Profile information
Host rating
85 %
Last replied
26 Jan 2025
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 1 day
Feedback
2
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Details
Description
Experience Off-grid life in rural Portugal!
I am a young guy with a passion of nature and sustainable agriculture and lifestyle, trying to live it as much as possible in a beautiful green valley in central Portugal, together with my partner from Israel.
There is a big vegetable garden to supply fresh, organic and healthy diet, a source of untreated spring water, a little stream and a lot of wildlife around!
The main tasks of volunteers will be helping with the routine of garden like weeding, re-potting, sowing, harvesting, mulching etc. and animals like feeding the chickens, ducks, gunnieafowl and pheasants , cleaning the coop and take care of my tortoise. I cultivate about 3,5ha of forest, which after a big wildfire 2017 is just recovering and my reforestation efforts showing first results. There is seasonal forestry work to do, planting trees, collecting seeds and taking care of saplings. As well as being part of different projects which are happening all the time, for 2025 the main project will be to build a big water tank and meanwhile keeping all the plants and trees well watered. It depends a little to which time you will be here, what of the mentioned things is happening at the moment. Other tasks now in the summer of course include watering trees and the vegetable garden, harvesting and processing different seeds for sowing next year.
The farm life is a rather calm, weather and season orientated one, revolving around the plants and animals mainly.
The daily routine can vary, but will mainly be breakfast whenever you want to be taken in the outdoor kitchen, then sometimes making but always eating lunch together, which we cook everyday fresh from the garden, and dinner depends on habits but can be together or whenever somebody wants in the evening, has to be communicated day by day. As well the daily tasks will be quite spontaneous sometimes, unless in a project and its clear what tomorrow will bring, but i believe in good communication and emphasize that point to every volunteer. It is a very important skill.
Your free time i am expecting you to be self entertaining but of course there is room for communication as well.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
There are many possibilities around to dive into Portuguese rural life, 2 villages are easy accessible by foot, which have each several cafes and one a Portuguese restaurant, where you always meet locals. The villages, roads, ruins and bridges around give a lot of opportunity to discover a time long gone, with some artefacts dating back to Roman times.
You can see still a few old people tending their gardens and land like the old ways, growing potatoes, olives and chicken and making wine. I am myself a lot inspired by elements of the old ways and implemented quite a few into my Farm, for example the yearly Olive harvest and oil pressing, growing vines and tending them, and most important, taking care of the age old rock walls, wells and irrigation channels, which form a wide grit of terrace and fields and only that enabled the people in former times to grow food and feed themselves. This is a main principle of what is today called Permaculture and it is a big part of Portugal's agricultural heritage.
I am trying to integrate these old systems in a new approach of sustainable, permaculture orientated agriculture and farm life, i have been learning and studying a lot and interested people will benefiting from this gathered and applied knowledge a lot.
As well there is quite a big, loose community around, with many like-minded people with many different and interesting ideas, approaches and projects.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
Expected is only motivation and a passion for healthy life,animals and plants. It is always a bonus if you have some experience in gardening or animal care, but more important is the willingness to learn and to take a bit of responsibility.
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
Hebrew: Fluent
Accommodation
A simple but spacious and heat able, cosy converted Mercedes 608 Truck in quite a secluded location and an outdoor kitchen to use.
What else ...
limited public transport available, but be prepared to spend most time on site or in near vicinity.
transport to Oliveira do Hospital very comfortable from and to Lisbon/Porto by Bus. from there sometimes bus to closest village or pickup can be arranged.
a few things as day trips to do include the hills of the Serra da Estrella, Portugals highest mainland mountain, many very picturesque Villages and Roman ruins, a few small museums and an amazing tree sanctuary called Bussaco with grandfather trees, rarely to be seen anywhere else.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
A few options to place a camper, secluded or close to electricity.
Can possibly accept pets
cats and well behaved Dogs. i do have a male dog, which can be a bit territorial, but usually gets along with everyone. female dogs obviously no problem, my dog is not castrated though.
How many Workawayers can stay?
One
Feedback (1)
The hosts are very lovely people and great to work with.
overall we have learned a lot and loved the area!
10/10 would recommend for sure!
Photos
Feedback
The hosts are very lovely people and great to work with.
overall we have learned a lot and loved the area!
10/10 would recommend for sure!
