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Join us in a sustainable way of life on a hilly plot of land in Santa Cruz, California, USA

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: at least 2 weeks

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    Spring 2024

    Currently we are looking for help starting in mid April.

    Join us in a sustainable way of life on a hilly plot of land in Santa Cruz, California, USA
    We are two, about 70 years old residents who believe in sharing, in chance meetings and exchange, and love to experience the world as one small village and meet all kinds of Earthlings.
    We have neighboring redwood forest and the San Lorenzo river.
    We like organic, local and sustainable way of life. We try to slow the urban waste downstream. We moved here a few years ago and have plenty of projects like building outdoor structures, also building fences, a rocket stove, tending a few garden beds and some fruit trees, terracing and landscaping. We maintain the wooded area around our place to prevent fires
    We offer you a tent or secluded shed, an outdoor kitchen, an outdoor shower, composting toilet, an internet access, and you can borrow a bike to get around.
    We don't smoke and we host non-smokers. We prefer less meat consumption. We prefer volunteers that are at least 21 years old. We don't allow pets here. We prefer volunteers that come for two weeks period. After two weeks, if you are interested, we will consider the possibility of extending your stay.
    We would like you to become a part of our community while staying here; you have to be willing to be somewhat social, open-minded and compassionate. You will get to share with other people the communal facilities, and we expect you to be considerate and caring. Keep communicating clearly and intentionally about your needs or concerns, and be open to listen to constructive feedback. We expect that you will be tidy and that you clean after yourself and put away tools, dishes, food etc. We wish that you will be respectful to the natural environment which we live in. Most of all, we would like you and us to have a great and meaningful experience together.
    If you apply, please let us know what phone or other direct communications (FB, Skype, WhatsApp, etc) we can use in case we have questions or need to coordinate.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Art Projects
    Help with Eco Projects
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Farmstay help
    General Maintenance
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Santa Cruz is much fun, famous for its progressive and creative atmosphere. Hub of organic farms and local gardens, all forms of local arts and music, social and environmental awareness and activism. Beautiful beaches with wild marine life and the magnificent redwood tree forests. As long as you are here, you will find loads of things to do and to experience.

    While staying with us, we will encourage you to volunteer a few hours during the weekend at Food not Bombs a non profit organization which cooks and serve vegetarian meals to homeless people. You can also volunteer once a week at the compost club in Greybears a recycling hub runs by the local seniors. These are opportunities to experience a social and environmental activism

  • Help

    Help

    Basic carpentry skills are most needed right now. We build mostly with salvaged wood, cob and rocks. We would like to get help to build an outdoor structures. We Also need help to build fences, we need help organizing tools, materials and other useful "junks". We need help tending plants and fruit trees and with landscaping and terracing. The fires season in California is intense especially during drought years. We need help to maintain the trees and brush on our land to prevent the fire from spreading. This includes clearing dead branches and cutting some of the low brush.

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent
    Hebrew: Fluent

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    Secluded shed, with comfortable bed with clean duvet and sheets, composting toilets, a bath house, and an outdoor kitchen with electricity and WiFi. Since the kitchen is an open structure , and can easily get infested by not welcomed wood creatures, we are super careful about keeping the kitchen cleaned and organized. We expect that you will put away the food immediately and will keep all the surfaces cleared, the dishes should be washed, and the cabinet doors should remain closed at all time. We also wish you to recycle and compost. On workdays, we provide the ingredients for breakfast, lunch and supper. Occasionally we have communal meals or a pizza/music night.
    Warm shower is available in the communal bath house
    A laundry machine is available at the main house.
    You will sleep away from our house in a secluded tent or shed. Be ready to be outside in the dark at night, we recommend that you bring a headlamp. Important! We highly recommend that you get informed about Poison Oak and ticks which are common in the woods around us. Poison Oak and ticks can be harmful to you and you need to be aware of how to recognize them, and how to protect yourself from getting hurt by them.

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    Short or long hikes will take you from our house to lovely nature spots. You can borrow our communal bicycles. We are located fifteen minutes bicycle ride to downtown Santa Cruz and the pacific ocean. Website which describes the beautiful Santa Cruz outdoors - hilltromper.com.

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Can host digital nomads

    Can host digital nomads

    Decent wi-fi connection.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    One

  • ...

    Hours expected

    We expect volunteers to work from 9am to 1pm Mon - Fri

Host ref number: 414467475742

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