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We only need help for around 4 hours/day and 5 days/week according to goals, therefore we only provide accommodation (caravan with wood-burner) and facilities (equiped kitchen, dry toilet, hot shower and laundry).We can provide a veggie-box from our gardens, 6 eggs/week and our soaps for dish and laundry washing. But you have to buy most of your food, gas and toilet paper, so make sure to have enough pocket-money.
There's also a natural pool in the stream and according to the season, mushrooms, edible and aromatic plants, berries, acorns and chestnuts.
Minimum age 21 years and minimum time of stay of 3 months.
Usually, according to the season, we need help maintaining the herb garden, vegetable gardens and food forest, building simple structures with roundwood and recicled materials, harvesting herbs, vegetables, fruits and processing them, farming maintenance (cutting and caring fire-wood, moving electric fences, cleaning the stable, turning the compost piles) ....
In north Portugal we have strong culture of family agriculture that is still practiced by beautiful old people and some young new amazing neighbors. You will meet some of those and can get to visit them to chill-out or help on farming maintenance in exchange for services, products or money and learn some knowledge or skills with joy!
We are at north-central Portugal, in a mountain with two glacial valleys, a lot of water on lakes, rivers and streams, that you can follow to find abandoned farming and shepherd houses surrounded by wilderness. There's tow villages close to us: Linhares da Beira (+/- 5km), an historical place with a military castle, a local association, a craft-shop, a cosy bar, a gourmet restaurant and two hotels ; Figueiró da Serra (+/- 2km), with more vivacity has tow local associations, a grocery-shop, tow bars and a hotel with restaurant. We have a car that we use often to bring needs from outside but there's also a bus passing in Figueiró da Serra every day at 9am that goes to the closest town (Gouveia +/- 20km) and comes back at 5pm.
Feedbacks
Valentin (2024): Staying at Gonçalo and Rita's farm was awesome! The place is beautiful, near Serra de Estrela National Park, and though it's kinda isolated, it wasn't a problem at all. Every night you can see Milky Way on the sky!Rita and Gonçalo's have three kids - Dana and two twin boys Azis and Arsu - and hanging out with them was amazing! The community around is very friendly and welcoming, with lots of cool people from different countries.The work was easy, and we had flexible hours. I learned a bunch about plants, farming, and taking care of animals. Thanks for the great experience!
Stefan (2023): At Goncalos and Ritas farm I had a wonderful stay. We mostly worked in the morning which was best since it was still super hot. The work itself was smooth and easy to do, even tho you may not used to so much physical work, I appreciated that Goncalo give me a free day extra if needed. He is not pushing or ask for something a person is not able to do. We had nice chats and talked about the system of the farm and general farming. Worth to ask him about! With Rita I didn't had so much contact, it never just happend to which is a shame since she know a lot about the plants too. Mostly I enjoyed my time hiking around in this beautiful area. The only think I didn't like so much was the bad infrustructure to supermarkets, there is just a small market nearby. But that is nothing about the hosts itselfs.
Marianne (2022): This place is amazing for its beauty, for the family that is really in connexion with nature and what it can bring, and for the neighbors that are welcoming and in the spirit of share. I had a lot of time to enjoy and discover the area around, the abandonned shepherd houses and the moutains in the afternoons and weekend. There is some things that can't be explained by words, but the lakes and the river were, for me and the others workawayers that I was with, peaceful sanctuaries. I won't say to much to let everyone connect in its own way. I spent most of my time apart from the family, in the nice kitchen and shared space dedicated to the workawayers. The experience in the permaculture garden and the water irrigation by gravity were a special interest for me. Thank you Gonçalo, Rita, Dana, Arsu and Aziz for this time (and of course the dogs who are the best companion for any hikes with you). I will keep these memories in my heart for a long time. Wich you the best!
Martin (2021): I'm very satisfied from my time there. It's a perfect place to reconnect with nature. Lot of plants, colorful flowers, butterflies, and variety of animals. I loved my waking with the beautiful sounds of the birds. The valley and the Serra de Estrella mountains are wild and amazing. I learn a lot in Permaculture with help of informative Goncalo. He and Rita are very friendly and open person's. I wish you all good, and hopefully we will meet again soon.
