Profile information
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Host rating
100 %
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Last replied
4 Aug 2026
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Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 3 days
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Feedback
41
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Find your perfect host
Min stay requested: at least 2 weeks
Details
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Description
😃🌿 Welcome to our off-grid home in the countryside with beautiful sea views, about 10 km from Odeceixe Beach.
We are still restoring and caring for our land after the bushfire in 2023. With the help of Workawayers, we’ve created a simple and cosy guest space with its own basic kitchen area.
We are a friendly couple from Switzerland and Germany, living here with Jeannette’s 95-year-old father, who still enjoys being active in small ways.
Our home is shared with two rescued dogs and two young cats. One dog is still a puppy, so there is a lively and joyful energy around.
♻️ Living sustainably is important to us. We use water, electricity, and resources mindfully.
Our daily life is calm and nature-based. We enjoy working outdoors, walking the dogs, and sharing a healthy lunch together.
We welcome both individuals and couples. Many tasks can be done independently, while others are more enjoyable when shared. Life here has a natural rhythm, with a balance between time together and personal space.
Two people travelling together often settle in very easily, as they can share the experience and enjoy the quiet setting here in the evenings.
As we are in a rural area, having your own transport is very helpful, although we can pick you up at the bus stop and offer occasional lifts.
We are looking for kind, open-minded people who take initiative, communicate honestly, and enjoy practical, hands-on tasks.
If you enjoy nature, animals, and a respectful and clean shared environment, you will likely feel at home here. 🤗 -
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Light gardening
Creative DIY projects
Animal Care
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
Light maintenance
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Interests
Charity work
Cooking & food
Self development
Sustainability
Pets
Farming
Plant care
Music
Nature
Cycling
Languages
Gardening
DIY & crafts
Carpentry
Animals
Architecture
Art & design -
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Welcome to our home in nature in Alentejo, just north of the Algarve. ☀️🌳
You’ll be surrounded by cork trees, medronho, wildflowers, and a landscape that is slowly regenerating after the fire.
We enjoy sharing knowledge and learning from our Workawayers, both through daily life and practical tasks.
🌿 What you can learn:
💚 Local plants, trees, fruits, and herbs
♻️ Off-grid living (solar energy, water systems, sustainability in daily life)
👨🌾 Gardening, composting, and elements of permaculture
👨🍳 Cooking and baking, from Swiss to Portuguese dishes
🚜 Getting to know local farmers and produce -
Help
At the moment, you’ll mainly support us with practical, hands-on tasks around the home and surroundings. It would be great id you are partly skills, for projects such as:
• Insulate space for Workawayers (against heat and cold)
• DIY or creative projects (e.g. building a carport and a dry toilet)
• Repair of plastered wall plus painting
• Helping with firewood preparation (collecting and cutting wood)
• Gardening and caring for the plants and land
• Keeping areas tidy and organised
There is also a mix of daily tasks, such as cooking, cleaning, and organising, which we usually share.
Life here is quite peaceful and in the nature. We enjoy working outdoors, sharing meals (typically lunch together, as this is our main meal), and creating a calm, supportive atmosphere. There is always time to relax, explore the surroundings, or simply enjoy the quiet.
Depending on your interests, you may also enjoy contributing ideas, small creative projects, or helping make the Workaway space even more comfortable and beautiful.
We welcome both individuals and couples. Many tasks can be done independently, while others are more enjoyable when shared. We often appreciate a couple, so you can support each other when working and share joys in your free time. -
Languages
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
French: Intermediate
Portuguese: BeginnerThis host offers a language exchange
Jeannette is an online English Coach. We are happy to exchange languages if you wish to improve your English or learn Swiss German or German. We are still learning a little more Portuguese. -
Accommodation
Our place is off-grid with beautiful sea views and a simple, nature-based lifestyle.
You will stay in a private bedroom in a separate building with an attached room and a simple kitchen area. There is also an outdoor shower.
A warm shower and dry toilet are still in progress. Until then, you can use our guest bathroom in the main house.
We prepare a warm lunch each day, which we usually enjoy together. Weekends can be a little more flexible. Breakfast and supper are self-served. We provide food and basic beverages, and you will have your own kitchen space to use.
🚰 Drinking water is available and officially tested. -
What else ...
😎 Free time & local sights
In your free time, you can enjoy:
🚶 Walks or runs in peaceful nature
🏊 Swimming in our rainwater-fed lake (with a pier)
🏖️ Visiting nearby beaches (about 25 minutes by car)
🎹 Piano or 🏓 table tennis
🌅 Relaxing on the roof terrace with sea views
📖 Reading or enjoying a glass of Portuguese wine or herbal tea
🐶😺 Spending time with our animals
🌙 Evenings
Evenings are calm and relaxed here. We enjoy a quieter rhythm and often go to bed early.
😊 Atmosphere
This place suits people who enjoy simple living, nature, and a respectful, peaceful environment. Kindness and open communication are important to us.
🚐 Getting around
Having your own transport is highly recommended, as we are in a rural area.
However, we can sometimes offer lifts to São Teotónio, where there are buses to Lisbon, Lagos, and nearby beaches.
We can also be flexible with working days, allowing longer breaks for exploring.
🌿 Important to know
We live fully off-grid, relying on solar power and our well, so mindful use of water and electricity is essential.
The Workaway space is simple and still evolving. There is currently no heating, so we do not host during colder months.
This is a quiet and remote place. It is best suited for two people who enjoy nature and tranquillity.
