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Dreamers and doers welcome in a off-grid organic farm located in a Mediterranean oak forest, in Alentejo, Portugal

  • Favourited 4975 times
  • Last activity: 19 Mar 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: at least 1 month

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    I welcome people from all over the world, since I already lived several years in 3 continents - Africa (where I was born in 1958 at Maputo Mozambique), North America (where I took my Ph.D in 1987 at Columbia University, New York) and Europe (and 4 months in China, 2 months in Brazil, 2 months in Mexico).

    Currently our dream is to create an eco-village with a diverse group of people from all over the world. We believe diversity creates resilience.

    Ours is an off-grid organic farm that operates under the principles of a self-sustained old farm but using modern technologies like solar panels for energy production and automatic computer-controlled irrigation systems. We are looking for long term persons that want to form a community here - THE SENSEI GIVERS.

    SPECIFICS WE ARE CURRENTLY LOOKING FOR:

    Persons with knowledge in gardening and organic farming
    Persons with knowledge in animal care - horses, dogs, cats, sheep, chicken and bees!
    Persons with knowledge in construction and logistics (internet, building, electricity, plumbing, carpentry)
    Persons with knowledge in eco-tourism

    WHAT WE OFFER

    What we offer is a break in space and time in your life that allows you to find yourself so you can pursue an inner search. Our personal search is always inner and I would like to remember what is written in the ancient Temple of Delphi, 2500 years ago in Greece:
    “I warn you, whoever you are...
    Oh, you who wish to probe the arcanes of nature, if you do not find within yourself that which you seek, neither shall you be able to find it outside.
    If you ignore the excellencies of your own house, how do you intend to find other excellencies?
    In you is hidden the treasure of treasures.
    Oh, man, KNOW THYSELF and thou shall know the Universe and the Gods!”.

    We also offer a real world experience of living off grid - as any experience there are upsides (if the World falls apart this is the place to stay) and down sides (in the cloudy days you might have candle light dinners). But if you´re interested you´ll gain knowledge of our systems that can be a source of inspiration in your life projects back home.

    LOGISTICS

    We receive new persons only on Sundays at the railway station of Vendas Novas which is 12 km away from the farm. You should pick the 5 pm train in Lisbon and Sunday evening we organize a wellcome reception for newcomers and early Monday morning we have a very important meeting to plan the week.

    We expect that you help in the farm projects 25 hours per week: 5 days per week - 4 at the morning and 1 afternoon for small tasks, in a flexible way – normally there are 2 days off per week but are not necessarily Saturdays or Sundays. Normally we concentrate the tasks in the mornings, especially in Summer, and the afternoons are free or for small tasks. The starting hour is also flexible – usually we start earlier in Summer due to the heat. We don´t expect that you are a specialist on any field just show genuine good will: your contribution is LOVE IN ACTION - do your best.

    However activities such as cleaning the toilettes you use, the spaces you use either for sleep or to eat, doing laundry, preparing communitarian food or meals or getting wood for fire places you use, ARE NOT PART of this time. When they leave, they should clean the room used and clothes they borrow.

    TYPES OF VOLUNTEERS

    Our minimum and standard stay is 4 weeks . If you want to stay an aditional period of 4 weeks at the end of the second week you should ask to see if it is possible to extend the stay period and we will give you an answer during the third week. The maximum stay is 2 months.

    Although, short term volunteers should not treat this as a vacation and still have the community’s best intentions at heart. We won´t tolerate persons that we call P&P - Predators & Parasites:
    Predators have destructive behaviors such as stealing, sexual harrassment, breaking or moving objects from original places and aggressive behavior towards or invading personal spaces of other community members.
    Parasites have more subtle behaviors but in the long run equally destrutive of community coesion such as not performing the tasks agreed in the weekly meeting, systematically start to work late or finish earlier, hiding away from work, abandon tools in the field, sloppy work and a general attitude of "I dont give a damn shit" towards other people, animals and nature revealing a deep level of lack of respect.

    However, you can have a long term stay if you want to be part of a special group of long-term volunteers that form the kernel of this small community - the "SENSEI GIVERS": usually they lead groups in specific areas of activity in a way the Japanese call "SENSEI"- master and teacher and they are GIVERS. We are all givers and takers but that special group of people are loving souls that take pleasure in giving, creating an harmonious atmosphere - remember St. Francis prayer:
    (...) "grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
    to be understood, as to understand;
    to be loved, as to love;
    for it is in giving that we receive,
    it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
    and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life."

    We aim to create a happy and light environment, so please abandon extreme self-damaging habits (drugs, alcohol ...) - as a volunteer said in a party here "Being a bit tipsy is ok, being drunk no".

