Village life in Northern Portugal to help with transforming our terraced gardens and house

Portugal

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Feedback
19
Last activity
26/02/2020
Reply rate
100.0 %
Average reply time:
within 2 days
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2020

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Description
Ola! We are Tracey ( New Zealander) and Tonie ( Dutch) living in the beautiful Minho region of Northern Portugal. We have a lovely home in a small village near the Geres Peneda national park. After many years of traveling and living in in different cultures around the world this is the place we have chosen to call home.
At present we are transforming our terraced gardens and house into a B & B and would love to have the help of refreshing travelers looking for a vibrant break with a fun loving creative couple.
Type of help
Gardening
Building
General Maintenance
Cooking / shopping
Farmstay
Help with Eco project
Help in the house
Animal care
Art project
Help with Computers / internet
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Here you will enjoy the beauty of Northern Portugal and life in a small village. I am a chef so can teach you how to create something when you believe you have an empty fridge! We are both very creative and very passionate about this region of Portugal.
We are a few meters from one of the marked walking trails in the area that takes you through picturesque stone villages to a peaceful river. There is plenty to discover.
We make a lot of large artistic creations in wood and bamboo and welcome your creative input.
Help
we would love someone to help extend the existing organic vegetable gardens so any gardening experience mould be helpful but we can teach you the basics. We have 1600 square meters of fertile terraced land with mature walnut, chestnut, olive and fruit trees, some of these need to be pruned.
we also have some pretty easy painting projects. We are experimenting with various gardening techniques and landscaping ornamental gardens.
If you wish you can help Tonie building furniture from recycled timber and bamboo.
New projects are an outdoor kitchen and a solar outdoor shower.
We would also love to have someone with experience in marketing to help us promote our bnb.
Languages spoken
English, Dutch, French, German, Italian Spanish and Indonesian
Accommodation
You will share the house with us and have your own bedroom and bathroom. Cooking will be done together, to be honest we prefer flexitarians , we are foodies and love people who love food. We will provide meals. We eat a lot of Asian food so be prepared for global flavors!!
During the warmer months we have a lovely, very comfortable bell tent with an outdoor kitchen and compost toilet.
What else ...
We are very well connected to Braga and the small town of Terras de Bouro, the bus stops right at our gate. There are many beautiful hiking trails and a beautiful river near by.
There is a wonderful bar, restaurant, cafe across the road connected to the church ( bells only ring once every two weeks!)
There is a bread truck passing at around 9.15 am everyday with fresh pastel de nata.
A little more information
- Internet access
- Limited internet access
- We have pets
- We are smokers
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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Feedback left by and about host (19)

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:
(5.0)

Communication:
(5.0)

29/11/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Martin & Romina)

We had a lovely couple of weeks with Martin and Roma, they did some really excellent painting jobs and were fun to have a round. They worked really well on their own and left everything very neat and tidy. Martin did and really superb job on creating a logo for us, we are thrilled with it. Sorry we didn't tap into Roma's creative skills as… read more

(Excellent )

27/11/2019

Left by Workawayer (Martin & Romina) for host

Tracey and Tonie were super cool and friendly! We stayed for two weeks in Ribeira painting some rooms and helping with the logo of the house. We have a lot of rainy days but we still had a great time and enjoyed the view of the beautiful landscape around the house. In spring and summer the place must be gorgeous. Also we visited the city of Braga,… read more

(Excellent )

19/11/2019

Left by Workawayer (Rita) for host

I have spent two weeks at Tracey's and Tonie's spacious beautiful house. Location is amazing! Very peaceful and pretty. I have done lots various works including indoors and outdoors cleaning, tidying, bringing wood for a fire, cleaning swimming pool, learned a bit of gardening, but what I have enjoyed the most was taking pictures of their airbnb… read more

(Excellent )

01/11/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Rita)

Rita stayed with us for 2 weeks and was a great help around the house but we had her especially to take photos of our Airbnb. She did a really superb
job and has left us with a beautiful portfolio of really creative , well edited and excellent photographs. We recommend her for this type of work. Thanks Rita, happy travels.

(Excellent )

14/10/2019

Left by Workawayer (Patricio & Camila) for host

We had an amazing two weeks together with Tracey, Tonie and the doggie Frida. They made us feel at home every single day, sharing a lot of funny stories and also great dishes!
Working and seeing the transformation was incredible and very enjoyable :)
We were sad to leave them, but very happy to have known such a creative and talented couple.
We… read more

(Excellent )

12/10/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Patricio & Camila)

We had a wonderful experience working with Camilla and Patricio, they are a very mature and enthusiastic young couple. They did extremely professional work on several large projects including repainting , to perfection, a tiled bathroom and preparing and planting an enormous vegetable garden for winter. These two are a pleasure to have at home and… read more

(Excellent )

14/09/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Dima)

We feel very lucky to have had Dima with us for his brief stay in Portugal, months would have been great!
He is a quiet, intelligent , extremely well mannered and very kind person who works meticulously and did some superb work here with us in a very professional manner. By the way he’s very strong!
It was a pleasure to have Dima here and learn… read more

(Excellent )

13/09/2019

Left by Workawayer (Dima) for host

Excellent. It was an amazing experience and a great 2 weeks with Tracey and Tonie. They are very kind, polite and nice persons. It was real luck to find hosts like them. I was really happy there. They told me a lot of funny stories, opened me plenty of new things from all around the world and helped me to explore their region of North Portugal. I… read more

(Excellent )

29/07/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Liam)

Liam has excellent knowledge in the realm of food forests and organic farming, he did a great job weeding and composting our fruit trees and building compost bins from recycled pallets. He's also a great baker if you have a sweet tooth.

