The image depicts a man crouched beside a large white goose on a grassy area, with a small building and trees visible in the background.
The image depicts three individuals interacting with a calf in a grassy field, surrounded by trees, on a sunny day, with the calf facing the camera.
The image depicts a serene scene of a woman sitting on a grassy hill, surrounded by three ducks and a goose, with a house and trees visible in the background.
The image depicts the exterior of a house with a covered porch, featuring a wooden fence and a small yard, surrounded by a grassy area and a driveway.
The image depicts a cozy room with a bed, desk, and chair, featuring a wooden floor and a window, conveying a sense of warmth and comfort. The room is well-lit and inviting.
The image depicts a room with a desk, chair, and bookshelf, featuring a window and a doorway, with a table and chairs in the background, likely a living room or office space.
The image depicts a small, weathered white building with a brown roof, featuring a door and two windows, surrounded by potted plants on a dirt ground.
The image depicts a cozy room with a bed, a small table, and a rug, featuring a mix of colorful blankets and a few pieces of artwork on the walls.
The image depicts a cozy hallway with a white ceiling, dark gray wall, and wooden floor, featuring a round rug, clothes rack, and various decorative items.
The image depicts a group of people engaged in archaeological excavation, standing amidst buckets and tools, with a stone wall and greenery visible in the background.
The image depicts a woman washing the ground with a hose, while a man sits on a stone wall in the background, surrounded by a serene outdoor setting.
The image depicts a serene scene of cows and ducks wading in a muddy river, surrounded by lush greenery and a clear blue sky.
The image depicts a serene scene of a house with a sloping roof, surrounded by trees and bushes, set against a backdrop of a clear blue sky. The house is situated in a rural area.
The image depicts a small, rustic room with a single bed, a window, and a macrame canopy, featuring a natural, earthy color scheme and a simple, cozy atmosphere.
The image depicts a rustic outdoor setting with a wooden table, tree stumps, and colorful bunting, set against a cloudy sky and rolling hills in the background.
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Join our permaculture farm and learning community on Madeira island, Portugal

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    100 %

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    Last replied

    8 Apr 2025

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Availability

  2025 

 Min stay requested: at least 2 weeks

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What's this?

Details

  • Description

    Description

    OUR STORY
    Eight years ago our founder Markus began restoring an abandoned terraced valley in Tábua, Ribeira Brava. What started as one person rebuilding stone walls has flourished into a 7-hectare permaculture farm and intentional community on Madeira’s sunny south-west coast.

    WHO WE ARE TODAY
    • 3 resident adults, and an ever-changing circle of volunteers
    • A menagerie of cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, dogs, bees—and the wild birds that visit our food-forest edges
    • Multilingual household (English, German, Portuguese, Spanish) that enjoys shared meals.

    OUR VISION
    We exist to demonstrate and teach regenerative living. That means:
    – Natural building projects using cob, SuperAdobe and reclaimed wood
    – Holistic animal care with daily rotational grazing and compost systems that close the nutrient loop
    – Self-directed education for the kids, with volunteers welcome to share skills or languages

    WHY COME?
    If you’d like to swap screens for soil, learn hands-on permaculture or test your natural-building muscles—while living in a friendly off-grid valley ten minutes from the sea—you’ll fit right in here. We share knowledge freely, cook hearty vegetarian food, celebrate successes and laugh at our mistakes.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Art Projects
    Help with Eco Projects
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Animal Care
    Farmstay help
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    General Maintenance
  • Interests

    Interests

    LGBTQ
    Events & social
    Vegetarian or vegan
    Sustainability
    Pets
    Culture
    Van life
    Self development
    Farming
    Plant care
    Music
    DIY & crafts
    Books
    Art & design
    Photography
    Languages
    Gardening
    Cooking & food
    Architecture
    Drawing & painting
    Carpentry
    Animals
    Yoga / Wellness
    Nature
    Camping
    Dancing
    Mountain
    Beach
    Outdoor activities
    Hiking
  • UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    Icon

    ...

    ...

    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

    Living at this place is an immersion into Madeiran village life and hands-on permaculture. You’ll:

    • Learn practical regenerative skills – compost making, food-forest design, natural building (cob & earthbag), holistic animal care.
    • Experience community living – weekly circles, consensus decision-making.

    • Share knowledge both ways – volunteers often teach yoga, music, languages or fermentation.

    • Explore outdoors – we map secret levada trails, cliff-top sunsets and surf spots, and lend camping gear for weekend adventures.

    • Language & culture exchange – practice Portuguese with locals & residents.

    Whether you’re a novice gardener or seasoned builder, you’ll leave with a toolkit of regenerative practices, new friendships that span continents.

  • Projects involving children

    Projects involving children

    This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

  • Help

    Help

    ☘️ YEAR-ROUND CORE TASKS
    • Animal care – morning feed/water, moving cows to fresh pasture, checking eggs, muck-out and bedding change.
    • Food-forest maintenance – mulching, pruning, turning compost, planting support species.
    • Community chores – keeping common areas tidy, sorting recycling, weekly infrastructure day (tool shed, water lines, compost toilets).

