Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
17 Apr 2025
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 1 day
Feedback
5
Email verified
Badges (2)
Details
Description
Hey fellow adventurers!
We’re Simone (34), Salah (33), and our wild little daughter Yara (4), living the good life somewhere between “off-grid dreams” and “where did all this chicken poop come from?”
Simone’s Dutch roots run deep—especially in the garden, where she’s always whispering sweet things to the plants and cooking up food so good it should probably come with a warning label. She’s is a artist, part gourmet chef, and full-time animal whisperer.
Salah is our resident problem-solver, fixer-upper, and general bringer of muscle. Whether it’s a new garden structure or a mystery leak, he’s the one who dives in and somehow makes it work. He knows a bit about everything, and what he doesn’t know, he’ll figure out (or pretend convincingly).
Our tiny kingdom is also ruled by three very opinionated cats—Mr. Snuggles (spoiled), Hank (grumpy), and Poepje (don’t ask)—plus a feathery gang of free-range chickens. Expect more animals to join the chaos soon.
We’re creating a peaceful, self-sufficient little oasis with nature, farming, and river swims as our therapy. Our goal? Grow as much of our own food as possible, learn along the way, and maybe take a nap if the kid allows it.
If you enjoy slow mornings, meaningful work, and unpredictable animal behavior—we’d love to meet you!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Babysitting and creative play
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Interests
Events & social
Culture
Pets
Sustainability
Self development
Farming
Plant care
Music
DIY & crafts
Art & design
Cooking & food
Languages
Carpentry
Animals
Yoga / Wellness
Nature
Camping
Mountain
Outdoor activities
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
You'll be staying with a well-traveled couple (Travelled to over 50 countries) in a remote beautiful spot in the Portuguese mountains. Sharing stories, knowledge and fun times.
We love to engage in cultural exchange through hands-on learning and meaningful conversations. We share practical knowledge about small-scale farming, animal care, and sustainable living, while also exploring cultural differences and how they shape our perspectives.
Whether you're looking to learn new skills or deepen your understanding of yourself and others, this is a space for growth, connection, and shared purpose.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
At the moment there are my things going on such as rebuilding animal shelters, preparing veggie garden for the upcoming season, renovating the main house (We already have new windows, new electricity circuit, new boiler etc.) clearing some brush, play dates with the kid, general maintenance, pruning trees, usual household stuff and many other projects.
There is also a small but good equipped workshop where we make some crafty work, let's be creative!
You would be part of our family and participate in any things we will be doing, we also strongly believe that everyone works best according to their own schedule.
Mostly we go with the flow of what feels best and with what the weather permits.
Of course, you can spend and organize your free-days or free-time as you wish (there is so much to explore here!).
Or sometimes, we are just enjoying the company with some drinks and good food :)
Languages
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
Portuguese: 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
You will have your own bell tent ( 3m diameter ) up on one of our terraces, very close to the house. The tent can easily host 2 people.
About food, we love to prepare and share our meals together.
What else ...
Quinta de Marianna is situated in a small village called Serrazes with little over 3500m² land which provides plenty of opportunities to roam around and discover the area.
If you like the outdoors this is the place to be. You can go for yoga classes, hiking, swimming, rafting, canoeing, and climbing.
There are thermal baths in Sao Pedro do Sul, Termas. (the closest bigger town).
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have a cozy office with two desks including screens and high speed internet which can be used at any time.
Can possibly accept pets
Just let us know and we will figure it out :)
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Feedback (4)
Salah and Simone were amazing hosts, always making sure I felt comfortable and that I had everything I needed. We had interesting conversations while eating delicious meals and we did some activities together. During one week of my stay, they had friends staying with us, who were… read more
They’re working on turning their home into a fully self-sustaining compound, which is an inspiring goal. The work I did was equally split between manual labor (collecting/chopping wood, helping build… read more
The food was amazing and the work was fair, never too much and never boring ;)
So i helped a with renovating the gite (remove the wallpaper and did some painting), clearing the woods, prepearing the… read more
Photos
Feedback
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)
Salah and Simone were amazing hosts, always making sure I felt comfortable and that I had everything I needed. We had interesting conversations while eating delicious meals and we did some activities together. During one week of my stay, they had friends staying with us, who were… read more
They’re working on turning their home into a fully self-sustaining compound, which is an inspiring goal. The work I did was equally split between manual labor (collecting/chopping wood, helping build… read more
The food was amazing and the work was fair, never too much and never boring ;)
So i helped a with renovating the gite (remove the wallpaper and did some painting), clearing the woods, prepearing the… read more
