Organic food forest permaculture, natural building, and reforestation in the Amazon Rainforest near Loreto, Ecuador

Details

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  Description

  Welcome, jungle brothers and sisters, the earth with all its beauty and abundance are calling you, both in spirit and distress.
  
  As you may know, the Amazon—one of the most biodiverse and sacred ecosystems on earth—is under severe attack. Much of this natural resource is being destroyed every day, mostly for animal agriculture and monoculture farming, which is devastating the earth and displacing its wild beauty.
  
  We are the humble servants of our Creator, answering the call to take a stand against the destruction of the environment, with the mission of recreating a Garden of Eden; a modest and pure place of gathering and living based on peace, respect, love, honor, joy, kindness, minimalism, helping others, living righteously, working earnestly, and growing an abundance of fruit and other food.
  
  Since 2023 we have been reforesting 3.5 hectares of land, transforming what was cattle pasture and monoculture plantations into a thriving, productive, biodiverse, organic food forest packed with tropical fruit trees, native vegetation, flowers, and medicinal plants.
  
  This land is home to a wide variety of tropical birds, butterflies, and many other interesting jungle animals and insects. It’s mostly quiet and peaceful here, there are many beautiful rivers and swimming spots nearby, and other adventures and exploration opportunities to waterfalls or nearby cities.
  
  The weather is warm and tropical year-round, creating the ideal conditions to grow a wide variety of fruit and other edibles. This land produces bananas, plantains, pineapples, passion fruit, papayas, guavas, limes, oranges, sugar cane, cacao, tea, lemongrass, turmeric, ginger, and some other rare and wonderful fruits, nuts, and greens you may have never heard of or tried such as rollinia, badea, sacha inchi, ice cream bean, peanut butter fruit, Amazon tree grape, naranjilla, rambutan,,chiclet, abiu, arazá, borojó, sapote,rose apples, flying potatoes, katuk, and more.
  
  We enjoy the company of like-minded people with meaningful conversation, nature exploration, creating unique food and drinks from the land, sharing stories, learning together, making music, and singing, but there is also plenty of time to explore, relax, study, or otherwise enjoy by ourselves.,
  
  This isn’t just about fruit and trees, it’s about freedom, the deep connection with living simply, in peace with the environment around us, helping those in need, and learning essential skills to be as self-reliant as possible and the best stewards we can to our Creator, the earth, and all the beings we share it with.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Charity Work

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Teaching

  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

  

  Vegetarian or vegan

  

  Sustainability

  

  Farming

  

  Photography

  

  Plant care

  

  Music

  

  Hitchhiking

  

  Languages

  

  Drawing & painting

  

  Gardening

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  Carpentry

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Art & design

  

  Mountain

  

  Dancing

  

  Hiking

  

  Outdoor activities

  

  Nature

  

  Fitness

  

  Camping
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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

  Here you will learn about the true campesino (country/farming) lifestyle in Ecuador, both witnessing first-hand the destructive and abusive ways of those around us, as well as learning the methods we are using to create a beautiful, biodiverse food forest in harmony with nature, in hopes of being abundant enough to share freely and generously with neighbors and anyone in need.
  
  You will get hands-on experience learning about organic tropical jungle-style permaculture practices, including pruning, weeding, planting, nourishing, propagating, planning, and maintaining., and potentially some natural building or handcrafting.
  
  Connection with our Creator is a very focal point of this project. We rejoice in living as righteously as possible in all ways, not out of requirement but rather delighting in thankfulness for the wonderful gifts of His creation. The practices, ethics, and goals here are aimed at being consistent with the paths our Lord desires us to walk in, from His original intention for us to care for a garden to following His guidance in love, and ideally living a vegan lifestyle in peace and compassion.
  
  We welcome those who are already on this path as well as anyone who is open to learning; sharing, and discussing the beauty and power of God’s Word to deepen our learning and devotion to righteousness, truth, wisdom, knowledge, and understanding together.

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  Help

  This is jungle-style soul work in connection with nature with respect for all of its challenges, using our hands, our hearts, and most definitely a machete
  
  The tasks here vary, with mostly garden work like destroying demon grass and removing weeds to pruning, planting, composting, and other maintenance. Sometimes we build or make handcrafts from bamboo, palm, or other natural resources growing on the land.
  
