a day, making cheese, etc ...
She's great with animals and has some kind a natural way of taking care of them.
Above that she's been a great all… read more
It has been a very special and intimate experience for us. Tėja is a very sensitive girl with a warm hart, a beautiful soul!
With a lot of patience and dedication she has been taking care of the animals on the farm. She daily took the challenge to take our 20 goats out for grazing, which is not… read more
They are very talented and skilled in various ways, they form a great team together, they work hard and are very independent and responsible… read more
In the beginning, we worked with clay, filling the walls of the community area with a group of volunteers. Eli showed us how to take care of the goats, milking, feeding, and taking them out to graze. The main project we… read more
Vanessa has a lovely personality and is a fast learner and a hard worker. Whatever job she gets her hands on she will not give up until she gets the job done!
She has been helping out on our farm in so many things over the… read more
Julia is… read more
He has been cutting down excessive forest vegetation with the strimmer which he seemd to get the hang of very easily and he obviously enjoyed the work as he often couldn't stop!
He has made… read more
He has been digging out out compost loo, helping out to replace the… read more
There is always a lot to do on their large plot… read more
He has learned to milk the goats and has been taking great care of them. He has also worked hard on the land, strimming heavy vegetation and… read more
They are deep, honest, and hard workers ,with a great philosophy of life,but with the feet on the ground.
If you work with them sure you have first class conditions!
They are organizated,pacients(next time I will speak english better,Eli....) and good teachers.
The… read more
First I was alone, which was very comfortable for… read more
The work was varied ranging from taking cares of the goats to tending the vegetable gardens, with a great amount of strimming in between!
It can get hard, specially with the summer heat coming, but the breaks were enough to get a good rest.
I stayed in one of… read more
He got to handle some machines and got the hang of it really quick and good! He has been working with the brush-cutter which he managed to get under control quite easily and he did some carpentry work which didn't seem any problem either... he's a good all round handyman...… read more
They are a cheerful couple always willing to help with anything! Very flexible and fast learners.
Really good cooks! We loved there curries... and the kitchen stayed clean and tidy!
We have had Sarah and Ruben together with some other volunteers and it was amazing to see how good they came along and… read more
THANKS A LOT..!!
