Join our international family living 'a vida do campo' near Oleiros, Portugal

  • Favourited 90 times
  • Last activity: 19 Jan 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: at least 1 month

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D

Details

  • Description

    Description

    Our family is made up of Nora, born in Portugal (around 3 years old) and Rui (around 1 year old) also born in Portugal. Oliver originally from England in the middle or near to the end of the 30's and Madelon born in Holland and also rocking the late 30's age range. ( Nearly 40....)

    We love to spend a lot of time in nature, hiking, camping, going on long road trips and taking small adventures exploring Portugal.
    We are interested in gardening and using the garden produce to create delicious meals and also growing food to preserve.
    We have chickens for eggs and a cat for cuddles. Recently we have experimented with raising ducks and chickens to eat.
    We spend a lot of time cooking and creating food and drinks.
    We love reading books for all ages and spending an evening watching a film.
    We like to combine a working week with family Saturday activities, such as going for a swim in the river, hiking on a local trail or going to a market.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Language practice
    Help with Eco Projects
    Gardening
    Animal Care
    Babysitting and creative play
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    We are looking for someone to join our family in a cultural exchange.
    We wish for you to bring your unique experience of life and share with us openheartedly.
    In return we welcome you into our home and share our culture with you in an open and honest way.

    You can learn all about a child's view of the world, babies and family life in a small village in Central Portugal. This could defiantly expand your knowledge about connecting to nature with children and we are very open to co-creating these experiences together, learning as we go. We love to learn about each stage of a child's development and are very open to discussion and sharing our experience of parenting.

    Your gut will benefit from the cultural exchange of all those micro organisms in the fermented foods and drinks. You will learn some techniques to preserve food. You will learn about growing food in central Portugal. You will learn to experiment and create, to research and try new techniques.

    We wish to create space for you to also explore daily practices to connect to yourself, there are many books and techniques to share. Most importantly our culture is one of mindful living and self development, you can learn more about yourself through this cultural exchange. This could include meditation techniques and practices or just sitting down and chatting over a cup of tea, learning is a part of all that we do in our family life.

  • Projects involving children

    Projects involving children

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

  • Help

    Help

    For this time period we are looking for some one to help us with the childcare and to give a hand with household activities. For example working as a team with the kids doing some gardening all together. Or going for a hike with a child in the baby carrier.

    Other activities could include doing some crafts or making music. Overall it's pretty open for you to bring something fun and enjoyable to the family. We look for someone who can use there eyes and action to guide the activities of our little ones.

    Each day we would be cooking together the daily meals using garden produce, local fruits, veggies from our neighbors and whole foods we buy in bulk . Sharing jobs such as harvesting and preparing garden veggies and cleaning up after all this cooking and veggie preparing.

    We are big into preserving food by fermenting/pickling/creating sauces/brining and many other techniques in the big book of preserving. We regularly make kombucha, yogurt and ginger beer. Essentially any big pile of veggies or fruits we have from our own garden or the neighbors we like to transform into something tasty, always looking to learn and experimenting with new techniques.


    An ideal place to learn Portuguese and the culture of central Portugal is interacting with our Portuguese neighbors in the village. We love to spend time with them at their gardens. This interaction with our neighbors is an activity that happens regularly throughout the week and often involves helping them physically, lifting buckets of veggies or assisting them with a seasonal task. We also spend time drinking a coffee and talking over what they are doing in the garden.

    Other activities in the house depend on the season and project that is on the go at the moment. For example we may be planting/harvesting/preparing beds. We also like to create new spaces in the garden and reshape the existing lanscape to add new areas for growing and planting. This is a great place to learn about growing veggies in central Portugal or experiment with new techniques of growing and share your knowledge. We see the garden as a gift and a place to create.

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent
    Dutch: Fluent
    Portuguese: Beginner

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    The accommodation is in a separate part of the house above our own living space, accessible by stairs outside of the house. It includes a bedroom with a double bed, a single bedroom, living room with a space for practice and chilling chairs. Toilet and shower is available for you to use on the ground floor.
    We wish to provide you with your own space to have privacy in your free time.
    The style is rustic Portuguese, with simple white washed walls, wooden floors and single glass windows.
    A fan is provided for the heat and extra blankets for the cool evenings.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    We are located near the town of Oleiros, in between Sertã and Castelo Branco.
    The village that we live in has no public transport, you can often get a ride with one of our neighbours or use our bike to get around. We regularly go to the City of Coimbra and you are always welcome to join us, it is easy to get to Porto or Lisbon by bus departing from the local town. With your free time you can explore the endless paths in the forest surrounding the village, either on a hike or by bike.
    Near to the house there are small rivers to take a cold dip and a larger river nearby with lots of lovely swimming spots. There are many marked hiking trails in the area and we often go for day hikes which your welcome to join us on.

  • 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

    This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    This host can provide 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: 995439345419

Feedback (2)



Photos

Feedback

These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.

Accuracy of profile: (5.0)

Cultural exchange: (5.0)

Communication: (5.0)





Help building our permaculture school project in Sesimbra, Portugal
Learn and help with permaculture, natural building and holistic health in an abandoned village around Viseu, Portugal