Permaculture and Yoga Volunteer program in Portugal

• Exchange hours per day
  5
• Days off per Week
  2
• Accomodation Provided
  Yes
• Meals Included
  Yes
• Minimum Commitment (In Days)
  14
• Dogs
  2
• Cats
  3
• Other Pets
  9
• Amenities
  Wifi
• Types of Help & Learning Opportunities
  Building & Repairing, Computer & Office Help, Farm Help, Gardening & Planting, House Help, Kitchen & Bar Help, Spiritual Growth, Yoga Teaching or Learning

About Keela Permaculture Farm:

Keela Permaculture Farm encompasses an expansive 18-hectare homestead, serving as both a permaculture farm and an off-grid retreat center. Established in 2016, it primarily functions as a harmonious home, where inhabitants live in symbiosis with nature.

On Keela, diverse initiatives thrive, including a reforestation program, market vegetable gardens, agroforests, and food forests. The landscape is adorned with natural buildings, a yoga room, and a refreshing cold plunge pool, alongside lakes and various established permaculture systems. Additionally, Keela operates a community center dedicated to permaculture education, fostering knowledge-sharing and sustainable practices.

About Volunteer Program in Portugal at Keela Permaculture Farm:

Winter volunteering at Keela Permaculture Farm
Join us at Keela Farm and help us manage our project, experience off-grid living, and eat super healthy food from the farm.

Winter volunteer work
You will need to be physically fit and without any mental health issues. You will be expected to work 5 hours per day on the farm and have two days off per week.

We expect you to start on a fixed start date (15th Jan or 5th Feb) and stay for a minimum of two weeks. But we prefer one month. We are also looking for some people to stay long term. See below for more information.

The volunteer tasks include:

Weeding in the vegetable garden
Planting vegetables
Composting
Feeding animals
Forest maintenance
Working in the tree nursery
Managing our agroforest and Food Forests
Preparing market staff
Tree Planting
Building work
General farm management and upkeep
Helping Laurence make his YouTube videos on permaculture
You will also be expected to cook and keep the place clean

Spring and summer volunteer options:

During the spring and summer, we are running various permaculture courses. We will need help around the farm between the courses but during them we will need extra help with cooking, cleaning, preparing workshops and making beds. To make this as smooth as possible we generally have volunteers in different roles so they can be trained up on the relevent tasks.

Prerequisites. Physically and mentally fit, you want to learn about a permaculture farm and help keep our farm going while we run courses and retreats. All volunteers may need to help with other tasks to help with days off and breaks.

Volunteer date Options:
11th March – 6th May 2024
8th April – 13th May 2024
13th May – 8th June 2024

Volunteering Option 1: Cook and hosting
We are looking for someone to help us with cooking and hosting during our courses and retreats. This includes making breakfast, lunch, dinner and general cleaning on rotation. We are also accepting Erasmus chef internships.

Volunteering Option 2: Yoga teacher (+ gardening or cooking)
We are looking for a volunteer yoga teacher to come and teach 2-3 daily classes to the other guests,. The rest of your time can either be spent gardening or cooking.

Volunteering Option 3: Land and Farm Management
We are reforesting our land and restoring the ecosystem and we are looking for someone to help with this work. This will also include some gardening.

Volunteering Option 4: Permaculture Apprentice
This is a role for someone wanting to become a permaculture teacher or for someone completing their permaculture diploma. You must have already completed a PDC with us.

What is included when you volunteer at our permaculture and yoga farm:

• Healthy organic meals, much of which is from our farm or neighbouring farms
• Get closer to the food you eat
• Learn how to cook
• Onsite yoga/meditation classes (only during internships, retreats and courses)
• See permaculture systems in action
• Time to relax, unwind and get back to nature
• Learn new skills in permaculture, natural building, healthy and sustainable living
• 2 days off to relax or visit local places, usually, once per month we spend one of these mornings helping local communities and farms
• Experience being part of a community! (only during internships, retreats and courses)
• You stay and finish on the set dates
• Have a positive attitude
• Look after our tools and equipment as if they are your own
• 5 work days
• 5-6 hours per day working
• Willing and interest to learn and work hard
• Assisting with community tasks (cooking, cleaning, lighting fires etc)

Community Facilities

• Community straw bale house – a large house with a fully functional kitchen, dining room and chill-out area, charging stations, a projector for movie nights and free WiFi
• Yoga deck with a view
• Outside hang-out areas: stone circle, BBQ area, food forests.
• Long drop vermiculture compost toilet
• Washing machine (1 EUR peruse including organic washing liquid)
• 3 showers: 1 Indoor shower room with wood-fired hot water in a tropical greenhouse, 1 outside solar shower open to nature, 1 natural waterfall (cold shower and only during winter and spring)
• 45 acres (18 hectares) of land to walk with many chill-out spots, hammocks and viewpoints
• 2 dogs, 3 cats and 9 chickens to interact with daily 🙂

Local Village:

The village is small and quiet and has a cafe with a small convenient shop (with free wifi) and is a 25-minute walk from our farm.

Food
We are mostly vegetarian, but we can cater for strict vegetarians and vegans if required.
Most of our food is locally sourced directly from various farmers (except some other products which we have to get from abroad)
We can also cater for most allergies, including gluten, lactose etc. Gluten-free products tend to cost slightly more than normal, so we charge EUR 5 extra per week if you like this option.

Explore further by visiting the website link below.

Contact Details

Exchange Type

• Home for Time

Regions

• Portugal

Gallery

Video

Location