Help us start a permaculture food forest and care for the animals near Pedrogaõ Pequeno, Portugal

Details

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  Description

  Want to take part in the exciting beginning of our permaculture food forest and farm in the Pedrogão Grande area?
  We - Matin and Annika - currently have a handful of cats, chickens, ducks, and goats and we have our hands full with building the place and setting up the gardens.
  
  Since this area has suffered from and is very prone to fire during the summer, we have a strong focus on regenerating the land with a fire-preventing and resisting approach.
  We want this place to grow not only into a food forest but also to become a nursery that will provide much-needed trees that fight fire.
  A big part of our strategy will be the goats - so far we have 1 milking goat and 1 sheep - to keep grass and brambles down and at some point provide us with milk products like kefir & cheese.
  Long-term goals are food sovereignty, selling our own products, sequester loooots of carbon, and eventually outgrowing the current system ;)
  
  Our project spans two distinct properties, a 30-minute walk apart.
  On the bigger plot (~1.3ha) is an old little house with 5 possible bedrooms. We have plenty of fruit trees (Orange, Mandarine, Khaki, Fig, Lemon, Cherries, and Kiwis) you can pick from.
  You could stay in one of the rooms, or there is plenty of space to put a hammock, tent or park a camper van.
  
  The smaller one (~0.4 ha) is where we establish the food forest and where we live during the warm months. It is off-grid and offers very basic amenities (compost toilet, outdoor shower, and kitchen). The two of us share a small hut, if you want to stay on this land you can use it or sleep in a tent.
  
  You'll have access to solar power, speakers, unlimited wifi, a washing machine, a guitar, an electrical piano, a longboard and you can take a 30-minute walk to the lake. There's a local market every Monday (and a small one on Sunday), and by the time you get here hopefully the first harvest of our newly planted garden.
  
  Our meals are usually fresh and simple, vegetable-based, and with little or no processed foods. They regularly contain meat or fish, but we can adapt to dietary preferences. There is of course the possibility to cook your own meals, but we greatly enjoy sharing food and eating together. Matin loves to cook for us if you "find his cooking tolerable" ("I love mega soups with lightning fast vegetable chopping" - a friend and impermanent resident, 2024).
  
  Your tasks could include moving the goats around, gardening/planting, helping with building a greenhouse, or other construction/carpentry projects and renovations. Everything is quite new for us as well, there are no super fixed schedules and projects keep evolving so being adaptive and flexible is definitely useful.
  We spend a lot of time discussing problems and solutions on local as well as global scale and how to navigate this project. Hence we are very much looking forward to your ideas, thoughts and skills!
  
  We can't offer much but also do not expect a lot (of work). It is important to us to provide a space to simply be, learn, reflect, and do your own thing.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  House sitting
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We believe that it is possible for young people to turn the whole of the Iberian desert into a forest, and we even believe that it is probably profitable to do so. we have books and resources on the topic so if you want to learn and be apart of this then why not start soon? understanding it takes time, it's about as hard as learning a new language, and that is why we need young people to look into this.

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  Help

  ** Currently in need of people to look after the animals, gardens, and houses during December and January **
  
  We are going to be in Germany for family and work reasons during that time and are looking for someone or a group of people who
  - Care for the gardens
  - Feed the cats
  - Move the goats around
  - Want to eat from the organic garden
  - Might be motivated to do some renovations around the house
  
  Ideally you would join us beforehand so we can show you around.
  Feel free to reach out for more details, we'd be happy to schedule a call and get to know you :)

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Indonesian: Fluent
  Portuguese: Intermediate

  This 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.
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  Accommodation

  Personal rooms

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  What else ...

  If you want to dive into what inspires us, ask us for the links!

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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

  The internet connection is solid and there is a little office you can use :)

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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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