Help us finish refitting our 33 foot Wauquiez boat in San Blas, Panama

Details

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  Description

  We are Via (me) and Antione. I am from New York and Antoine from France. We bought the boat, Kiwani, with the purpose of creating an eco project- working with local communities and farms and creating content about off grid living. Now we are getting the boat into perfect shape and beginning to build our project! Kiwani is the name the boat was given when we bought it and it means “person who likes to give a helping hand”, which we feel is significant to our project ideas :)
  
  Our project (still in the works!): we want to show people how “cool”, fulfilling, and accessible living off grid is. Our plan is to travel the world, starting with the Caribbean after hurricane season and find farms, eco communities, and local villages to work with. We want to learn all we can about caring from the land, and make content in the form of photo/video/blog post showing our viewers how beautiful and cool the lifestyle is. I just graduated university where I studied environmental science with an emphasis in sustainable agriculture and i am especially interested in farming. Antoine has extensive knowledge about appropriate technologies, which make off grid living way more comfortable. We want to offer our skills to the people we work with and learn from them.
  
  But right now are not focusing much on our project. We are finishing our refit in between Linton Bay and San Blas, looking for help for the next few weeks :)

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We speak english, I speak okay Spanish, and Antoine is fluent in French, Spanish, and english. You can learn to sail! Antoine is captain and has plenty of experience. We are planning on eventually teaching sailing classes as well. You have the opportunity to work with local farms and communities, making things like coconut oil, eco construction, etc! Day to day life on a sailboat teaches you a lot! You’ll have to help out with the boat maintenance, which is a great learning opportunity. Most of all we need volunteers who are fearless! Sailing is sometimes scary and we need people who can handle stressful environments. You will experience the most beautiful sunsets, bioluminescence plankton, diving in corals, dolphin watching, gorgeous beaches, and everything else the sea has to offer.
  
  Now, since we are working on the boat, of course there are less opportunities to sail, haha. Now you could learn a lot about construction, boat maintenance, carpentry, electricity, welding, fiberglass, and much more. You also have plenty of time to explore the city of Cartagena, which is very culturally and historically significant. The old town and Gestemani are beautiful places to walk around and try out street foods.

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  Help

  Hello!
  
  We have been refitting our boat in Cartagena, Colombia for the last 9 months or so. We finally got the boat back in the water last week and are still working to make it a more comfortable home. We are anchored near Cartagena town now and plan to start sailing to the nearby islands soon to relax and continue repairs and cosmetic work. We could use a hand with this! No experience necessary, all that we require is motivation to learn and help! And some help with cooking and cleaning is appreciated as well. The work we have left is mostly cosmetic as well as making the space more comfortable; organizing storage more efficiently; painting the deck; sanding x varnishing wood; installing new batteries; etc. After 9 months of working with fiberglass and fully refitting the whole boat, we are taking it easy now! But being in the water doesn’t mean that we are done with the refit- in fact, we saved plenty of work to do now. Hosting volunteers on board to offer a hand with this work, and to share stories, recipes, and ideas is really valuable to us. We are looking for immediate volunteers now, but we often host people on and off wherever we are, whether it is with our boat, or a farm or community we are working with, so keep in touch on our social media.
  
  We speak English, but are also fluent in Spanish. Antoine speaks French, I do not.
  
  Our boatstagram and youtube- ask us for the link. We might be faster to answer messages there

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent
  French: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  We have a 33 foot Wauquiez. It is surprisingly spacious! The front room is available and completely private from the rest of the boat. We sleep in the main room normally, but the best place to sleep is outside under the stars :)

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  What else ...

  With your time off you could explore all of what Cartagena has to offer- we like to walk around town and enjoy the colorful buildings, fresh fruit, and empanadas. You coud go out dancing if that's what you like!
  
  If we are anchored far from town you can enjoy your free time paddle boarding, free diving or snorkeling around coral reefs, and checking out nearby islands :)

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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?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 3 hours a day, 5 days a week

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