Join our small family farm in the cloud forests of San Ignacio, El Salvador

Details

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  Description

  Our small family farm in the mountains of northern El Salvador is a humble attempt to discover ways to live closer to the land and to our local community. We have had the privilege to learn from indigenous communities and other rooted, agrarian peoples from around Central America, and the development of our farm is motivated by the ethics of indigenous rootedness to territory.
  
  We also run a small eco-tourism business where we rent out cabins to mostly local tourists from the urban areas of El Salvador.
  
  For 2026-2027, the focus of our volunteer program will be the following:
  
  1) FARMING: We manage three pieces of land, and there is always ongoing work where we grow peaches, chachafruto, macadamia nuts, coffee, malanga, a variety of vegetables and beans, and also raise sheep, geese, rabbits, and chickens. We process the majority of our production into ferments, conserves, and other products both for our own consumption and for local sale, and depending on the season, there may be work for people interested in those issues of food preservation. There are also always daily farm chores to do, and we enjoy hosting people interested in permaculture, agro-forestry, sustainable land management, etc.
  
  2) BUILDING: There may be opportunities to do some natural construction as we work on building a small store/roadside stand for our farm products. We focus on earthen building techniques such as wattle and daub.
  
  3) HOUSE SITTING: We generally travel to visit family for 2 weeks in January-February, and 2 weeks in September. We look for volunteers to look after our home and the farm animals while we are away during that time.
  
  We are located at about 2,100 meters (about 7,000 feet) on the slopes of Cerro El Pital, El Salvador´s highest mountain. The climate is pleasantly cool in the evenings and warm during the days with an average temperature of 10-20 degrees C, though it can get considerably cooler and windy during December-Feburary. We are not a tropical climate, and if the cold weather inconveniences you, this is probably not a good place for you to visit.
  
  Due to a few unfortunate encounters with volunteers over the past couple of years, we feel it necessary to mention that we are NOT able to host volunteers who simply are looking for free lodging or free meals. If you´re not sincerely interested in the type of work described above, please don´t contact us as we are NOT a volunteer option for people only looking to offer minimal work in exchange for free lodging.
  
  In terms of accommodation, we offer shared, lodging in one of our earthen/wood cabins, though you may have to change cabins during your stay depending on rentals. We also offer home-cooked breakfast and lunch from Monday-Friday. We are not a "professional" hotel or hostel, and ask all our volunteers to participate in the shared activity of preparing meals with our family. You will have access to a small kitchen for cooking dinners and meals on the weekend.
  
  We also do not have Wi-fi on our farm. Volunteers can purchase a TIGO OR CLARO SIM card in town ($1) and have access to decent internet on the farm through their own phones or computers.
  
  Lastly, we are always open to hosting the right volunteer for longer periods of time through a type of apprenticeship program on the farm. Ideally, we are looking for people interested in permaculture/agroecology/natural farming who would be willing to come and work with us for 3 months or so.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Light gardening

  Creative DIY projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  What's this?
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We live in a very small, rural community near the El Pital mountain, El Salvador´s highest mountain. If you want to learn about permaculture, sustainable livelihoods, and organic farming, this is what we do.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  Though we appreciate the effort volunteers offer on the farm, we feel it is important to mention that this volunteer opportunity is more oriented towards people who are interested in learning about permaculture, agro-ecology, and natural building.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  My children are interested in learning French as a third language.
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  Accommodation

  We have four small cob cabins already constructed that we offer to volunteers.

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  What else ...

  There are several places to hike in the region.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  My animals / pets

  sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens

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