Community living, nature regeneration and personal development in Alentejo, Portugal

Details

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  Description

  Our project is a land-based living project in the Alentejo — one of Europe's driest and most climate-stressed regions. For five years, we have been restoring land, building sustainable, regenerative and community systems. Growing as an international learning and experimental rotational community. A space where we design, build, and test different systems for communal living, climate resilience, and more adaptive ways of being.
  
  We are a registered non-profit association (associação sem fins lucrativos). Over 800 people from more than 110 countries have come through this space — to volunteer, to learn, to contribute, and to be part of something bigger than themselves.
  
  Where & What
  The Alentejo summers are real. Water is precious. The land was depleted when we arrived and is slowly returning to life. We are actively building self-sufficiency systems, water retention, soil regeneration, revegetation and reforestation systems, as well as natural infrastructure — working toward more sustainable and more regenerative ways of living in a Mediterranean dryland.
  
  Work changes with the seasons. In summer, the focus is resilience, infrastructure-building and maintance, water management and food systems,artistic and creative work. Spring and autumn are for planting, harvesting, and regeneration. Winter is for system design, water infiltration and preparing the land for the next cycle.
  
  Who you'll meet
  Anthony — main steward of the land and responsible for pre-arrival communications like here on workaway. Born and raised in Africa, with a background in social entrepreneurship and regenerative leadership. He blends land-stewardship knowledge, modern systems thinking, and regenerative approaches to land and systems stewardship.
  
  Ana — yoga teacher with over 6,000 hours of training in Sankhya Yoga, creative, herbalist and steward of feminine and natural healing practices. She also leads the digital and creative side of the project.
  
  Lara — our volunteer coordinator. She runs the volunteer program day-to-day and is your main point of contact during your stay. Lara cares deeply for what she honors, she communicates in a direct, honest and playful way, and you will be able to learn about portuguese culture through her and Ana.
  
  Where we are right now
  It is in transition — moving from a fully rotational volunteer model toward a core team structure with deeper roots. We are still actively hosting volunteers, but with more structure, clearer roles, and a focus on foundations that last.
  
  This is not a community in the traditional sense —the overall governance is not shared with newcomers. It is communal living: a working, shared, and rotating space where people come to contribute, learn, and connect. You have space to share your voice, be heard and have more flexibility and influence on day-to-day decision-making as the space is honored and respected.
  
  What it is part of, is something larger. It is one node in a growing global network of people, projects and places moving toward more conscious, land-connected ways of living. The stewardship rotates. People come for a few weeks, stay for months, or return for different seasons of their lives. What travels with them is knowledge, connection, and a growing sense of what it means to be a guardian of the Earth, a keeper of community, and a steward of themselves.
  
  🛤️ Two pathways
  1️⃣ Volunteer Program — four weeks minimum, with structured mornings and flexible afternoons. The main way most people join us.
  
  2️⃣ Anchor Steward Pathway — three months, for people ready for deeper involvement, more responsibility, and the possibility of joining our long-term core team. Limited spaces, applications closing soon. Mention this in your message if you're interested.
  
  INTAKE DAYS
  JUNE: June: 15th, 29th
  July: 13th, 27th
  August: 10th, 24th
  September 7th,
  // Anchor Intake days : , 15th, 19th and 22nd

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Help with Eco Projects

  Teaching

  Light gardening

  Creative DIY projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Help around the house

  Light maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet

  House & pet sitting
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  Interests

  

  Videography

  

  Technology

  

  Politics / Social justice

  

  Events & social

  

  LGBTQ

  

  Vegetarian or vegan

  

  Sustainability

  

  Pets

  

  Van life

  

  Culture

  

  Self development

  

  Charity work

  

  Art & design

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Music

  

  Plant care

  

  Performing arts

  

  Gardening

  

  Carpentry

  

  Astronomy

  

  Animals

  

  Hiking

  

  Dancing

  

  Camping

  

  Nature

  

  Yoga / Wellness

  

  Outdoor activities
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Our home is a space of ongoing regeneration—of land, self, and community. Visitors engage not only in project-based activities but also in shared rituals and regenerative rhythms that support self-inquiry, responsibility, and connection.
  
  These contributions aren’t “extra tasks”—they’re part of community living and lifestyle. Typically, these shared activities require about 7–10 hours per week in total, and are not part of the formal work exchange. Which include taking on a community role like helping ensure mindful consumption, or cooking a meal, cleaning after it and joining a community meeting.
  
  💫 What you can learn and explore here, as well as what we hope to learn more with you:
  
  ✨Personal growth: radical responsibility, conscious communication, nervous system regulation
  
  ✨Community life: communal meals, check-ins, sharing circles, and collective day-to-day decision-making.
  