    A community is a home we all share - this home needs LOVE and CARE.
    Is this an Utopia? Remenber what is written in Bhagavad Gita the sacred text of Induism:

    "In battle, in forest, at the precipice of the mountains
    On the dark great sea, in the midst of javelins and arrows,
    In sleep, in confusion, in the depths of shame,
    The good deeds a man has done before defend him".

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Art Projects
    Language practice
    Help with Eco Projects
    Teaching
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Animal Care
    Farmstay help
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
    Help with Computers/ Internet
  • UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN goals
    No poverty
    Zero hunger
    Good health and well-being
    Quality education
    Gender equality
    Clean water and sanitation
    Affordable and clean energy
    Decent work and economic growth
    Industries, innovation and infrastructure
    Reduce inequality
    Sustainable cities and communities
    Responsible consumption and production
    Climate action
    Life below water
    Life on land
    Peace, justice and strong institutions
    Partnerships for the goals
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    We encourage travelers to share their stories in a communitarian environment. You you will learn to live a simple live in a self sustained place - we produce our energy, our water our heat and some of our food. Preparing meals or doing projects together with people from other continents is a superb cultural experience.

  • Help

    Help

    A NATURAL SELF-SUSTAINED HEALING PLACE WHERE YOU CAN HARMONIOUSLY SEEK INNER WISDOM, FREEDOM AND PEACE.

    First, let me explain the vision for our place. Our project is like a child that just started crawling, not a 20-year-old mature project. Some years ago, I try to get down its essence to a simple sentence: A NATURAL SELF-SUSTAINED HEALING PLACE.

    “NATURAL” is strongly related to organic farming but aims to do more than that - consider the whole place in a harmonious way, such as including forest, animals, water, energy, … and PEOPLE. That's why I like the DEMETER approach very much - Rudolph Steiner´s ideas about agriculture and environment seem very obvious to me and similar to some homeopathic concepts that I cherish, believe and follow.

    “SELF-SUSTAINED” does not mean totally independent - it is impossible to be completely independent from the outside world because we always need resources we cannot produce on the spot - we are all interdependent. But we can try to optimize the situation and, above all, achieve equilibrium between inputs and outputs. This will allow achieving resilience in the years ahead, where a world crisis is predictable. Anyway, I would like to produce on the spot all the indispensable resources (energy, heat, water, food ...) to minimize dependency and generate goods that allow us to barter things we still need from the outside world.

    “HEALING” is perhaps the most difficult concept to understand, but to really appreciate it, you would have to come and feel the atmosphere of the place during a period of time. Many people reported they had more dreams and felt better here. And some friends that have psychic gifts told me very interesting things about this place. Healing goes beyond the body – it is a holistic concept that includes mind and soul.

    During two years (2014 - 2016) I received over 150 volunteers coming from all over the World, most from Europe but some from distant places like Korea, Nepal, Afghanistan, New Zealand, Venezuela, Chile, and South Africa. I resume receiving volunteers in August 2021 and our goal is to have permanently a group of at least 10 persons - so far, we are achieving this and usually we have people coming from 4 continents at our dinner table.

    The cycle of building structures is almost completed. In our 20-hectare place:
    - Our rooms: 7 (2 persons room) in the main house, 1 in the annex (4 persons room) can accommodate up to 18 persons
    - An irrigation system has been installed
    - Tools for agriculture and equipment maintenance are available, including two tractors.
    - Thanks to our photo-voltaic system we produce the electricity we need - we are totally off the grid
    - The heating system is based on furnace that uses wood collected on the spot
    - We collect potable water from underground and irrigation water from the rain, two old wells and a river
    - A place to receive camper vans that includes a reception
    - A 630 square meter green house
    - Two outdoor gardens
    - Two forest gardens near the house
    - Seven special places for meditation: Circle of Fire (32 persons), Circle of trees (40 persons), Circle of Earth (16 persons), Circle of Cosmos ( 20 persons), Circle of Water and the 8 ponds (64 persons) all outdoor and a meditation room (24 persons) in the house ... and the "merditation" tower (to undertand this word you have to speak Portuguese or one of the latin idioms)
    - Two libraries
    - A room for workshops that can accommodate 30 persons
    - An annex with a large fire place, wood oven and kitchen to prepare meals
    - A wood deck surrounded by forest trees for dancing, meditation, martial arts, …
    - A place to store wood and bikes
    - And a beautiful forest of Mediterranean oak trees (sobreiros e azinheiras), olive trees, and river trees (willows, … ).
    - This Winter we plan to build an horse hotel.

    And now I have 3 major goals for the future:
    a) became almost self-sufficient in food,
    b) start events in a more systematic way,
    c) build a small community that can run the daily activities of the place without me.