  There is general upkeep of the living space, occasional removal of termite nests, and other home maintenance or improvements as needed. Volunteers also prepare the space to welcome any incoming volunteers and clean the bedding they used before leaving.
  
  We welcome your ideas for any projects that fit the vibe and help the forest, living space, or the community. Volunteers help for a few hours a day at whatever times they want, sometimes we work together and sometimes we work independently.
  
  You don’t need any experience, we are happy to teach you what you need to know and you’ll learn by doing.
  
  We and the land are always grateful for your energy, because everything you do here helps restore the rainforest, grow nourishing food, and build something that gives back to both people and the earth. Most importantly our work here serves our Lord, who created this earth and entrusted us to be the righteous caretakers of His beautiful and wonderful creation.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent
  French: Intermediate
  Vietnamese: Intermediate

  This host offers a language exchange
  We speak English, Spanish, French, and Vietnamese, and little bit of a few other languages. If you’re interested in improving your Spanish we’re also happy to help. We can especially share some of the local slang and idioms to make your Spanish more colorful here.
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  Accommodation

  The volunteer home here is spacious, humble, and rooted in living simply and naturally; in harmony with the forest around us, with lots of colorful artwork, minimal but with the essentials:
  
  A basic but well-loved kitchen with jungle views over the food forest, homemade bowls and spoons, and storage for your food
  Electricity, Wi-Fi, running water fresh from the land, and nature as our toilets (*there are frequent power outages in Ecuador and the WiFI signal is a bit weak at the house, there are areas with better signal but plan to connect more with nature and less with technology)
  Several sleeping areas with mattresses or sleeping pads, bedsheets, pillows, and mosquito nets (not many mosquitoes here but for other jungle friends most people might not want in their bed, and unfortunately the sleeping areas aren't equipped to accommodate two men.)
  A spacious loft and hammock overlooking the surrounding land and rainforest
  There aren’t many furnishings, you won’t find a fridge, washing machine, microwave, TV, or hot tub; but you will be amongst birds singing all day, starlit skies, and a gateway to experiencing some of the wild of the Amazon.
  
  Since volunteers are only asked to contribute a few hours of help per day, everyone takes care of their own food (inexpensive here, usually just a few dollars/day). There’s a food truck that usually comes by once a week with fresh fruit and vegetables, a few small shops nearby, some local neighbors who have produce from their land, and we can make trips to town if necessary.
  
  We happily share what the land provides. Sometimes there is an abundance of fruit, sometimes there’s nothing. All food is a blessing but volunteers should plan to supply all of their own food during their stay.
  
  Values & Way of Life
  We live with the intention of purity, sobriety, kindness, and respect for all beings. On this land there is no alcohol, no cigarettes, and no animal products or by-products (ie no meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey, or any products made from animals).
  
  We also ask visitors to bring re-usable bags for groceries, avoid unnecessary plastic, cans, or packaging (if you must bring any please plan to take it out with you when you leave) ,and not use any chemical or toxic products here (ie toothpaste, deodorant, perfumes, etc) . We will share what grows on the land that you can use as natural soaps, shampoos, and personal care items
  
  This is a place for those who feel called to simplicity, plant-based living, self-sustainability, working with our hands, helping others, healing nature, deep respect for all beings, and most importantly building spirituality and following righteous ways of living in relationship with and service to our Creator

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  What else ...

  After years of using Workaway as both hosts and traveling volunteers, we deeply appreciate the spirit of help-stay experiences and what they can mean for both sides. We've felt the joy of working with open-hearted people from around the world, and we understand what makes a stay meaningful, peaceful, and inspiring.
  
  Our goal is for your time here to be not just productive, but nourishing, eye-opening, and deeply worthwhile; where you can contribute, grow, and hopefully see the world from a new perspective. If something about this project speaks to you, send a message with any questions and please include the statement “I want to go to heaven” in your message. If that is not included, our reply will direct you to read the entire profile to the end, and that is why..
  
  If your journey brings you to our little corner of the world, we’ll be ready to welcome you with open arms and jungle smiles. Peace, prayers, and blessings to you always and in all ways
  
  “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9

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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

  You're welcome to bring your digital projects here, but the internet connection isn't so strong in the volunteer house and power outages are frequent in Ecuador.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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