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7 Jun 2025
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Description
Hola y Namaste Amigos!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Update as of June 7th:
1. Ramon , architect and builder is living on my land to help me design and build the super adobes for my dreamy hŌMe and Ayurvedic Healing Retreat + Spa!
If you want to learn how to build SUPER ADOBES, please join us!
He will be teaching an all natural ingredient PLASTERING WORKSHOP June 13-14th. Message me for details if you are interested!
2. Rainy season is upon us and with it all the plants are green and alive yet it comes all the bugs and mold! It's hot and humid! The storms can be sudden and fierce here so please be prepared for that if you plan to work here.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, friends! This is my 1st time using Workaway and I am so honored to you host you on my land!
My name is Karuna. Kristen is my legal name which I used to verify my identity here. But PLEASE call me Karuna.
I moved to some land I bought in a VERY rural area, in February 2024, just 30 minutes south of Puerto Escondido, 45 minutes north of Mazunte, less than 10 minutes from Playa Agua Blanca, in the state of Oaxaca, in Mexico.
My vision is to gather commUNITY to help me put in the infrastructure needed and build with super adobe; walls, cistern, bio-pool, a super adobe hŌMe and Ayurvedic Healing Sanctuary on 2 different lots that are on the same block in a new neighborhood that has never been developed. I'm the only one living here currently. So it's VERY isolated, quiet + peaceful! The stars are amazing here! Sometimes, you can hear the waves crashing when they're big! At night the crickets are very loud!
I am having a well dug, but that project is currently on hold. I have 2 water tanks set up and an outdoor bathtub for your use. There is a solar camp shower as well.
I have some chickens in a coop that I built. I'm slowly adding more hens to the brood.
I've had a casita built! It feels great to have shelter from the sun and rain (during rainy season in October)! It's a covered space where I offer Ayurvedic healing treatments, and it has an outdoor kitchen / living space! I screened it all in so it's a bug free zone! Although I've opened part of it now that the bugs have simmered down. I've installed a fan that runs on a silent power generator, so this will provide much needed relief from the heat! You can also charge your devices there.
I've expanded the kitchen outdoors and built a traditional cob oven that woks great! Many pizza nights have been had already! Now, we completed the brasero, a place to have a fire with a comal on top for tortillas, roasted veggies and pots of yumminess!
The dry toilet is almost finished! I finished building walls from carrizo (reeds) but it still needs a roof, where I plan to catch rainwater from and a door!
I plan to grow an organic garden, water harvest, and use solar energy. But I need help creating this. I am looking for people with solar, building and permaculture skills. I need help with setting up a solar system, gray water irrigation system, gardening, permaculture, design, and SUPER ADOBE building.
The super adobe roll is being ordered soon! Very Exciting!
On May 3, I have a super adobe builder / architect coming to help me create the design and to start the build! He is scheduled to teach a SUPER ADOBE BUILDING WORKSHOP MAY 14-17, my birthday!🥳 You can take advantage of learning how to build with the earth in this process!!!
If you have interest in camping in the cozy tents provided or bringing your camper van / RV, you are welcome to live here for free, for only a 5 hours of work per day in the morning and evenings, when it's most cool. I now have a generator that you can plug your RV into!
You will have 2 days off per week also.
I am currently living in my RV. I'm a longtime Yoga instructor (25+ years), Ayurvedic Health Counselor, Panchakarma + Ayurvedic Bodywork Specialist, as well as an ArŌMaTherapist. I have an online health + wellness business and mobile spa and apothecary here. There's a good chance you will benefit from all of this! Ha!
I have Starlink internet which works when the sun powers my solar system. You are welcome to use it when it's on. I have great wifi service here but no cell phone service. WiFi hours are usually 8-5pm.
I rescued some animals, a boy cat named Bunny, a Rooster, Rani and I have 2 boy dogs, Bruno and Valentino. Balam, means jaguar in Maya and he is the newest to our family. This baby kitten stumbled like a drunkard in front of my car at barely a month old on September 16th, Mexican Independence DAY!
Thank you so much for considering volunteering with me!
I look forward to meeting + hosting you!
with love,
Karuna
❤️🕉️🌿
Helpful Tips for Getting Around from my Land:
1. You can get numbers from the taxis drivers, or use the colectivos and buses to travel around the area.
2. It takes about a half hour to walk from my land to the highway entrance to Santa Elena El Tule. (Where the taxis are.)
