Help with gardening and eco projects on our permaculture farm in Coimbra, Portugal

Details

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  Description

  I'm Lucas, 34 years old, my parents are German, and I was born and raised on this little farm living all my life in Portugal.
  I learned a bit about farming and in my early twenties I started to get enthusiastic about permaculture. Since 2012 I'm living full-time on the farm (except for a year in 2014) doing some projects at our place and in other farms around us.
  Rafa (32) is my girlfriend, and she is living with me since 2012. She is an amazing cook and very talkative! She's always happy to share stories and knowledge about Portuguese culture.
  My sister Leonie (26) is living with us and working from home.
  
  The house has a garden at the entrance, some other green patches around the house, and a 2ha land, where I'm creating hugelbeds (Hügelkultur) and making some experiences to improve the soil.
  We have an Eco-Shower working with shredded branches that, by decomposing, produce heat during 10-12 Months - Right now the temperature is about 45º C and is used every day for showers and washing dishes.
  
  Apart from our house there is another one 100m away, that below to my parents.
  Right now my mother- Ires - lives in the upper floor, in an independent "apartment". She recently moved in again, and she's improving her house - so if you have some masonry skills you can also give her a little hand!
  
  Then, in the other division lives my father, Andreas. My father has a lot of health problems and can't help much at the farm, but he was the mentor of all this project, since he built a big part of this farm with his own hands.
  Both my parents and sister speak German, English and Portuguese!
  
  2018 brought us another inhabitant: Lutz, a 76 years old pensioner, that used to be a cargo ship Captain. In 2015, Lutz came as a volunteer, and after living in different parts of the country and meeting different people he decided to come back and be part of our lives! He loves to take care of our chickens and to share some nautical adventures. The earth bag house that we are building will be his new home!! Lutz speaks German, English and a bit of Portuguese.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  Here we speak Portuguese, German and English, and we are always happy to practice these languages with you.
  We both teach traditional dances from all around the world - folk dances! We would be very happy to make some dance evenings with you!
  Rafa is portuguese, and she knows a lot about traditional portuguese culture since dishes/food, songs, crafts, etc.
  Lucas knows a lot about permaculture and traditional techniques for taking care of land and animals.

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  Help

  =================== Long term Projects ===================
  
  === Garden ===
  - Planting new plants
  - Watering the garden
  - Weeding the garden
  - Picking vegetables/fruits (on the right time!)
  
  === Clay Oven ===
  We want to have a clay oven to bake our own bread. Soon we get interested volunteers in this project we can get the material and start doing it!
  
  === Compost ===
  I'm making many experiments to improve the soil quality, so we often cut brambles, to compost it. We would also like to built a compost toilet and work on composting "humanure" :)
  
  === Jams and Conserves ===
  During the summer we should find new and good ways to preserve our vegetables and fruits. We can freeze them, make jams, pickles and sauces. It’s a very important task that needs to be executed perfectly. If the jars aren’t well washed and sterilized all your work goes to the waist!
  
  *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️
  
  *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ Volunteering Time *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️
  This can be different from volunteer to volunteer. We are a little farm that has tiny amounts of overproduction that can be soled. But we use almost everything on the farm. Because we are a little farm there is not 1 task that we can teach you that you do for the rest of your stay here. So there is a big variety of task that we will teach you and that is way it can be that the number of hours of work is greater then 25h/week.
  So if you are not afraid of getting your hands dirty we would love to hear from you! You don't need to have any special skills, but you might leave with some :)
  
  *️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️ Minimum Stay 1 Week *️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️*️️️️️️️️️️️
  
  *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ Rules for your stay *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️
  
  - We are still not connected to city hall water so we have to be conscious about how much water we waist.
  - We need responsible workawayers that are proactive and autonomous! We try often to have meetings and clarify all the tasks that you can do. Then you should feel free to do what you think it’s the most important tasks! That means that we need creative, honest and committed people to work with us!
  - The characteristic that we give the most value is the ability of using your own head to find solutions and to improve yourself and the place where you are. So please consider this for your decision.
  - If you have any doubt, even if you think is a stupid thing: ASK! You will always find an answer; and if you ask twice is fine too!! :)
  - You need to be truly devoted to the cause – volunteering work - because we're not an hotel, we are a farm where hard work has to be done!
  