  ✨Skill-sharing: opportunities not limited to what we offer but can include land stewardship, water systems, community dynamics, creative expression, sacred femininity — guided by our team and open to co-facilitating depending on who is there and what they want to share
  
  ✨ Sustainable and Regenerative living - self-sufficiency systems, community living, personal autonomy within interconnected systems that work in evolvingly healthier ways with nature rather than against nature
  
  ✨ Skills and mindsets for adaptive climate resilience
  
  💡 What's particular about the place
  We bring together influences and approaches that are unusual to find in one place — rooted in practical land work, with the resilience of African ways of being and the structure of European living. We are not purists, and we are not a wellness retreat. We are experimental, adaptive, and serious about building systems that work dynamically.
  
  As a non-profit, our focus is on what we can build, test and share .And because the community rotates internationally, the exchange goes in every direction.
  
  🌱 We celebrate diversity and welcome people of all backgrounds. We aim to co-create an inclusive and liberatory space rooted in care, presence, and respect for the Earth and each other.

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  Registered charity

  This host is a registered charity in their country and is looking for volunteers to help with their project(s).

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  Help

  We're a not-for-profit project focused on ecological restoration, communal harmony, and soul-led living.
  
  We’re looking for reliable, self-directed, and experienced humans , who have a keen willingness to learn and contribute. If you are ready to contribute meaningfully, take initiative, and bring love into your daily actions, we would be keen to co-create with you. Practicing radical self-responsability, conscious communication, and knowing how to self-regulate are skills that are deeply valuable here.
  
  Below we list examples of the type of pracitcal skills, work and experiences we can share with you depending on our current situation since we work with the elements which are present (for example we do a lot of landscape water retention work on the land during the rain months but not in the summer) :
  
  Community or eco-village living
  
  Land stewardship, permaculture, regenerative systems, and their infrastructure
  
  Project coordination or community facilitation
  
  Digital media, systems design, and AI-led systems and content creation
  
  Permaculture gardening & compost systems
  
  Native Forestry, food forest, and other types of reforestation
  
  Building water retention features or forest corridors
  
  Social media strategy & storytelling
  
  Supporting community rhythms, rituals, and roles
  
  on the side we also have spaces to welcome and share
  
  **Summer Months** More focused on infrastructure creation and maintenance, systems design, resilience, and adaptability
  
  Coaching, embodiment, healing, or educational facilitation which you can also do and facilitate in your private time and exchange within the space if you desire to use this opportunity for a cultural/educational or otherwise exchange
  
  We’ll support you to work in a way that aligns with your energy, gifts, cycles, and clarit- please communicate these with us.

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  Languages spoken

  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent
  Portuguese: Fluent
  Afrikaans: Beginner
  French: Beginner

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  Accommodation

  Flexible and Adaptable Contributions:
  We offer various exchange options to align with individual needs and our project goals. These options are fluid, allowing each flexibility between them as long as responsibilities are met. As we are a not-for-profit nature restoration project, we have incorporated these exchange options that allow the project to exist and offer these experiences to travelers.
  
  EXCHANGE OPTIONS
  
  Our exchange system is designed to balance individual capacities with community and project needs while fostering learning and responsibility. We offer a variety of options to ensure the sustainability of the project as well as to serve the different needs of those who come - for example, some desire to work more hours, some less, some prefer to have the food provided whilst others prefer to provide their own.
  
  As we are a private project and our host Anthony finances the majority of costs, the project itself is of a NON-PROFIT nature and therefore we have different exchange options that honor the individuals and help ensure that this project can teach, empower and ensure that culture exchange exists.
  
  We offer a variety of flexible exchange options to meet individual needs and project sustainability. All options include:
  
  Accomodation
  
  Access to vegan food ingredients (from garden & store)
  
  Compost toilets, outdoor showers, shared indoor and outdoor spaces
  
  WiFi (communal spaces only – not in tents)
  
  Community events ,circles and rituals
  
  🌀 Work Exchange Options:
  
  15 hrs/week →OPTIONAL no provided food (bring your own) or contribute €45/week with access to +3 meals per day
  
  20 hrs/week → OPTIONAL 2 meals per day or +3 meals for €30 / week
  
  25 hrs/week → no financial contribution - 3 meals per day
  
  ✨ Private accommodation available for anchors or those offering extra hours/skills.
  
  🥗 Communal vegan lunch is shared most days. Breakfast/dinner are DIY, with supplies included.
  
