Welcome, bienvenue, bem vindos,
Before applying to our farm please take time to read the following presentation, if you're interested in staying with us, send us a message to let us know why you would like to come to our place and tell us about yourself. Thank you and have a pleasant read.
We are a french family of four, Cecile 48, Charline 17, Toscane 15, Laurent 59. Our farm is situated in a dry and warm clime region close to the Atlantic ocean.
At the Quinta do Timon, we are trying to implement a life logic agriculture project with as much biodiversity as possible. Our 2.6 ha (6 and 1/4 acres) plot is composed of citrus, carob, olive, fig, almond and other fruit trees, half acre vegetables, three dogs and two cats roaming free and fish in the tank. We are focusing on the farm inhabitants food autonomy, the surplus would be offered.
My wife Cécile and I, Laurent, have had a organic farm project since we met 20 years ago. We have begun to realize it here in Algarve for 6 years now. We invite you to discover what we are trying to implement. The main idea behind it is to ape organic life by growing as many different a plant as possible, to plant trees in the dry lands to shelter the soil from the harsh summer sun. We've rejuvenated our orange plantation with grapefruits, limes and tangerines. We are also renovating the hundred-year-old house.
We are practicing a mix of permaculture, organic, biodynamic farming working these principles around with the harsh Algarve climate. We work by hand as much as possible but still we use two small tractors to shred wood branches and scar the soil twice a year to keep it moist longer. We also mow with the tractor but with a little help we like to use scythes to do it as we did the first summer we were here.
We need help in the field as well as in the house. Laurent has built a 50-sqm shed, our 100-year old house needs restauration and improvements, we'd like to build shed, one dry toilet shack, a solar panel structure, a solar fruit dryer, we'd like to plant more trees in the dry non-irrigated areas of our plot.
Help is needed for daily activities too like cooking, animal feeding, pruning trees, yielding fruits and veggies, watering, etc.
Hence the farm offers a wide variety of tasks for the younger to the older, from the stronger to the wiser : François had heart problems, he cooked for us and crushed almond shells for 2 weeks. Marie-Claire was raised in the city, she was a hair dresser, she did prune the trees. Mamadu was strong and willing, he mounted double glassed windows, dug holes for tree planting. Anne was a music teacher with a special milk and gluten free diet, she cooked for us to be certain it would fit her diet and taught music to the children (she was paying for any special ingredient). We are sure that you will find a way to help us with your own skill and will.
Our daughters go to school five days a week and to other activities 3 times a week hence the afternoons are more or less free time for the guests except for special tasks that need a longer involvement.
A day temperature range could reach 20°C wide, from 0°C at sunrise to 20°C in the afternoon during winter, the difference is less dramatic in summer but still a usual 10°C wide range occurs, from 25°C in the morning to 35+°C in the afternoon. Hence warm nights to hot afternoons make us work in the field in the morning and at dusk to avoid the hottest moments of the day in the summer…
A day's work begins with the sunrise, in the summer we work until 1pm in the afternoon with a break for breakfast around 9-10 am, and work another hour at dusk to water the plants and feed the animals. We rest in the afternoon or go to the beach to cool down when it is too hot. Sunday is our day off and yours too: we try to visit a new place or go out to local cultural events so we do not feed you on saturday evenings neither sundays except sunday evening. You would two options regarding your free time on saturdays, either you work from 9-12 and have lunch with us or you choose to get a free week-end hence your saturday lunch is on you. If I’m not clear, feel free to ask.
From November to April, we also get up with the sunrise except on school days when we have to get the children ready, hence we work 4 hours in the morning with 1/2h coffee break then we have lunch around 12.30 and rest awhile until 2:30 pm and work again on the afternoon if need be except for the one of us who picks up the children from school.
There are two 3-people trailers to host you. We share our bathroom. We do not smoke, we do not do drugs hence we would prefer to host non-smoking guests. We share our bathroom, veranda and kitchen. Food is provided on working days but you would have to cook your own food on saturday evening and sunday lunch as we need a day of rest too.
On your arrival and departure, we could pick you up at Olhão train/bus station which is 6 km away. There is also a bus stop 1 km from the farm at Quelfes Igreja. There are bicycles to let on the farm, a 50€ deposit will be held during your stay that will be refund when you return the bike in same condition.
We will host one to three people at a time.
We would prefer hosts to stay more or less two weeks as we observed that the first week is needed to understand the farm routine. We would ask you to arrive at the farm from sunday afternoon to thursday afternoon as friday and saturday are too busy to welcome you at ease. Thank you for your comprehension.
Read more
Learning opportunities
Fruit or nut farming
Forestry
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Bakery
Traditional crafts
Green Building
Renewable energy production
Mechanics / tools / technology
Methods or systems
Biological pest control
No-till farming
Permaculture
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
2.5
Hectares
|
6.2
Acres
