Portugal
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Hello! We are a Portuguese-Italian couple living in an old rural house with a big garden near Porto. It's a small village with not much movement even during day time. It is surrounded mainly by farms and some forest. There are several cafes around, where you can enjoy a beer or a traditional menu for a very cheap price. The closest supermarket is 5 minutes by car (20 minutes walk), but we prefer buying food at the local market, which happens twice a week.
The house where we live is old but has all basic comforts: hot water, electricity, washing machine, fully functional kitchen with wooden-oven during the winter :-), together with a big garden. We already had many volunteers who did a great job, but both he house and the garden still need a lot of maintenance and work: cooking, weeding, house renovation, fencing, pruning fruit trees, animal care ... We love having people around, sharing experiences and knowledge. Apart from volunteers, we often have friends coming over to help, improve some little things here and there: the house is always in construction!
There are always animals around: at the moment we only have a cat, Benji, but we dream of having ducks eventually, and we already had chickens and took care of several dogs, including the neighbour's. We are dog lovers, although we don't have one at the moment, and we worry a lot about their well-being and positive interactions with humans, other animals and house dynamics.
We are always open to suggestions regarding eco-construction, organic farming, animal care and recycling of materials. Although the place is quite isolated, it is always possible to organise open events (music, barbecues, ...), as long as they are respectful of nature, neighbours and do not cause any harm to anyone.
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
The volunteers will be immersed in the rural life of a little village and will enjoy the company of both locals and travellers at the same time. We are interested in eco-construction and would love to learn, share experiences and knowledge about it. We are also involved with several alternative projects (rural communities, cultural associations, music projects) in the area, which we'll will be happy to show you, shoud you be interested.
Volunteers will cook, do some gardening, construction, and take care of the animals (at the moment, just Benji). It is not necessary to have any specific ability, as long as you are energetic and proactive! Indeed, the main qualities we are looking for are adaptability, willingness to work and be helpful, and good disposition!
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Portuguese: Fluent
French: Beginner
Private or shared room, depending on the number of volunteers (max 3 volunteers per room). Sheets and towels are provided. Shared kitchen and bathroom.
Although we are not always able to prepare meals for everybody (especially when we are running errands around), food is always available, it's just a matter of cooking it :-) We offer vegan food. Other food (meat, fish, dairy products, gluten-free,...) is not included, but you are welcome to buy it yourself and cook it if you wish.
Please remember that this is not a farm, our vegetable garden is still in development and besides our cat Benji we do not have other animals at the moment.
Once you're here, it is mandatory to visit the city of Porto (15km), which has become one of the main cultural attractions in Europe during the past decade. The bus stop is at the door. Buses run from 6pm to 8pm (one bus per hour). There are less buses on Saturdays and Sundays, but we can give you a lift when we go there (usually twice a week), together with several tips about local associations, cheap places to eat and alternative spots.
There are several religious and hiking paths near the house. Bicycles are available. Neighbour villages offer a lot to see, including Natural Parks, ancient monasteries, beautiful beaches..
You can always join nearby wild life events in "Parque Biologico de Gaia" (animals from similar climate), "Parque Ornitológico de Santa Maria da Feira" (worldwide birds) or "Estacao Litoral da Aguda" (Atlantic ocean's sealife)
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Vans can be parked near the house, just few seconds away.
We are happy to accept pets but we prefer for them not to sleep inside :-) We have plenty of space outside and a storage room where we can easily improvise a comfortable couch for them :-)
More than two
25 hours per week
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