Volunteering | Moinhos do Dão - Eco Quinta

Newsletter Winter 2022

Freya van Dien — Wed, 26 Jan 2022 07:56:58 +0000

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Tree Fund Success!

Freya van Dien — Wed, 10 Nov 2021 21:07:21 +0000

Dear Friends of the MdD,
We want to inform you that our "mini" Tree Fund Campaign has been a great success! We have reached our goal, and actually more (!!!), by receiving some donations outside of the GoFundMe system. We wish to thank you, all those that donated, and all those that shared our message—YOU made it happen! And now, we are ordering the trees, and while waiting, preparing even more areas for a planting blitz before the end of November (which should be the perfect time to get those saplings in the ground, ready for winter, ready to grow those roots, and "take hold" by next years summer hotness).
Again, muito obrigado, and we hope you'll keep an eye on our Micro Reserve Project in the future...you don't want to miss out on seeing those trees grow up!!

- Freya, Steve, Lea, Sophia, Nicole.

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Lisa’s story – Micro Reserve

Freya van Dien — Sun, 14 Mar 2021 16:21:01 +0000

As part of my studies “International Forest Ecosystem Management” I spent three months at the Moinhos do Dão, focusing on the forest restoration work in the Micro Reserve.

Its been a great learning experience to spend that much time on this hill. Getting to know the soil, the plants, the heat and drought in summer, as well as the heavy rains and frosty nights in autumn. And with all these impressions, trying to envision a transformation into a more resilient and diverse ecosystem. Trying to find the role that we as humans can play in supporting the change. It’s been a gift to hear about the experiences that Freya and Steven made in the last years, to learn about their methods and to evolve new ones together. There is lots of space for new ideas and suggestions!

After many hours of pullerbearing, bramble-removing, mulching, seeding and planting, it’s amazing to see how the land has changed. From a non-accessible hill that is covered with tall broom to a rocky landscape with little paths that I love to walk on. Amazed by all the life that is found under that layer of broom: Saplings and larger trees of endemic oak species, strawberry trees, pines, hawthorns, an olive tree, native blooming shrubs and wild roses. Seeing these plants is what kept me going during the work. What gave me patience to dig up one bramble after the other, and perseverance in fighting with broom in the heat. Sometimes it felt quite destructive to pull out so many plants by their root, burning them, basically clear-cutting an area. To see these trees and saplings that are there already, and that now have light and space to grow tall, to spread their own seeds and to eventually form a self-regulated forest ecosystem that provides habitat for many more species. Seeing how easily broom and brambles catch and spread fire made it more understandable why we burn some of the woody material.

I loved to walk through the surrounding forests, collecting acorns and little trees to transplant them. It feels good to give something back to the soil, to plant something into each hole that we create.

A beautiful experience was to spend a full moon night on the hill together with Mary Ellen and Rory. To wake up on that hill and spend a day there without doing anything but observing and enjoying what is there and what has changed the last weeks. Realizing again the beauty of this place and dreaming of the forest that might establish here in future.

I hope there will be many more people to come and learn from and with this beautiful hill!

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Summer Newsletter 2020

Freya van Dien — Fri, 17 Jul 2020 15:11:11 +0000

The post Summer Newsletter 2020 first appeared on Moinhos do Dão - Eco Quinta.

Fire Prevention Campaign Newsletter

Freya van Dien — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 11:48:31 +0000

The post Fire Prevention Campaign Newsletter first appeared on Moinhos do Dão - Eco Quinta.

Sharing the experience with dedicated and kind volunteers.

Freya van Dien — Fri, 14 Sep 2018 11:37:46 +0000

The year 2018 has brought so many kind volunteers to be part of the quinta for a while. It was an all round uplifting experience and confirmed once again that sharing the experience with a variety of people enriches and deepens the experience. We are thankful: Britta, Lena, Lily, Marcel, Raffa, Olivia, Liedewij, the family van Dien, Bionic Piet, and the many others that helped the MdD thrive.

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Spring buzzziness & another great experience working with volunteers.

Freya van Dien — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 14:56:54 +0000

This year is something else! Last year it was just warm and dry between February and October. Now we are getting it all: sun, rain, wind, warm, cold. Really starting to sound like a ‘farmer’ talking about the weather all the time. That’s just what happens when living so integrated with nature. We are surely feeling the spring energy ramping up and we are trying to keep up with all the seasonal changes going on. Today (April 12th) we are bracing for a storm that’s on the way and might dump 6 cm of rain in 4 days……. fingers crossed!

