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Permaculture and natural building in San Agustín, Colombia

  • Favourited 2301 times
  • Last activity: 18 Mar 2024

Availability

  2024 

 Min stay requested: at least a week

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Details

  • Description

    Description

    Hi! My name's Steve, I'm English and I live in my own little slice of paradise with my kids and a Colombian volunteer family, on a 7-hectare farm, with spectacular canyon views to one side, and our own accessible patch of river on the other.

    I split up from the Colombian mother of my children and since then have decided to start a community here on my land. A lot of the work needed will be in eco-construction initially, but also agriculture and general cleaning, maintenance, etc.

    We have our own waterfalls, and are within 10 minutes walk of a series of public waterfalls. We just finished building a wood-fired forest sauna made of earth bags, which we are trying to promote to tourists.

    We are looking to create some integration activities on specific days on the farm such as 'digital detox / day without power', playing music together, movie night etc. We are offering a space and time for volunteers to offer their own workshops or to share knowledge. We have a space for swapping / selling products made by volunteers, ourselves or other members of the community. We can also offer free meditation classes in the morning and volunteers are also encouraged to offer yoga classes in the morning if they choose.

    We live about an hour's walk from town, taking in breathtaking valleys and small-scale coffee farms. Our aim to is to be entirely self-sufficient economically and in terms of food ... some day ... but it's a challenge especially when you have young children and limited resources...

    In other words, we need some help....

    We have lots of projects that need enthusiastic hands. We want to build a temascal sweat lodge, work on growing organic food, finish the green roofs on our structures, build a house for me and then houses for other members of the community.

    For others we are asking for a small daily contribution per day to cover gas cooker, gas shower, internet, electricity, toilet roll, washing machine etc

    Musicians are more than welcome but .... everyone is a musician when you have maracas! We can teach the basics... We also encourage workshops and are beginning to offer the sauna every week to tourists.

    In exchange for help we can share our knowledge of permaculture and natural building, and you can experience a truly stunning setting with a great atmosphere, with views over a canyon and nature reserve, our own waterfalls, river etc. It's great for birding / birdwatching. Come along we could use your help!

    We are working towards achieving food self-sustainability, using the principles of Permaculture to try and reduce our impact on the environment as much as possible. We have taken local courses on organic farming, and are slowly working to improve the soil health. We are trying to adapt our diet to more traditional local foods, including 'Achira', manioc, Plantain/Banana, Sweet Potato, Wild rasberries/blackberries, sweet cucumber, Yota, etc. However, we have been mostly dedicated to building so our garden has been neglected a little...

    I have lived for 20 years in Colombia, first working as a teacher in Cali, then looking to find a more natural, less hectic life in San Agustin around 10 years ago. I enjoy playing the guitar and djembe, permaculture projects and hanging out with my kids who are mostly here at the weekend.

    We are an equal opportunities placement and welcome all races and LGBT+.

  • Types of help and learning opportunities

    Types of help and learning opportunities

    Art Projects
    Language practice
    Help with Eco Projects
    Gardening
    DIY and building projects
    Farmstay help
    Babysitting and creative play
    Creating/ Cooking family meals
    Help around the house
    Hospitality/Tourism
    General Maintenance
    Help with Computers/ Internet
  • UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

    UN goals
    No poverty
    Zero hunger
    Good health and well-being
    Quality education
    Gender equality
    Clean water and sanitation
    Affordable and clean energy
    Decent work and economic growth
    Industries, innovation and infrastructure
    Reduce inequality
    Sustainable cities and communities
    Responsible consumption and production
    Climate action
    Life below water
    Life on land
    Peace, justice and strong institutions
    Partnerships for the goals
  • Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

    I have lived in Colombia for 20 years and have lots of stories.

    We have made some lifelong volunteers friends in the past, and we are happy to share our experiences of living in Colombia / the Colombian countryside. We also have experience of building using bamboo / earth techniques. Though we are still in the learning stages in terms of organic agriculture, we've made some good progress, and have been studying with local experts. We are eager to share our knowledge and listen to suggestions.

  • Projects involving children

    Projects involving children

    This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

  • Help

    Help

    (November 2023) We are putting the finishing touches to the earthbag sauna and looking to build a temazcal sweat lodge. We need help with organic agriculture too. We are about to start a bamboo house. The work is pretty varied really. We also need help with social media and digital marketing, house cleaning and maintenance, playing with kids....

    We will always try to explain and demonstrate what needs to be done and we understand that most people aren't used to natural building / permaculture or agriculture (:

  • Languages spoken

    English: Fluent
    Spanish: Fluent

  • Accommodation

    Accommodation

    We have compost toilets and a hot shower. Our buildings are mostly Bamboo construction

  • What else ...

    What else ...

    We use compost toilets, which are without water. Please Google this if you don't know what it is....

    We are located behind the San Agustín archaeological park, in the Huila region of Colombia. We are 15 minutes from the town by motorbike, or an hour's walk through beautiful valleys. Motorbike taxi to town costs COP 15,000 or COP35-40,000 by car taxi.

    San Agustin has a temperate climate, neither hot nor cold. It has the highest concentration of national parks in Colombia, and has a variety of activities for tourists including: visiting archaeological sites (we are within walking distance of the UNESCO World Heritage SIte Archaeological Park and other statues); Horse riding (we can organise cheap tours from the farm); cycling tours; Jeep tours; coffee growing tours. We can rent our motorbike.

    The town is steadily receiving more interest from foreign tourists, but is still relatively 'undiscovered' when compared to comparable sites in Colombia and South America. Our neighbours still live in a simple, traditional way. You can find locally-produced milk, cheese, eggs, and honey within a short walk from the farm.

    Particularly welcome are badminton players, musicians and lovers of 90s rock, biologists, animal lovers, Vipassana meditators and yoga practicioners, and wanderers looking for an answer to life's contradictions... Also, if you have children you are more than welcome as we have a 7 year-old and a 3 year old!

  • A little more information

    A little more information

    • Internet access

    • Limited internet access

      Limited internet access

    • We have pets

    • We are smokers

    • Can host families

  • Can host digital nomads

    Can host digital nomads

    We have good broadband internet but it is about 80% reliable. If you are depending on video calls at a certain time of day this could be a problem.

  • Space for parking camper vans

    Space for parking camper vans

    We are 5km from town but it is unpaved and quite steep in places.

  • Can possibly accept pets

    Can possibly accept pets

    We have 3 female dogs and 2 cats .... So male dogs integrate more easily... I'd prefer not to accept more cats because of effects on biodiversity.

  • How many Workawayers can stay?

    How many Workawayers can stay?

    More than two

  • ...

    Hours expected

    The morning = 3 hours, 5 days a week

  • ...

    This host charges a fee

    read more
    Around US$1 per day (COP $2,000)
Host ref number: 469134489462

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