Come and join the life of two families in a stunning off-grid valley in Benfeita, Portugal

Details

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  Description

  |About us|
  
  We are two families on two neighboring farms (Quintas) in a valley in Central Portugal. Nina and Jonathan are a Swiss/American couple with 2 small dogs and Lotte & Floris are a Dutch couple with two children (9 year old Isa and 10 month old Micah), a bigger dog and two cats.
  
  The valley is a stunning off-grid place with a small stream and waterfalls, gardens, native trees and stone buildings. There is a 4x4 car track to the valley and we are right on the locally famous ‘Aldeias do xisto’ walking trail that will take you through beautiful pieces of land to the nearby villages.
  
  We know each other very well as we were in the same spiritual sangha for many years.
  
  We learned some valuable things in our time in the spiritual community. It’s important for us to talk openly and vulnerably about issues that come up between us. We are giving our best to do this in a space of empathy and compassion, knowing that we are all very different and therefore listening to each other deeply is often better than advice. We ask everybody working with us, including volunteers, to enter that space of openness and dare to speak up rather than ignore uncomfortable feelings.
  
  Floris and Lotte have owned the land for six years and have built a small stone house and a beautiful summer outdoor area with a naturally built cob-kitchen. They have organized natural building workshops and hosted events on their land. Floris loves to build things, he is known for his ‘rocket mass heater’ project and has started a construction company. Lotte owns a second hand community place closeby and has worked in education and marketing, but is now dedicating her time to family life, the land and creative (writing) projects.
  
  Jonathan and Nina are world travelers who met in India. After many years of wage slavery they've finally escaped the Matrix to come here and build a very different life in nature. They have lived here for 2 years and are working with a team of builders to improve their home and setting up the off-grid systems. Jonathan loves to cook & balances his interest in “Freedom tech” / resiliency and a newfound passion for metal work while putting love into the land and home. Nina works in the garden and spends a lot of time with her two dogs. She’s singing Portuguese songs in a local group and currently also planning a retreat-cabin, which will be put up this summer.
  
  We are a neighbors / friends community and we like to share our lifestyle and help each other out. We love having a coffee together and we work together in many aspects of our life here.
  
  This area is known for a big migration of ‘estrangeiros’ and has many projects, workshops, markets for all ages and people. It’s a beautiful mix of quiet nature places and a local vibrant community life.
  
  We are open for families with children. If both parents can't work the full 6 hours, we make an agreement about how to balance that out.
  
  |Work schedule|
  We will work with a schedule of 4 workdays of 6 hours and 3 days off, 3 hours in the morning and 3 in the afternoon. We will divide the work between the two quintas, but it’s very depended on our schedules and the priority of work in that moment.
  
  |Accommodation & Food|
  Food for meals is provided in our outside kitchen. We found it working best that everyone makes their breakfast and we all have lunch together on the workdays. The lunches will be cooked by a small team and the dinners will be individual or leftovers/soup. We will provide mainly vegan food, but occasionally have cheese etc.
  
  We have tents and possibly a caravan to stay in and you can bring your own tent or small campervan (you probably don't want to use the camper van for daily trips as the track is not the best). We have beautiful shady and quiet places to pitch tents.
  
  The facilities are basic with a compost toilet, outside shower and kitchen. In the summer the valley is very cozy with lots of shady spots and a stream where you can dip whenever you want. Don't expect city comfort! Off-grid life can be beautiful and also tough!
  
  As we are quite secluded, it is important to know that our dirt track coming here is not suitable for normal cars and public transport is not stopping close by. If you have a car, you can either park and we pick you up from Benfeita or you can park nearby and take a 20 min walk to the land. If you want to come by public transportation, it’s a 40 min drive from the land, and we can pick you up.
  
  If you wish to stay with us we would like to have a video call to get to know each other.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Farmstay help

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Interests

  

  Events & social

  

  Sustainability

  

  Pets

  

  Self development

  

  Movies & TV

  

  Farming

  

  Plant care

  

  Music

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Books

  

  Art & design

  

  Gardening

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Writing

  

  Performing arts

  

  Hitchhiking

  

  Drawing & painting

  

  Carpentry

  

  Animals

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Nature

  

  Camping

  

  Mountain

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Hiking
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Living together with different cultures, ages and ideas in a natural off grid setting.

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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

  We have a lot of projects going on at the same time and definitely more ideas than we have hands! That’s why we want to open up our valley for hosting people who enjoy helping and living with us for a while. There will be a variety of tasks: gardening, cooking, land care etc.
  
  The two places are big pieces of land where we are doing various tasks.We both have a garden and a lot of land to care for. For all of this we could use help. So if you have any skills in any of these areas and you feel drawn to try and live together with us, please write to us why you are interested to be with us.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Dutch: Fluent
  Portuguese: Intermediate
  French: Beginner

  This host offers a language exchange
  If someone Portuguese would want to come and volunteer with us that would be a bonus.
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  Accommodation

  We have tents a caravan and you can bring your own tent or small campervan (you probably don't want to use the camper van for daily trips as the track is not the best) . We have beautiful shady and quiet places.

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  What else ...

  There's two villages within walking distance with cafes. There are many things organized in the local community. Markets, yoga, workshops, singing nights, mens and womens circles and many more things.

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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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  Can host digital nomads

  We have a 4g connection on our land and usually works without any problems. We don't have an office space.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We have plenty of space for campervans but the track here is usually seen as lets say adventurous. But many do it so if you want to know more, get in touch.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  When they are ok with our cats and dog and children then we can talk about it.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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