Countryside Home in Melides, Alentejo
The experience
🏡 Welcome to My Countryside Home in Melides
Olá 👋 I’m Laura (47), HR manager working remotely in the startup world for 15+ years. I live in a family home in the countryside near Melides, really in the middle of nowhere 🌿✨. If you love dogs, nature, and quiet days (with some chaos thanks to 4 furry friends 🐕🐕🐕🐕), this is the place for you!
What you offer
20 hours of help per week
Pet Sitting:
Taking care of and looking after pets.
Cleaning:
Help clean the kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms and common areas.
Housekeeping:
Help with changing the bed linens and general housekeeping.
Gardening:
Help grow plants and cultivate gardens
What you get
2 days off per week
Private Room:
You will have a bed in a private room. In other words, a room just for you.
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.
Bikes at your disposal:
You can use our bikes any time you want.
Pick Up:
We will pick you up when you arrive, and take you to our property.
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
Dedicated Workspace:
Specific space for you to work remotely
Requirements
Intermediate Spanish or Intermediate English
Over 24 years old
Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers
What's not included
Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa
Program Details
🏡 Welcome to My Countryside Home in Melides
Olá 👋 I’m Laura (47), HR manager working remotely in the startup world for 15+ years. I live in a family home in the countryside near Melides, really in the middle of nowhere 🌿✨. If you love dogs, nature, and quiet days (with some chaos thanks to 4 furry friends 🐕🐕🐕🐕), this is the place for you!
🐾 Who lives here
•Me: I enjoy country life, books 📚, movies 🎬, cooking (no meat here 🥑), and the simple things. I practice aerial yoga and sometimes aerial silks. I am more of a morning person and I move with the sun.
•4 rescue dogs: Two are super cuddly, two are more shy (so patience + real dog experience is a must 💛).
•Friends: Sometimes friends come by for food, conversation, or a glass of wine 🍷.
Our home 🏠
Our home has two bedrooms and an office that works as a guest-room (when needed), a co-working area (I work fully remote), kitchen, living room with fireplace and bathroom with walk-in shower.
We are off-grid electricity wise - this means we have solar panels and batteries and are fully independent.
We have clean filtered water (national water grid supply but we have additional filters) and we use the fireplace to heat-up the house, so wood picking piling and sorting is essential!
We do composting the old fashioned way, and our land loves it. We have a vegetable patch and we plant trees and veggies according to season.
🚙 Important to Know
•Driver’s licence is essential 🚗 (remote life + dogs = you’ll need it).
•Dog experience is preferred 🐕 (if you only walked your neighbour’s cat once, sorry, that doesn’t count 🙃).
•No smokers 🚭.
•Minimum stay: 2 weeks ⏳.
•I speak Portuguese 🇵🇹, English 🇬🇧, and Spanish 🇪🇸.
•Buses do exist, but to explore freely you’ll want to drive
**activities:**
🛠️ What You’ll Do
Your help is focused on two things:
•Dogs, dogs, dogs 🐶
•Early morning walks (starting as early as 7am) 🌅
•Feeding, water, playtime, cuddles
•Picking up after them (yes, that too 💩)
•Countryside & Garden tasks 🌱
•Getting your hands dirty outside: gardening, planting, maintaining outdoor areas
•If you have permaculture knowledge, that’s a big plus! 🙌
About 4 hours a day, divided between mornings and evenings.
🛏️ What You’ll Get
•A private bedroom 🛌 and shared cozy spaces
•Meals provided (sometimes I cook for everyone, sometimes you cook your own) 🍲
•A bicycle 🚲 for exploring the area
•Space and quiet to work on personal projects, rest, or recharge 🌍
•Beaches just 15 minutes away 🏖️ — the Alentejo coast is one of the most beautiful in Portugal
•Couples welcome 💑.
🌟 Why You’ll Love It Here
🌳 Real countryside living — silence, stars, and space to breathe
🐕 Daily time with four unique dogs (endless love + some challenges)
🌱 Connection with the land — perfect if you like nature, gardening, and permaculture
🏖️ Explore nearby beaches, villages, and hikes
🍷 Shared meals and good talks when it feels right
This is the place if you’re kind, open-minded, autonomous, and motivated, with a genuine love for dogs and rural life.
💖 Ideal Volunteer Profile (Open to singles/couples)
• Dog lovers (rescue experience a plus)
• Comfort with rural solitude and farm tasks.
• Non-smoking
• Proactive, open-minded and friendly attitude
🍽️ Food & Meals
• Groceries provided for your own cooking.
• Shared meals: Occasional lunches/dinners together.
📩 How to Apply
Please send me a personalized message 🙏 telling me about your dog experience, your motivation, and what you’d bring to our little countryside life.
Looking forward to welcoming you to this
Activities & Shift
🛠️ What You’ll Do
Your help is focused on two things:
•Dogs, dogs, dogs 🐶
•Early morning walks (starting as early as 7am) 🌅
•Feeding, water, playtime, cuddles
•Picking up after them (yes, that too 💩)
•Countryside & Garden tasks 🌱
•Getting your hands dirty outside: gardening, planting, maintaining outdoor areas
•If you have permaculture knowledge, that’s a big plus! 🙌
About 4 hours a day, divided between mornings and evenings.
🛏️ What You’ll Get
•A private bedroom 🛌 and shared cozy spaces
•Meals provided (sometimes I cook for everyone, sometimes you cook your own) 🍲
•A bicycle 🚲 for exploring the area
•Space and quiet to work on personal projects, rest, or recharge 🌍
•Beaches just 15 minutes away 🏖️ — the Alentejo coast is one of the most beautiful in Portugal
•Couples welcome 💑.
🌟 Why You’ll Love It Here
🌳 Real countryside living — silence, stars, and space to breathe
🐕 Daily time with four unique dogs (endless love + some challenges)
🌱 Connection with the land — perfect if you like nature, gardening, and permaculture
🏖️ Explore nearby beaches, villages, and hikes
🍷 Shared meals and good talks when it feels right
This is the place if you’re kind, open-minded, autonomous, and motivated, with a genuine love for dogs and rural life.
💖 Ideal Volunteer Profile (Open to singles/couples)
• Dog lovers (rescue experience a plus)
• Comfort with rural solitude and farm tasks.
• Non-smoking
• Proactive, open-minded and friendly attitude
🍽️ Food & Meals
• Groceries provided for your own cooking.
• Shared meals: Occasional lunches/dinners together.
📩 How to Apply
Please send me a personalized message 🙏 telling me about your dog experience, your motivation, and what you’d bring to our little countryside life.
Looking forward to welcoming you to this
Rules
🚙 Important to Know
•Driver’s licence is essential 🚗 (remote life + dogs = you’ll need it).
•Dog experience is preferred 🐕 (if you only walked your neighbour’s cat once, sorry, that doesn’t count 🙃).
•No smokers 🚭.
•Minimum stay: 2 weeks ⏳.
•I speak Portuguese 🇵🇹, English 🇬🇧, and Spanish 🇪🇸.
•Buses do exist, but to explore freely you’ll want to drive
💖 Ideal Volunteer Profile (Open to singles/couples)
• Dog lovers (rescue experience a plus)
• Comfort with rural solitude and farm tasks.
• Non-smoking
• Proactive, open-minded and friendly attitude