Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Last replied
19 May 2024
Reply rate
93.0 %
Usually responds within 4 days
Feedback
22
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Details
Description
Permaculture Paradise 🌱
Are you passionate about sustainable farming & eco-living? Do you want to learn about permaculture and organic farming in depth? Are you a dynamic, motivated person with a high level of integrity and responsibility & a desire to know what real farm work is like?
If so, we are the perfect place to come get your hands dirty & immerse yourself in a working permaculture farm with very knowledgeable hosts! Get your brain ready to learn all about the many techniques we are applying here & your body ready to work!
A brief idea of our projects & volunteer needs this season:
🔨Carpentry ~ building a roof over the guest caravan (possibility of paid work for skilled carpenters), portable chicken tractor, wood-framed greenhouse, and improving our outdoor solar heated bath area to include a bathtub.
🌱 Permaculture gardens~ planting, watering, and harvesting an abundant variety of food crops for our personal consumption, plus the usual weeding, mulching, composting routines ;)
💧Creating a water garden area for beauty and children’s play
🧱 Experimentation with earth plastering & eco building techniques
🥗 Cooking delicious homegrown meals for the group
~~~~~~~~ General description of us & our project:
Hello! We are François, Suzanne & baby Ulysse and welcome to our organic farm & homesteading project 🌱🌱🌱 We are regenerating a beautiful 2-hectare abandoned farm using principles of permaculture, agroforestry, & eco-conscious living to create a sustainable homestead where we hope to “be the change” and share this way of life with people interested. We love to host folks who share our passion for hard work, nature, permaculture, and humble living in harmony & respect with Earth & all life here.
Our little corner of paradise is nestled on the Eastern slopes of the Magic Mountains in Northern-central Portugal 🌄 It is a beautiful place, where the birds and water sing to us, a stunning view opens our hearts, and the wildness of the mountains beckons at our backdoor.
Before we settled down, we were travelers, and many of our fondest experiences were as volunteers. Now we hope to return the favor, keep the travel spirit present, and share more great experiences as hosts.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Babysitting and creative play
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Multi-lingual (French/English/Portuguese) Belgo-American family with diverse life, travel, and volunteer experiences; knowledge in permaculture, agroforestry, soil science, homesteading, eco-living, herbalism, French/world cooking, fermentation, recycling/upcycling, animal husbandry, nutrition & natural wellness, meditation & healing modalities.
Our farm is part of a small traditional Portuguese village with several friendly older people still living “the old way” who are special souls willing to share their rich knowledge and stories; also, our dream of bringing this mostly-abandoned village back to life is starting to realize with another young family joining us in the village. We are also part of a vibrant international community of expats living in the region with many fun & diverse events happening regularly.
Our farm also backs up to a vast expanse of mountain wilderness with crystal clear rivers, pure air, ancient neolithic structures, hiking trails, and endless awe-inspiring views.
We are happy to share what interests you!
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
Help us organically regenerate our beautiful abandoned farm! Help specifically needed in construction, carpentry, organic farming & permaculture, peaceful communication & simple community living in a stunning natural setting.
This is our third year on the farm, and we have many projects underway. The farm has a lot of existing infrastructure that needs repair & maintenance, and even more potential to be visioned and explored!
Currently, our areas of focus are beginning a house renovation project, continuing to grow a large veggie and herb garden for personal self-reliance, caring for our baby & animal companions (1 lazy dog, 2 lazy cats, funny chickens), removing old vineyard posts, experimenting with earth plaster & eco building possibilities, improving and developing community spaces, and continuing our permaculture design process.
Tasks will be varied, and we are open to discuss the kinds of projects you would like to focus on to organize schedules that are beneficial for everyone.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Portuguese: IntermediateThis host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
You can contact them directly for more information.
Accommodation
In exchange for your help of 5 hours/day, 5 days/week, we offer 3 meals/day (breakfast/lunch independent & shared evening meal where we all take turns cooking/cleaning) and basic accommodation in tents. We have a comfortable, cool community space with well-equipped kitchen, lounge, solar shower & dry compost toilet. Access to community movement space (yoga, etc) and many lovely natural hang-out areas around the land including dipping ponds and even a magical hidden waterfall in the forest. Cell phone reception is good, and wifi can be available at certain times.
What else ...
We deeply value the help of our volunteers and take pride in working along side you. François leads the team projects and has a passion for teaching and sharing knowledge. We are open to co-creation and suggestions. Sharing meaningful connection with you is just as important to us as the help you provide. We value honest, peaceful communication, feedback, and learning through experiences and relationships. No drama, good vibes.
We live a peaceful, playful, happy lifestyle. We eat a veggie-based diet (meat on occasion) and try to choose organic when possible...and in summertime our garden offers many more organic veggies to share in joy and abundance! We cook awesome nutritious food and are fun hosts who have also been on the helper-end of volunteering before... so we're eager to support & create positive experiences for everyone through consideration and communication and of course hope for the same spirit of positivity & gratefulness in our helpers.
Wishing you the very best, and looking forward to meeting you! Have fun & safe travels!
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Cell phone reception is good, and we have a wifi hotspot that can be available at specified times.
Space for parking camper vans
We have 2 flat spaces for vans.
Can possibly accept pets
Case by case basis—to be discussed.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (9)
We were welcomed as if we were family.
We learned SO much in the 3 weeks that we spent with them. We learnt all about growing food, preparing the land for seeding and we ate the delicious food that they provided which came from the beautiful gardens outside.
François was extremely generous… read more
I really enjoyed the company of those two very warm and open hearted individual’s as well as the other helper Simone from then Netherlands. The atmosphere was respectful and the… read more
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(4.9)
Communication:
(5.0)
We were welcomed as if we were family.
We learned SO much in the 3 weeks that we spent with them. We learnt all about growing food, preparing the land for seeding and we ate the delicious food that they provided which came from the beautiful gardens outside.
François was extremely generous… read more
I really enjoyed the company of those two very warm and open hearted individual’s as well as the other helper Simone from then Netherlands. The atmosphere was respectful and the… read more
They were super flexible with our arrival and departure, always listened to our concerns and were open for new ideas and different points of view.
The work was splitted in two parts. In the first two hours we worked all together on a… read more
They were so much help to us;… read more
When I arrived, I received a very warm welcome by Suzie & François. From the beginning on, I enjoyed my time at the farm. The place is really beautiful & peaceful and got a wonderful view over the mountains. After work, we were able to take a refreshing bath in one of the water tanks which function as pools - just great!… read more
She happily helped us around the farm, even transporting several wheelbarrows of gravel, sand & blocks down the hill for a construction project—quite an impressive feat!
We had great conversations about… read more