  *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ To Bring With You *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️
  - Every volunteer must bring their own working boots/shoes, working clothes, some warm clothes because the nights are cooler and swimsuit (optional).
  - Every volunteer must bring a flashlight
  - If you have a special health need, please tell us about that and bring your own medication. If you want to buy it in Portugal, please inform us in advance, because we need to translate/identify the name to find the right one!
  - If you have a special food need, please, tell us about that and, if it’s still on our budget we can buy it just for you. If you need to eat caviar every morning, we are sorry but you should bring your own! :)
  
  *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ The workawayers opinion *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️ *️️️️️️️️️️️
  You are always free to tell us if anything is wrong and we will not judge you for that. It's better to know what you think than see you unhappy or not motivated!
  
  
  # # # ABOUT THE PLACE # # #
  
  In our place you can find an artificial lake, a little bamboo forest, a little stream, many gardens, a bath tub that you can heat up making a small fire underneath it, an outside kitchen, a “swim pool” – it’s a 2 meters deep water tank where we use to swim, many places to set a tent or to sleep outside.
  At the moment we have 2 cats, Tita and Yoshi.
  My father has 3 sheep and around 20 chickens/rosters/chicks. The chickens run free in their yard and the sheep spend the day in long leaches, otherwise they would eat everything.
  
  Our farm is just 17 km from an important city - Coimbra. There you can visit the University - is one of the oldest in Europe in continuous operation, it was established first in 1290! To get there you have a bus directly from our village (you only have one 3 times per day) or another bus which stops is 4km away, but there are several buses every day. If someone is going in that direction maybe you can get a ride, although the trip by foot is lovely!
  There are a lot of other sightseeing's like the ruins from 'Conimbriga' 13 km from us. This is one of the largest settlements of Romans in Portugal. We also have a mountain near by - SERRA DA LOUSÃ - and 17km from us you can find schist villages. You can also go for a hike in nature. We also have a nice river that has very clear water, where you can swim in the Summer - 18 km from us.
  
  º º º Production º º º
  Fruits (apples, pears, plums, peaches, apricots, grapes, Kiwis, oranges, lemons, strawberries, raspberries, figs, kaki...)
  Nuts (walnut, almond)
  Vegetables (tomatoes, zucchini, potatoes, beetroot, cucumber, beans, peas, celery, eggplant, chard, rhubarb, pumpkin, spinach, peppers, cabbage, onions, garlic ...)
  
  ALL THE INFORMATION TO GET TO THE FARM IS IN THE TOPIC "DIRECTIONS". READ IT CAREFULLY AND YOU SEE HOW EASY IS TO GET TO OUR FARM.

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  Languages spoken

  German: Fluent
  English: Fluent
  Portuguese: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  Volunteers would stay in a mezzanine, over the living room, and share the kitchen and bathroom with us.
  At the mezzanine we can set the number of mattresses that we want and there is a small shelf and a lamp. It's quite simple, but very cosy!
  We usually have three meals per day: breakfast, lunch and dinner. Snacks are on you, but you are welcome to eat fruits and veggies from the garden with moderation.
  We also have tents to borrow if you would like a different experience outside!

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  What else ...

  If you are looking to came with airplane, we suggest skyscanner you will find very cheap flights if you book them with some time in advance.
  Once in Portugal you can travel by bus with the company: "REDE EXPRESSOS"
  Or you can travel by train, so go to: CP.PT
  Prices are pretty similar, but buses are a little cheaper, although trains are faster!
  To came to this farm, you need to get to the city COIMBRA, from there you have to go to our village CASAIS DE SÃO CLEMENTE.
  You should take a bus, near the railway station in Coimbra-A (if you come by train the main station is Coimbra-B, but is outside the city center, you can take a connection train to Coimbra-A; if you come by Rede Expressos bus company is 15 minutes walk).
  
  The bus company name varies, but in the front window next to the driver, you have a sign saying "Pousafoles" which is the name of the last stop. You can buy the ticket on the bus, it is around € 2.50, and ask to warn you when you get to CASAIS DE SÃO CLEMENTE. Then, at our village you just search for the only chapel (you can see it from the bus, is exactly in the middle of the village!).
  
  The timetable for this bus are: 13:25 // 17:25 // 19:25

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We could host campervan's but not on our property because the entrence is to small. 2 meter wide is the smallest pass on our road "Rua do Outão"

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  Can possibly accept pets

  This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  25 hours maximum

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