Thanks.M
Maria & Pawel (2020): Gonçalo & Rita have a self sustainable approach on their wonderful property. They have a lot of wisdom, are very welcoming and you can ask them anything. Their daugther Dana challenges you on enjoying life and drop off your concerns to just enjoy the pure moment.
Work includes gardenwork in their huge veggigarden, prozzessing food and help them with the renovation of a stone house. Unfurtunatly their volunteershelter has burned down before we arrived, they provide camping tents but it can get very cold in the nigth. They have a small and cozy volunteer kitchen with everything you wish for. It has a stove and oven an outdoor fireplace and some solarligths inside. With our fellow workawayers Manuel and Ricardo we had very nice company. They make extraordenary kimchi and Lunch is also always very nice. Thank everyone for this nice stay, we wish you all the best. Best regards maria & pawel
Paulina (2019): It really was a pleasure to stay with Goncalo, Rita & Dana! They are warmly and open minded people, always up to having good and meaningful conversation, giving advice and answering all your questions. They shared their time, work and daily life with me, so i recieved a lot of knowledge about permaculture, plants, bulidings, animals, the landscape,... at least i learned a lot about myself.
I stayed for nearly 4 months in their beautiful valley and had the chance to meet impressive people and livestyles.. also it was the perfect space to calm and reconnect with nature and myself. Rita & Goncalo are living a simple and peaceful life, following their values and trying to include everything that sourrounds them. In the first days we needed a bit to get closer to each other, due to i was the first volunteer this year and i needed some time to arrive.. but in the end i didnt wanted to leave – i really would recomment to take some time for your stay, it’s definitly worth it!
Again, thank you for everything and looking forward to seeing you again! HUGS
Bonnie & Lee (2018): I absolutely loved my time at this workaway, helping out on Gonçalo and Rita's organic farm, getting to know them, their adorable little girl Dana and of course Roma, their dog who I fell in love with, and all the other animals. Their good friend André was a great link between the volunteers and the hosts and was great company too. Gonçalo and Rita are very open, kind and humble people. Gonçalo is very knowledgeable about permaculture and organic farming so you can learn a lot from him if you ask questions. The work was enjoyable, and not too strenuous, only 4 hours a day during the peak summer months, we chopped wood, did weeding, planting, harvesting, made kimchi and sauerkraut, moved electric fences, we even helped out on a neighbours land which was a pleasure getting to meet her... an 80 year old widow continuing to live independently, farming and making wine! The work was always very varied which was great.
Lots of free time to enjoy the stunning area, lazing by the river in the hammock, hiking across mountains, swimming in the nearby lake. We went to a weekly yoga class which was great. I loved spending time with our hosts, their friends and the other volunteers. It was quieter and less social than the other workaways I had been on, but it was perfect for me at that time, as it was a good mix of time to myself and time with others. I learned a lot about permaculture, as well as about myself and life in general, and enjoyed feeling so in tune with nature. It was really difficult to leave! I was very tempted to stay on longer but I had prior arrangements. Thank you so much Rita and Gonçalo. I'll never forget your little pocket of paradise and hope to return in the not too distant future. Much love :)
Laurine (2017): Their main goal is to grow people and I truly think they succeed (at least with me). I've learnt a lot about many subjects (permaculture, natural health, construction, cooking and above all about life). During my stay I helped waterproofing the shelter's roof, cutting wood for the fire, removing the fences, planting the food forest, planting trees in a neighbour's land, preparing Kimchis, seeding. They opened their door to me so kindly and never forced me to work hardly (when the weather was bad), and invited me to share great moments with their friends (I went to a mantra singing afternoon and to a yoga lesson). I really recommand you to meet and help them, and at least for 2 weeks if possible, if you really want to share with them! Thank you for every thing and I wish I will come back to visit you ;-)
Agnieska & Kamil (2016): Their land is beautiful - quiet valley, with river, outside of civilization and not isolated in the same time. They are part of a great neighbourhood of alternativly thinking, mainly foreign people. Few times we took part in gatherings and parties.
We slept in a caravan, there was always enough of good food. The work we've been mainly doing was quite hard - cleaning land from brambles, ferns and brooms. But in meanwhile we also made some other stuff like shelters for animals, wood curving station, straw basketry, collecting herbs and rye, watering the garden etc. Rita and Gonçalo are great, sharing, openminded people with huge knowledge about permaculture, so even thought we haven't done much gardening we could learn a lot just by talking with them.
Thank you and good luck guys!