Portugal
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Summer update:
As of now we are open to motivated people that are keen on being involved in natural building and gardening and less sexy tasks like clearing, cleaning etc.
As we are also working outside our property and have kids on summer holiday we cant always work with you. Some self guidance and motivation is key.
We are working on 1001 things:
- finishing a small house with lime plaster inside and out
- making an outside kitchen with timber framing
- making an awesome bathhouse with slipstraw aka light clay straw and a batch with natural stones and tadelact.
- prepping and maintaining Gardens to grow juicy food!
- some domestical tasks also included
You can sleep in our tipi or come with your own camper or Van.
Great opportunity for you to gain experience and have an awesome time and for us to meet you and have a push toward self reliance and general awesome Lifestyle!
See you soon!
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Hi all,
About us:
We are Ties, Shirley and our 2 kids Eliana and Joshua (6 &8).
After a career as scuba diving instructors in Thailand we came to Portugal 5 years ago to reinvent ourselves and find a place where we could grow a garden of Eden for our family and extended tribe. A place where we could build a healthy and sustainable, self reliant life that we could share with others.
Now we are caretakers of a wonderful, small property in between cork forests, meadows and farmlands located in a Nature Reserve in the Alentejo province of Portugal.
The property has not been habituated in about 25 years and nature has taken it´s own hand. In a way we have to pioneer and make things work again from scratch.
It is our aim to create a place where we can live in the rhythm of nature while also living in balance with her. A future where we can be mostly self reliable and sustainable really appeals to us and sharing it with others would be the summit.
In this crazy "Corona Episode" the confirmation is more clear than ever to work hard on establishing our "Normal"
- Not with GMO and pesticide ridden food but A normal with organic fruit and veg that we share with neighbours
- Not with laboratory grown burgers but occasional organic meat and healthy free range eggs
- Not with pharmaceuticals and chemicals but herbal and natural remedies, cures and prevention.
- Not with an overdose of social media and online presence but real life face time with people that matter :)
The crazy events lately where quite the roller coaster for us all but they did make us more determined and centered onto a path of love rather than fear.
Like mentioned, it is our mission to live as healthy and sustainable as we can but are by no means dogmatic or anything like that. We compost our toilet business but at the same time don´t mind to drive 20 minutes to have icecream on the beach ;)
As we are starting from scratch, at this point we are living in our camper on the property. Signing off in the night time with shooting stars in the sky and hearing the owls hoot in the night time is an experience that makes us sleep with a smile on our face. This is what we where looking for all this time!
Things to do:
The list of things to do on our project is pretty long so we try not to waste time while having fun in the meantime :)
By no means are we experts in anything and we are trying to figure most things out by ourselves. We strongly believe in being students and teachers at the same time and welcome anybody who´d like to come figure things out with us.
That said though, our time is valuable at this stage of our project and we especially welcome people with a good head on their shoulders and a positive attitude who are motivated and a little independent.
Off course we would welcome skilled carpenters, permaculturists and professional chefs but if you are handy and motivated that is awesome. Gardening and building experience is a nice extra.
A lot of the work we are focusing on right now needs a bit of muscle and stamina.
Depending on your skills and abilities we are offering the following jobs:
- Plastering walls with a lime mix both inside and outside the house.
- Prepping and maintaining gardens Like madmen and women.
- Using weedwacker to cut down weeds and brambles
- Digging trench for irrigation lines and drainage around house
- Building a shed from recycled and natural materials
- Building amenities like outdoor kitchen and shower
The term of your stay:
Although we can find simple jobs for short term people who want to have minimum input, we appreciate and prefer to connect with people who are genuinely interested in this kind of lifestyle and want to stay for a minimum of 2 weeks.
We try to live healthy and sustainably but don´t take things tooo seriously and like to have fun.
At this point in our lives we appreciate people who live from the heart and can be them selves. We are all a work in progress :)
In our time off we like to do Brazillian Jiu Jitsu, Tabata and percussion etc but were also working on a small yoga and meditation platform. We try to find our way into raising our kids somewhat "unconditional" and like to share experiences with this also. We are all teachers and students at the same time :)
Most of all we appreciate human connection and sharing this amazing life :)
What we can offer:
As we are very basic at this point, our place would , be most suitable for people, couples or families with own transportation who appreciate a back to basic and natural stay. think compost toilets, solar heated showers, shooting stars and many birds and trees. Oh and nothing but the enchanting sounds of nature (and of course our kids jumping on the trampoline and running amok :)
We offer meals or in case you don´t always want to hang out with us. at least the ingredients and amenities to whip something up yourself.
We offer a place for you to park your van or camper OR when the weather permits it a bed in a tipi or caravan.
We have filtered water from a nearby spring (Holy water) to drink (and perform occasional excorsisms)
The area:
We are situated in a rural area called Lameiros that is a part of Sao Luis. Just 1000 meters away there is a most typical, nostalgic small cafe where you can buy some bread and eggs and enjoy a cold beer or Medronho with the locals. There also is a super nice pop-up pizza restaurant there on Sunday!
The small town of Sao Luis is only a 8 minute drive away and here you can stock up on some small town life and visit more cafe´s and small supermarkets and local markets. You can even do yoga, Thai Chi, BJJ and Zumba there!
If the corona situation clears up again the regular hippie and gypsy markets will be open again and that is a treat for browsers and foodies alike.
Within 20 minutes you find yourself on one of the pristine beaches of the Atlantic coast where you can do surfing, stand up paddle boarding on the river estuary, walk the "rota vicentina" or just enjoy the sunset with a regional wine and olives :)
Ayuda en proyectos ecológicos
Jardinería
Proyectos de construcción y bricolaje
Cuidado de niños y juegos creativos
Cocinar para toda la familia
Ayuda doméstica
Mantenimiento general
You will stay in a very natural and quiet place and can learn hand on how a family is creating a healthy, sustainable life from the ground up.