    The last one might seem a bit bizarre - "without me"; that doesn't mean that I won't be around, helping to define the vision, setting goals and solving problems, but I believe that if people on the spot have more freedom and initiative to develop projects, they will do a better job. To understand this we should read Tao Te Ching the old Chinese book of Wisdom:
    "When the Master governs, the people are hardly aware that he exists.
    Next best is a leader who is loved. next, one who is feared. The worst is one who is despised.
    If you don't trust the people, you make them untrustworthy. The Master doesn't talk, he acts.
    When his work is done, the people say, "Amazing: we did it, all by ourselves!""

    We want to go further and beyond the initial basic idea: the time has come to create a community of good people that HARMONIOUSLY SEEKS INNER WISDOM, FREEDOM AND PEACE. What we offer is a break in space and time in your life so you can pursue an inner search that allows you to find yourself .
    - We try to learn from experiences of other places, but we aim to create a new way of community living where People are the center of our vision.
    - We are not big but we want to be diverse.
    - We don´t want to maximize profits - just achieve equilibrium.

    Now is the time to build a team that will bring together experienced people, each in a different field, which will help in the pursuit of the next phase of the project and will continue to support it in subsequent years.

    TEAMS:

    Gardening team:
    As of now, we have built a greenhouse, one garden and two official forest gardens. We are looking to create a proper gardening team and start a planting calendar with our seeds and seedlings. Also, the greenhouse and the gardens need constant love and maintenance! Come work the soil !

    Animal team:
    At the farm, we have lots of animals that share the space with us. We have chickens that give us eggs, sheep that graze of our olive fields and vineyard, 3 dogs and many cats that play with us. Soon, we will have more horses and in the future bees. We are looking to form a team that will officially take care of these animals. (Especially horses!)

    Off-grid team:
    Our main infrastructures are currently all in place. We are looking for handymen and women who can join a team that will be in charge of maintaining our off grid water system, electricity system, heating and internet (we have the most advanced satelite internet system in the World provided by STARLINK. Eventually, more construction projects to come!

    Flourish team:
    Our goal is to connect our eco-village to the outside world and host people who are interested in visiting an off grid farm with horses. We want to create a small team in charge of organizing and managing the eco-tourism aspect.

    We can also receive volunteers for short and long periods. They will be more than merely volunteers. We will share results and dreams and, for those that have initiative, help them to set up their own projects that fit in our vision. You will be part of a community that includes people, animals (you will meet LUMI the MOTHER-WOLF and SOL and AURORA the leaders of the "tiger gang"), the fields, the forest, the rivers and the starry and sunny skies.

  • Languages

    Languages spoken
    English: Fluent
    Spanish: Fluent
    French: Fluent
    Hindi: Fluent
    Italian: Fluent
    Portuguese: Fluent
    Russian: Fluent
    Tagalog: Fluent

    This host offers a language exchange
    I would love to know the basics of many languagges. Currently me and the long term volunteers can communicate fluently in the languagges above.

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    8 Rooms (1 for short visits and 7 for long term stays), 1 living room, a kitchen a dining room with a nice fireplace and 3 shared bathrooms. A free of charge place for camper vans. A good fireplace. And good meals - we hope we can exchange cooking knowledge with our guests. In Summer our irrigation tank becomes an organic swimming pool!

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    Location - Vendas Novas, Alto-Alentejo region.
    Nearest town - Vendas Novas - 12 km. One hour to the cities of Lisbon, Setúbal and Évora by car, by train or by bus. One hour to the beach by car.
    You can visit south of Portugal - Lisbon and Alentejo and Ribatejo regions - starting from here. Normally the previous volunteers use the train system and/or cooperate to jointly rent a car.
    There are 5 daily trains from Lisbon (but just 3 at weekends) and we receive and can pick you at Vendas Novas railway station on Sundays but not in other days.
    Please read the information contained in this page and after you apply we can send you more information. When you apply make sure to include a reference to the MOTHER WOLF (state her name) so we are sure that you read the entire description of the place. If we aprove your coming we will answer you, and you must confirm your arrival 11 DAYS before the arrival date so we can plan and organize the logistics here.
    PLEASE USE WORKAWAY to communicate. Usually I don´t use WhatsApp or other means of communication.

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Can host digital nomads

    Can host digital nomads

    We have the most advanced internet system in the world provided by STARLINK from its satelites. But remember we are an off-grid place so in very cloudy and short days there is no energy during some periods. The users must share the costs of the system.

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    Yes, but the last two km of the access road are off road and that can be a problem. We are preparing a specific space for camper vans.

  • Can possibly accept pets

    Can possibly accept pets

    Unfortunately NO. We have 3 big dogs that are very friendly to humans but they can be territorial for other dogs.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    25 HOURS TO HELP ON THE PROJECTS FARM PER WEEK IN A FLEXIBLE BASIS. Cleaning the spaces you use, cooking and other community activities are not part of this time.

Host ref number: 845268487726

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