In the last three weeks we unexpectedly had some great help from two volunteers Aline and Duarte who contacted us through HelpX. The collaboration with them was really fluid and fun and together we got so many things done it felt like they were here for much longer than 3 weeks!

Just to enjoy and remember all the work that was done:
– Woodchipping a LARGE quantity of piles of sticks we had been saving up.
– Garden path and bed building.
– Wood management.
– Clearing out basements.
– Dogbed sowing.
– Old apple crate cleaning and sanding.
– Seeding and planting.
– Clearing pieces of our new terrain on the other side of the Dão.
– Plastics and trash removal from ‘The Island’, left by the high river of early January.
– Mimosa removal.

WOW!!!!! Thanks Aline and Duarte!

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CuidaDão – River Cleaning Activity NEW DATE

Info at MdD — Mon, 15 Feb 2016 18:15:55 +0000

Floods = trash on the river banks.
Let’s keep our land and oceans clean.
Let’s clean up the Dão river!
Join with friends and family!
Call 933956630 to subscribe.Details of cleaning:

River side: Fornos de Maceira Dão, Mangualde
February 20 10:00 – 13:00
Meeting & parking at granite cross by the Monastery of Maceira Dão. GPS: 40.616061, -7.829003
Equipment: boots, gloves and appropriate clothing.
Lunch: Stone Soup and Sausages with Broa.
Registration until the 18th.

River side: Fragosela, Viseu
March 13 from 10:00 till 14:00 (incl. lunch)
Meeting & Parking at Quinta. the Sernadinha – Leisure Zone. GPS: 40.615566, -7.848661
Equipment: boots, gloves and appropriate clothing.
Lunch: Rancho Viseu style.
Registration until the 11th.

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Seeking Volunteers for 2016 Season

Info at MdD — Tue, 13 Oct 2015 16:15:42 +0000

We are looking for a volunteer(s) for the months of:
April through September, 2016

In this year, we are looking for volunteer(s) with experience and/or interest-to-learn in the following:

– New forestry projects. This year, we will put some major focus of our time into clearing land nearby the MdD for fire protection, but more importantly, to establish a more indigenous plant and tree landscape, one that we can view from the MdD, and hopefully, our visitors to the MdD can walk through. This will involve light clearing of plant and tree matter, creating swales for existing trees, planting and swales for new trees, path building, and removal of invasive species. It’s real “outdoor” work in this Forest Reserve zone of the MdD.

– The floods of early 2016 have really reshaped the landscape of the MdD, the island in the river and more. Not only were we gifted a new beach on the MdD, but there is quite a “forest” of drift wood, trees and whatnot all tangled around the river’s edge. We will be harvesting this wood and taking tally of what needs to be felled or arranged for keeping the river good flowing and to prevent any further erosion. So some tree removal and tree replacement, landscaping, erosion prevention and water-way management, and wood prep, are all part of the program.

– General grounds-keeping (mowing, weeding, wood chopping)

– Horta (vegetable garden) maintenance and/or canning/storing of produce (only in August – September). Our horta will be doubled from the previous year, and although it is rather small but just enough for us, it will involve an added level of care and management.

– Communal cooking and light guest services

– General maintenance (cleaning, painting, fixing things around the terrain)

– Relocating a cabin (dismantling, moving, rebuilding

See a Gallery of Images of Volunteering on the MdD

In 2016 we will be expanding our food producing gardens, work on upgrades in our solar and hydro-power systems and do ongoing building and landscape maintenance. For the spring and fall months we are looking for volunteers who can work in our vegetable garden, assist with general terrain and facilities maintenance, and random projects. For the summer months of July and August we are looking for volunteers with the skills mentioned above and/or with experience in cooking, restaurant and bar services, and guest services.

MdD is a living/working community in which everyone participates in the cooking, cleaning and care of the community. Being at the MdD is about learning skills and ways of living on the land, in a responsible relationship with nature. We have made efforts to include permaculture practices into our life here on the Moinhos do Dão, and to be good stewards of the land under our feet, and that surrounds us in this valley, and in the region.

What we ask and offer for Volunteers: 5 days per week working on the MdD (average of 6–7 hours per day); private living quarters in a cabana (cabin) on our terrain during the stay; communal breakfast, lunch and dinner for 5 days a week (working days); 2 days of the week are considered Leisure Days for the volunteers (and us as well). We prefer volunteers coming to the MdD for a minimum of 3 weeks.

Please send us a small biography of your background (including age, education and country of citizenship/origin) and interests.

Get more information about our Volunteer Program at this link on the WWOOF network.

-Freya & Steven

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