Smallholding, Family farm
Leiria
We are looking ideally for a couple, or 2 - 3 friends and we look forward to welcoming you to our quinta. Our project is to bring back to life this beautiful old village. Set in 7 acres of amazing landscape, with a collection of charming old barns and dwellings. Deep in the countryside yet close enough to local towns to not feel isolated. Steve and Sarah are dedicated to turn this place into a wonderful place to thrive. For the past 20 years in the UK, Steve worked as an engineer, school teacher, university lecturer and motorcycle instructor so is well versed in training and working with people of all ages. Sarah worked as a therapeutic counsellor and has now switched her focus to restoration of old buildings. In addition we renovated a number of old properties. We decided to move to Portugal in 2018 and spent a year researching the many diverse regions to find the place best suited to us. Originally we planned to buy a small holding and live a more self sustaining and regenerative lifestyle. We became interested in permaculture in 2018 and our original plan went out of the window when we discovered an abandoned village in Central Portugal, with 3 hectares of land. Our small plan became much bigger! We chose to live in the Silver Coast region for many reasons. Our nearest town Leiria has a beautiful old castle, a lovely central square and many old streets to explore. It has a diverse culture of art and music and is famous for its medieval festival. The beautiful beaches of the Silver Coast are all within a 40km radius and further inland there are a number of beautiful river beaches. The scenery is diverse and there are many walking and bike riding trails nearby. Most of all we chose this region because it's simply beautiful.
We bought Chumbaria in 2019 and have lived here permanently since September 2020. As with many things our plans were affected by the pandemic, so we got stuck in the UK for much longer than expected. We have four grown up kids (27, 22, 21, 19) who sometimes live here, come over for a holiday and often to lend a helping hand. Some people think we've come here to retire but far from it!
Steve does most of the garden/farm work, and Sarah manages the restoration of the buildings - we have a total of 11 buildings. Originally Quinta da Chumbaria was a working farm/village with up to 40 people living here. The farm had both animals and agricultural output, but sadly it has been abandoned for over 50 years, so we have a lot of work ahead of us!
We have restored two of the buildings using as many natural materials, such as hempcrete, as we could to renovate them in an efficient manner, whilst keeping the overall look as close to the original village as possible.
We plan to regenerate and develop the land into a beautiful permaculture garden supplying fruit and veg to our visitors. We are also planning to create a food forest, have some beehives and a small animal sanctuary and a million and one other projects! We also hope to run permaculture courses here in the future, Steve completed his Permaculture Design Course in 2019 and is now working on his Applied Permaculture Diploma.
We would like volunteers to work for 5 hours 5 days a week in return for bed and board. We have a number of projects such as creating an edible forest garden, designing and making some art installations, making steps to join terraces, working with cob and other natural building materials, along with garden work and caring for the hens etc. Lots of fun stuff that we need help with. In return we also understand the need to chill and relax and this is a great place to do just that. We are starting to put together gong bath days, music evenings and workshops for a variety of things. There is a good bus and train service from nearby Pombal so travel to Lisbon or Porto is straightforward. We are also not adverse to driving volunteers into Leiria for the evening or to visit the markets. Although we have everything here that we need, so often there's few good reasons to leave our little piece of Paradise! We will also provide bicycles and appropriate safety gear.
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Organic methods: Almost all of our seeds come from Bio-dynamic organic seed producers. We are now making our own compost but started out with good clean horse manure and organic shop bought compost. We never use chemical fertilisers, herbicides or pesticides (dogs flea collars aside!) We employ permaculture principles and have learnt a lot from the likes of Charles Dowding, Geoff Lawton etc...
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Poultry farming
Forestry
Flower farming
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Meat processing
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Green Building
Mechanics / tools / technology
Methods or systems
Biological pest control
Holistic management
No-till farming
Permaculture
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
3
Hectares
|
7.4
Acres
Steve
Member since 2021
Languages spoken:
English
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 100%
Response time: typically within 2 days
Leiria
Train - Leiria or Pombal. Bus - Leiria.
Reviews
Mariachiara
Italy
•
November 2023
I had wonderful days at Steve and Sarah's Quinta da Chumbaria, spent between permaculture "lessons", the vegetable garden and doing the chicken coop for the new lovely chickens. The neighborhood is also to discover, especially with the e-bike (really recommend to go to the river)
Sarah and Steve are kind-hearted and resilient people, their project is truly inspirational.
I am grateful to have gotten to know you and your family!
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Rolf
Netherlands
•
August 2023
We stayed two and a half weeks in Chumbaria. We really enjoyed our stay, the freedom we got in executing our own ideas and all the skills we gained. We started of making a wooden fence. We enjoyed it so much that after the frence we made an arch, another fence and a gate. Steve has a lot of experience in woodwork and has an awesome workshop! We nearly feel like real carpenters now. Next to that, he has permaculture knowledge from which we learned a lot! Just before we arrived Steve and Sarah bought two bikes. We were the first to test out the new woofer bikes. Great investment! It is a hilly area so it goes up and down, but a good way to see the surrounding area and at the same time great workout. We also much enjoyed the company of Stan the Man (Stanley), Pip, Noodle and Pella.
