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Host is looking for help immediately
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
25 Apr 2024
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100.0 %
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Description
Hi, and welcome to our Workaway profile!
I am Luca (43), and with Alexia(31) we started creating our new life in rural Portugal 3 years ago. Alexia is away at the moment so I am running the show solo (well, with our 3 cats and dogs, and 4 chickens!)
We are a stone's throw from the Serra de Estrela mountains, surrounded by plenty of native forests, recovering from some devastating fires back in 2022.
After living in Paris, London, and Bali, and extensively traveling in Europe and Asia, we felt the call to live in the countryside, so we searched, found, and bought our 6 ha piece of land, and we are now, slowly, building our dream place.
We are drawn to Nature, striving to work with her, focus on what we truly want and enjoy from life rather than working for someone else. This it is also a journey to learn how to be self-reliant and engage in practices that will set up free from a society who wants us depending on their services and goods.
Myself Luca, I really enjoy solving problems, DIYing my day between several projects, I am passionate about electronic music and not only. Last addition to my hobbies is a woodturning lathe, and a set of tools to carve spoons, and plenty, plenty of ideas.
Alexia is diving deeper into gardening, astrology, herbalism, and climate change education, and keeping yoga as her one of her favourite practices.
We live with two dogs, Soul and Serra, and the sweetest three cats called Tommy Luna and Sienna, plus 4 unamed chickens.
If you are curious you can check us out on Instagram, you will find us here
-ask us for the link
- Who are we looking for -
For this season 2024, we mainly look for skilled voulnteers (carpenters, builders, permaculture practitioners, all with experience please) to be joined by other volunteers with other or no skillset, but (and pretty much essential) a strong willingness to learn and get your hands dirty.
You must be independent and mature, well organized and proactive. I work full days and weeks, hence not always can allow time to hang out, but this said, I value the importance to connect with our volunteers, and consciously find the time to spend together, whether is a walk, a meal or excursions to friends or neighbors for a meal and a drink.
We expect you to be clean and tidy, honest, hardworking, and genuinely interested in helping and learning. Trust us you can find all of these qualities in both of us.
We are the type of people who can truly go the extra mile for the right person, but we won't tolerate those who take the mickey and who are only looking for a free holiday. Those who have experience with work away/volunteering will surely understand! :)
We live in a remote area, 900 meters up a beautiful mountain: Gonçalo is only a few km away, and the next city, Guarda, is 35 min drive.
Belmonte, another little town is also near. Having your own transport is best, but not essential as we often meet friends who also host other volunteers, so there will be occasions to socialize. We regularly go to Guarda, often stop for a coffee or a beer, and you are welcome to join the ride : )
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
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
There will be plenty of occasion where we can share what we learned, both theorically and practically.
We like to give space to your skills and creativity to as long as you would like to give it a go, there will be enough room to take initiative and express yours!
Expect anything related to sustainable living, gardening and plants, foraging, building, DIY, fermentation, food processing and preservation, arts and crafts and who knows what else! The list is long and ever growing.
Help
5 hours - 5 days a week (food + accommodation in exchange)
Food garden
- plant seedlings, plants and trees, this is ongoing until end of April.
- weeding watering, and general land management.
Building (there is a long list of building projects)
- vermicompost toilets, outdoor showers and WC, bar/kitchenette, pizza oven, gates.
- improve accessibility around the land, maintaining paths and building new staircases/steps
Land (according to experience)
After the wildfires, our most recent mission is to help the land recover well and quickly, this involves:
- clearing the land from dry and burned wood
- gathering fire wood for the winter months
- cutting/pruning trees
- landscaping
- general land management
Note:
1. Tasks depend on seasons. We can give you a more accurate list of tasks if you get in touch with us. We can let you know what we are up to lately!
2. Regarding hours and days, we are flexible, which means that if you prefer to work in the afternoon rather than in the morning, it's possible. It is also possible for you to choose your days off, or even combining hours to have extra days off.
