Profile information
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Host rating
100 %
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Last replied
6 Jul 2026
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Reply rate
100.0 %
Usually responds within 2 days
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Feedback
20
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Facebook verified
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Email verified
Badges (4)
Min stay requested: at least 1 month
Details
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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 (rollinia), 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 for farming purposes (although we do have some adopted companion animals), as the project is owned and operated by vegans. This region has extremely limited malaria/parasites/etc. compared to neighboring tropical regions.
We have various rooms available for volunteers to stay in. We typically have 1-4 volunteers at a time.
All housing accommodation will be provided to Workawayers, a mattress, bedding, showers, kitchen access, and use of full facilities. Workawayers 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 if you wish to join the community on a longer-term basis.
We have 2 dogs and 1 cat living in the community area, and 5 more cats that live on the property away from the communal spaces which you can visit. -
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Light gardening
Creative DIY projects
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
Light maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
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Interests
Farming
Self development
Events & social
LGBTQ
Pets
Sustainability
Vegetarian or vegan
DIY & crafts
Music
Plant care
Books
Cooking & food
Gardening
Languages
Drawing & painting
Animals
Outdoor activities
Dancing
Mountain
Beach
Nature
Fitness
Yoga / Wellness -
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
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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. -
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 or food preservation, 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 20 hours per week. There are usually many options. Typically you will help 4 hours in the morning 5 days a week, but this changes depending on rain, task at hand, and other factors. Some work can be in a group, other work can be individual. -
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
French: Fluent -
Accommodation
We have various cabins and rooms, you will be assigned to one of them when you arrive. The room comes with a mattress, bedding (or you can bring your own), and bug net.
Our property is in some ways remote, others not - there are neighbours across the road, down the road, and up the mountain. There is are small villages north and south of us. The market in Gualaquiza is about 50 minutes of travel one way where you will 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 whole foods vegan diet (three meals a day). No ultra-processed foods are allowed on the property.
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. -
What else ...
Buses, rancheros, taxis, and boats run regularly and are quite cheap.
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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 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.
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How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
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My animals / pets
Devi
Devi lives away from the community area but sometimes comes up to visit
Onyx
Onyx lives away from the community area.
Canela (1 year)
Canela lives at the community area. She barks at strangers but once she knows you she barks a lot less. She does not bite and she loves cuddles.
Kali
Kali lives away from the community area.
Shiva
Shiva is on my lap in this picture, Vishnu is behind me. Shiva lives away from the community area.
Vishnu
Vishnu lives away from the community area.
Diana (1 year)
Diana lives in the community area and she loves to cuddle. She's very friendly, doesn't bark much and doesn't bite.
Cat (4 years)
Rescued from another vegan community. Like all of our companion animals, he follows a nutritionally complete (dietitian approved) vegan diet. Cat lives in the community area.
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
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
Photos
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
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
