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Host rating
80 %
Last replied
11 Jun 2026
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9
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Description
It is a 180-hectare off-grid eco-community situated on South Africa's Eastern Cape Wild Coast. The land is home to abundant food forests, natural buildings, and a small community of long-term resident "Homesteaders" living closely connected to the land. Our central hub, known as The Hill, serves as a retreat and event centre and has hosted guests from around the world for over two decades.
We want to be completely transparent with anyone considering visiting us. Our formal volunteer programme is currently on pause while we search for the right person to facilitate it properly. In the meantime, we are open to experimenting with a hybrid model for people who feel genuinely drawn to the space.
The exchange involves approximately four hours of work per day in return for accommodation and a basic food staples package. Volunteers prepare their own meals and source anything they need beyond the staples provided at their own expense. Seasonal vegetables are often available for purchase from our resident market gardener, Previous.
Volunteers stay in our dedicated farmhouse - a three-bedroom space with a library, fully functional kitchen, and donkey boiler shower. It is comfortable and practical, though like much of the space right now, it is quiet and in need of some loving energy to make it feel fully alive and homely again.
There is currently no on-site manager or host to delegate tasks or oversee your days. You will be given a clear list of what needs doing and will be trusted to manage yourself with genuine autonomy. Members of the community will check in regularly to make sure you are comfortable and to answer any questions, but day-to-day you are largely your own boss. This works beautifully for the right person - and can feel unsettling for someone who needs more structure or supervision.
Full Disclaimer: This is not a polished eco-resort or a busy social and learning programme. It is a raw, authentic experience of what off-grid community living actually looks and feels like - rough edges included. If you can sit comfortably with simplicity, find your own rhythm, and shape your experience through genuine engagement with the land and its people rather than waiting for a programme to carry you, you will likely find something deeply worthwhile here.
If you need structure, guaranteed comfort, or a packed social calendar to feel settled, we would honestly encourage you to look elsewhere. We would rather host fewer people who are truly aligned than disappoint someone whose needs we cannot meet.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Help with Eco Projects
Light gardening
Creative DIY projects
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Light maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
The place offers something that is increasingly hard to find - a genuine, unfiltered experience of intentional off-grid living, in one of the most beautiful natural settings in southern Africa. The Wild Coast is raw, bio diverse, and largely untouched. The land itself - its food forests, gardens, birdlife, and open skies - has a way of slowing people down and reconnecting them with something they did not know they had lost.
By living alongside long-term residents and participating in daily farm life, visitors gain real insight into regenerative agriculture, land stewardship, natural building, composting, water systems, and community living. Learning arises through doing rather than through a formal curriculum, so open and realistic expectations serve you well here.
Beyond practical skills, what many people take away is less tangible but often more lasting - time to think, space to breathe, meaningful conversations, and a clearer sense of what a slower and more grounded life can feel like.
Help
Much of the work revolves around caring for and tending the land and its structures/infrastructure. Depending on the season and current priorities this may include maintaining the food forests, assisting in the market garden, clearing invasive vegetation, planting trees, and keeping communal spaces clean and functional.
We are in an active period of renewal and particularly welcome volunteers with building, maintenance, or permaculture skills. Creative people with an eye for making spaces feel more beautiful and lived-in are equally valued - there is meaningful work here for hands that are willing and a sensibility that notices what a space needs.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Xhosa: Fluent
Accommodation
Volunteers are housed in our dedicated farmhouse - a conventional three-bedroom building with a fully functional kitchen, library, and donkey shower for hot water. It is practical and comfortable in its simplicity. Bedding is provided - please bring your own towel.
For those seeking something more private, intimate, or connected to the natural environment, there are also rooms available in our retreat space - hand-built earthen and thatch structures that offer a quieter, more elemental experience. These are simple and beautiful, and suit people who are drawn to that kind of dwelling.
Sanitation throughout is via compost toilets. Basic WiFi is available on site, though connectivity can be intermittent as with most off-grid settings. Water and electricity supply occasionally experience disruptions too - this is part of the everyday texture of life here rather than an exception to it.
Our communal kitchen is vegetarian. Out of respect for all residents and guests, we ask that meat not be brought onto the farm.
We are in a remote area and shops are not easily accessible. Please arrive well prepared with any personal items or specialty foods you may need.
What else ...
The 180-hectare farm is yours to explore in your time off. Walking paths wind through the property where you are likely to encounter a rich variety of birdlife and wildlife. There is also a beautiful dam to relax around and swim in on warm days.
Haga Haga beach - pristine and quiet - is approximately 8km away, walkable or accessible by tagging along with community members heading to the coast.
We encourage personal practice and creative expression during free time. Yoga, meditation, music, painting, journalling, crafting - whatever you feel moved to bring. The space responds well to people who arrive with inner resources and use the quiet to go deeper rather than waiting to be entertained.
The place is not for everyone - and that is exactly the point. It is for the rare kind of person who finds freedom in simplicity, meaning in honest work, and who understands that the most nourishing experiences are rarely the most comfortable ones.
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 shared office space with internet where nomads can enjoy bird watching while getting things done!
Space for parking camper vans
You are welcome to bring your campervan of any size, but please keep in mind that our roads are somewhat bumpy and muddy and can be very slippery when wet, so you will need high clearance and good wheels. We have outdoor showers and toilets for you to use.
Can possibly accept pets
Yes, we LOVE well-behaved pets!
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
My animals / pets
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback (5)
The people from the community are really friendly and welcoming. The area is just perfect, the room and all comodities.
You can feel you like at home.
The tasks everyday are varied and you participate to life of the hill.
Many thanks to Minea and Martjin , they are so nice.
Everyone in this community were bringing positive vibes all day in a magnificent farm.
We had the chance to camp in Morgan Bay, to take a breakfast in Haga Haga, two paradisiac villages on the Coast.
We learned a lot about permaculture and did many different tasks !
No bad surprises,… read more
Photos
Chat with Workawayers who've visited this host
Feedback
These are extra optional ratings when members leave feedback. The average rating left for each option is displayed.
Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(4.8)
The people from the community are really friendly and welcoming. The area is just perfect, the room and all comodities.
You can feel you like at home.
The tasks everyday are varied and you participate to life of the hill.
Many thanks to Minea and Martjin , they are so nice.
Everyone in this community were bringing positive vibes all day in a magnificent farm.
We had the chance to camp in Morgan Bay, to take a breakfast in Haga Haga, two paradisiac villages on the Coast.
We learned a lot about permaculture and did many different tasks !
No bad surprises,… read more
I was looking for a experience at the nature and I learned a lot things about how make our own food during my work,and I could fell how is good to live without stuffs I used to use.
I had nice nights sleeping in the rondavel room listening… read more
Land, plants, animals and humans are thriving. Everyday they get up with the motivation to make the world a… read more
