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Help Us Create a Permaculture Paradise in Portugal! 🌱✨

The experience

We (a couple from the UK with our 12-year-old son), have realised our dream of moving to Portugal and now we need your help to transform our land from overgrown garden destroyed by wild boar to the lush, productive, permaculture paradise we know it can be!

What you offer

12 hours of help per week

Cleaning: Help clean the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms and common areas.

Animal Care: Help look after and take care of animals.

Building & Repairing: Help with a wide range of repairs or building.

Farming: Plant crops, sow seeds and help in outside tasks.

What you get

1 day off per week

Tent: You will sleep in a tent at a camping site.

Breakfast: You are entitled to a free breakfast, every day of your stay.

Lunch: You are entitled to a free lunch, every day of your stay.

Dinner: You are entitled to a free dinner, every day of your stay.

Use our equipped kitchen: Feel free to use our kitchen and make your own delicious food.

Requirements

Intermediate English

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

We’ve been here in Portugal for 5 years now and we have weathered a few storms - actual and metaphorical - made beautiful friends, baked more than a few cakes, learned as much Portuguese as we can, seen the beautiful countryside, enjoyed the culture, and worked really hard to survive these ‘interesting times’ as newcomers to a new home.

We have been involved with collaborative projects locally for education, food and fundraising for good causes and fully enjoyed getting to grips with village life with our lovely neighbours. We’ve laughed, cried and despaired at the damage done to our land by the wild boar. It looks like a moonscape.

There are simply not enough hours in each day to really start to thrive.
That’s where you come in!

Activities & Shift

Right now, we are looking for kind and capable hands willing to help us:

- Build a tiny cob shelter in the garden (that you can stay in when it’s finished!)
- Realise our plan for laying out the garden using permaculture principles
- Fence the land to keep the wild boar out

We ask for 12 hours help per week in return for parking, or dwelling on our land. From spring onwards, it’s an option to use our 4-metre bell tent, at other times we ask you bring your own van, yurt or camping equipment. You can use our composting toilet, outdoor shower, camp kitchen and wifi. There’s a big swing and a trampoline in the garden, so it’s possible to bring children here too. The volunteer hours can be split between two people if needed.

On working days (2 or 3 per week, arranged by mutual consent in advance each week), we will give you a tasty lunch and provide tea, coffee and snacks. We are omnivores, but the soups and salads can be vegetarian, too. On other days, you provide your own food and you can use the camp kitchen or benefit from one of the many tasty café’s within reach.

Rules

Our ideal volunteers:

- Are kind, considerate and trustworthy
- Have skills and knowledge in natural building, permaculture, landscaping or gardening
- Are experienced and sensitive in sharing space and land with others
- Are self-reliant and resourceful
- Are seriously exploring the Central Portugal region for a long-term stay