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