    🌱 FEB–OCT (GARDEN SEASON)
    • Preparing and maintaining garden beds, sowing & transplanting seedlings, daily harvest and post-harvest washing.
    • Building compost systems (thermophilic hot piles, Johnson-Su bioreactors).

    🏗️ NOV–MAR (NATURAL BUILDING SEASON)
    • Landscaping terraces with stone and living retaining walls.

    🍲 KITCHEN & COMMUNITY
    • Help cook a vegetarian communal lunch and wash up.
    • Fermentation projects – sourdough, kombucha, kefir – if you’re keen.

    ⌚ TIME COMMITMENT & RHYTHM
    Approx. 25 h/week, Monday–Friday. We usually start at 09:00, finish by 13:00 so you have free afternoons to explore or rest. Tasks rotate so you won’t be doing the same job every day.

    🤝 WHO FITS WELL
    • Physically able for outdoor, hands-on work (terrain is steep).
    • Communicates clearly in English (other languages welcome).
    • Enjoys community living, takes initiative and respects shared spaces.
    • No prior farm or building experience needed—we teach everything.

    What you contribute keeps the farm thriving; what you learn can travel with you anywhere in the world!

  • Languages spoken

    German: Fluent
    English: Fluent
    Italian: Fluent
    Lithuanian: Fluent
    Portuguese: Fluent

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    Volunteers are accommodated in the two converted container bedrooms, they come with beds & all bedding provided, although we do recommend you bring your own sleeping bag.

    Accommodation on the land, use of shared facilities (kitchen, bathrooms, laundry etc) and vegetarian meals are provided to all volunteers. During workdays Mon-Fri, at 13:00 lunch is served in the shared kitchen area, by our resident farm cook.
    For breakfast and dinner, and also during the weekends, everybody manages independently. The kitchen space can be used for preparing meals, storing food etc. Usually, it's our social space, and we get together to cook and share food and laughs.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    Madeira island (& island of Porto Santo) is part of the Macaronesian bio-region, with mild sub-tropical climate, dramatic landscape of volcanic origin, and endemic Laurisilva forest- an UNESCO world heritage site.
    In your free time, there's abundant hiking trails all around the island, black sand beaches and swimming spots to explore, cultural events and a rich digital nomads & expats community to connect with.If you'd like to understand the process of designing your own project or joining a larger community, we're happy to share what we've learned so far about project design, community management, Permaculture farming, soil & water management, animal caring, bio-housing, alternative education etc.

  • 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 manage independently with the internet, some of us have MIFI/ pocket wifi device, it's a portable mini-router that gives you wifi on the go, it worked for us so far. The shared kitchen area can be used for computer work, it has a seating area indoors & outdoors, and most of the time there will wifi available there.

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    Campers, caravans, motorhomes, more than welcome- 7 hectares of land you waiting for you.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    Two

Host ref number: 866549972224

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Photos

The image depicts a man crouched beside a large white goose on a grassy area, with a small building and trees visible in the background.
The image depicts three individuals interacting with a calf in a grassy field, surrounded by trees, on a sunny day, with the calf facing the camera.
The image depicts a serene scene of a woman sitting on a grassy hill, surrounded by three ducks and a goose, with a house and trees visible in the background.
The image depicts the exterior of a house with a covered porch, featuring a wooden fence and a small yard, surrounded by a grassy area and a driveway.
The image depicts a cozy room with a bed, desk, and chair, featuring a wooden floor and a window, conveying a sense of warmth and comfort. The room is well-lit and inviting.
The image depicts a room with a desk, chair, and bookshelf, featuring a window and a doorway, with a table and chairs in the background, likely a living room or office space.
The image depicts a small, weathered white building with a brown roof, featuring a door and two windows, surrounded by potted plants on a dirt ground.
The image depicts a cozy room with a bed, a small table, and a rug, featuring a mix of colorful blankets and a few pieces of artwork on the walls.
 Show all photos
The image depicts a cozy hallway with a white ceiling, dark gray wall, and wooden floor, featuring a round rug, clothes rack, and various decorative items.
The image depicts a group of people engaged in archaeological excavation, standing amidst buckets and tools, with a stone wall and greenery visible in the background.
The image depicts a woman washing the ground with a hose, while a man sits on a stone wall in the background, surrounded by a serene outdoor setting.
The image depicts a serene scene of cows and ducks wading in a muddy river, surrounded by lush greenery and a clear blue sky.
The image depicts a serene scene of a house with a sloping roof, surrounded by trees and bushes, set against a backdrop of a clear blue sky. The house is situated in a rural area.
The image depicts a small, rustic room with a single bed, a window, and a macrame canopy, featuring a natural, earthy color scheme and a simple, cozy atmosphere.
The image depicts a rustic outdoor setting with a wooden table, tree stumps, and colorful bunting, set against a cloudy sky and rolling hills in the background.

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Accuracy of profile:
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Cultural exchange:
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Communication:
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