Help in an orchard and share ideas about biodiversity and art in Aiquile, Bolivia

Details

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  Description

  Hello, I am Ximena and I live in the town of Aiquile, where I manage a small organic garden and a local cultural center. Aiquile is a town of 10,000 people in Bolivia’s valleys (located between the Amazon and the Andes, making for a year-round temperate climate). The project has been underway since I moved here after my retirement when I decided to pursue an active life in the countryside; I worked for a long time in the area of human rights, focusing on women's and children's rights. We are constantly working on new projects and making additions to the house, bringing ideas towards our goal of building a garden, a stage for local art, carpentry and construction projects, support for temporary exhibitions, musical performances and educational workshop series during certain times of the year. I live here with my 2 dogs, 3 cats, and my partner is here about 50% of the time. Help with suggestions for artistic cultural projects is always welcome.

Our cultural project includes a recreational and educational space available for young people from the town who want to get involved and learn skills related to art, culture, and strengthening awareness around mental health. We believe that nature, represented in its trees, birds, butterflies and other beings that inhabit the garden, like our dogs – Suri and Moro – is art and life, and also a source of inspiration and peace. We consider our space to be a fusion of nature, art, and culture.
  
  Weekly schedule/tasks:
  - There’s lots to be done in the organic garden around my home: gardening & harvesting fruits and vegetables, clearing deadfall from my trees and weeding, occasional construction projects, helping around the house, playing with the dogs, etc. While needs vary depending on the time of year, we can work together to decide what work is the best fit for you.
  - The expectation is that you will work for 20 hours/week in exchange for accommodation and basic food (see below). Ideally volunteers stay for ONE MONTH, but 3 WEEKS is the minimum to ensure that you have time to learn your way around working here.
  - Weekly schedule is Monday-Friday either 8am-12pm, or 1-5pm, but we can work with you to determine what schedule works best.
  - Outside of our agreed upon working schedule, you are free to do your own thing.
  
  Accommodation:
  - Volunteers typically stay in a 2 bedroom, 1 bath casita right behind my house. You will have your own fridge, basic kitchen with basic kitchen appliances, and small private living room.
  
  Food:
  - When you arrive, I will make sure your fridge/kitchen is equipped with vegetables, eggs, legumes, rice, etc. For 1 person, this food will be restocked every 2 weeks, and for 2 people it will be restocked every week.
  - We cook lunch together 4 days a week in the kitchen in my house. 1 of those days includes chicken, 1 day includes red meat, and the other 2 lunches are vegetarian. I will provide the ingredients for these meals.
  - Volunteers are expected to help cook and clean for the 4 weekly meals. The cooking will be part of your working hours.
  - Outside of the food I provide, I am a 5 minute walk from the center of Aiquile where there is a central market, and basic restaurants and cafes.
  
  Other information:
  - Located 3 hours in public transportation (minibus) from Sucre, Cochabamba, and 7.5 hours from Santa Cruz.
  - I already have many animals in my home, but can consider accepting volunteers with animals on a case-by-case basis.
  - I have space for a small car at the entrance to my home, but also use that space for activities. Volunteers with cars can also be accepted on a case-by-case basis.
  
  I enjoy hosting people and sharing my culture with them, and am always happy to work together to make sure that we all have a fun and enjoyable experience together! Please contact me with any questions.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet

  House & pet sitting
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  Interests

  

  Pets

  

  LGBTQ

  

  Politics / Social justice

  

  Culture

  

  Movies & TV

  

  Charity work

  

  Farming

  

  Performing arts

  

  Plant care

  

  Books

  

  Music

  

  DIY & crafts

  

  History

  

  Gardening

  

  Languages

  

  Cooking & food

  

  Animals

  

  Nature

  

  Dancing
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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

  In the dispersed area of the municipality of Alquile you can find living expressions of Indigenous culture. The town has been awarded the title of “national capital of the charango”, one of the most characteristic instruments of Bolivian music.

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  Help

  Currently, the garden is made up of fruit trees, mainly chirimoya, guava, citrus, fig trees, and ornamental plants, such as succulent species and flowers. Maintenance is carried out following the principles of organic agriculture. We are mainly looking for help to keep it that way: nourishing, watering the trees and plants, harvesting fruits or pruning the plants (depending on the season).
  
  Raising awareness about art goes hand in hand with nature conservation and the promotion of biodiversity. Additionally, since we moved to the site, every addition to the original structures has been made with local, renewable and/or recycled materials. Ideas or help with projects related to this are always welcome. Basic knowledge of carpentry could be useful.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  Spanish: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  I've been trying to learn English for the past couple of years but still have a long way to go – at this point I only speak some words and phrases, though I understand more. I would love to learn more and get to practice with native speakers. I'm also willing to teach or help out with your Spanish, whether writing or speaking.
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  Accommodation

  We have an independent casita behind my main house with two bedrooms, a kitchen equipped with basic cooking utensils (we provide you with food and groceries so you can prepare your meals; four days per week, we prepare these lunches together in the main kitchen of the house). The casita has a small living room, decent Wi-Fi, and bathroom equipped with electric hot water shower. When we prepare the food, we try to offer the volunteers the varied local production and prepare the country's typical dishes, as well as enjoy the novelties that they want to prepare.

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  What else ...

  The town is quite accessible with easy road access, buses from Santa Cruz, Sucre and Cochabamba leave at many times from 6 am to 8 pm. There are also other buses that leave from Aiquile to nearby towns such as Mizque or Totora.
  Walks to places in the rural area near Aiquile: La Caseta (2 km), El Salto (5 km), the tricentennial tree (36km) and also to the Mirador (1 km). Trips to places of tourist interest in the town, such as the Charango Museum or the Catholic Cathedral (rebuilt after the 1997 earthquake). Volunteers can seek visits to Indigenous communities and rural families (in Agua Blanca, Ch'aqui Mayu or Quewiñal), as well as going to nearby towns that can be reached by public transport (Mizque, Omereque or Pasorapa).
  
  For the experience to be more fruitful for both of us, it would be ideal for you to stay for one month, or a minimum of three weeks.
  
  From our past learning, we have seen that in that time we would be able to get involved, you and us, in more educational activities that last over time.

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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

  We have a decent WiFi connection, especially in the main house. In the volunteer house where you will stay, the WiFi is sufficient for basic web browsing.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  I have space for a small car at the entrance to my home, but also use that space for activities. Volunteers with cars can also be accepted on a case-by-case basis.

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  Can possibly accept pets

  I already have quite a few animals in my home, but can consider accepting volunteers with animals on a case-by-case basis.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  My animals / pets

  Three cats

  Moro

  Suri

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