We count on people to help keep the place growing, happy and alive. If you think you would be interested in volunteering with us, once you have read this page, please apply to volunteer via our application form.
Option 1: General Farm Help – no money exchanged
Option 2: Permaculture volunteer intern – 100 EUR per week or 300 EUR per month
Option One: General farm & kitchen help and support
This option is now only available to past guests and graduates of our internship program.
- You help support our internships, residents and any courses or workshops that may be taking place, with kitchen help (with guidance from a chef), cleaning & teaching yoga (volunteer yoga teacher only)
- In January and February 2020 it will be more work around Reforestation, gardening & Food Forests
- Daily farm tasks and/or manual labour such as digging, weeding, harvesting food from our food forest, processing food, natural building and cutting firewood
- The work is in exchange for 3 healthy meals a day, yoga classes each week, and you will have the opportunity to learn about all of the systems on the farm including gardening and off-grid living
- You provide your own accommodation or hire a tent/caravan from us. Prices on the application page
Option Two: Permaculture volunteering internships
For those who would like to learn more about permaculture practically and educationally (100 EUR per week or 200 EUR per month)
.Click here for more information on our internships
Fixed start dates in 2020
We accept volunteers all year round. However, we have fixed start dates so that everyone settles together with minimal disruption. This also helps us have more time to give you a tour of the farm and induction to how everything works.
- Reforestation and Forest management Focus: 21st January (full)
- Food Forest and Gardening focus: 25th February, 3rd, 17th & 31st March, 14 & 28th April
- Yoga Retreat hosting focus: 12th & 26th May, 9th & 23rd June
- Natural Building Focus: 7th & 11th August
- Permaculture gardening & food forests: Sept 2020 – April 2021
Want to learn more about permaculture or natural building? Instead, join as an intern
Course discounts
If you stay with us for one month, you will enjoy a 25% discount on our Permaculture design courses or Food Forest courses. You will also enjoy an additional 25% off for an early bird discount (total 50% off)
What is included when you volunteer at our permaculture and yoga farm:
- Healthy organic meals, much of which is from our farm or neighbouring farms
- Get closer to the food you eat
- Learn how to cook
- Onsite yoga/meditation classes
- See permaculture systems in action
- Time to relax, unwind and get back to nature
- Learn new skills in permaculture, natural building, healthy and sustainable living
- 2 days off to relax or visit local places, usually, once per month we spend one of these mornings helping local communities and farms
- Experience being part of a community!
What is required of volunteers?
- Minimum 2 weeks stay
- A positive attitude
- Look after our tools and equipment as if they are your own
- 5 work days
- Cooking on rotation during the week and on weekends
- 5-6 hours per day working
- 1/2 a day volunteering at a local project every month on a Saturday as part of our community help program
- Willing and interest to learn and work hard
- Assisting with community tasks (cooking, cleaning, lighting fires etc)
What does your day look like when volunteering?
These times apply for the weekdays and vary depending on the season
- 8 am Yoga Class or preparing breakfast
- 9 am Breakfast
- 10 am – 11 am working outside or cleaning up breakfast
- 11am – 1pm – preparing lunch
- 2 pm – 4 pm working outside or cleaning up lunch
Prefer to come and do more things relating to permaculture? Then join as an intern for 100 EUR per week or 200 EUR per month
Community Facilities
- Community straw bale house – a large house with a fully functional kitchen, dining room and chill out area, charging stations, a projector for movie nights and free WiFi
- Yoga deck with a view
- Outside hang out areas: stone circle, BBQ area, food forests.
- Long drop vermiculture compost toilet
- Washing machine (1 EUR peruse including organic washing liquid)
- 3 showers: 1 Indoor shower room with wood-fired hot water, 1 outside solar shower open to nature, 1 natural waterfall (cold shower and only during winter and spring)
- 45 acres (18 hectares) of land to walk with many chill-out spots, hammocks and viewpoints
- 2 dogs, 3 cats and 9 chickens to interact with daily 🙂
Local Village
The village is small and quiet and has a cafe with a small convenient shop (with free wifi) and is a 25-minute walk from our farm.
Food
- We are mostly vegetarian, but we can cater for strict vegetarians and vegans if required
- Most of our food is locally sourced directly from various farmers (except some other products which we have to get from abroad)
- We can also cater for most allergies including gluten, lactose etc. Gluten-free products tend to cost slightly more than normal, so we charge EUR 5 extra per week if you would like this option.
Yoga Classes on site
Laura van der Vegt January 29, 2016
Good evening,
I just found the Keela yoga farm on the internet and i am very enthusiastic. My name is Laura, I’m 25 and I am from the Netherlands 🙂
I am looking for a place to volunteer, and where I can practice some yoga. I am free in the month April, so that (part of) month would be ideal. I see the Keela yoga farm is still being build, the project seems amazing! Would there be any volunteering opportunities already :)?
Hope to hear from you!
Kind regards,
Laura
Laurence Manchee February 2, 2016
Hello Laura,
Thank you for your message, unfortunately we wont be ready for volunteers until September 2016 as we haven’t yet bought the land. However we will ourselves volunteering on nearby farms from April, so please stay in touch and maybe you can join us.