Non-smoking environment. No drugs or loud music. We enjoy a relaxed atmosphere and occasional shared drink.
👉 If you message us, please mention “Zora”, our puppy, so we know you’ve read the profile. -
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 mobile reception is at 4G within the area for the workawayers. If you have no mobile internet, we can offer you to borrow our hotspot and upload it at its current cost. We work part-time online. Unfortunately, our separate WIFI is not stable enough for several people to work online simultaneously.
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Space for parking camper vans
Our place is well accessible also for big vehicles. There's a lovely space between Medronho bushes, a sea view (10 km aerial distance to the sea), gorgeous sunsets, a connection to water and electricity (only solar power) and a newly installed outside shower for warmer days. You can also use our separate bathroom, accessible from our house's backyard and our kitchen. We cook warm meals for lunch. For breakfast and supper, you help yourself to food. There is always enough healthy food available. We have a newly created covered outdoor space with a kitchen corner for the workawayers for breakfast and supper.
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Can possibly accept pets
You can bring your pet with you if it's really social with other pets. Our dogs have always been social with other dogs. They are also very friendly with our cats and don't chase them.
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How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
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My animals / pets
Kayla & Zora- and cats: Daisy & Cindy
We have two dogs and two cats. 7-year-old sweet, obedient female dog. Shy, scared of new people because she had been treated badly by a man before we rescued her. Sociable with all other dogs and our kittens, born in August 2025 and a rescued puppy has joined us in March 2026.
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback (15)
Will is an excellent carpenter with great attention to detail. During his stay, he … read more
They were a wonderful help during their stay and it was truly a pleasure to host them. Both are extremely friendly, polite, and thoughtful people, and they brought a very warm and positive energy to our … read more
Photos
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(4.9)
Cultural exchange:
(4.8)
Communication:
(4.9)
Will is an excellent carpenter with great attention to detail. During his stay, he … read more
They were a wonderful help during their stay and it was truly a pleasure to host them. Both are extremely friendly, polite, and thoughtful people, and they brought a very warm and positive energy to our … read more
Lynn was always willing to help and approached every task with care and a great attitude. She helped with cleaning, gardening, weeding and cooking, and she … read more
Mahshid works with joy. She helped us with so many things — from deep cleaning, to putting … read more
They are a warm, generous, and inspiring couple who brought so much energy, kindness, and good humour into our home.
Roni is an incredibly hard worker, always smiling and ready to help with anything. He supported us by digging in the garden for greywater collection, planting trees, raking huge … read more
We had the honor of getting to know you as people, learning from you, and being of service to you.
You are honest and good people, clean, tidy, punctual, just the way we like.
You took care of our food and everything we asked for with a big heart.
Dear Janet, thank you for the food and the cakes you baked. It was … read more
Both took on the demanding task of plastering with skill and precision, delivering professional and beautifully done results. In addition to their great plastering work, they also helped with woodcutting, gardening, and … read more
Kim and Arnie were with us for three wonderful weeks, staying in our accommodation container … read more
Jannette and Herbert have a beautifull Quinta and it was very interesting to us learned how to have a sustainable farm.
We enjoyed helping them with their garden, cooking, cutting wood and installed a solar panels.
They were very nice with us, Jannette cooks delicious! she shared and teached us amazing recipes. … read more
Camille and Gonzales were not only incredibly … read more
I wanted to express my heartfelt appreciation for your warm and caring hospitality. Jeanette, your culinary skills are exceptional, and Herbert, your engineering expertise is truly inspiring. Thank you for making us feel like a part of your family and creating such wonderful memories during our stay. Your beautiful home … read more
Łukasz was particularly skilled at cutting wood, and Agata was a master at restoring old furniture. We also appreciated their contributions to our … read more
Marco's gardening skills were impressive, and he tackled a number of challenging tasks with ease. In addition, his painting … read more
Angelika's passion for gardening was truly inspiring - she worked tirelessly and professionally to prune our … read more
Thank you for all again❤️
They are very kind, caring and generous and teached me a lot about gardening, cooking and solar energy. They made me feel like home from the first moment. My own tiny house space was really comfortable and I could also always spent time in the main house. We usually had … read more
Sabrina … read more
I felt very comfortable with both of you right from the start. I respected that you worked along side and gave good instructions. The fresh salat and herbs daily was such a delight... The meals, snacks and evening vine and exchange was nice … read more
Janet and Herbert literally gave us a home when we had nowhere to go.
There is a very nice container room with kitchen and an in-progress
dry toilet where Workawayers usually stay, but we were lucky enough to
stay in the guest room, which is more beautiful than many hotels … read more
They are particularly good at woodwork, they did hard work with digging deep holes and setting poles in the ground for the future dry toilet and … read more
Tereza is a warm-hearted, mature young woman, who is willing to work hard and well and we can still enjoy the result of many of her good jobs. She was great in garden work, cooking and baking, … read more
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback and the perfect description of the wonderful time we could enjoy with you and the great jobs you accomplished.
Alexandra and András are a very harmonious and happy couple, highly educated and yet with a modest attitude, interesting and lovely to chat and laugh with, great for … read more
first of all we would like to thank you again for the experience and the practical knowledge we have acquired and all the deep kindness and caring that you have shown toward us. It was quite a lovely and unique time we had there with you!
We spent there 3,5 weeks at Jeanette and Herbert’s place who are both really … read more
She was a great company in team-work as well as working independently, she did all the jobs really well, worked very hard and she made always sure the result was just what we were hoping for. She was a great support in cooking and … read more