  Volunteering Pathways Accommodation:
  🛖 Anchor Stewards : Private room and bathroom shared with max 1 other person (friend, partner etc) , private Bell Tent or bring your own setup
  🏕️ Standard Volunteer: Large shared Bell Tents, or private camping tent, hammocks, camper van spots or bring your own setup
  🚌 Pickup from local town bus stop is available upon request for arrival/departure
  
  **If you come from a low-income country we can offer a discount on the contribution per request
  
  🥬 Food
  We provide plant-based staple ingredients, a shared kitchen, and communal breakfast and lunch on most days. Dinner is generally self-organised, with occasional shared meals. Special dietary needs or extras beyond our staples are your responsibility to bring or purchase.
  
  
  🌊 Be ready for…
  • Limited water — we are in one of Europe's driest regions
  • Solar hot water — works well on sunny days
  • Compost toilets, not flush
  • Insects and wildlife — ants, flies, mosquitoes, occasional mice, birds, bats
  • Four kilometres from the nearest village (40-min walk, 15-min bike, 7-min car)
  • Sleeping spaces may not be fully private by default
  • Communal life — you will live closely with others
  
  Cleaning Responsibilities: Maintaining general cleanliness and a pleasant environment is a collective duty that is not counted as work hours. Regular and consistent efforts are required from everyone to uphold the well-being of our shared spaces.
  PLEASE NOTE : If you do not cleanup after yourself , you will be made aware of it and if this happens repeatedly, we will ask you to leave!
  
  
  If you've read through all of the profiles please use the codeword 'Purpose & Responsibility' when applying so we know you are serious ;)

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  What else ...

  🌿 Some honest words before you apply
  
  This is not a healing centre, and we are not here to hold your process. That said, healing can happen here — and often does. The land itself, the sharing circles, the guides and resources we've built, and the Mandala role system (which includes people in active emotional support roles) all create conditions for it. If you communicate what you need and we can offer it, we will. But it is something you seek and take responsibility for — not something we provide or carry for you.
  
  Anthony and Ana are present, but stepping back from daily volunteer life. Lara is your main point of contact. Deeper connection with us is possible, but it is cultivated — not assumed, and not freely given. It grows like anything else on this land: tended, patient, and earned over time.
  
  The space is still evolving. Some things are raw, some are being built. Volunteers help us build. If you arrive looking for polish, you'll be disappointed. If you arrive ready to contribute to something growing, you'll find your place here.
  
  The communal space varies — usually 10–15 people, up to 25 in summer. Most are international and English-speaking. A mix of short-term volunteers, longer-term stewards, and occasional guests. We welcome people of all backgrounds and identities — LGBTQ+, BIPOC, neurodivergent, and more. If you have specific access or support needs, please share them in your message so we can be honest about what we can accommodate.
  
  🌱 Two ways to come
  🟢 Volunteer Program — four weeks minimum, structured. The standard pathway.
  
  🟠 Anchor Steward — three months, deeper involvement, more responsibility, with the possibility of joining the long-term core team. Limited spaces. Applications closing soon — mention this in your message if you're interested.
  
  We also welcome people who arrive and want to extend, or who return for different seasons of their lives.
  
  🌍 Apply if…
  • You want to contribute meaningfully to land-based work and communal living
  • You're ready for real conditions in a real environment
  • You want to learn by doing — permaculture, dryland restoration, food systems, natural building, community living
  • You are curious, humble, proactive and can handle a challenge
  • You're looking for a meaningful exchange — not a free holiday
  
  ✍️ When you reach out, please tell us:
  • Why this project specifically (not just any volunteer project)
  • What you'd like to learn or contribute
  • Your available dates
  • Which contribution model you're aiming for
  • Any needs, limitations or desires that we should know about
  
  We review applications carefully. You'll usually hear back within a week. If not, a gentle follow-up is always welcome.
  
  Much respect and love,

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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 space has unlimited wifi but it doesn't reach everywhere

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We love having people who bring their vans and own setups - we are also happy to provide a variety of project materials so you can also make your setup space more enjoyable during your stay

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  Can possibly accept pets

  Due to our dog Cacao (17kg) who has trauma with other dogs, we can only potentially per individual request welcome other dogs who are generally bigger than her, are social and not overly sensitive. Their humans need to be able to be trauma informed on some level and be able to work with the potential integration conflict that could take place whilst the dogs adjust and get to respect each other.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  My animals / pets

  Rambo

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  This host charges a fee

  read more

  Why does Workaway allow some hosts to charge a fee?

  
  

  Workaway provides opportunities for non-monetary cultural exchanges where hosts provide food and accommodation in return for help from Workawayers. In some exceptional cases, a small fee/ donation request (typically no more than 5 dollars per day) may be approved for hosts such as registered charities with a history of positive volunteer feedback. Any fee must directly go to the charity and can only be used to cover the volunteers' food costs. This will be clearly marked on the host's listing.
  

  Listings by agents, "middle-men" or projects that appear to profit from a volunteer's stay are strictly prohibited. Any fees must be discussed and approved in advance by the Workaway team.

  €45/week for food

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