Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
11 Jun 2026
Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 10 days
Feedback
5
Email verified
Country info
Badges (2)
Details
Description
We are a group of Permaculture teachers, gardeners, natural builders and health practitioners. We function as a Cooperative, on a non-profit basis and as self-sustainable as possible. Six years ago we followed through on our collective dream, to settle in Portugal and renovate an abandoned village. The village is located in the Viseu region. (1,2 hr east from Porto, 1 hr from Aveiro). We are currently setting up our infrastructure as well as growing 70-80 percent of our own food. We have 1000 m2 of greenhouse in which we grow seasonal, regional, and global varieties of produce. We manage 14 hectares of terraced land along with a flock of 20 sheep on rotational grazing year round (also provide us with meat). In addition we press olive oil and make chestnut puree. Since the project encompasses quite a lot and we are an ambitious group of people, we decided to open towards volunteers to help us with our goals related to self sufficiency and village restoration. Most of us were running a permaculture school in Thailand before moving to Portugal. This means we have some experience hosting volunteers and working with you, rather than you working for us.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Light gardening
Creative DIY projects
Animal Care
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
Light maintenance
Interests
Sustainability
Farming
Plant care
Languages
Gardening
Cooking & food
Carpentry
Animals
Nature
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We are a dynamic group of passionate people who used to run a Permaculture school in Thailand and can offer you a unique experience where your learning could be pretty diverse! We always have building projects in the pipeline, as well as lots of land management and gardening. We also have a passionate Bush doctor, homebirth midwife, contact improv dancer on the land !!
Help
UPDATE May 2026: We are open for the season! We are looking for some great hands and hearts to help us with communal infrastructure (clean up the land, carpentry projects, build compost toilets, and more .. ) and natural building. Come summer months, the gardens and fire prevention are our main priorities.
Are you passionate about play? Our children - ages 2, 3, 9, 12, and 14 years old - are always looking to make new friends.
Other general tasks include helping out with the gardens, tending the sheep, and cooking for communal meals. Are you passionate about cooking, processing and helping us transform our produce into community shared meals and preserves? If you have very specific skills, let us know! We are always excited to learn along with you! ;)
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
Portuguese: Fluent
Spanish: Intermediate
Accommodation
We are currently setting up our pioneer infrastructure. We have one comfortable communal house (with hot shower and toilet, kitchen and living room). Inside "the farmhouse," there are two cats, we also have two dogs on the land (in other houses), all are friendly, beware if you have any allergies. Accommodation is tent camping, fully outfitted, along with composting toilet, hammocks and lounge space in a centrally located campsite zone in the forest.
What else ...
We all care deeply for the village we are renovating, so expect us to ramble on and on about our dream for the abandoned village. :) We also have great neighbors, so be prepared to spend some time socializing with the elders over red wine and talk about cabbages and beans. We tend to work hard but also enjoy ourselves by cooking spectacular home grown meals. Please come with a tolerant mindset, as this type of early-on pioneering work comes with it's challenges, specially when the weather is very hot or very wet. You may push your own comfort boundaries. We expect mutual respect of others and the land in which we care for. The amount of people living here is 11 adults and 6 children. During Spring and summer we receive often guests and family. We are a group of families and appreciate our private time in the evenings, so people that volunteer here need to be comfortable spending time independently. As a group, we are a mix of Portuguese, American and Belgian. We speak English, Dutch, French, German and Portuguese.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
Your caravan is welcome, we can offer electrical hookup
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
My animals / pets
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback (4)
I had the BEST time in Forniço for two months and even came back before leaving Portugal! This place and its people are so special, making you feel truly welcomed and part of their families. ✨
They taught me so much about life in harmony with nature, permaculture design, sowing and harvesting, food processing,… read more
Thank you for your stay and help at our farm and community. Your cooking skills are out of this world ! You helped us so much with food processing (lemonade, lemon curds , elderberry flower and what not :) and we were impressed and grateful to have your culinary professionalism here. Thank you for being so kind with our children,… read more
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Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
I had the BEST time in Forniço for two months and even came back before leaving Portugal! This place and its people are so special, making you feel truly welcomed and part of their families. ✨
They taught me so much about life in harmony with nature, permaculture design, sowing and harvesting, food processing,… read more
Thank you for your stay and help at our farm and community. Your cooking skills are out of this world ! You helped us so much with food processing (lemonade, lemon curds , elderberry flower and what not :) and we were impressed and grateful to have your culinary professionalism here. Thank you for being so kind with our children,… read more
Lena is also… read more
Looking forward and working on giving life back to an abandoned village, i have been there 1 month working on building a tiny house and planting a vineyard with permaculture criteria. I've learnt so much abput building and permaculture from them!
They are very organized as well, with all the necessary tools to do the works, and… read more
