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

Disponibilité

  2025 

 Séjour min. souhaité : Pas de minimum

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Infos

  • Description

    Description

    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.

  • Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

    Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

    Aide avec des éco-projets
    Jardinage
    Bricolage et construction
    Aide dans une ferme
    Entretien général
  • Centres d’intérêt

    Centres d’intérêt

    Dev. durable
    Dev. personnel
    Ferme
    Soin des plantes
    Bricolage / artisanat
    Jardinage
    Animaux
    Nature
    Yoga / bien-être
  • Objectifs de développement durable de l’ONU que cet hôte essaie d'atteindre

    Objectifs de développement durable de l’ONU que cet hôte essaie d'atteindre

    Objectifs de l’ONU
    Pas de pauvreté
    Faim «zéro»
    Bonne santé et bien-être
    Éducation de qualité
    Égalité entre les sexes
    Eau propre et assainissement
    Énergie propre et d'un coût abordable
    Travail décent et croissance économique
    Industrie, innovation et infrastructure
    Inégalités réduites
    Villes et communautés durables
    Consommation et production responsables
    Mesures relatives à la lutte contre les changements climatiques
    Vie aquatique
    Vie terrestre
    Paix, justice et institutions efficaces
    Partenariats pour la réalisation des objectifs
  • Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

    Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

    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.

  • Aide

    Aide

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

  • Langues parlées

    Allemand: Courant
    Anglais: Courant
    Portugais: Courant

  • Hébergement

    Hébergement

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

  • Autres infos...

    Autres infos...

    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.

  • Informations complémentaires

    Informations complémentaires

    • Accès Internet

    • Accès Internet limité

      Accès Internet limité

    • Nous avons des animaux

    • Nous sommes fumeurs

    • Familles bienvenues

  • Espace pour garer des vans

    Espace pour garer des vans

    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.

  • Possibilité d'accueillir les animaux

    Possibilité d'accueillir les animaux

    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.

  • Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

    Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

    Deux

N° de référence hôte : 848196651794

Sécurité du site

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