Family farm - permaculture, food autonomy, alternative medicine
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(please read till the end! )
Family house / small-scale farm going towards autonomy (food and energy) in Central rural Portugal. We are located among olive trees lands, near a small village.
We are above all therapists of alternative medicine (shiatsu, reiki, herbal medicine, aromatherapy...). We made a mandala-shape medicinal garden.
We have a big vegetable garden with much diversity, an abundance of fruit trees, a vineyard and 250 olive trees. We produce our own olive oil.
We also try to be as much self-sufficient as possible, therefore we do lots of preserves from our garden, we also dehydrate. We do transformations from the medicinal garden as well.
We have 1 goat (rescued !) at the moment, and she grants us with lots of milk from which we make cheese. We also have 3 sheep, 3 dogs, 2 cats, and 2 horses, and hens. We plan to have bees in the future.
We try to do most garden activities manually.
We are well connected to the local community and also to a small network of like-minded projects in the area !
Organic methods: Permaculture techniques, compost, etc. No products are used on the land except those permitted by biological agriculture.
Certifications: Sativa
Type of work: we have mostly built our ecological house (of timber frame and straw bales) and our barn. We may have some light construction/renovation works to do (we plan to build this year an outdoors bread/pizza oven and a solar dehydrator!)
During the autumn, we have less chores in the garden. The olive picking season is in November.
Other things are taking place like harvesting, weeding, taking care of the trees (pruning, watering), care to all the animals, etc. In spring and summer we are more especially busy in the garden!
Please note than some chores can be physical. Working in a farm requires motivation! Summer are hots, but then we don't work in the afternoons.
NB: we work 6 hours / day, 5 days/week.
However our space is a little paradise, and you'll enjoy peace and quiet in the nature during your time off!
Accommodation of our wwoofers can be in our house, in a big shared room. A tiny house is under renovation to welcome more people in the future. We also have a big glamping bell tent for summer (camping is very comfortable here because the air is cool at night time, even when there are hot days) or regular tents - for those who would like to camp !
Our access to internet is limited but if you want high speed connection, there is free wifi in the whole village (10 mn walk), provided by municipality, and also wifi in the cafe where you can sit comfortably.
NB: We accept last minute applications! (sometimes we have to deal with cancellation from our visitors).
We receive our wwoofers preferably for 1 full month. But we also consider shorter-term visits (especially for the olives harvest, in November).
We encourage and prioritise longer-term applications for those who would like to make the real experience of living on a farm and receive a more thorough "training"!
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Horse or donkey farming
Sheep or goat farming
Dairy farming
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Cheesemaking
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Renewable energy production
Methods or systems
Biological pest control
Holistic management
Permaculture
Regenerative agriculture
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
Certified organic
8
Hectares
|
19.8
Acres
Laetitia
Member since 2021
Languages spoken:
English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Response rate: 96%
Response time: typically within 1 day
Guarda
Vila Franca das Naves (train station), Trancoso (bus station), Porto or Lisboa (airports).
Reviews
Alzbeta
Czechia
•
September 2025
I had a wonderful time with Laetitia and her family. From the very beginning I felt truly welcomed and like part of the family. Even though I stayed only for a short time, I learned a lot and really enjoyed helping with the farm tasks. The food and accommodation were great, and I will always keep these memories with me!!
Grace
United States
•
December 2023
We loved our time with Laetitia and Yannick! We learned something new almost every day, and learning about/helping with the olive harvest(s) was especially engaging. We felt very welcomed by the family, and had a great time getting to know them and sharing in their way of life!
Frieda
Germany
•
October 2023
I had a great month on the farm Quinta Estrela do Sul! I got a good insight in living on a farm and the work that comes with it.
That means the work included all kinds of things, like gardening, taking care of the animals and the land. It was never boring because the work would change everyday.
The land is beautiful as well as the surroundings and loved just walking around.
Laetitia, Yannick and Noah were very open und humorous so I felt at home quite easily. Of course I also enjoyed the delicios and healthy food (which was mostly from the garden!) that we cooked together.
I would love to come back some time!
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Alexandra
Netherlands
•
September 2023
This past month was an amazing adventure with amazing people on the farm. The host/family welcomes you with open arms and heart, you directly feel at ease. I learned a lot, such as taking care of plants, growing vegetables, taking care of two unique horses and a lot more… The food was incredible and mostly fresh from the garden. The hours were fixed and respected and the work is diverse and no too physical. There was not much in the town except a cafe and tones of berry trees but the host sometimes bring you to the big town for a market or to the waterfall. I have been gone only one day and I miss it already!
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Wren
United States
•
August 2023
I had a great time at the Quinta, I was there for a month and learned so much. The farm is beautiful and Yannick, Laetitia, and Noa are lovely! The location is very peaceful and very remote but we took weekend trips to other towns and waterfalls! Overall the experience was very positive and healing and I recommend visiting!
Kim
Germany
•
June 2023
I stayed at the Quinta for one month, it was my first wwoofing experience and it was truly amazing! We would start working at 9am-12am and then again from 2pm-5pm. I really enjoyed the work on the farm: I helped with cropping, planting, keeping the garden tidy, cleaning the shed of the chickens, taking care of the medicinal garden, collecting medicinal plants and taking care of the horses. I did know only little about permaculture in general before arriving at the farm, and I was able to learn a lot, which I really enjoyed. Yannick and Laetitia always explain the tasks to you and give clear instructions, which created a nice working atmosphere. Overall, they absolutely welcomed me to their family and made me feel very at home. I also already miss the dogs, cats, chickens, the goat and horses!
I especially enjoyed working with the horses: Krystal and Yuki are both young horses, and at the time I was there, currently in training. Laetitia practises join-ups, the trust technique and rides without a bit, which was all mostly new to me and gave me the chance to learn a lot of new things. Laetitia always explained everything to me and we were able to really advance a lot with the horses, especially in the last two weeks, which was a very rewarding and cool experience. If you are interested in working with horses, the quinta is a great place to do so. I was almost sad I had to leave so soon, so if you are interested in the horses, maybe even try to stay longer than one month!
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