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7 Oct 2024
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Description
We are a 130-hectare organic polyculture fruit forest in southeast Ecuador. With a mild tropical climate, many tropical fruits are grown on the land, as we engage in reforestation of historic cattle pasture. The primary foods grown here are bananas, biriba (rolinia), plantains, papayas, cacao, chonta, yuca, white carrot, ice cream bean, peanut butter fruit, citrus fruits, and tropical classics such as jackfruit and marang. We are planting many exotic tropical fruits such as durian, sapodilla, green sapote, mangosteen, soncoya, jaboticaba, just to name a few.
No domesticated animals are used, as the project is owned and operated by vegans. This region has extremely limited malaria/parasites/etc. compared to neighboring tropical regions.
A large, roofed camping structure is available for tent or RV camping. We typically have 1-4 volunteers at a time. We accept only vegan volunteers.
Workawayers are welcome to volunteer with us for up to 2 months. All housing accommodation will be provided to Workawayers, including a tent/ or cabin, mattress, bedding, showers, kitchen access, and use of full facilities. Workaways will also get a share of the harvested fruit off the land.
We also have openings for long-term community members, which you can apply for during your stay if you wish to join the community on a longer-term basis.Types of help and learning opportunities
Art ProjectsHelp with Eco ProjectsGardeningDIY and building projectsFarmstay helpBabysitting and creative playCreating/ Cooking family mealsHelp around the houseGeneral MaintenanceHelp with Computers/ InternetUN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We are one of the worlds largest polyculture food forests and the largest veganic agroforestry establishment. Our members are well-educated in health, agroforestry practices and sustainable energy. The more that you apply yourself physically, socially, and intellectually, the more that you will gain from your time here. This is still a relatively new project, started in 2015, and we are still working on building up our repertoire of examples for people to learn from.
We primarily speak English, while most days we have Ecuadorian people around the property, and of course we have our neighbours. If you're looking to learn Spanish let us know, as various members of ours are glad to interact in Spanish. The neighbours are very friendly, and this area is generally safe compared to most of South America and Ecuador (which is a reason why we are here). Please don't negatively affect the local culture with drug use, excessive spending, or unfriendly interactions with our neighbours.Projects involving children
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
Help
Tasks generally consist of harvesting fruits, greens, and veggies, mulching fruit trees, harvesting seeds and tending to saplings, assisting with new structures and other building projects, preparing meals for other volunteers, eco-friendly technology/energy projects, clearing with machete, IT infrastructure, general yard/garden work, and kitchen and facilities cleaning.
Please let us know if you have special skills, as we may be able to find or create a (personalised) project for you. We will give task suggestions for 25 hours per week. There are usually many options. Typically you will help 4 hours in the morning and 1 in the afternoon or evening, but this changes depending on rain, task at hand, and other factors. We have group work 3-5 times a week.Languages
Languages spoken
Danish: Fluent
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
French: Fluent
Norwegian: Fluent
Swedish: Fluent
Chinese (Mandarin): IntermediateThis host offers a language exchange
One of our members is very interested in learning languages. He speaks American, Spanish, Danish, Mandarin and is currently learning Hungarian. Other residents speak English, Spanish, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, French; and we often have visitors from different countries especially from Europe.Accommodation
The bambus house provides shelter from the rain for campers. It can house up to 20 tents, and there is a dedicated outhouse next to it. Bambus house is only a 2-minute walk from the community center, and there is (weak) wifi signal at one end of the shelter.
Our property is in some ways remote, others not - there are neighbors across the road, down the road, and up the mountain. There is a small village 2 km south and a small town 3 km north. Access from the town on the north is either via a 30-minute bus ride or via a 50-minute walk. The market in Gualaquiza is about 50 minutes of travel one way where you will arrive on the bus and get various supplemental food/fruit.
We request that the amount of plastic packaging or other trash brought onto the land be kept to a minimum and removed when you depart.
Food: You will be provided a healthy whole foods vegan diet (three meals a day). No oil, bread, pasta, or other heavily processed foods are allowed in the kitchen.
Please note that no animal-derived foods are to be brought onto the farm; this is a vegan establishment. No hunting or fishing, as this disturbs the delicate rainforest ecosystem that is already damaged by clear-cutting for cattle. No cigarette smoking on the property. No drugs or alcohol. The composting toilet system we use is designed for vegans and doesn't safely function when people consume animal products. Please plan to not consume any animal products a few days prior and for the duration of your stay here, even when you are not on the property. Thank you.
We only accept volunteers who are plant-based vegans; please tell us of your dietary inclinations when applying.What else ...
Buses, rancheros, taxis, and boats run regularly and are quite cheap.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have starlink and a back-up solar system so we never have to be offline. We have a shared office space, and we can offer private office spaces to those interested if available at that time.
Space for parking camper vans
Yes but our road is rough, so be warned! In the dry season (September - February) it's a little easier. We have space available for campervans and motorhomes.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
25 hours per week
Feedback (10)
It really is interesting to see what goes into building up a community like this and I admire all of the members.… read more
Feedback
It really is interesting to see what goes into building up a community like this and I admire all of the members.… read more
My time was filled with joyfull but exausting… read more
Her experience with non-violent communication is very helpful. Hopefully she will stick around for a lot longer!
We couldn't spend as much time as we wanted to but we had a really nice stay there, with plenty of free time during the afternoons and weekends to chill.
The accomodation is simple, the place is pretty buggy, inside and outside, the work outdoors is sweaty because of the… read more
Lea and Arthur were very hard working excellent volunteers, they did an excellent job cleaning and mulching fruit trees also building benches, tables and a few other… read more
The coconut selling with Ramiro was a great experience (except the sunburn)
Gualaquiza is a nice town,… read more
Ramiro was a great worker and big help for selling hundreds of coconuts. Cleaned various fruit trees and has a great attitude! Decent english y espanol… read more