Learn about natural building and stone house renovation in the countryside not far from Caldas Da Rainha, Portugal

  • Favourited 315 times
  • Last activity: 13 Mar 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: No minimum

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    Hello! We are Holly, Angus and our 2 year old toddler Frida Sima. Plus 3x cats and 3x dogs!
    We are passionate about building with natural and/or recycled materials and our current focus is the renovation of a 100 year old stone ruin.
    We live on a large piece of land in the countryside not far from Caldas Da Rainha. The land consists of old oak woodland, meadow, vines and fruit trees. We bought our place in 2017 and have since been planting a lot of trees, managing the existing woodland, converting containers into a bedroom, kitchen and workshop, constructing a compost toilet and an outdoor shower. Now we are fully immersed in restoring the ruins on our land.

    We like to work hard, and also play hard! We enjoy evenings spent with good conversations, games and music. We are both artists and photographers, and we met each other while studying Fine Art in London. We've been organising a mini-festival here and love a good dance party!
    We share some of our photography and writing online, message us for the link as workaway don't allow us to put it on this page.

    We usually suggest a 2 week minimum stay, but find that it works better if volunteers stay for a month or more :-)

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Help with Eco Projects
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Animal Care
    Babysitting and creative play
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    General Maintenance
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    We have spent lots of years travelling, doing volunteer projects ourselves, and love learning and exchanging skills with one another. We can share what we've learned about natural building and permaculture. Holly is a yoga / movement teacher and you'd be welcome to attend classes. Angus is a carpenter/maker and will happily show you some stuff if you're keen to learn.

  • Projects involving children

    Projects involving children

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

  • Help

    Help

    At the moment we're looking for help mainly with construction / renovation.This could include:
    Rebuilding old sandstone walls, shaping stone, and re-pointing using traditional lime mortar.
    Constructing shutter work for a concrete ring-beam on top of the walls of the house.
    General carpentry and wood processing as well as traditional timber framing and green woodwork in preparation for cutting and joining the timbers for the roof.

    It would be particularly great to work with someone with experience in any of these areas or construction in general.

    It would also be a bonus to have someone here who is confident and creative in child-care, though this isn't a necessity.

    We love animals and all our cats and dogs have been rescued here..

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent
    Portuguese: Beginner

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    We have a large tent that we can put up on a decking in a private spot, or you're welcome to bring your own accommodation (van, tent etc). If you have a van, you can park up on a safe space within our land.
    We love to eat! We eat a mostly vegetarian diet and are very happy to adapt for vegetarians. We'll share meal times and food on all working days. Unfortunately we currently can not afford to pay for volunteer food on non-working days.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    Caldas Da Rainha is a lovely, creative town with a beautiful park, exhibitions, nice cafes and bars. We're surrounded by nature for exploring, the Serra de Aires e Candeeiros is great for hikes and we're 30 minutes from beautiful beaches. Sometimes we like to surf!

  • 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

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    Large space for campervans

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

Host ref number: 959365178573

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