Profile information
Host rating
Not yet rated
Feedback
-
ID verified
Email verified
Badges (2)
Details
Description
Join us and help protecting sea turtles!
Hello! I’m Max (french) and with my wife Liza (US american ) we settle in Panama to live a simple connected life. After years of backpacking and van life we landed in the quiet little village of Cambutal in the Azuero Peninsula. It’s an amazing place, wild, preserved from mass toursim, with miles of wild beaches and tropical rainforest all around! But there is a problem, poachers, dogs and coyote destroy marine turtle nests on a daily basis so we decided to take action! During our first turtle season we started collecting nests at night and relocating them in a protected sanctuary. We collected 148 nests in total and released close to 8000 baby turtles! This year we want to do more (our goal is to protect 350-400 nests!) and we need a hand!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Charity Work
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Interests
Van life
Sustainability
Self development
Politics / Social justice
Events & social
Charity work
Pets
Plant care
Gardening
Hitchhiking
Cooking & food
Animals
Water sports
Sailing / Boating
Outdoor activities
Nature
Hiking
Camping
Adventure sports
Beach
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
One thing I miss since I stopped being nomad is meeting so many different and interesting people. Welcoming workawayers is a way for us to keep on traveling through your travel stories. While staying with us you will enjoy an amazing and wild place. We have few neighbors but they are all super nice and very eclectic! I am a kayak fishing guide so if you want to learn about fishing I’m always happy to share my passion. At the moment my wife is back to work in the US so you will miss out on her amazing food and seamstress skills but you’ll be back soon I’m sure!
I like cooking good food especially when the meals are shared so you will boost my cooking efforts for sure but I also expect from you that you cook you special dishes, can’t wait to try them!
Help
We need your help. The more time we spend on the beach at night the less nests are getting poached so your main mission will be to patrol on the beach at night and early morning to find the mama turtles and protect their eggs. Ideally we would like to host two people at a time so we can walk at night together for safety and fun purposes.
We understand walking on a remote beach at night can seem dangerous or scary but the local community here is very peaceful. There are no violent crimes (virtually no crimes at all) and everybody knows everybody as the village has less than 1000 inhabitants. We even know the poachers and have good relationship with them. They know what we do and why and we understand why they poach (it’s not for fun but to sustain their families) even though we don’t like it. We are trying to work with them to generate new revenues for them to reduce their need for poaching.
We have a vhf radio to be able to communicate at any time for emergency.
One last thing, we always walk the beach with my dog and she is very protective and will bark loudly to strangers in the night.
We also started an IG page and GoFundMe to help us with this mission. Any social media skills is more than welcome to help boost the protection!
The other thing we need your help for is releasing baby turtles on a regular basis at night fall. There might be some work around the sanctuary also, repairing it, protecting it better, all good ideas, vibes and helps is welcome!
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
French: Fluent
Spanish: IntermediateThis host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
You can contact them directly for more information.
Accommodation
We live in a little two bedroom house on the beach. One room is for you with a single bed and a twin bed with mosquito nets and we share a bath room. We are off the grid so electricity is limited. We have starlink on as much as our batteries can handle, usually 3 to 6 hours per day and can charge your devices. Running water is gravity fed from a creek and we filter our drinking water. No hot water in the shower! We live about 6 kilometers away from the village with several creek/river crossing so we will go in “town” once or twice a week but you can hitch a ride with the neighbors at any time!
Like I said earlier I like cooking and sharing meals all together but I expect you to give a hand, either cook or doing the dishes!
What else ...
The area is adventure packed, waterfalls, crazy trees, monkeys passing over the house, nice hikes etc
Reaching Cambutal with public buses is pretty easy (not a short ride though) and I will explain all of it to you. I can also book a taxi for you if you’d rather. Once in Cambutal I will come and pick you up, we will do a little grocery mission so you have you fav foods and then head for the jungle!
I forgot to mention our animals! We have two dogs that will walk the beach with us and help us find the nests and we also have a cat for some cuddles in the hamac!
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
We have a small solar system so internet is only on during the day. We might also need to limit internet connection on cloudy days but you will have internet 2 hours a day minimum. Typically we turn the WiFi on around 9AM and stop it around 6PM on sunny days.
Space for parking camper vans
You need 4x4 to access our place. You are more than welcome to park in the garden or on the beach and use WiFi running water, shower, kitchen etc
Can possibly accept pets
Dogs need to be cat friendly for their own safety!
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Photos
