Help in Nature and charming location near Lisbon

Hello, my name is Antonio. I operate and live on a forest farm that cultivates cork trees and pine trees for the production of pine nuts. Our forest is a certified organic farm. We have two full-time employees who live on site, plus three others who live in the nearby town of Coruche. We have one horse and one dog.

We are a certified forestry farm. We plant and prune trees in our large forest. We host some events in our home facilities. Volunteers can access our forests and lakes, enjoy the hiking trails and swimming pool, and get to know our staff and the local way of living and culture.

Location (city/town, region, country)

📍 Coruche, Portugal.

We are in the countryside, about one hour from Lisbon, surrounded by nature and close to town.

What are you looking for help with?

• Building
• Cleaning
• Farming/Gardening
• General Help
• Hospitality (hostel/guesthouse)

No previous experience or particular skills are required. We welcome adult volunteers of all nationalities and backgrounds. We teach and guide our volunteers through all activities. What matters most is a positive attitude, curiosity, willingness to learn and enthusiasm for outdoor life.

How many hours of help per day?

We work 4 hours a day, 6 days a week, or 5 hours a day, 5 days a week, depending on volunteers’ preference and work schedule.

Activities include planting trees in the forest, pruning young trees, grafting young pine trees, and working in our orchard and garden.

We work mornings, have lunch and take the rest of the day off.

When do you usually need volunteers?

All year round.

Please note that during the summer months we do not do any forest work due to high temperatures, with the exception of a cork harvest year. Cork is usually harvested during part of June, July and August.

Planting and pruning of trees takes place in the fall, winter and spring.

During the summer months we work in our orchard and nearby grounds, doing maintenance of the drip irrigation system, weeding, pruning, etc.

Volunteers age restrictions

• 18+ only (required)

Volunteers with disabilities

Not at the moment.

How many volunteers could you host?

• Up to 10 volunteers.

Are accommodation and food included?

Yes, food and accommodation are included.

We supply all the food and cook two full meals, lunch and supper. Volunteers prepare their own breakfast in their own kitchen at the volunteers’ house.

We eat lunch together with our staff in the common dining room.

We have a resident cook and can accommodate vegetarians.

What type of accommodation can you provide?

Volunteers have their own house with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a full kitchen and a living room/dining room.

• Dormitory/shared rooms
• Private room for a couple

There is reliable Wi-Fi in the volunteers’ house.

Volunteers also have access to our trails, swimming pool and lakes.

Fee transparency

No fee.

Visa support

No, volunteers must arrange visas independently.

What are the available activities during free time?

I enjoy playing football and playing music. We have two lakes we use for swimming and a yoga platform. The forest offers great trails for jogging and hiking.

Coruche, the nearby town, has all the amenities, such as supermarkets, restaurants, a health clinic, several doctors’ offices and dentists, as well as banks and ATMs.

It is right on a beautiful river. The old part of Coruche has character and is worth a visit.

Santarém, the nearest city, is 30 minutes away and you can reach it by bus, as we have a bus stop right at our driveway entrance.

Languages spoken on site

• Portuguese
• English
• Spanish
• French

How to get to your site

There are several buses a day from Lisbon to Coruche. I will give you exact, detailed instructions on how to get here.

To get from Lisbon Airport to Coruche, you can take the metro, a taxi or a bus to Campo Grande. From there, you can catch the 901 bus to Coruche.

Some buses also stop at Lisbon Airport. Please check the bus schedules, as not all buses stop at the airport and some journeys may require changing buses.

For bus schedules, download the MyRibatejana app.

Once in Coruche, let us know and we will pick you up if we are not extremely busy. There are also taxis you can take if needed. We are only five minutes away from Coruche.

If you are driving, in Coruche look for the road to Santarém. Look for a sign on a large tree that clearly says Herdade da Agolada de Cima, about 5 km from Coruche. We are 250 metres down that road.

Volunteering is a wonderful concept. We want volunteers to have a memorable experience. For a lot of people, it is their first volunteering experience, so we ease them into the tasks and give them some time to adjust.

We know that communication and mutual respect between hosts, staff and volunteers are the key to success, so we make it easy for volunteers to voice their concerns at all times.

We like to think of ourselves as open-minded and flexible. Volunteers, if they wish, can leave at any time without notice and with no questions asked on our part. The same thing works for hosts.

This freedom is crucial so that volunteers and hosts never feel stuck or obliged to justify departures.

We encourage socialising between volunteers, staff and ourselves as hosts.