Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
2 Jan 2024
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 3 days
Feedback
23
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Badges (3)
Details
Description
We are a Portuguese family in a sustainable, eco-friendly off-grid project. Our place is located in Serra do Açor, a mountain range in central Portugal, in a quiet valley that inspires spiritual grounding.
There's a spring with delicious fresh water in a forest environment with many ancient "xisto" stone terraces.
We are 3 people, 2 cats and 2 dogs.
It’s important to us that before you arrive you know what we are about. We want to make sure volunteering is a positive experience for everyone.
Our diet is basically vegetarian, with both raw and cooked food, lots of fruit, vegetables, wild greens, seeds, mushrooms, rice, pasta and eggs. Some of the vegetables are produced organically in our own garden.
Breakfast is usually soaked oats, fruit, seeds, yogurt and honey. Lunch consist of salads, rice or pasta, lentils, beans. At dinner we normally have soup.
We may have bread and butter available.
We have black, green and herbal tea and if you want some coffee you can bring your own.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Volunteers can learn with us how to live in a sustainable, eco-friendly off-grid project. How to manage water, electricity and heating. Reduce, Reuse and Recycle put in practice. Supplies, harvests and storage.
We do preserves from our organic garden.
We make natural soap, shampoo and other organic skin products.
We have a beautiful forest and a reforestation project is underway with native trees and others.
A deep connection with the stillness and activity of Nature is a fundamental part of living here. We cultivate this spiritual grounding.
We are always learning and discovering.
Sometimes, after dinner we can have conversations, watch documentaries or listen to audios, you can join us if you like.
Help
Hours can be flexible and are usually determined by weather and what needs to be done. Individual preferences are taken into consideration. Sometimes the tasks may get a bit hard, but usually not so much.
Work may include cutting firewood, forest maintenance, cleaning and maintaining paths, farming, occasional wood construction, cook, making soaps.
We tend to prefer working with people up from 23 years old.
We have two models:
5 hours/ day
We provide:
- Accommodation in our tent and,
- Breakfast.
- Lunch.
- Dinner (soup).
3 hours/ day
We provide:
- Accommodation in our tent,
- Breakfast.
- Dinner (soup).
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Portuguese: Fluent
Spanish: Beginner
French: BeginnerThis 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.
Accommodation
Tent (provided) with mattress, blankets and pillows.
Outdoor solar-heated shower.
Outdoor dry toilet (compost with sawdust).
Indoor kitchen and room for lunch. (wooden house).
Indoor Volunteer living room and meals room. (xisto house).
On days that no volunteer help is needed , we may not have meals together.
Internet Wifi is accessible near the house.
What else ...
We would expect people to be self reliant/ independent.
It's very important that volunteers have a good connection with nature and they are comfortable with being alone.
Because we are interested in living a conscious holistic life we have a few rules to support this during your stay:
· No drugs.
· No drinking (other than an occasional glass of wine with a meal, we are in Portugal after all!).
· No noise and no music (we love listening to nothing).
Please bring torches (or flashlights) as these are not provided and are VERY NECESSARY! Candles (also barbecues and any fire making) are strictly prohibited as the fire risk is very high here!
Please bring bio-degradable soaps and shampoos. If you cannot find these or buy them before you come let us know ahead of time. We will be happy to sell you a bit to cover your stay.
We live in a beautiful area.
Volunteers can do great walks in nature. Nearby we have the beautiful waterfalls of "Fraga da Pena", the old forest of "Mata da Margaraça", breathtaking vistas right here in Esculca, many river beaches along Rio Alva, all within 10 minutes by car. There's no bus from here in August, but car rides can be arranged or shared.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
15 hours help a week (3 hours, 5 days)
Feedback (11)
We had some good moments together.
Iain is a hard worker and did a lot of wood work for us.
It didn't go so well with Steffi, as she has difficulty receiving guidance. Sometimes she did exactly the opposite of what was asked, making our work more difficult.
Anyway, it was good that they stopped… read more
We stayed one week at their place so in total we worked 15 hours. Ruth and Raffa took care that we could… read more
They are the perfect team. Very organize, self-sufficient and know how to solve problems.
They are excellent cookers, too.
Hardworkers, always with a smile on their lovely faces.
I highly recommend these volunteers.
Thanks for your help.
He's great company, and he's well on his own too, quite independent and discrete. Smart and with initiative, most of the time he fully understood the work to do before having to explain anything.
If there's a… read more
Photos
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
We had some good moments together.
Iain is a hard worker and did a lot of wood work for us.
It didn't go so well with Steffi, as she has difficulty receiving guidance. Sometimes she did exactly the opposite of what was asked, making our work more difficult.
Anyway, it was good that they stopped… read more
We stayed one week at their place so in total we worked 15 hours. Ruth and Raffa took care that we could… read more
They are the perfect team. Very organize, self-sufficient and know how to solve problems.
They are excellent cookers, too.
Hardworkers, always with a smile on their lovely faces.
I highly recommend these volunteers.
Thanks for your help.
He's great company, and he's well on his own too, quite independent and discrete. Smart and with initiative, most of the time he fully understood the work to do before having to explain anything.
If there's a… read more
Her job, at the quinta, was cooking for five people. She is not use to cook vegetarian food, and she has made a great job, with our ingrendients.
Always available to give one hand.
Thanks Annika!
She is very self-suficient, what help very much during her stay here, but at same time a little bit disconnected.
She always do the jobs with a beautiful smile in her face, bur not very attentive.
She is very disciplin, what we really apreciated.
This was her first workaway, but sure she will grow.
I can warmly recommend volunteering here to anyone who is looking for a more spiritual and peaceful journey to experinece life in Portugal.
Until the next time we meet… read more
We felt joy, light and relax in her stay.
She is very responsible and attentive person.
Thank you very much, Kristina.
We loved having him here, always attentive and responsible at the work time.
Thanks David for everything you gve to us.
She is a very lovely person we enjoyed her presence very much. Always had a no-problem attitude.
She gave us her very best.
We are very greatfull for having had you here, Mica.
Love
Rute, Rafael, Elsa, Mia, Luna, Simão and Leica.
and the… read more
She is a very lovely person, she has a very calm and friendly presence.
Always available to do what is need to be done.
For sure, we would like to repeat the experience.
Thank you Magdalena.
He fit in very well in our way of living.
He is a calm, careful and helping person. There was mutual respect for each other's space and there was no shortage of good mood moments.
Always available to give a hand.
Regada will always have its doors open for him.
Farm itself is very nice, placed amongst forests, streams and mountains.
Area is so beautiful and full of places for hiking or just easy walks.
Definitely for… read more
it was very beautiful to see his capacity to give and receive. He was as home as soon as he arrived, always very helpful and ready for all kinds of work, from cooking to land work, from harvesting tomatoes to cleaning old wood. Very interested in knowing himself better inside, he showed a lot of openness for… read more
I´m glad that they gave the opportunity to learn with them and share with me their way of living. It was very easy to go along together and adapt to daily routine. My week stay seemed more like one month and really worth it not only because I learned more about… read more
They came to our project and immediately they started to belong in our family. Good mood at work and at the free time too. Lots of things to share in great company.
We can feel the love they gave to our place in their work, which was done beautifully and with ease. Thank you, Diana and Sergey. The whole… read more
