Experience cultural exchange and help in a family home with a furry friend in Madeira, Portugal

Details

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  Description

  Hey there!
  
  Welcome to our home in Funchal, Madeira! 🏝️ We're Sini and Karin and are inviting you to our private family home (not a business or hostel). We live here full-time and am opening up my spare private guest room to welcome a helper into my personal home.
  
  A little about us:
  
  Sini- enjoys reading, tennis, padel, DJing and meditation 🧘‍♀️. Author of the Untethered Book and Silicon Valley Veteran.
  
  Karin - enjoys pilates, pottery, reading, cooking, and gardening 🧑‍🌾. Software Engineer and Community Builder.
  
  Koa - our four-legged boy, male, 40 kilos (85lbs), hound mix, a big boy with an even bigger heart, brought over from Kauai'i, Hawai'i when Karin lived there 🌺

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Light gardening

  Creative DIY projects

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  Light maintenance

  House & pet sitting
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  Interests

  

  Self development

  

  Farming

  

  Movies & TV

  

  Pets

  

  Technology

  

  Events & social

  

  Culture

  

  Fashion or beauty

  

  Plant care

  

  Music

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Books

  

  Art & design

  

  Architecture

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Gardening

  

  Writing

  

  Carpentry

  

  Astronomy

  

  Animals

  

  Winter sports

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Team sports

  

  Nature

  

  Fitness

  

  Beach

  

  Dancing

  

  Mountain

  

  Hiking

  

  Adventure sports
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  What you’ll get out of staying with us (and what you'll learn):
  
  Living with us in Madeira is a chance to pick up some really practical life skills that go way beyond just keeping a house tidy:
  
  The art of making a home feel like home 🏡
  You’ll get a real feel for what it takes to keep a big house organized, welcoming, and running smoothly. It’s great practice for managing your own space down the line, learning how to keep a household organized, and mastering the logistics of hosting friends and family without stress.
  
  Dipping into local life & new languages 🌍
  Living on an island like this naturally forces you out of your comfort zone. You’ll get to practice navigating different backgrounds, learning some Portuguese phrases, and naturally building up your communication skills just by being part of the local community here.
  
  True independence & mastering your own time ⏳
  Because your tasks only take up a small part of the week, you have to learn how to structure your own days. It’s a great exercise in self-reliance—figuring out how to efficiently knock out your household contributions so you can maximize your free time to explore the island, hike, or work on your own personal projects.
  
  Cooking, gardening, and life skills 🌿
  Whether you want to learn more about Mediterranean ingredients, get comfortable keeping a garden alive through the summer heat, or expand your recipe book (especially learning the ins and outs of gluten-free cooking with us!), you'll leave with a lot of practical, hands-on knowledge you'll actually use forever.
  
  At the end of the day, it's a chance to slow down, live like a local rather than a tourist, and clear your head while discovering all the trails and hidden corners Madeira has to offer. 🌴☀️

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  Help

  🌺 Share our quiet home in Madeira - help out with house, garden & our dog 🐕
  
  Hello traveler!
  
  We’re a small household living in a centrally located 3-BR apartment walking distance from the center of Funchal, and we’re looking for a friendly, independent volunteer to move in with us and help us keep the place running smoothly. We share our home with our wonderful dog Koa, so we are looking for a fellow animal lover to join our household, help us keep things tidy, and share in a relaxed household exchange.
  
  We like to keep things flexible and usually tailor tasks to whatever you're naturally good at, whether that's cooking up a storm, organizing, or looking after the garden.
  
  What helping out looks like:
  
  We usually need about 15 hours of help per week. It’s pretty laid back and spread out so you have a ton of free time to see the island or do your own thing. Mostly, it involves:
  
  1. Keeping our private home clean
  
  2. Taking care of the gardens as needed
  
  3. Hanging out and taking care of our dog (taking him for walks, feeding him, dog-sitting if we’re away).
  
  Huge bonus if you can help us with some simple meal planning or prepping ingredients, or willing to learn. Extra bonus if you know your way around gluten-free cooking, since one of us is GF.
  
  What's in it for you:
  
  - Located in the center of Funchal - easy walking and public transport
  - Your own private room with private bathroom. Your own fridge in the kitchen.
  - Access to garden goodies
  - All utilities and fast Wi-Fi are fully sorted.
  - We’ve lived on the island for a while now, so we can point you toward the best local hiking trails, hidden swimming spots, festivals, and live music.
  - Stipend for living expenses
  
  A bit about you:
  We’re looking for someone trustworthy, neat, and comfortable managing their own time. But mostly we are looking for somebody who can commit for a minimum of a few months, and beyond if mutually a good fit. If you want a calm home base and genuinely love dogs, we’d love to chat.
  
  When you message us, please let us know:
  
  - Why you’re heading to Madeira and your preferred dates (* prefer a multi month stay)
  - A bit about your experience with dogs.
  - What you enjoy helping with around the house, or feel excited about tackling

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  Languages spoken

  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Croatian: Fluent
  Chinese (Mandarin): Fluent

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  Accommodation

  You will stay in a fully private guest bedroom with an ensuite/private bathroom inside my private apartment/house. We share the kitchen and living areas as a normal private household.
  
  Within a 10-15 minute walk we have access to private benefits:
  - Gym, Sauna, Cold Plunge
  - Meditation Corner
  - Terrace
  - Garden (fresh produce/herbs available)
  - Furry friend companion, Koa (5 year old, male 40kilo, Hound mix)

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  What else ...

  Madeira, often called the Hawai'i of Europe, is a Portuguese island in the Atlantic ocean, which is also famous for its large digital nomad community.🏝️
  
  Public transport is readily available, making it easy for you to explore the island at your own pace. Local buses in the city cost 1.95 EUR, and buses outside of the city cost 5 EUR. 🚌🏄‍♀️
  
  NOTE! THIS PLACE IS NOT FOR YOU IF: you do not like to do chores independently and on a schedule, or if you do not like to explore places independently! Also, the island is very hilly, so you need to be either willing to walk the hills or take the bus. Also, there aren't really sand beaches on Madeira. The island is very rocky! If you are coming to the island for sand beaches, this is not the place!

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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

  500Mbit internet line accessible from any corner of the house. Desk in the room.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  One

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  My animals / pets

  Koa

  4 year old male 85lb Redbone coonhound/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. Big heart, bigger personality.

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