We enjoy learning as well as teaching and welcome you in our process.
Besides this we love making and sharing meals together and hear stories from your side of the world.
You are welcome to come and co create and share the magic in this wonderfull piece of earth.
Shirley loves baking cakes from pumpkin to apple pie. Ties like all kinds of things from making home made probiotics, Kombucha, fermenting things untill making toothpaste and soap etc. You can also join us for a morning meditation or come to join Brazillian Jiu Jitsu * :)
*: We are welcome to awesome people in general but Jiu Jitsero´s (BJJ) are even awesomer and always have a warm "choke" awaiting them
En este proyecto podría haber niños. Para obtener más información, consulta nuestras directrices y consejos aquí.
What kind of help do we REALLY need?
Help in construction:
We have about 80m2 of ruin that we are trying to clear and rebuild :)
People with golden hands and or experience with natural building or general building and carpenter skills would be extremely welcome :)
Help in the garden:
We love fresh veggies etc but in this stage we resort to lazy gardening because housing and infrastructure take up all our time.
Help with tidying and general maintenance
Help in household:
For many years now we have lived abroad and raised our family without much external help.
At this point though with 1001 things to do and not enough hours in the day it would be incredibly wonderfull to have somebody who could take charge of meal prepping & cooking, caring for the kids and general household tasks.
This way we could chip away at our to do list and not have to worry about what to cook for lunch 🙂
Current running projects:
Help & Projects:
1 - fixing a small part of the ruin by making a concrete ringbeam and new roof. Plastering and making an earthen floor. Builders and carpenters welcome :)
2 - Building a shed from an old pigpen, using recycled and natural materials like pallets and slipstraw.
3 - Building an outdoor kitchen and bathroom.
- Gardening is always an ongoing thing. Making and care taking of gardens to create an abundance of healthy and tasty food.
- Designing and building small kitchen and bathroom for a caravan we have build a shelter for. It will be a future place for friends, family and volunteers.
- Removing the many, many brambles and creating pathways. There are about 20 olive trees and several fig trees that are completely overgrown by brambles. They would love to be free again and breath and catch some sun.
- Building a chicken coop
- Making a composting station
- Designing and building a water catchment and storage system
Making a platform for a bell tent and pergola´s etc is also on the activity list.
Creating picknic tables and benches from pallets! Yes!
And the list goes on and on and on :)
About our daily schedule:
We try to get as much done as possible before our kids are out of school. In the summertime we start early and have a break during the heat and usually pick up again a little later in the day.
Idiomas hablados
Inglés: Fluido
Holandés: Fluido
Portugués: Principiante
Este anfitrión ofrece intercambio de idiomas
Este anfitrión ha indicado que está interesado en compartir su idioma o aprender otro.
Ponte en contacto con él para obtener más información.
Our project is suitable for people who enjoy being in nature and back to basic.
We have filtered spring water for drinking and have solar shower and a composting loo. All very basic at this point!
It is most suitable at this point for people, couples or families who appreciate being away from WiFi zones but have better connection than ever :)
Particularly in the autumn and wintermonths we can only welcome people that have their own accomodation in the form of a camper or van etc. The winters are just too cold for camping.
In the summer we can accommodate you in a caravan or a tipi on the property aswell. It has a bed with mattress and bedding and mosquito net etc.
In the winter and autumn months you´d have to come with your own camper as it is too cold to camp in tent etc
comment:
Last week we had a great compliment. Our workaway family with 9 previous hosts gave us the first place for best bucket toilet! Yay!
In your own time you can do many things here but most are outdoor activities.
Natural treasures:
- You can go for a swim in nearby fresh water canyon lake called "Pego das Pias" which is about 15 minutes away.
- Perhaps surfing or stand up paddle boarding is more your thing , then you can go to one of the beaches or river beaches like Villa Nova de Milfontes or Malhao. These are about a 20 minute drive away.
- There are walking routes from the "Rota Vicentina" that go either through inland villages with beautifull scenery or passed the coast.
For "City Slickers":
- In Villa Nova De Milfontes you can enjoy more restaurants and in the high season even some night clubs. Oh and .... ice cream :)
- In Odemira you can do some sightseeing. It has a Chocolaterie a "Harry Potteresque" library, a cinema with one theatre, a nice river and ofcourse narrow old Portugese streets and houses.
- Sao Luis is a sleepy little town but bubbling under the surface. There are local and hippie markets, Sunday Artisanal Pizza Event, a positively Crazy Ultimate Frisbee team but also yoga, capoeiera, Zumba, Tai Chi, percussion classes, BJJ etc
If you need transport to our place then we can organize a pickup from the bus stop in Sao Luis, Cercal or Vila Nova de Milfontes.
Acceso a Internet
Acceso a Internet limitado
Tenemos animales
Somos fumadores
Puede alojar familias
Small vans and bigger campers can have a spot but we can only host about 2 of them or 3 max. As we are trying to close all the waste loops on our property in an appropriate way, we cannot facilitate emptying camper toilets with the blue chemical stuff in them. Happy days :)
quiet pets are welcome. We have 2 playfull young dogs ourselves.
Más de dos
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Son opciones de calificación adicionales para cuando los miembros dejan sus comentarios. Se muestra la calificación media dejada en cada opción.
Precisión del perfil:
(4.9)
Intercambio cultural:
(4.8)
Comunicación:
(4.9)
