Información de perfil
Evaluación del anfitrión
100 %
Last replied
7 feb 2025
Porcentaje de respuesta
94.9 %
Usually responds ≤ 3 dias
Comentarios
58
Correo verificado
Medallas (2)



Busca al anfitrión perfecto
Detalles
Descripción
UPDATE-
I am looking for a long term permaculture gardener (or couple). I can offer accommodation, food, use of a car and an allowance/profit share,
In the shorter term, I also need a couple of strong workaways to help get this farm looking good.
Please get in touch if you are interested.
GENERAL
Hi, I'm Paul. I have big old beautiful (but basic and unfinished) farmhouse set in 6 ha of wooded valley in the middle of rural Portugal. It is 40 minutes walk from the lovely country town of Serta.
Over the past 9 years I've welcomed hundreds of Workaways to my home, to experience a different way of life, in a safe and friendly communal environment, whilst helping me gently push the project forward.
We follow the Workaway model of four hours a day, six days a week for basic food and lodging.
The work will be physical.
During the summer we tend to start around 7am, since by 11am its roasting, but the rest of the year 9am or 10am works fine. We'd be grateful if you could get yourself out of bed and fix yourself breakfast ready to start for then.
I dislike rules & rotas and instead prefer to activate the inner community spirit we all hold within us. There are plenty of tasks to do and we expect everyone to pull their weight in a giving and friendly manner, with a sense of community.
When everyone pulls together it is the most beautiful way to live.
From experience, I find its best to work on a one week trial basis for both parties. If either you are not happy with us, or we are not happy with you, then we part company after a week (or when convenient), with no hard feelings.
We all take turns to cook/wash up, and we expect you to take regular turns too. Please have some simple cheap veggie recipes prepared. We nearly always eat vegetarian in the house, although I do eat meat when out. If you need a special or expensive diet please let us know when you apply.
In the house we communicate in English and so being able to speak good conversational English is ESSENTIAL.
If you have a drug or alcohol problem or dependency, or a serious mental health issue, please let us know before you arrive :-)
Also, if you hold extreme religious views or consider yourself to be superior to other races, please don't wait until you arrive to tell me!
Any gardening and building skills are very much appreciated but if you only have energy, enthusiasm and willingness to learn, then that is also grand.
Please do let us know when you apply however, if you have never used basic tools such as an electric drill.
There is plenty of peace and quite with miles of forest, hills and river to explore.
The house is large there is a big communal kitchen and living room, I have a separate apartment and we have a couple of private rooms plus a large dorm for guests/workaways.
In the summer the house stays nice and cool, despite temps outside regularly reaching over 40 deg (we have a pool!).
In the winter, there are many days when its 20 deg in the sun, but very cold in the shade. Nights can get down to -5 deg but the rooms have heating (from the woodburner), so as long as the fire is lit it is pretty cosy. Still, you will need warm clothes and waterproofs, since it can also rain a lot in the winter.
The house has two hot showers, flushing toilets and a washing machine for your clothes. There is also a nice space to do yoga.
Beautiful Natural Swimming Pool - no chlorine, the water is cleaned by plants!
There is a derelict barn on the site, (we call it the Chicken Hotel), which has 39 double rooms, and, when developed, could host yoga/massage/music/creative retreats. This is some way off so yoga teachers, hold your horses!
The possibility of trips out. We often go to a big lake for a swim or have dinner at a restaurant.
There are also plenty of festivals, concerts and a cinema to attend.
We are happy for you to smoke on the terrace, which has a fabulous view across the valley.
For rainy days we have musical instruments, games, books, table tennis and a projector for movies. We like to play board games when we have time. Carcasonne and Catan are both favourites.
We have several guitars, banjos, a fiddle, electric piano, clarinet, harmonicas, melodica, trombone, cajon, full drum kit and even a double bass for you to make music on. I am happy to share what I know.
We regularly get involved with the local Portuguese musicians to put on gigs and are often visited by my UK/USA musician friends. I am in coupe of local bands playing blues, rock and roll, bluegrass and oldtime.
We host a few 100 guest concerts at the house a year.
We now have Starlink WiFi ( working well). We do accept digital nomads.
We have two dogs (smart Tasca, loving Baloo) and a cat (Menina), all whom are exceptionally sweet. Many of our friends, who regularly pop over, also have dogs, so this is probably not the place for you if you don't like dogs...
THE OWNER AND THE VISION
Hi, my name is Paul, I am from London.
I guess I am a mix of entrepreneur/capitalist (but with ethics and compassion) and a hippy dreamer (that actually gets stuff done).
In 2004 I set up a community folk music pub in London, which I still own and run (despite getting nearly destroyed by Covid). I also have a tourist accommodation business in Portugal.
In June 2015 I bought this beautiful, abandoned terraced olive farm in Central Portugal. My intention is to create a little paradise through permaculture, music, community and positive deeds, although I have hardly started yet.
My dream of living communally in the countryside began 33 years ago, after a long (hungover) night analysing how I should live. I have had this dream in my mind when making most of my life decisions.
It is only recently however that I have worked out exactly what form this community will take and I am looking forward to you helping me realise its potential.
