Join our family in a stunning off-grid valley in Benfeita, Portugal

Details

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  Description

  |About us|
  
  We are Floris & Lotte, a Dutch couple with two children (9 year old Isa and 20 month old Micah) living on a rural Quinta in Benfeita, Central Portugal.
  
  The valley is an off-grid place in between the steep mountains of the Serra do Açor with a small stream and waterfalls, 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 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. We have organized natural building workshops and hosted events on our 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 close by and has worked in education and marketing, but is now dedicating her time to family life, the land and creative (writing) projects.
  
  We like morning coffees, a bit of guitar and singing, the quietness of the place, our cats and dog, new projects and being part of an alternative community. We are not great gardeners but we try! We have a wood fired pizza oven and like to invite people over for pizza and sometimes open mic!
  
  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, we make an agreement about how to balance that out.
  
  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.
  
  We didn’t have Workaway volunteers for the last 3 summers as we ended being part of a spiritual community and had a baby and new work so our lives where very intense busy but now we would really like to!
  
  If you wish to stay with us we would like to have a video call to get to know each other and see if we are a good fit!

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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

  |Work schedule|
  Always dependent on projects, schedules and priorities but we like the idea of dividing hours between morning and afternoon with a nice lunch break. It’s around 24 hours a week. What we love is taking turns in cooking, cleaning up etc. It helps a lot!
  Weekends are off, maybe we do a nice event together but it’s always in conversation.
  
  As Floris also has a steady job (close by so he can sometimes join or have lunch with us) it’s mainly Lotte and the kids who will need help. In the summer Floris could take a bit more time on the land. It’s very helpful to share the cooking and sometimes looking after the kids, but also general work on the land and gardening etc. We had a forest fire last year and a rough winter so there is a lot to do on the land. Also ideas and any skill that could fit very welcome!

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Dutch: Fluent
  Portuguese: Intermediate

  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

  |Accommodation & Food|
  
  We have tents and 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.
  
  We can shop together or make sure there is food provided in our outside kitchen. We can decide together but we usually have breakfast at ‘home’ and then can have our lunch shared. Dinners can be easy going, all depends on kids bedtime and how we arrange the food making.
  
  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 bit more challenging. It’s part of the adventure:)

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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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  My animals / pets

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