Extra note : )
Please make sure you are in a good physical and mental space before deciding to offer your help. Work here can get hard, meaning, hot climate and sweaty times (from end of June).
We do our best in scheduling jobs in the shade when we can and when we have.
And also, if you are going through a breakup, couple challenges or are not in your bestest shape, please do apply, but make us aware of your challenging moment.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Italian: Fluent
Portuguese: IntermediateThis host offers a language exchange
We would be delighted to speak more Portuguese! In exchange, we can also speak italian, french and english :)
Accommodation
- Our set up -
We have been volunteering all around the world, so we truly understand the importance of providing a space that is clean and comfortable for you to enjoy your stay. And that is what we'll do.
We are at an early stage of our project, but we can guarantee you this:
- Beautiful and remote spots with breathtaking views where to pitch your tent (we can provide tents, beddings, mattresses)
- Spots where to park your van
- A caravan with a fridge and a double bed. (when available)
- Compost toilet and a solar passive shower
- Meals -
You will be able to organise all your meals, from breakfast to dinner. There will be occasions where we can share a meal over a weekend, or head out for a Pizza and a beer in the closest village, or visiting friends.
We will provide you with a weekly budget for food and you can sort your groceries out. If you won't have a car here, we'll plan the weekly trip to the market together.
What else ...
Surroundings
Lots of trails and river beaches
Nearest river beach: 13 min drive
Manteigas and lots of sightseeing possibilities: 30 min by car
Guarda: 20 min by car
Belmonte: 20 min by car
Village with a few cafes and small supermarkets 10 min drive
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Yes!
Space for parking camper vans
Yes, we can have campervans and motorhomes on our land.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (8)
They helped with a variety of tasks such as tree planting and pruning, land clearing and processing firewood.
They are very meticulous and aware of what they do, when in doubt they always asked, and when let free to decide, they… read more
Their property is amazing, , nestled at the end of a a winding mountain road with fantastic views out over the valley. There's plenty to get involved with and Luca has many grand plans for the future.
The work allotted to us was never too taxing, and the… read more
Gilles brought in valuable skills and his hard working arms, helping with building some platforms, reparing stone walls and keeping the good chats going!
Best of luck for your next steps, and muito obrigado for your help!
Helping Luca and Alexia with their wonderful project has been inspiring, they have so many bright ideas that giving my small contribution has been… read more
Photos
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.9)
Communication:
(4.9)
They helped with a variety of tasks such as tree planting and pruning, land clearing and processing firewood.
They are very meticulous and aware of what they do, when in doubt they always asked, and when let free to decide, they… read more
Their property is amazing, , nestled at the end of a a winding mountain road with fantastic views out over the valley. There's plenty to get involved with and Luca has many grand plans for the future.
The work allotted to us was never too taxing, and the… read more
Gilles brought in valuable skills and his hard working arms, helping with building some platforms, reparing stone walls and keeping the good chats going!
Best of luck for your next steps, and muito obrigado for your help!
Helping Luca and Alexia with their wonderful project has been inspiring, they have so many bright ideas that giving my small contribution has been… read more
Alexia and Luca were very kind and very hospitable. We had both the time to carry out various maintenance and improvement projects and the time to relax in company and privately. We felt at home and their stories and passions were very inspirational for our journey.
We also had the pleasure of… read more
I learned a lot of new things, it was a wonderful week, the surroundings are beautifully situated in the middle of nature. Thank you for the stay, I will miss the delicious fresh food (but now I have also planted palm kale with them, I will try to cook the delicious food with it).
We couldn't ask for better!
They are respectful, kind, nice, open, friendly .. well, they are two wonderful people!
We spent 4 weeks with them and they have always been weeks full of good feelings!
They helped us with English, got us involved in their outings… read more
They have a beautiful plot of land and some brilliant ideas of what they want to achieve and being a part of helping their dream come together, albeit my small contribution, was a great experience.
The work was varied with tasks… read more
