Brazil
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Located 2-3h away from São Paulo, near the small city of Bofete, we live on a farm which is under restoration and development for people to grow and live together. The farm is surrounded by a beautiful mountain range with a deep forest and a small creek running through it.
There are three vegetable gardens and two chicken coops based on the concepts of agroecology and permaculture. There is also an agroforest area of 2000m2 which is being built with a great diversity of crops and trees.
At the farm's entrance there is a cafe that opens during the day on weekends and sometimes host night events such as small concerts. At the shop we also sell our veggies, eggs and other artisanal products. The mandala garden is located right alongside it, so customers can pick out fresh vegetables when they want.
On the second floor of the shop, we have a multipurpose room used for yoga, meditation, dance, and also for hosting workshops, courses, cultural events, etc.
We hope to host educational programs for children in the near future, focused on farming, science concepts and even meditation/emotional awareness.
At the farm you will meet me, Bruno, who started the project around July 2017, and Rodrigo who recently came onboard as a partner, among other volunteers who might be around.
On the one hand, the farm exists to produce healthy and nutritious food in accordance with the natural processes, to find a way of doing business in a sustainable and fair way, and to relate to ourselves in a harmonious way (sometimes through disharmony! :) ). A place to live authentically with self-responsibility.
On the other hand, we want to build a safe place for people to go inwards.. To deepen one's awareness, know oneself, heal oneself and awaken one's Consciousness.
Gardening
Building
General Maintenance
Cooking / shopping
Farmstay
Help with Eco project
Help in the house
Animal care
Art project
Teaching
The farm shop provides opportunities to engage with people from the surrounding area and offer your talents through workshops, concerts, etc.
We also have meditation circles in our studio at the start of the day (7am) for those who want to join. Whenever we have yoga teachers (or teachers of any kind) willing to share the practices we can set a weekly schedule :)
We apprecciate and value all the Brazilian culture, art and lifestyle. We like to explore all the richness of our music, dance, religions and ancient knowledge.
Working days are from Tuesday to Saturday, being Sunday&Monday the days-off. We expect 3 hours of work/day, usually in the morning from 8:30 to 11:30.. and then 1 hour of communal work in the kitchen.
Here are some of the possible tasks during your stay:
- Farming and gardening - preparing the soil, planting/harvesting veggies, mulching, landscaping, composting, planting trees and other farming tasks;
- Taking care of animals (dogs and chickens) - feeding, watering, cleaning their installations, composting their manure;
- Cleaning - Keep our main house and yards tidy. We appreciate and put emphasis on having organized and harmonic common/personal spaces. There is also a guesthouse to clean for guests to stay over the weekend;
- Cooking - We will cook all our meals and will normally take shifts to split it. We love to have people who enjoy cooking and care about our food :)
- Cafe (eventually) - making juices, cleaning tables, washing dishes, and even serving people if your portuguese is good enough :)
- Work in construction (mainly eco-building), fences and maintanence of the farm in general
- Social media & photography - keep the shop's social media profile and also farm website updated;
- Video editing - we have many projects and initiatives to advertise and create videos of;
- Art work to beautify and harmonize the place.
We will welcome your own abilities/preferences in accordance with the needs of the farm. New ideas and ways of doing things are always good.
*️️️️️️️️️️️️If you have at least 1 month, and you are looking for a deeper immersion in the farm, let us know and we can talk about our residents program
Portuguese, English, Spanish
Accomodation
There are 2 shared rooms available in the main house. Accomodation will be shared or not according to the number of people and availability of the rooms. Normally we take from 1 to 4 volunteers.
Food
As a volunteer, you will join us in preparing meals communally and cleaning the dishes. The food is not included in the work exchange, though we put effort to be as cheap as possible. (oPTIONAL)
If you want to see another arrangement or to cook your own food, let us know.
We go every 2x/week to town for groceries shopping.
Others
There is access to a washing machine.
Directions to farm
The farm can be acessed from São Paulo in a 2 to 3-hour bus journey (~$60), or taking a ride on the app BlablaCar (~$45). After that a taxi ride to the farm (~$20). Let us know when you are coming and we will give you some more detailed information on the bus and the different options to come.
Arriving date
Arrival are always on the beggining of our week (preferably Tuesday, or Wed and Thu max). If for some reason you need to arrive any other day, let us know.
ATM and Cash
Bofete is poor on infrastructure. Often volunteers aren't able to withdraw money in town. Bring some extra money with you for food and other expenses. Buses on the way back can only be paid in cash at the bus station.
Local Sights
In terms of local sights, inside the farm you can take short hikes through the creek, with big boulders along the way and a waterfall about an hour and a half away. Also. we are in a region called "Polo Cuesta." It is a mountainous area, known for the waterfalls, stone cliffs and cycling tourism. Bofete is the city where lies the rock formations of "Três Pedras" and the "Gigante Adormecido."
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
More than two
15 hours/week- no food
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