Información de perfil
Evaluación del anfitrión
100 %
Last replied
13 ene 2023
Comentarios
19
Correo verificado
Medallas (2)
Detalles
Descripción
This is a one-hectare off-grid smallholding in Central Portugal. The location is quiet and off-road but we have several neighbours nearby and a village within easy walking distance. The house used to be a stable for oxen and the land is in a wide valley and consists of a meadow and a small patch of woodland with oaks, cork oaks, elder, willow and blackthorn.
I have been living here for 12 years with my teenage son and more recently my baby daughter. We have dogs, cats, goats and chickens. We have a vegetable garden and herbs. Our water comes from the rain, the stream or the well. We have a small solar panel for lights and charging phones etc. We cook on gas in the summer and on a wood burner in the winter. This is not a project or a tourism development - we just want to have a healthy simple life, and not leave too much mess behind us.
Tipos de ayuda y oportunidades de aprendizaje
Jardinería
Mantenimiento general
Ayuda en una granja
Ayuda en proyectos ecológicos
Cuidado de animales
Objetivos de sostenibilidad de las NU que intenta conseguir este anfitrión
Intercambio cultural y oportunidades de aprendizaje
You can learn about our way of life plus specific skills such as making goats cheese, designing simple solar hot water systems, solar photovoltaics, composting, medicinal herbs, soap-making... We speak English, Portuguese and Dutch and can help with learning any of these languages. I have many years' experience of the ups and downs of off-grid / low-impact / rural life – if you are thinking of taking that direction in your own life then you can try it out here first.
Proyectos con niños
En este proyecto podría haber niños. Para obtener más información, consulta nuestras directrices y consejos aquí.
Ayuda
Generally - help is needed with the day-to-day jobs of looking after the animals (mainly the 3 goats: milking, leading them out to graze, collecting food and cleaning the stables), looking after the land / garden (clearing brambles, cutting firewood) and some maintenance work on the buildings. There are also some longer-term projects such as extending the herb garden, building another water tank, making a carport and improving the guest / workaway accommodation with its own solar shower. I have to work to earn money several days per week as well as fitting in farm work, housework and trying to be a good mum, so I am pretty busy and only need people who are willing to work.
Idiomas hablados
Inglés: Fluido
Holandés: Fluido
Portugués: Fluido
Alojamiento
There is a barrel-top gypsy wagon (single bed) and a tipi. The camping area has its own compost toilet. In the house there is a shower with hot water (in the summer). In the winter we wash with a bowl of hot water and a flannel. It's basic compared to modern western standards (it's probably easier to list the things we don't have – no TV, no washing machine, no fridge, no central heating, no high-speed internet, no bathroom...) but you will have all the things you really need and you will be made to feel at home. We cook and eat in the house, the meals are simple and vegetarian but we usually have plenty of fresh eggs and goat milk. If you have your own camper van or live-in vehicle we have flat parking space. Non-smokers preferred, especially in the summer due to fire risk (we do not smoke, even if your browser displays 'we are smokers'!).
Algo más...
I used to be a volunteer on farms so I do understand what it's like to be a volunteer worker, I won't expect you to do any jobs that I wouldn't do myself and although life here is basic you will share in all that we have to offer.
There are lots of great places to visit and things to do in the area - historic towns like Tomar and Coimbra, beautiful castles and viewpoints, hiking trails, swimming lakes.. I sometimes do translations for a local tourism group so I'll have lots of suggestions for your days off!
Un poco más de información
Acceso a Internet
Acceso a Internet limitado
Tenemos animales
Somos fumadores
Puede alojar familias
¿Cuántos voluntarios puedes hospedar?
Dos
Horas esperadas
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Comentarios (8)
Fore oppenning you home and family to me.I was there for 3 weeks and did many different things clearing brambles walking the dogs gardenning plantet cabbage took the goats for grass helping around the house.
It was a great experience for me living so off grid incredibel what Freya made off good and different food in that… read more
Comentarios
Fore oppenning you home and family to me.I was there for 3 weeks and did many different things clearing brambles walking the dogs gardenning plantet cabbage took the goats for grass helping around the house.
It was a great experience for me living so off grid incredibel what Freya made off good and different food in that… read more
Freya is kind, generous and knowledgeable and her smallholding is a lovely place to be. I didn't have much experience living off… read more
Staying here is peculiar, it doesn't feel like you are in a workplace, but more like being part of a family, so you always have very different things to do: from walking the dogs, feeding and milking the goats, clear the land,… read more
Anyway, there's not much reason to be shy or hide yourself here. Freya and Tjack are amazing! Tjack is a little monster but in the most lovable of ways and Freya is a wealth of insane knowledge about plants, plant medicine, gory wound stuff, making soap and the portugese knowledge. The woman is a… read more
Bill stayed with us as a Workawayer for nearly three months. During that time he proved to be a competent, adaptable, willing and easy-going volunteer. Off-grid life can be a challenge for some people, but he fitted in easily and had a good understanding of living with solar power, limited water, compost toilets and wood-fired heating.
Bill… read more
