Uruguay
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Hi,
Are you interested in the concept of food forests on a large scale (47 hectares)?
Are you prepared to work hard from 07.00 in the morning until 13.00 each day with a break for brunch (10.00 am) followed by a light lunch when the work is finshed? Volunteers are expected to help prepare, serve, and clean up during meals. This time is not counted as the 5 hours volunteer work.
Are you able to eat delicious and healthy food what comes from our garden (we use flour, rice, and purchased items as little as possible)?
We are a German couple and we have lived in Uruguay since December 2008. Living with us means adapting to the hard work of a farming family. The advantages are: comfortable accomodation, a family atmosphere, free afternoons and evenings, wifi, access to a nearby town (Atlantida next to the beach), access to domestic animals, a swimming pool, bikes and two horses.
Work on this farm starts early. You will help clean the areas where the animals eat and help feed them and take them to pasture. You will then be assigned to work with one of the experienced persons on our team doing work such as mulching, watering, weeding, pruning, planting, and other tasks of the farm.
You will not feel on holiday. You will feel like a farm hand working hard. You will feel tired at the end of each day but you will have worked outdoors and in nature using your hands. If you understand and look for the satisfaction of this experience then we welcome you. You will also learn about gardening and farming, about different species of plants, about insects and about organic farming. But this is not a course and you will learn slowly. Ideally we are looking for people who will stay a minimum of 2 weeks with us so that you can learn and so that we can benefit from the training and teaching we give you.
We work hard and expect others to work hard as well. We have a lot of experience and expect those who come here to be self-motivated and looking to learn, but we require that you adapt to us and our working methods as we cannot adapt to each person that volunteers with us.
If you have previous gardening or farming experience this would be a plus. Spanish or German is absolutely necessary, as one of us doesn´t speak English. If you have a skill such as carpentry or as an electrician or construction worker we would also be happy to receive you as there are always things to fix and/or build around the farm. Also if you know how to paint is very helpful for us.
Please do not come here just to have a landing place in Uruguay or South America or a holiday as you will be wasting your time and ours. We are looking for people who want to work hard and to learn something about permaculture and organic farming. If you have the right intention you will get a lot out of this experience.
You will need rain gear, rubber boots for working in muddy and wet conditions and gardening gloves.
We also always need people with experience in house maintaining and reparations. And since pruning time is coming soon we welcome people with experiences in pruning fruit trees!
We look forward to welcoming you.
Uta and Fred
Gardening
Building
General Maintenance
Cooking / shopping
Farmstay
Help with Eco project
Help in the house
Animal care
We can show how it is to be self sufficient and how to live from your own production, we want to show a new (the old) way of agriculture and we think food forests are the solution of the world hunger problem. But it is not easy to live with what you have, without needing a lot of stuff from the supermarket and we can show how it is possible, after living a few weeks with us you will have many new ideas about living from and with nature and you can make your own decisions about your future lifestyle.
Typical help includes weeding, harvesting fruits, mulching, pruning, and planting vegetables and fruits. Working time is around 5 hours per day and the schedule changes according to the season, we try not to work during the hottest part of the day in the summer. After work we have a light lunch and clean and then the volunteer has free time. In the evening we usually cook an early dinner together. In your free time you can use the facilities of the house or invent activities that suit you (making a bonfire, cooking outdoor, singing, meditating, doing yoga or sports, using the bikes or horses, playing ping-pong, swimming etc).
German, Spanish, (English)
We have two sets of very nice acommodations for volunteers. One is an apartment with two rooms, bathroom, kitchen and stove. The other is a large room with a private bathroom and two beds. We have a swimming pool, two volunteer bikes to offer. Two horses for riding in free time.
Uruguay has one of the most beautiful skies at night and you are living in a very quiet area with only the sounds of nature around you. There are wonderful horseback rides and we also have a swimming pool. The next town is 5 kilometers away with beautiful beaches and a lot of things to see. Montevideo, the Uruguayan capital is one hour away by bus.
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
More than two
no more than 5 hours, 5 days a week
