Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
15 Mar 2025
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 1 day
Feedback
17
Email verified
Badges (3)
Details
Description
Our property is a 16.6 ha organic farm with 800 olive trees, a vineyard, 50 Bordelaira sheep, 2 horses, chickens and 3 cats and 2 dogs. We are living in Parque Serra da Estrela, close to Guarda but in the middle of nature with a special micro climate.
All is very new to us, as we are living on the farm since February 1, 2021(!) but we really do love living the farm-live and the sustainable way of living. Every day we work with the animals, on the land, in the garden and we are improving the house. Far away from the busy and commercial live we used te have in The Netherlands. We now see ourselves as caretakers of the land and we feel very blessed to grow our own food.
Please come and help us, learn about biodynamic preparations, olives, sheep and wine making and enjoy the clean air and clean waters! There is a lot of work and a lot of fun. You can swim in the Mondego River, sup and swim in the lake just around the corner, visit the medieval villages, go see a movie in Guarda or hike in the mountains of the Serra da Estrela. During wintertime there even is some snow in the area and you can do some skiing and sledding.
The next coming months we need help on the farm with harvesting the olives, harvesting chestnuts, preparing the biodynamic preparations, take care of the sheep (little lambs), take care of the chickens, cats and dogs. Starting January, February we will start to prepare the vegetable garden, the vineyard and cleaning the land. Volunteering with us, is living the farm live and learning by doing.
We do not seek help with the business or selling products.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions whatsoever!
Looking forward to be hearing from you,
Manda & Jasper ☀️
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
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
You will get to stay in the biggest natural park of Portugal: Parque Serra da Estrela with a beautiful lake ánd river just around the corner. You will get to know about the preparation of high quality ***** 5star-olive oil, sheep, horses, gardening and biodynamic preparations and, of course, meet people from around the world. We include everyone and in return we expect everyone to be respectful to us, our land, our home, all the animals and the other volunteers.
Help
We are looking for people who can help us with biodynamic organic gardening, looking after the sheep (take a walk with them :-)) and love to cook, make jam, make ice cream and lemonade. In November/December we mostly need help with harvesting the olives. Oh and we most certainly could use help in our organic vineyard! This will start around February: preparing the plants for the next wine season.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
German: Intermediate
French: Intermediate
Portuguese: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
We really need to speed up our Portuguese study!
Accommodation
We have tents available with beds and bedlinnen, in wintertime we have studio's (sleeps two persons) available with your private bathroom. But it can be cold (snow) during wintertime and we do not have a central heating system in the rooms, yet. The lounge and office are warm and we love to gather there in front of the fireplace. All food and hot showers will be included and we eat organic. Cooking and cleaning we do all together on a daily basis. As we offer you our home we do expect you to keep it clean and show respect to our personal stuff.
What else ...
In your free time you can go for a swim in the river (Mondego) or go supping and swimming in the lake nearby. )We can drive you). There are a lot of walking paths (for beginners and experienced walkers) nearby. And, if you are lucky, you can do some skiing.
Porto is a two hour drive and Coïmbra about 1,5 hour. If you want to visit Nazaré, where the big waves roll in, it will take you about 2,5 hours. We also drive you to Guarda, the busstation, the lake (to do some stand up paddling, we have the boards for you to use).
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have super fast internet via glass fibre.
Space for parking camper vans
We have a beautiful campsite at one of our olive groves with different terraces, a very nice bathhouse with hot showers, lots of privacy and spectacular views.
Can possibly accept pets
If your pet is relaxed and used to other animals, it is welcome but we do not allow any pets inside the house or inside the rooms and studios.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Feedback (8)
The farm is amazing, the surrounding villages and the mountains are very beautiful, the hosts are kind, the animals (especially the cats) are adorable.
The property is huge so You will always find something to do. During my stay I was able to be creative with the further development of a terrace and a path to… read more
He is always willing to help and he is a great team player. It was fun cooking for him because he really, really appreciated the food!
German was, beside helping with the olive harvest, also helping with the sheep, the chickens and helping in the garden,… read more
It… read more
Photos
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.8)
Communication:
(5.0)
The farm is amazing, the surrounding villages and the mountains are very beautiful, the hosts are kind, the animals (especially the cats) are adorable.
The property is huge so You will always find something to do. During my stay I was able to be creative with the further development of a terrace and a path to… read more
He is always willing to help and he is a great team player. It was fun cooking for him because he really, really appreciated the food!
German was, beside helping with the olive harvest, also helping with the sheep, the chickens and helping in the garden,… read more
It… read more
Manda and Jasper themselves are great hosts. While I was there we mostly interacted… read more
What could we say?!
The farm is amazing, the hosts are super kind, the dishes were awesome and the animals (especially the cats) are adorable.
The territory is huge so there will always be something to do. We had many small projects and loved the variety of tasks: weeding, quince and grape… read more
Hard working and with pleasure taking on every task. We learned so much from Pier when it comes to the vineyard!
He is a good and patient teacher with a warm hart for the work he is doing. Always busy and very facilitating to us, our guests and to his fellow volunteers. Alway doing this extra step to… read more
Lena and Max helped us in an amazing way. They are clever, strong, happy, talented in many ways and accurate in the way they work. They only need a half word of explanation and they are ON it. Super helpful.
Lena and Max were a great tribute to the group and very, very independent.
We loved having them around and although their… read more
Manda and Jasper where incredible hosts. Even they just getting started, together they have a solid vision for the project -which is very beautiful and has a huge potential-
Jasper (being a builder himself) can help anyone to learn or further… read more
Stef is a strong, hardworking and honest guy. No job is too much for him and he has enormous perseverance. It was a pleasure to have him in the group and we enjoyed his energy. In addition, Stef is an incredibly good guitarist and we, as well as our guests and his fellow… read more
Although I only stayed with Manda and Jasper for the relatively short time of three weeks, I can assure you that I have left with good memories only. Rarely have I met people so passionate and invested in the project that they are developing. And I personally consider it an honor that I have been able to meet such people and work to… read more
