Chile
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After re-foresting and conserving old-growth forest on a 70 hectare (173 acres) property, we are now making it accessible to blind people and people in a wheelchair through an all-accessible trail
In summer we rent a small cabin in the woods
Slowly we are transforming degraded farmland in a permaculture farm and food forest.
This Spring and Summer we will plant 6.400 more native trees on a piece of land that was clear-cut by the previous owners.
We are a family of four:
-Grecia : born on the island of Chiloé, 4th generation artisan
Teaches weaving on the traditional and Swedish loom
-Tamara : Grecia’s daughter, loves basketball, music, traveling, foreign languages, swimming
-Gabriel : our new member of the family... Born in October 2013
-Jeroen : Belgian citizen since 2005 living on the Archipelago of Chiloé. Jeroen is a chef, farmer and tour guide
The main projects on Alihuen are:
- Wildlife protection
- Eco tourism
- Environmental education
- Reforestation
- Water conservation
- Sustainable land management
- Organic farming
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.
You will contribute to the planting of 4.000 trees and learn about the whole process, those staying between January and April will see the process from beginning till the end.
Jeroen is a tour guide and can talk about the best places to visit on the archipelago.
Grecia is a native 'Chilota' (Chiloé islander) and works as an artisan. If you want to practice your Spanish and learn more about Chiloé, she is the person.
We need help from people enthusiastic about re-forestation with native trees and are physically able to do manual work.
Weed brushes will have to be cut, fences will be build to protect the trees from small and bigger animals entering the plantation and eventually the trees will be planted.
The work will be done in a group of 4 people coordinated by the owner Jeroen.
We will work with machinery like a brush cutter, a small wood chipper for the weed brush and a fence post drill.
All the safety measures will be followed.
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
French: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent
A cozy waterproof teepee tent, a separate toilet and bathroom and solar showers
Energy comes from solar panels
A re-furbished traditional Chilote wooden house is the kitchen and living space
What do we offer in return of your work:
-Accommodation and 3 meals a day (homemade bread + cheese , honey , jam etc is provided for breakfast and dinner, lunch is made by Grecia or Jeroen)
-Lessons on re-forestation and sustainable land management in general
-Clean skies The southern hemisphere sky is great for observing the stars. The closest cities are at 30 and 80 km so there is little light pollution. If you have an iPod, iPad or similar device, the ‘SkyView’ app helps you distinguishing the constellations and shows the names of stars, planets, comets etc...
-There is a swimming pond to cool down on warm days
-Lots of information about the region and the best places to visit
-A quiet and peaceful place with lots of birds and the occasional native deer, the second smallest in the world
-A river is close by to kayak and a nature reserve and national park are in the vicinity to hike and camp
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
This host can provide space for campervans.
More than two
maximum 4-5 hours, 5 days a week
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