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Host is looking for help immediately
Host rating
80 %
Last replied
21 Apr 2024
Reply rate
90.0 %
Usually responds within 5 days
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Details
Description
We are looking for helpers to look after the ranch on their own for 2 weeks whilst we are away at the beginning of June. Also we are looking for help for our busy season during winter from the end of June until Sept. Make sure to read the whole profile before writing to us.
For the summer we look for volunteers with some experience handling horses. We can make exceptions. Also, we now have WiFi at our home, and there is some limited phone signal, so can hopefully reply to your messages a bit faster.
We are not a typical workaway, we hope for our volunteers to work hard alongside us- we live in the middle of the mountains, 50km from the nearest town, without internet and we use solar panels and take water straight from a stream. You must have some experience working with animals and lots of common sense. We have 40 huskies and 10 horses, the huskies are cared for and fed everyday all year round. We have the horses around the house for just 6 months of the year (summer Nov until end of April. There are four guests cabins and we ask the volunteers to help clean and maintain them. The way we live is not conventional, thus you should come with an open mind, not restricted to the normal 'work hours' experienced in Europe/USA.
The weather can be unpredictable, such is life in the mountains. You must speak some Spanish and English and the minimum stay is two months (we prefer 3), but the first month is a 'test/probation' and if you are happy, and we are happy, then we will extend! Please, no vegans. For us to go to the supermarket, we cover 100km for the round trip, so you must be fairly comfortable and easy going on the food front.
The property is located in Pino Hachado in the province of Neuquén, Argentina, in the middle of the cordillera de los Andes mountains surrounded by unique Araucaria forests. It is close to the international border of Chile (3km) and 50km from the next town Las Lajas.
We are a small tourist company here in Northern Patagonia, and we offer to tourists horse riding trips (summer) and husky sled tours (winter), as well as outdoors activities such as hiking, climbing and snow shoe walking.
I myself am originally from Buenos Aires but have lived in this wonderful place for over 20 years. I built everything myself, the house, cabins etc. I have two adult sons who live in Buenos Aires and the local town.
I have been welcoming volunteers for years and enjoy the exchange and appreciate workawayers who work hard and take initiative and responsibility. We are not parents who will treat you like children, we expect helpers to be adults and they should be ready to adapt to our lifestyle.
If you are interested, please send me a message.
ThanksTypes of help and learning opportunities
DIY and building projectsAnimal CareFarmstay helpCreating/ Cooking family mealsHelp around the houseHospitality/TourismGeneral MaintenanceCultural exchange and learning opportunities
You will see how to live disconnected from the materialistic world and you will learn for yourselves how to interact with such a quantity of dogs, feed them and work with the huskies in the winter. We use fires for heating so lots of wood cutting and safe fires to be made! The keener and the harder working volunteers get far more out of this experience than lazy people. We have no place for people sitting on the sofa playing games on the phones!! We are not a family, we will not treat you like children. We like responsible volunteers who also are able to understand that we run a business, we are not hippies. We work two high seasons Dec-end of March, mid June - Oct. Outside of those months we do not earn money, we find time to relax, fix things, specific projects, train the animals and even take a holiday when possible!
Help
As a volunteer you will take care of the huskies all year round and the horses during the summer. Help also includes cleaning the cabins after the guests have left and preparing them before guests arrive.
The volunteers look after the ranch and animals whilst we are away on horserides. Please be aware that we are not a riding school for volunteers. During our high season the horses work very hard taking guests on several day horserides, and between the rides the horses must rest.
It is important to us that you enjoy interacting with different people and guests and that you are a motivated and enthusiatic person. I expect „workawayers“ to be highly committed, responsible, good team players as well as to be able to work independently. You should be outdoor proofed, like the wilderness and not mind getting wet and dirty. If you have special skills like building, construction,....even better. There is always firewood to be cut, gathered and stored and we light fires in the house on a daily basis for cooking, heating, and showers.
We prefer volunteers to be older than 25 years and with previous experience volunteering.
Experience handling horses during the summer is necessary.
Besides the help, you surely will have the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful nature, go hiking in the mountains, do horse riding (when the horses are available), husky training or snow shoe walking in winter. You will be able to improve your Spanish and learn more about gauchos (arg. cowboys) and mushing (sled dog sports).
I like to watch good rugby and soccer games, to share mate tea and to have delicious argentinian asados.Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Italian: IntermediateAccommodation
You live in a small, simply, rustic cabin next to the main house with its own toilet, shower (heated by fire) and wood stove. This is your place to sleep, relax, read etc.
The main kitchen is in the main house where we eat lunch and dinner together.What else ...
There is now phone signal in my place. It doesn't work all the time, but there is Claro, Movistar and Personal in the area. I will try to reply as soon as possible, but please be patient because sometimes we are out in the mountains with limited signall we are hoping to install sat Internet soon
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
Starlink
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, 5 days a week
Feedback (24)
We where there at the end of winter season, so there where no horses. Our main job was taking care of the dogs. And they are all so friendly, so after 7 weeks it was really hard to say goodbye to all of the 39 dogs (included the one house cat). When there was snow one of the tasks was helping to make a track with the… read more
All of the cabins are so impressive in the way that everything has been hand made and we soon felt at home in the cozy volunteer house which we had to ourselves for 1 month and then shared with another volunteer… read more
Disappointing and unreliable.
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(4.9)
Cultural exchange:
(4.8)
Communication:
(4.6)
We where there at the end of winter season, so there where no horses. Our main job was taking care of the dogs. And they are all so friendly, so after 7 weeks it was really hard to say goodbye to all of the 39 dogs (included the one house cat). When there was snow one of the tasks was helping to make a track with the… read more
All of the cabins are so impressive in the way that everything has been hand made and we soon felt at home in the cozy volunteer house which we had to ourselves for 1 month and then shared with another volunteer… read more
Disappointing and unreliable.
Sólo puedo recomendar este workaway. Hernán y Tilly son geniales, el lugar es mágico y los animales también.
Muchísimas gracias por esta página de mí viaje en argentina que nunca olvidaré.
Taking care of the dogs, horses, cats and pig has been a really rewarding job. They need cleaning, food and love everyday. In a place like this there… read more
Linda has a natural aptitude with people and is 100% reliable. She was fun to live with and… read more
The work there is exactly as described and when you are a little bit open minded Tilly and Hernan will show you their way of life.
I really enjoyed staying at their place! Especially living without WiFi. Learn how… read more
From the online description of the work I had envisaged it would be a real teamwork event but there was a bit of a divide between us (myself and the other… read more
This place is incredible, you'll have the opportunity to learn lots of different stuff regarding animal care, tourism and rural life. Hernan is a great host (he definitely has a soft spot… read more
I hope see you again and all crazy team!!! Good luck!
This job can also be very tough - think about the following before you come here: isolated area, staying… read more
If you like to live primitively, love dogs, caring for them (cleaning kennels, playing with them, exercising them), and living in a remote place away from the internet (which is difficult to find these days) then you'll love Pino Hachado. Living together, cooking together and… read more
they like a suizo wach!! perfect!! gracias, y hasta el proximo asadoooo!!