Cheers
Paul
We are not a commercial business.Tipos de ayuda y oportunidades de aprendizaje
Práctica de idiomas
Ayuda en proyectos ecológicos
Jardinería
Construcción y bricolaje
Cuidado de animales
Ayuda en una granja
Cocinar para toda la familia
Ayuda doméstica
Mantenimiento general
Cuidado de casas
Objetivos de sostenibilidad de las NU que intenta conseguir este anfitrión
Intercambio cultural y oportunidades de aprendizaje
We can show you the building skills needed for the jobs you do and power tool use (if we trust you!). I even teach some sensible Workawayers to use the tractor.
If you are interested in playing music then we have lots of instruments. I can teach you basic guitar and banjo. We can also introduced you to the local musicians and even get you gigs.
We are gradually learning Portuguese, Julia is teaching us.
Everyone goes to the market at least once which is fun and a bit scary. Those old Portuguese ladies drive a hard bargain!
We regularly take workaways to local festas and concerts.
On Sundays we sometimes take our little motorboat out to explore the huge local lakes.Ayuda
I will need loads of help to get the place in order.
I am looking help restoring the buildings, gardening, weeding, planting and farming (perma culture)Idiomas hablados
Inglés: Fluido
Alojamiento
Its a big house with bedrooms and dorm rooms.
There is lots space to camp and/or park a camper van.Algo más...
The nearest town Sertã is 5 minutes away by car or a 40 min walk. It has 3 big supermarkets, cinema, bus station and many restaurants. They also have regular little events which can be fun.
There is a beautiful river 10 mins walk through the wilderness from the farm and a lovely secluded lake down the valley through the forest.
There is also a massive lake with a beach and cafe 25 mins drive away, where you can swim/boat/waterski etc.
The nearest bar is only 400m away at the end of the drive, it's got a pool table and table football.
The farm is very quiet so besides watching the birds you have to make your own entertainment. We have instruments, games and a selection of films and books if the peaceful nature gets too much.
Sertã is well connected to Coimbra, Tomar, Castelo Branco, Porto and Lisbon by buses (Rede Express or Transdev), I will collect you from Serta bus station.Un poco más de información
Acceso a Internet
Acceso a Internet limitado
Tenemos animales
Somos fumadores
Puede alojar familias
Espacio para aparcar autocaravanas
Este anfitrión puede proporcionar un sitio para autocaravanas.
¿Cuántos voluntarios puedes hospedar?
Más de dos
Comentarios (35)
Communication was good and they arrived without drama. They came to dog sit for me, while I went away for work. When I returned the dogs were fit, healthy and happy and the house was perfect.
Totally recommend these people, they are trustworthy, helpful and very athletic which is perfect for… read more
Fotos
Comentarios
Son opciones de calificación adicionales para cuando los miembros dejan sus comentarios. Se muestra la calificación media dejada en cada opción.
Precisión del perfil:
(5.0)
Intercambio cultural:
(4.8)
Comunicación:
(5.0)
Communication was good and they arrived without drama. They came to dog sit for me, while I went away for work. When I returned the dogs were fit, healthy and happy and the house was perfect.
Totally recommend these people, they are trustworthy, helpful and very athletic which is perfect for… read more
Needless… read more
He is keen and listens well. We would welcome him back.
The summer heat was difficult for me, but we chose our own work hours,… read more
and friendly people and take a good care of workawayers. I had really great time with them and feel they are now more friends than hosts. Work was decent and satysfying, always within timelimit. And the place is really beautiful. Paul also took us on local market which was very… read more
Thank you!
Thanks you 🙂
He has my wholehearted recommendation.
Stuart is a professional welder and as such can build you pretty much anything you want out of steel. Like all professionals he benefits from reasonable equipment and a project a manager who gives him clear ,… read more
Total pleasure having him on the farm.
Intelligent, interested, capable, helpful, hard working, kind, caring.....I could go on but you get the idea. Amazing considering she is so young.
I can totally recommend her for your project, just send her back this way afterwards.
We wish her luck with all her adventures.
I was there for the olive harvest which held a real community feel to it, it was great to experience and learn about how it's all done. We even had a group… read more
Yes, that room can be chill. I checked daily if they were ok and suggested they move to the warmer dorm next door but they said they were fine.
The ceiling lights that went down during some rain but we still had table lamps around so no one was in the dark.
The WiFi was indeed broken. Courtney and her friend… read more
They got thrown in the deep end here, when they arrived in the middle of a music festival we were holding, but with practically no instruction they immediately found their feet and started to be useful. Over the next few months they continued as they started, working hard in the… read more
We worked hard but I lo E gardening and getting a result so for me it was great. I cleared all the Ivy off a long and… read more
Magic land and quirky property in the process of been restored, there are… read more
I wish 1 in 10 Workaways were half as good as Ryan.
Paul is truly inspired by his property and it's great to share in his inspiration, making everyone feel like they have an important role to play in helping him build his dream!
Work was always very varied at the… read more
My experience with this community was my first workaway and I couldn´t ask for something better.
Nice people, nice talks, Nice and healthy food, good enviroment, beautiful views, nice bed, nice shower and a beautiful small town very near from the farm.
If you are looking to be… read more