But most off all, Steve and Sarah are lovely people who will always bring a smile on your face, either by their sense of humor or great cooking.
Greatfull for our experiences at Chumbaria and we really recommend the place to others. We will be back someday, too curious how it will look eventually!
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Martin
Jordan
•
August 2023
Prior to becoming WWOOF hosts ourselves, we were keen on delving into the authentic WWOOFer experience. Eager to glean insights from seasoned experts, we opted for the guidance of Steve and Sarah because we recognized quite a few commonalities and parallels with us, both personally and pertaining to our project. We were hoping for deepening our understanding of permaculture, uncovering the hurdles they encountered while developing their site, learning from insights they gained as experienced WWOOF hosts – insights that could help us on our journey. Our expectations were not only met but exceeded.
Steve and Sarah certainly have a remarkable sense of humour. However, what resonated with us on a deeper level was their ethos of generosity and equity. Throughout our time with them, we never once felt exploited or undervalued. Whether it was ensuring we received adequate breaks or the provision of consistently high-quality meals, their attentiveness to these seemingly minor aspects fostered an environment where our presence and contributions were genuinely cherished. But their open-handedness also extended to the exchange of experiences and insights. Another thing that stood out was their sincere appreciation for input, often granting us the autonomy to implement our suggested ideas.
Having spent two incredibly enriching weeks under their guidance, bidding farewell felt like parting from dear friends. We highly recommend their place to other WWOOFers!
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Sam
United States
•
June 2023
We had a great time at our wwoofing spot in Chumbaria. Steve and Sarah were a lot of fun, they're gracious hosts and embrace a collaborative approach to their living style. They both embody the tenets of permaculture-- the way of life at Chumbaria is one of integration, renewal, and cooperation with other people and the land. The work itself involves opportunities to learn and acquire new skills-- Steve has a lot of passion for the organic lifestyle and is a great teacher! There is a flexibility to the labor, you're able to voice your interests and skills and work on tasks that fit your physical abilities. We weeded & planted, did "lasagne" composting, built garden terraces, worked on the health of their fruit trees, and helped dismantle/rebuild a chicken coop. Throughout it all there was an emphasis on safety and balance, with structured breaks. Sarah and Steve are both a riot, really funny, and we all sat down together in the evenings to eat dinners and enjoy the occasional (heated) table games. We'd highly recommend this wwoof site for any other first-timers out there. ~all the best, Emily and Sam.
Also, if anyone wants a glimpse into the site, here's their YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/@chumbaria7159
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Andrew
United States
•
May 2023
Steve and Sarah were just wonderful and a blessing!
They provide an unbelievable experience! I learned so much about the hardship and brilliance of my hosts and how they ended up buying and stewarding the land. They introduced me to a community that taught me about the history of the place and Portugal. Also had the opportunity to explore the area too!
Steve was my first in-person teacher in the ways of permaculture and cannot thank him enough for the insight but resources he provided in my journey to bring balance to the natural world. Sarah's kindness reminded me that I still had more to offer in society. Again cannot say thank you enough and I know they will be in my life in some way!
Also the wwoofers I was with were awesome!
Good food, Good times
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Katja
Germany
•
May 2023
Chumbaria is a beautiful place with amazing sunrises and sunsets! I really enjoyed my time there! Steve and Sarah have a good sense of humor and I had a lot of laughs! The food there is amazing! 😍
There is the main house where the two live, there is the bathroom, the kitchen, the dining room and a large balcony, all of this I was allowed to use. The WWOOFER sleep in the vants next door and each of us even had our own room!
A typical day looks like this:
Everyone eats their own breakfast.
9:00 - 11:00 work
11:00 - 11:30 Coffee / tea break.
11:30 - 13:00 we work again
13:00 - 14:00 lunch together
14:00 - 15:30 we work again
And in the evening we eat together again.
I really liked the way it was structured and they both make sure that the breaks are taken and that you don't work too much! The two also made an effort to bring variety into the days, so that we had different tasks every day. Among other things, we planted, harvested, installed the irrigation system or made compost.
After work and on the weekends, everyone is free to do whatever they want!
I was also allowed to borrow Steve's e-mountain bike and went on a tour with it! Once after work, we went to a lake to swim with Sarah's daughter 😄
If you feel like it, you can also take the music box with you into the garden and listen to music while you work!
A little tip, Steve is particularly happy about “Wannabee” by the Spice Girls once a day 😉
I really enjoyed the time and will come back sometime!
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