Help revive this off-grid mountain farmstead near Monchique, Portugal

Detalles

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  Descripción

  I am living my dream to revive this beautiful old farmstead in the Algarve hills and turn it into an organic food forest farm. Since arriving in 2020 we have planted a lot of fruit and nut trees, berries, medicinal plants, mushrooms, and many beds with mixed annual and perennial vegetables. We follow the principles of permaculture and aim towards increasing self-sufficiency. There are always new projects on the go. As well as myself, there is Mocca my dog, Ace, the cat and the chickens.
  
  #couples particularly welcome#
  
  There are always plenty of jobs to do :-)
  
  Please note that the land is remote and you will need your own transport.
  
  
  life on the land
  
  This is a 10,000m2, south-facing, terraced hillside, nestled in the Monchique mountains. It has a spring, a stream running along the bottom, a small wooden house, a stone house, lots of drystone walling (some need rebuilding) and a camper van. Before I came, the terraces were last farmed 100 years ago. There are established cork oaks, olives, walnuts, figs, grapevines and an orange tree. Since arriving we have planted sweet chestnut, almond, walnut, hazelnut, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums, cherries, apples, persimmons, pomegranate, blueberries, raspberries, mulberries, blackberries, strawberries, feigoa, passion fruit, and much more. Along the river there are a lot of large alder and willow trees and also some eucalyptus. On the land there is a wooden house which is rented, my old stone house, the camper van and a bell tent ( if needed) and a compost toilet.
  The hillside is in a valley and overlooks a natural forest. It is secluded and the nearest neighbours (5 houses) is about 1 km away. The closest village, Marmelete, is 3 km up a steep hill. Once you’re up there, Aljezur is 17km to the west and Monchique about the same to the east. In Aljezur you have incredibly beautiful beaches and surfing opportunities.
  
  you?
  
  Are you fit and active? Do love being “in the middle of nowhere”, surrounded by nature? Do you enjoy time alone? Do you enjoy working hard? Do you have a passion for growing food or tackling a little building project (wood or stone)? Do you enjoy eating healthy food fresh from the land? Do you have your own transport?
  
  the help
  
  The chores on the land are often hard. It is a steep hillside that hasn’t been farmed for 100 years! You will need to be fit and will leave fitter :-)
  
  I work in my office for part of most days so can't always be there.
  
  Tasks include:
  
  caring for the fruit and vegetable gardens
  regenerating soil
  drystone walling - repairing ancient terrace walls.
  creating new gardens - fruit and veg
  strimming and land clearing
  carpentry work
  building steps on slopes.
  felling trees and chainsawing - Only permitted from October - April and only for people with experience.
  reforesting the hillside (winter work only)
  
  I'd love to hear from you if any of these jobs sound fun to you.
  
  my offering
  
  There is a camper van and a bell tent on the land, both of which can accommodate a single person or a couple. I can cook for you 5 days a week or we can happily share this task. There are a lot of vegetables growing on the land and this is our fresh food source. You can use the bathroom in my house for hot showers or hose down by your van / tent or bathe in the stream. We also cook and eat at the house, which is where I live.
  I’m a shiatsu therapist and an English teacher. I know a lot about gardening organically, growing medicinal herbs, making herbal medicines, living self-sufficiently, shamanic practice and more. I am happy to share my gifts and experience. As many ask, please not that I do not offer plant medicine ceremonies but am open to sharing my knowledge of shamanism and animism.
  
  me
  
  I'm now 57 but already in my childhood I realised that something wasn’t right with the way humanity lives. My reaction as a teenager was to become an eco-anarchist, live in a truck and “fight the system”. Once the travellers' lifestyle became difficult in the UK in the late 80s, I left, travelled through Europe in my truck and landed in SW Portugal. I fell in love with the nature and life here. The incredibly beautiful ocean and the amazing open and clear night skies healed me of my need to fight. I remembered “to be the change you want to see”. I became a solutions person. I built a house (in those days it was so cheap here) and a garden and lived in peace with nature and the community.
  In 2003 as a struggling single mum it became too much to manage on my own and we moved to Germany. The plan was to stay 1.5 years but it ended up much longer. I set up a business English coaching company, my daughter went to school and the years went by.
  During this time I also did a shamanic apprenticeship and trained to become a shiatsu therapist.
  In 2020, at long last, I came home. Home is a beautiful, steep, terraced hillside nestled in the Monchique mountains.
  I meditate, do yoga, practise shamanism, grow food, work hard, experience nature, live rustically and very simply.
  These are the things that make me happy.
  I’m kind, honest, open, respectful, aware, hard working, often inspired and always interested. I dream of a world with clean water, healthy nutritious food, fresh air, communities of people supporting and caring for each other, working together as part of Nature. I’m a doer and a creator and I love working towards manifesting this dream.

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  Tipos de ayuda y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  Ayuda en proyectos ecológicos

  Jardinería

  Construcción y bricolaje

  Ayuda en una granja

  Mantenimiento general
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  Objetivos de sostenibilidad de las NU que intenta conseguir este anfitrión

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  ¿Que es esto?
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  Intercambio cultural y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  I've had a large vegetable garden for many years and have grown a lot of herbs from which I make medicine - tinctures, creams, ointments, teas etc. I'd be happy to pass this knowledge on. I make many things like soap, sourdough bread, kombucha, ginger beer etc I'm also a Shiatsu therapist and an English teacher. As many helpers ask, please note that I don't offer plant medicine ceremonies, but am happy to share my knowledge of and experience with animism. You will be surrounded by nature, trees, a stream, a garden with many herbs and healing plants.

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  Ayuda

  We working in the organic, permaculture garden. Off-grid maintenance jobs. Land clearing. Farming jobs. Chopping wood. Simple construction jobs.

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  Idiomas hablados

  Alemán: Fluido
  Inglés: Fluido
  Portugués: Fluido

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  Alojamiento

  An Iveco Daily (camper van), kitted out to live in.

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  Algo más...

  There are many hiking routes in the area and my land is only 20 km from Europe's most beautiful beaches (Aljezur, Portugal) and surfer's paradise. Please note that you need to have your own transport.

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  Un poco más de información

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    Acceso a Internet

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    Acceso a Internet limitado

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    Tenemos animales

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    Somos fumadores

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    Puede alojar familias

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  Espacio para aparcar autocaravanas

  The land is mainly terraced and accessed down a steep hill so it is only suitable for robust small and medium sized camper vans. You can then either park in the shade near the entrance. 4x4s can also find lovely park-ups elsewhere on the land.

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  Podría aceptar mascotas

  I have a dog, a cat and chickens. If you have a pet that's ok with that, they are welcome, too. My dog, Mocca, is a land dog and people frightened of dogs often find her robust nature difficult as do more sensitive dogs.

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  ¿Cuántos voluntarios puedes hospedar?

  Dos

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  Horas esperadas

  5 hours for 5 days a week

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