If you want to have a strong experience of a day to day live in a traditional farm and see for yourself how to take care of most task almost not in use anymore in "industrial" farms! Quinta da Bazágueda is a very ancient farm. It's a farm, in it's true meaning, not a house with a garden or little field with crops. Beeing an ancient farm, it has very basic acomodation. The houses are from the 16th century or older, so they are cold in winter, of course. If you come in a rainy day, as in all rainy days, the farm work must go on and some of the tasks cannot be delayed. Also keep in mind that it's not possibly to make a specific food for you if you have a very diferent diet from "most" people. We always have vegetable soup, so if you're vegetarian you're welcome to come, but if the rest of the team is having meat, with plain rice you can have soup with rice, but not a specific dish just for you, unless you provide it. At last, keep in mind that the farm is ISOLATED. This means is 12 km from the nearest village! You can walk in or out of the farm as you want, but the farm only provides car rides to volunteers in the previously agreed days of arrival and departure. All other rides must be on agreement. Having this in mind, please read the full extent of the profile, including REFERENCES and, in case you want, make a hosting request or ask anything if you have doubts. We can assure, this will be a true experience, witch you cannot find in many places!
The work is sometimes hard, but somehow adaptable to your best skills. You'll be explained about the reasons and importance of your tasks and you're alway welcome to ask if in doubt.
Irlanda
This was a truly enriching experience which gave me a valuable insight into living on a traditional Portuguese farm. I am so grateful for all that i learnt here about building, animal husbandry, the local flora and fauna, Portuguese food and the language. I would love to return to the Serra da Malcata Natural Reserve someday to visit this beautiful land and see the family and the animals again. Thank you Marta, Fernando, Francisco and Daniela :-)
Argentina
Excelente experiencia. Muy agradecido con la familia que me abrió las puertas de su casa y me permitió compartir momentos muy agradables con ellos. Super recomendable el voluntariado. La naturaleza en su expresión más genuina y auténtica. No apto para nenxs de papi o mami. Realmente es un viaje alucinante a la época medieval. Infinitas gracias nuevamente!!!
Portugal
I was there from the 21 to 31 of October. The things I would love to had known where, that there is no self-phone service, no warm water, and had the possibility to have no running water (drought). I left because of 2 things, working more that we agreed on (goat days), and the feeling I didn’t belong (/feeling judge). At the end discussion, they ended up calling me a liar, and being to proud, because of the way I travel, and how I approached people about it. The things I loved/miss are the goats, Libra, did I already said goats? Can’t elaborate much as there is a limit, feel free to contact me
Canadá
Marta and Fernando are absolutely wonderful. I learned a lot while there, Fernando and Marta were very willing to share their knowledge and insights on a number of topics and it was a great experience for me. They are upfront with their expectations which was nice.
I worked as a shepherd, and while it was a bit of a shock at first, but an open mind and willingness to learn is all you need. The position said 5h/day when I applied, but I worked over 6 on average. It really wasn't a problem for me, because I loved it, but note that your day depends on the goats. I highly recommend going here!
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