(Good )

23/07/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Juan Ignacio)

Juan is a very intelligent, gentle and well educated young man. We were his first workaway experience and he really impressed us with his ability to learn so many new tasks. He is now an expert interior and exterior painter, he can garden , he helped build a compost toilet and was generally a great help around the house and garden. He has a lovely… read more

(Excellent )

23/07/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Elina)

Elina is an absolutely dynamic and energetic energy to have working with you. She has a particular attention to detail , quite the perfectionist and is immaculate in her work. She did a tremendous amount of work in a far to short time here and left our home really transformed.
Beside her strength and fitness level which is very high she is such a… read more

(Excellent )

23/07/2019

Left by Workawayer (Elina) for host

Fantastic and unique! Tracey & Tonie is the lovely Frida (dog), a magical place, with attention and love to people, nature. Where collaborating was a pleasurable learning experience. Gratitude to all the moments we enjoyed, for the opportunity to collaborate and let a little of my energy, for the wonderful meals of Chef Tracie. Wishes of success,… read more

(Excellent )

31/05/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Blair & Aleysha)

These two kiwis did some really excellent work for is. Blair is an electrician and has all our systems go, go, go! Timers working perfectly and some really beautiful hanging lights installed....at a glance at our property one of his first comments was ... " ooh that needs strimming" next day job done. He built a bed frame and did an enormous job… read more

(Excellent )

21/05/2019

Left by Workawayer (Lola & Ian) for host

It was a spirit of the moment decision to contact Tracey and Tonie and we only stayed a week, yet we are so glad we choose to visit the Kiwi-Dutch connection in the beautiful north of Portugal and we could have easily stayed longer. Tracey’s vibrant spirit and her energy radiates through the whole house and the garden. Her eye for art and… read more

(Excellent )

21/05/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Lola & Ian)

Although we only had Ian and Lola for a brief week, in this short time they eased into our home immediately and accomplished an enormous amount of work which has given us a superb head start in getting our Airbnb plans running. They both work really efficiently without any supervision and gutted and painted a bedroom transforming a drab dull space… read more

(Excellent )

15/04/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Selene)

Selene is a real treasure, it was a delight to have her in our home for three weeks. Right from the start she tackled new projects with gusto and creativity leaving behind very carefully crafted and beautiful work in our home and garden. Don't be fooled by her size, she can dig a garden like a Portuguese farmer, weeding and creating new garden… read more

(Excellent )

13/04/2019

Left by Workawayer (Selene) for host

Tracey and Tony, an amazing couple living in the Portugal countryside, can give you the real opportunity to feel the real Workaway’s values.
I lived with them for 3 weeks: during this time I could learn some gardening techniques, how to reuse old things to make beautiful house decorations, how to recycling everything, but mostly I have been… read more inspired by two sage persons.
I worked for 4/5 hours per day for 5 days a week and during my free days I could visit Braga, the nearest big city, and Porto.
There weren’t shifts to follow, I chose when to start working and when take my breaks, so the job was based on trust and actually, this is truly admirable.
You can start working with your project and you can see It finished after 1 or at most 2 days: I really worked with all my heart because I couldn’t wait to see the project done.
I was sleeping in another part of the house with my own bedroom and a shared bathroom and kitchen.
They provided all the meals and Tracey prepared the lunch and the dinner and I made the breakfast for myself.
My experience was “special” because I stayed just with Tracey for most of the days: It doesn’t mean that It was a bad experience actually, the opposite, because I really enjoyed to stay just with her and listen her adventures and being inspired by a person who really lived her life richly.
They have a lot of creative building ideas for the garden and for handmade furniture and they really trust on your own creativity to create small things that make their place more special and unique.
Tracey is an amazing chef: she can cook topical plates from all around the world and obviously she adores to teach how to cook.
Tony is a smart artist: he built almost of all the furniture in the house so he can teach you how to build very useful things with just a few materials.
And their dog, Miss Frida, the princess of the house: she is a very smart dog and she really loves playing with the workawayers.
Thanks to their amazing adventure stories I could visit Thailand, India, France, Salento and a lot of more!
You can have also the opportunity to meet another Workaway’s host, Hervé: I spent a dinner with him and the workawayers who he was hosting and we had a really good time together.
I would really recommend this place to a responsible person, who really wants to treat their home like as If It were his/her own, a person who is not afraid to get dirty, but mostly a person who has a lot of creativity to share to this unique place.
I already miss you guys.
I hope to come back one day.
Thank you so much for everything.
(more than 5 stars)

(Excellent )

27/03/2019

Left by Workawayer (Mantas & Aistė) for host

We stayed with Tracy, Tonie and Frida (the cutest puppy ever) for two weeks and we were the very first workawayers for them. They were perfect hosts and raised the "hosting bar" super high!!

First of all - Tracy's cooking is just to good to be true. After you're full - you still want more. And Tonie's creations and his creativity is just… read more

(Excellent )

25/03/2019

Left by host for Workawayer (Mantas & Aistė)

It's was an absolute pleasure to have Aiste and Mantas with us helping transform our gardens. They really worked beyond what we imagined and if I could give an extra star I would!!!
Our flowerbeds have been beautifully landscaped by them and a huge job clearing weeds and grass for a large vegetable plot was tackled with energy and always a smile.… read more

(Excellent )

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Host ref number: 468499489942

Homestays, Volunteering & Working Holidays in Portugal Homestays, Volunteering & Working Holidays in Europe Homestays, Volunteering & Working Holidays in Porto and North Family Portugal Last minute Homestays, Volunteering & Working Holidays in Portugal

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