Organic farming and building on a serene property in the hills of San Vito, south Costa Rica

Details

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  Description

  Hello, we are Colin and Tiffany from the U.S., who are now full time residers in rural Costa Rica. We are a newly married couple that shares an interest in being self-reliant.  This interest was so strong that it brought us to Central America, where we now own 17 acres of land.  We are dedicated to caring for (Mālama) this land and the waters as best as we can, while also growing the majority of our own food.  We are interested in learning the way of the locals and indigenous of this area as well as incorporating aspects of permaculture, incorporating some natural building, and organic gardening. We currently have 2 locals that work for us in construction and land maintenance.
  
  Colin is in his 40's and has lived in many states in the U.S. plus other countries, including a remote indigenous area of Venezuela and close to a year in Botswana. He most recently lived in an aspiring ecovillage in Oregon for 11 years. He has organized permaculture courses and speaks Spanish pretty well. He's a fan of hiking and dark chocolate.
  
  Tiffany is in her 40's and has spent the majority of her adult live as a digital nomad. She has lived in many U.S. states, most recently Hawaii, and has been working towards being a homesteader and organic farmer for some time. She is into crystals, holistic health, healing, and is a certified Plant Based Chef. Her Spanish is coming along but needs lots of growth and work.
  
  We live in an area called San Vito which is majestic and picturesque even on the most rainy of days. We are 5 hours away from SJO and 40 minutes from the Panamanian border. We intentionally chose this area to live in because there is not a large concentration of expats. We wanted as much of a local experience as possible, so we could learn the way of those that came before us as well as get stronger at speaking Spanish.
  
  Currently we are working on setting up our property to be a homestead for us as well as a health farm for future guests to stay with us. This means scaling up to grow the majority of our own food. We have a few garden spaces going, lots of fruit trees (with more to come), chickens for eggs, and soon will be adding animals for milk and land maintenance. We have a small coffee production going as well.
  
  This area has great weather year round, it feels like perpetual Spring, and it is very quiet and peaceful with kind and welcoming neighbors. We are one of the last houses before our road ends at the river.
  
  Walking through the neighborhood is great for sights, getting to meet the neighbors, and for fitness.
  
  The greatest activity here is to be present and enjoy the peacefulness.
  
  We are able to accommodate digital nomads. We do not have wifi that is available in the A-frame but we have shared dining room area you can work in. We have been told that Claro cell service works in the A Frame.
  
  *In the month of April we will be welcoming a bamboo building pro here to begin construction on our community center. If learning to work with bamboo is of interest to you then this is a good opportunity.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet
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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

  This is an all Tico neighborhood. Its a great opportunity to practice your Spanish and to learn from the knowledge of our neighbors. On our property you will learn new things about organic and permaculture farming or have an opportunity to put your skills to use. This area of Costa Rica is peaceful and beautiful which is good restoration for an overworked soul.

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  Help

  We seek assistance for our construction man, land/farm work, cooking, cleaning, and doggy tending. Big bonus points for a professional massage therapist, too. :) The more skills the better, like previous construction projects, horticulture in the tropics, calm communication, and Spanish ability.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Intermediate

  This host offers a language exchange
  We are interested in sharing what we can about English and learning more Spanish.
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  Accommodation

  We have a newly constructed A-Frame with either a twin or double bed (depending on single or couple). The space is quiet and mostly private surroundings. It overlooks the Talamanca Mountain range as well as Volcan Baru. It has tiled floors, a closet, and a compost toilet inside. One side of the A-frame has a tinted see through wall that also contracts up and down to open up to a covered deck.
  
  It is *mostly* private because we do utilize the surrounding area for exercise and some farming.
  
  The cooking facility is a shared outdoor kitchen at the main house, with a fine setup of appliances and equipment, and some private storage space on shelves, refrigerator, and freezer. We provide transport to the local grocery store (offers some speciality products like GF, organic, etc) and Saturday farmers market once per week -- this will be the opportunity to shop for your preferred breakfast/lunch/snack items.
  
  We provide dinner and lunch 5 days a week, dinner, that you may cook or we would but we provide ingredients.

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  What else ...

  In your time off you are free to enjoy the property and the trails. There is access to the river in a few spaces (requires good physical fitness if accessing from the property). River access from the property is private and will feel like you have the whole space to yourself. Nearby are a warm spring, the town of San Vito, La Amistad National Park, Saturday farmers' market, and charming nearby hill towns.

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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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  Can host digital nomads

  We have good internet signal. Each room that is connected to our home has a desk and wifi available. This is not the case for the A Frame. You are always welcome to work in the dining room.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, for a total of 25 hrs per week

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