All The best
Laurence & Kimberly 🙂
Ilka Pia Claren April 4, 2016
Hello
I love your vision! It is happening all over the planet that wonderful people start permaculture projects! I would love to join you for a while. I am trained in Film and Photography and also I am a passionate natural builder and would love to help you build up the place. I subscribed to the mailinglist so I can get news. I will be in Portugal in June for an intensive building workshop, would be great to visit you after, maybe until then you will have started your project!
All the best from germany!
Ilka Pia
Laurence Manchee April 25, 2016
Thanks for your message, we hope you can join us next year with some building. We will be building so many cool stuff that we have been planning and designing and we have a sustainable architect who is amazing to lead the projects. I will be adding her info to the site this week.
Speak soon,
Laurence & Kimberly
Vanessa Pinto April 6, 2016
Hi Keila!!!
I’m a Portuguese biologist and yoga teacher wishing to join a growing and amazing idea like yours. So if you need volunteer, help or any support, just contact me by e-mail!
Wish you the best,
Vanessa
Laurence Manchee April 25, 2016
Ola Vanessa,
We would really love to have you. We will contact you once we have the land and plan.
Obrigardo
Laurence 🙂
Isabela April 8, 2016
Hello Laurence & Kimberly,
I’m so glad I have found your blog and your Keela Yoga Farm Projects.
My name is Isabela, i’m 34 years old Portuguese born in Brazil. I have been working onboard cruise ships for the past 5 years and now adjusting back to a natural way of life in land.
I would love to volunteer and contribute in your Project after September. Also as i’m available now in April and May I would contribute in similar projects you may know.
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Best wishes,
Isabela
Laurence Manchee April 25, 2016
Ola Isabela
Thank you so much for your message. We would love to have you. Please stay in touch. As for volunteering this year, there are many wonderful families that host people on woofing Portugal. Otherwise please join our Facebook and mailing list, we will be posting about places that are good for volunteering over the coming weeks.
Please stay in touch
Obrigardo
Linda August 24, 2016
Hey you dear people,
We are three people, from Israel and Germany, currently travelling through Portugal to check out about ecovillages and communties as we plan to make this possibly a new home for us,too. We would be very inteested to volunteer with you for some days or weeks as your land and the vision you share sound beatiful and on the nerve of time.How is your plan about opening up for volunteers from September on going?
Could be get in touch with u? Currently we only have a german phone number, but email woukd just be as fine.
We would love to hear from you, and until then, all thebest for your retreats and workshops abroad and in Portugal!!
Linda
Laurence Manchee August 24, 2016
Hi Linda, please do stay in touch, we are just waiting on legal documents for the land purchase to go through. If you join the mailing list we will shoot a mail out once everthing is sorted. Thanks Laurence
Linda August 24, 2016
Ok, here igo fkr ghemaiking list☺all thebestwith thelegal issues
Camila Rueda August 28, 2016
Hello, my name is Camila, I am 22 years old and I am stuying ecology and environmental protection in Berlin. I practice yoga since 2 years and I found this place, and would love to enjoy some weeks with you at this community. I would love to join Keela Farm as a volunteer in September or October. I want to do something different but ofcourse traveling and meeting new people, and learning new things in my vacations before I start again with my studies. This seems like a new experience for me and I want to share with you. Let me know if there are some places available.
best wishes
Camila
Laurence Manchee August 29, 2016
Hi Camila – thank you for your message. Please do join our mailing list and we will let you know if we open for volunteers that soon. We are still finalizing documentation for the land purchase.
Grace September 11, 2016
Hello my name is Grace. I am 27 years years old Irish girl. My partner Ruben and I live in Cork Ireland at present. We are so glad we have found your blog and your Keela Yoga Farm Projects. We will start our six months travel of Portugal in February next. Our main focus is to experience a new way of living, experience a life more connected with nature surrounded by likeminded people and to learn how to live sustainably. Ruben is Portuguese and I am learning the language. We had a great pull to contact you because Ruben and I want to learn more about permaculture. I trained in Kundalini yoga last year and I am a Shaman of the Peruvian practice for six years now. We would love to volunteer and contribute in your Project.
Hope to hear from soon,
Best wishes,
Ruben and Grace 🙂
Laurence Manchee September 18, 2016
Sounds great, please join the mailing list on the site for an update on volunteering opportunities for next year. Thanks
Frank October 29, 2016
I signed up for the mailing list and am anxious to learn more! I’m thinking of moving to Portugal on a residency visa, and I’d like to go somewhere near a project like this where I can do some unofficial/volunteer work to keep busy in my spare time and learn about permaculture and alternative building. Best wishes!
Anat June 28, 2017
Hello my name is Anat, Im a graphic designer from the US who just finished a permaculture course in Israel and am super passionate about natural building. I was curious if you have any building projects coming up. I will be in Portugal in September and would love to help in any way 🙂 congratulations on all your success and look forward to hearing from you, Thank you!
Laurence Manchee July 3, 2017
Hi yes we do but we have set start dates. im sept they are 7th or 20th. please could you fill out an application form on the website. regards Laurence
Evans Mangwende October 29, 2018
Iam a Zimbabwean and founder at Mangwende Orphan Care Trust. The Trust’s thrust is in assisting orphans and vulnerable children by establishing friendly projects that alleviate their economic and nutritional standing. We have been running a supplementary feeding programme for orphans and vulnerable children for the past 3 years and have been farming to feed them. I have acquired land which is more than 10 hectares and I want to turn the land into an ecovillage/Permaculture academy. I need hands-on training, to be mentored and to connect with others who share the same vision.