Profile information
Host rating
80 %
Last replied
4 Mar 2024
Reply rate
60.0 %
Usually responds within 16 days
Feedback
18
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Email verified
Badges (3)
Details
Description
Welcome to our fundo ! Thank you for your interest in being a volunteer with us. The farm (fundo) is 1000ha of which half is beech forest and the rest is rolling to hilly pasture. We run about 1000 sheep (Corridale and Multi Purpose Merino) and 200 cattle (depending on the time of year)
We are available to show and explain all aspects of Holistic Management, from the Holistic Context and Grazing Planning through to the practicalities of electric fencing and stock movements.
Who are we? We are a family starting out on our own farming adventure, a husband and wife team. Jose Manuel is a trained veterinarian who specializes in ovine production and reproduction through his business in Punta Arenas . Elizabeth is originally from New Zealand with a background in dairy farming. Together we purchased our fundo in 2013.
Jose Manuel has two kids, Jose Ignacio (18) and Magdalena (16) who join us on the farm during school holidays. We also have a daughter, Sara (7) and Benjamin who was born at Christmas 2017.
This year we are up scaling our horticultural production growing vegetables and selling (mostly) salad vegetables and strawberries to restaurants and lodges in Coyhaique. We also sell to families who appreciate the sustainable, chemical free, style of production.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Babysitting and creative play
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
Hospitality/Tourism
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We work with Holistic Management and are happy to share with you our experiences. We are also learning about Permaculture and implementing some of these concepts.
We like to do things as naturally as possible and our diet is loosely based on the concepts of the Weston A Price Foundation.
Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
Plans change from day to day, but you might be asked to help in any of the following!
•. Taking care of 500 laying hens, feeding, cleaning, collecting and packing eggs
• Cutting, washing and preparing vegetable for sale
• Weeding, seeding or transplanting in the greenhouses or garden
• Preparing for and attending tourists/visitors (cleaning, preparing breakfasts, washing dishes, changing sheets etc)
• Delivery of products to clients
• Stacking and chopping firewood
• Moving mobs of animals on foot or horseback
• Preparing meals, washing dishes or helping in the farm house
• Seasonal work such as shearing, lamb marking, artificial insemination of the sheep, weighing cattle etc
You do not need to have experience in any of these areas – only a willingness to learn and work hard!
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: FluentThis host offers a language exchange
I am a native English speaker (from New Zealand) and also speak Spanish, so am happy to share these languages during our day-to-day interactions!
Accommodation
Depending on the time of year and availability you might stay in a tent, a small room in the sheep shed or a rustic hut.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (15)
I stayed at the beautiful fundo for about 7 weeks and it was a beautiful experience. The work varies a lot from day to day, the hours can be long but because everybody is working towards a collective goal it doesn't feel like long hours. The days just kind of run by before your very eyes… read more
I left feeling both like I'd made new friends (with the other volunteers) and like I'd made new family members with Lizzie, Jose, and the kids.
The work can be intense some days, but you are rewarded with good food and snacks.
They have really cute dogs and cats on the farm, and the property goes all the way down into… read more
I've learned lots of new things about the farm life in general and the work on a farm, met interesting new people, became friends with them and moreover I experienced real chilean culture, which is really interesting!
Actually we had a timetable for the day but often things changed thats why the… read more
Feedback
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(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
I stayed at the beautiful fundo for about 7 weeks and it was a beautiful experience. The work varies a lot from day to day, the hours can be long but because everybody is working towards a collective goal it doesn't feel like long hours. The days just kind of run by before your very eyes… read more
I left feeling both like I'd made new friends (with the other volunteers) and like I'd made new family members with Lizzie, Jose, and the kids.
The work can be intense some days, but you are rewarded with good food and snacks.
They have really cute dogs and cats on the farm, and the property goes all the way down into… read more
I've learned lots of new things about the farm life in general and the work on a farm, met interesting new people, became friends with them and moreover I experienced real chilean culture, which is really interesting!
Actually we had a timetable for the day but often things changed thats why the… read more
We slept in rather rustic cabins so do not expect lots… read more
They both adapted extremely well to life on the farm and were a great help in every task we asked of them.
Kenneth took responsibility of the 800 hens and Karolien is a domestic goddess! We all ate extremely well thanks to her newfound culinary skills (We miss you "Martha"!)
We wish you both all the… read more
Why?
Well, very simple: beautiful nature around you, being outside all the time, learn a lot, fun animals to work with, great food...
But the most important thing are the people. Because you are a little bit far away from civilization (the fundo is half an hour drive from Coyhaique and there is almost… read more
But finally thanks to Lizzie who has always a solution, I found my place (in the kitchen haha ;) )
More seriously i learnt so much: about the farm, making jam, be creative with recipes ;) ,spanish, english and about myself. This experience taught me how to be more resourceful.
Lizzie… read more
Thank you for the horse riding and the good vibes. Hope to see you soon !
He is very mature in his attitude and ability to take on complex tasks; design, plan and build. His abilities were notable and of great help in getting our free range hen system up and running effectively.
Leland was a pleasure to have around the house and as part of the… read more
Apart from these skills they put their hand to everything we asking of them, from weeding a very overgrown greenhouse to helping care for 900 hens.
We wish them all the very best for… read more
