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Description
We are Laura (from Colombia) and Jimmy (from the UK) and we have been living here on our land in Northern Portugal, in the Douro Valley near Porto, for the last five years.
We have come a long way from living in our van, then in a bell tent, then we built our wooden cabin, and now we are almost finishing restoring our stone ruin. We have recovered a lot of the 3.3 hectares of land, which was totally covered in brambles, broom etc.
We have a herb garden, some tomatoes and other aromatic and herbal plants for tea, cooking etc. and around 20 fruit and nut trees that we planted last year, to look after. This involves weeding, watering, pruning and harvesting.
The land is magical - we call it Bosque Encantado, which means Enchanted Forest - with lots of water flowing, various little waterfalls, and two big stone tanks to plunge in when it's hot and we've been working hard.
We have an amazing local community here so you can see a really active Portuguese village full of life, and meet some colourful local characters!
We also have a kayak and paddle-board business, which will be free for volunteers to use on the beautiful Douro and Bestança rivers, where you can see otters, turtles, and various birds and fish.
No help with the business, paying guests or maintenance of spaces used by paying guests is requested from volunteers.
In our land, there is such peace you can't believe you are only one hour and a half from Porto! Our plan is to have alpacas, pigs, and other animals, but we are not at that point quite yet. -
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Light gardening
Creative DIY projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
Light maintenance
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Interests
Events & social
Politics / Social justice
Pets
Culture
Van life
Self development
Movies & TV
Farming
Art & design
Books
DIY & crafts
Plant care
History
Music
Languages
Gardening
Cooking & food
Architecture
Writing
Drawing & painting
Carpentry
Animals
Yoga / Wellness
Nature
Sailing / Boating
Dancing
Water sports
Outdoor activities
Hiking
Adventure sports -
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
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Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We have learnt a lot in the last six years living off-grid: many things about gardening, building irrigation systems, creating high quality compost (we have worm farms), learning how to set up solar, clean water with activated charcoal filters to live well in the land. We built our cabin ourselves by hand, and designed and fitted the bathroom, kitchen, and solar system, as well as the water system that feeds it. If these topics, and off-grid living, interest you, we have a lot of experience and knowledge we would love to share. And as the project is always ongoing, we are always welcome to receiving new ideas.
We also make our own soap and cleaning products in natural ways. All our water waste goes into the land so we have to use only organic products, so we make them ourselves.
We live near a Portuguese village full of life, so you can experience local parades, parties, barbecues etc. There is also a small, but growing, community of foreigners here. We call ourselves the Aliens! Last time we got together, I think there were about 30 people from about 20 nationalities, so it's a very nice mix of cultures and people, and often people put on small music gigs or events like that. Most of us are working on similar projects, with only one or two people on each one, so we organise group co-op days when we all go to one place and do a lot of work together. Very nice people and maybe an opportunity to see other projects and learn more skills and knowledge.
There are also a lot of musicians around here so we often get together to jam or play songs. If you are a musician, or just know how to bang a hand drum, you will enjoy.
We are lovers of all humanity and nature, and believe every person, culture, and place has something worthwhile to share and learn from. We both spent years living in various foreign countries and travelling the world, meeting the people and learning. We love to meet new people from places we don't know well, and to learn from their perspective and background. For us, everyone is both a student and a teacher, and we all have something to teach, and something yet to learn. -
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
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Help
We spent a year travelling Portugal and working as Workaways, so we understand that most people want to learn something rather than just working for a place stay.
We have the regular help of watering the plants and trees every day, including pruning, weeding and harvesting food; and keeping the land clean, which can mean clearing out various waterways and channels to make sure the water continues to flow, fixing tracks to survive the summer (and winter!) We also have three Podengo dogs who need feeding and we have to clean their pen regularly.
Right now, we are in the process of cleaning and fixing up another stone tank so we can have another pool, which is rewarding work. We are also finishing our worm tank, which is part of our vermiculture flushing toilet system.
Apart from this, we always have plenty of other projects, like building solar showers, compost toilets, fences, and an outdoor common area for socialising and planning projects. These DIY projects would be mostly natural construction, something we are passionate about, and involve some basic carpentry. All of these projects are to improve our life here on the land, we do not have paying guests on the land and none of the work would be for the benefit of paying guests.
We also have the day-to-day jobs of cleaning the house and kitchen, cooking meals etc.
We think it's better to see which work suits our Workaways best to make the most of your time and energy, and make sure you are happy and doing work with which you learn or practise something you are interested in.
As Laura is pregnant, you will mostly be working with Jimmy on jobs on the land, and he is happy to share knowledge, and receive it. -
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Portuguese: FluentThis 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
For the next few months, the accommodation will be our campervan, the yellow one you can see in the photos. We lived in it for two years, so we think it's great! It has a small sink and its own solar panel to charge your things. The bed is extra large so it is fine for a couple too.
Once the stone house is finished, we will move from the cabin to there, so the cabin will be available. The cabin is fully fitted with bathroom, kitchen. and solar power.
We will generally eat together. We use natural ingredients and cook simple but delicious food. Laura usually makes Colombian or Mexican, Jimmy usually Asian or Italian, occasionally English. We both love to cook, if you like to cook too, we invite you to cook. We have a rule that whoever cooks doesn't wash up, so if you don't cook, you will be doing a bit more washing up! -
What else ...
As mentioned, we have our kayak and paddle-board business that we invite you to try. Volunteers will not be asked to work for this business, but we offer it as a free and fun activity on your days off. There is a local town with supermarkets and some nice restaurants.
We are also close to a train station, from which you can go to Porto in about one hour and fifteen, or go to Pinhao/Regua, the famous vineyards, great if you like your red wine! And very beautiful.This train takes about an hour.
Apart from that, our area is full of swimming holes we can recommend for a nice swim on a hot day, viewpoints over the Douro, and great Portuguese restaurants. -
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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Space for parking camper vans
Access to the land is a little tricky, there is a road but it's quite narrow, so this is more for smaller campers than the huge type. In the land there is plenty of space.
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Can possibly accept pets
As mentioned, we have four dogs. We usually only let one run free at a time. They are lovely dogs who get on well with other dogs. As long as your dog is friendly, there won't be a problem.
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How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
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My animals / pets
Dobby
Dennis
Chocolate
Photos
