Slow living, DIY and gardening in a rural village in Central Portugal

Details

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  Description

  Hello!
  My name is Alessandra, I'm 33yo and after traveling and working as a digital nomad for a few years I decided to move to Portugal, embrace a slower pace in life and I start a building project with an old house in the countryside.
  
  ABOUT ME
  I've studied management and engineering, worked for about 5 years in tech, and lived in Italy (my home Country), Spain, France, Brazil, Serbia, and Portugal. I've done some volunteering (in Brazil and Serbia). I enjoy traveling on my own, in the last two years I've done a trip on my bicycle with my dog in the Canary Islands and then lived in a van that I converted myself. I love sports, music, nature, and spending time in good company.
  
  WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR
  Creative, easygoing, but most of all, kind people with good energy who can help me build/renovate my house and contribute to my slow living project.
  
  I'm looking for somebody friendly, flexible, independent, and who understands what it means to live far from the city and to embrace a project like this.
  
  WHAT YOU SHOULD EXPECT
  This is not a community project, it’s my house where I live with my dog.
  A part of the house is under renovation and it’s where we’ll work, another part is where we live but everything is in the same building.
  
  You will be working with me unless you feel like working independently on light tasks like cleaning the garden or painting walls.
  I live in the house so we’ll see each other every day and have lunch and dinner together where you can unleash your cooking creativity if you want :) or I can share with you some tasty Italian recipes.
  I enjoy spending time with other people and listening to their views on life and travel stories and I’d be happy to share mine with you.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  General Maintenance

  House sitting
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  Interests

  

  Mountain

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Water sports

  

  Winter sports

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Nature

  

  Camping

  

  Adventure sports

  

  Cycling

  

  Hiking

  

  Architecture

  

  Art & design

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Gardening

  

  Animals

  

  Carpentry

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Plant care

  

  Music

  

  Books

  

  Pets

  

  Sustainability

  

  Self development
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  TECH SKILLS
  I have worked remotely as Product and Project Manager for international companies for years and can share my knowledge with you to get started with a job like that.
  
  IMPROVE YOUR DIY SKILLS
  You'll be using tools and learn how to sketch projects.
  
  LIVE A SLOW LIFE
  I moved here because I couldn't stand the rush, and chaos, and competition of modern society and I've found the joy of slow living again. You will experience that as well.
  
  MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION
  Although I do enjoy my time on my own, I'm also very happy to share my experience and my thoughts about life, and to learn about yours.
  
  HEALTHY FOOD and LIFESTYLE
  My food comes mainly from the neighbors’ gardens (and hopefully from my garden soon!) and local markets. I go daily for long walks/jogging in the forests with my dog, you can join us.
  
  LIVE in the HERE and NOW
  I’ve been training myself to live in the present and focus on the here and now for a long time, I’m not a professional but I can talk about the techniques I’ve been using and we can practice together or you can go to the forest and practice on your own.
  
  LANGUAGE EXCHANGE
  I speak Italian, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and some French. I'd love to improve them or learn a new one :)

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  Help

  BUILDING and DIY
  On my list there are the following tasks, I’d love to see with you what you feel like helping me with and then we’ll work together on it.
  
  - laying flooring boards
  - building furniture from wooden pallets and other recycled materials
  - painting doors and windows
  - joining me around to look for waste materials to be reused :) or to order materials from DIY shops
  - plastering and painting walls
  - plumbing
  
  INTERIOR DESIGN
  Although I do have a project for the house I'm very open to suggestions, and also to learning more about interior design
  
  GARDENING - VEGGIES
  I've got a garden and a small plot of land but there's space for some trees, or plants, flowers. Basically, I still have no idea on how to use that space so you're free to make any suggestions and unleash your creativity to help me become self-sufficient.
  
  **Update:**
  I started growing my own vegetables!
  
  VIDEO MAKING/EDITING
  I’d love to share my project and vision of life on YouTube and ’m looking for someone creative who wants to help me with this :)
  
  HOUSE and DOG sitting
  Sometimes I could be away for a few days and need help to take care of the house and my lovely dog (he's a castrated 4yo mix of hunting dog and labrador-ish)
  
  DEEP CLEANING
  Some rooms of the house are used as storage/dump and one thing that would help me is to clean these areas to start the renovation there as well
  
  YOGA
  If you are a yoga teacher you're also welcome, I’d love to practice with you (I’m not a teacher)

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Italian: Fluent
  Spanish: Intermediate
  Portuguese: Intermediate
  French: Beginner

  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

  I have:
  2 beds available in a shared room with a beautiful view over the river and forests, the bed is made with pine wood from pallets (and a regular mattress)
  
  The bathroom is located outside on the terrace, for now. It's a regular bathroom fully equipped with a toilet, bidet, sink, and shower. There is also hot water.
  
  Please note that my entire house is smoke-free and therefore I don’t host smokers.

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  What else ...

  LIFE AT THE VILLAGE
  The house is located in an isolated village. There are less than 100 inhabitants, all of them are very nice and welcoming.
  There are no restaurants, cafes or supermarkets in the village but everything is easily accessible 10-15’ by car.
  There is a trail with a waterfall next to my place and a natural spring.
  I’m contributing with my neighbours to the reopening of the cafe of the village that has been closed for years and will open in September on the weekends.
  There is also a beautiful river beach 10’ walking from the house.
  
  OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES
  The area is beautiful and full of trails for hiking, trail running, or just walking and enjoying the nature. You can also go cycling here if you're a fan of bicycle I can also join you for a ride.
  Kayaking: from the house you can reach Coimbra by kayaking on the Mondego river and then come back by bus (the bus stops just down the village)
  
  VISITING THE AREA
  Coimbra it's just 15' driving away from the house, Penacova (a beautiful village) is 10' away. In your free time there are many places nearby that you can visit, like Porto, Aveiro, Tomar, Figueira da Foz, I can drop you off to the bus or train station in Coimbra.
  
  CREATIVE ACTIVITIES
  I have a guitar that you can play, soon I'll have a piano as well. You can also bring anything to paint or sketch, or whatever you like to do in your free time and use the terrace with the stunning view to relax and enjoy the nature and singing of the birds.
  There are eagle often flying in front of the house, if you're a fan of birdwatching this is the perfect 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

  I do have internet but sometimes the network might drop, so take it into account if you need to have many meetings or work with large files

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  Can possibly accept pets

  I can accept pets but be aware that I'm already living with a male dog, he's friendly but with other males it doesn't always work.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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