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We're Aaron (USA, 28) and Emy (NL, 33), living at our 1.5-hectare quinta Chaos in central Portugal with 300+ olive, walnut and fruit trees, a veggie garden and pool. We're looking for social, hands-on people to help with gardening, building and creative outdoor projects. We love sharing meals, skills, movement, nature and new ideas and there's lots of space to create something of your own!
25 hours of help per week
Painting & Decorating: Help with painting or decorating the property facilities.
Building & Repairing: Help with a wide range of repairs or building.
Farming: Plant crops, sow seeds and help in outside tasks.
Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens
2 days off per week
Private Room: You will have a bed in a private room. In other words, a room just for you.
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.
Free Laundry: You can use our laundry room freely.
Use our equipped kitchen: Feel free to use our kitchen and make your own delicious food.
Fast Internet Access: High-speed internet for you to work remotely
Intermediate English or Fluent Dutch
Over 20 years old
Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers
Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa
Our volunteer program is based around helping us care for the land, improve the property, and build new projects together.
Volunteers help around 5 hours per day, 5 days per week, with 2 days off to relax and explore the area.
The exact projects change with the season. At the moment we are looking for people that can independently work on landscaping/gardening and construction projects. Some of the things we are working on include:
- Making camper spaces
- Building a treehouse (know how to work with tools)
- Building a Sauna (experienced builders)
- Landscaping (include planting new trees)
- Pruning and caring for our trees
- Preparing the vegetable garden for winter growing
- Planning new crops
- Collecting brown materials for our compost
- General gardening and land maintenance (weeding, weedwacking)
- Building and improving outdoor spaces
We also always have creative building projects happening around the property, so if you have experience with carpentry, landscaping, gardening, construction or DIY, we would love to learn from you too.
We don't follow a very strict schedule. Each day we look at what needs to be done, what the priorities are, the weather, and what everyone feels like working on.
We normally discuss the plan together in the morning. Some projects we will do together, while others can be done independently.
We also like to take people's interests and skills into account. If you love gardening, building, painting, photography or something completely different, tell us! We are very open to people bringing their own ideas and creativity to the property.
The most important things for us are good communication, taking initiative and being willing to learn.
Food
For volunteers helping 5 hours per day, 5 days per week, we provide ingredients for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Breakfast is self-service and you can prepare your own food.
Lunch and dinner are flexible. Some days we cook and eat together, and other days everyone prepares their own food. We simply discuss the plan for the day together.
We enjoy shared meals, but we also understand that everyone sometimes wants their own space and routine.
Accommodation
You’ll stay in our cozy guesthouse surrounded by nature with your own private toilet and warm shower. If that is not available we have a campervan and tent available too.
If you are travelling with your own van, camper or motorhome, you are also very welcome to stay on the property. We have plenty of space for parking
We love connection & movement and some things we do & share:
- Acroyoga
- Climbing
- Salsa & dance
- Workout area
- Ping-pong
- Creative studio for yoga, movement & art
- Shared meals & spontaneous jam moments
- Aaron is into building at the moment and is learning everyday something new, you have building skills, come and help out!
Our house is relaxed but social. We want everyone to respect the property and each other.
We ask volunteers to:
- Keep shared spaces clean and organized.
- Clean your space before you leave
- Take good care of tools, furniture and equipment
- Respect the land, plants and animals. We have 2 cute cats!
- Communicate openly if something isn't working for you
- Be responsible when using tools or working on projects
We're not a heavy-party house, but we definitely enjoy music, dinners, friends, laughter and spontaneous fun.
We want people to feel at home here, while also contributing to making the place better.
Transport
We live in a rural area with no public transport directly from our house, so having your own car or scooter is highly recommended. Without your own transport, it can be difficult to get around and explore the area. If we go somewhere you can join us, but you cannot expect us to take you places in your free time.
When you don't have your own transport, you can take public transport to Tomar. From there it’s about a 20-minute drive to our place. We can arrange pick-up and drop-off in Tomar when needed.
Solo travellers:
At the moment, we have one volunteer room, so if you’re travelling alone, there is a good chance you’ll be our only volunteer. We’ll do some things together, but there will also be tasks you’ll do independently, so it’s important that you’re comfortable spending time on your own.
We regularly see friends, and you’re welcome to join us for activities when possible, but you cannot expect a busy social environment every day.