3. It's about a 7-10 minute drive from my place to Playa Agua Blanca.
4. April -September are very hot months here. Bring what you need to stay cool.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Art Projects
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Creating/ Cooking family meals
General Maintenance
House sitting
Interests
Sustainability
Van life
Self development
Farming
Charity work
Architecture
Art & design
Plant care
History
Books
Photography
Gardening
Cooking & food
Carpentry
Animals
Outdoor activities
Yoga / Wellness
Nature
Beach
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
You have the opportunity to live in Mexico, close to the coast, immersed in nature! It's like a retreat here! You can slow down.
Puerto Escondido is only a half hour drive, Mazunte and Zipolite, are about 45 -50 minutes away, respectively and the closest beach (Playa Agua Blanca) is less than 10 minute drive!
There are countless things to do in this area.
Learn and practice Spanish, Yoga, Natural remedies and Ayurvedic Self Care practices!
Share your skills, and receive some Ayurvedic treatments or remedies!
Help
I am looking for motivated, independent, skilled people with good communication skills to help with digging foundation trenches for the super adobe structures and wall, odd and small building projects, permaculture, design, clearing the land, composting, planting an organic garden, building super adobes, woodworking, plumbing.
Please be kind, mindful, respect others, pick up after yourself and do your own dishes.
Languages
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: IntermediateThis host offers a language exchange
I would love to become fluent in Spanish! If you are fluent in Spanish that is a bonus!
Accommodation
Cozy tents with a thin mattress, bedding and pillow.
Drive your RV / VAN up and call this home while you help me build super adobes!
What else ...
There is so much to do nearby!
It's a pretty remote area. It takes about a half hour to walk to the entrance to the highway (carretera) in Santa Elena.
From there, you can grab a bus, taxi, colectivo or a Delfines (AC vans) to where ever you want to go; the beach, Puerto Escondido (30 mins north), Mazunte (Boho town, 45mins south), Zipolite (50 mins south / Nude beaches), Pochutla, (50 mins south) cultural and artists mercados, festivals, a mezcal or tequila tour, bio-luminescence, turtle preserve, turtle or whale watching (seasonal), surfing, swimming, water sports, fishing, boating, Oaxaca City (new highway opened and it's now only a 3 hour drive), exploring, hiking, waterfalls, rivers and more!
You are welcome to come with me to town whenever I go.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
You will have internet access via Starlink when the solar power is on. Wifi hours are usually 9-4pm. Sunny ☀️ days only.
Space for parking camper vans
There is room to park your RV / Trailer! I have water but no dump or electricity. However, I am ordering a generator so you can plug your RV in and get some power soon!
Can possibly accept pets
Dogs who are friendly with cats, chickens and other dogs! No Killers, please!
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Feedback (8)
They helped me start to build my super adobe home! They were here during the 1st super adobe workshop that architect/ builder Ramon and said they learned a lot!
I’m so grateful for their help and friendship! I highly recommend them!… read more
You literally set up a camp in the wild, you live on solar energy, you have dry toilets and at night there are stars, fireflies, you fall asleep surrounded by all the sounds nature can produce. 🤩
For my first Workaway, I wanted a project focused on people and ecology, and that's what I got! Karuna always makes… read more
There were many people in attendance and other Workaway volunteers and Max fit right into our group. He was a wonderful and valued addition!
He is fun to be around, thoughtful, considerate and was a huge help in building the… read more
She is a take charge kind of woman! She is strong, kind, funny and fun to be around and always super positive! She takes initiative, sees what needs to be done and does it without being asked! I love this about her!
She helped me with the start of my super adobe hŌMe, attended our 1st super adobe building workshop… read more
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They helped me start to build my super adobe home! They were here during the 1st super adobe workshop that architect/ builder Ramon and said they learned a lot!
I’m so grateful for their help and friendship! I highly recommend them!… read more
You literally set up a camp in the wild, you live on solar energy, you have dry toilets and at night there are stars, fireflies, you fall asleep surrounded by all the sounds nature can produce. 🤩
For my first Workaway, I wanted a project focused on people and ecology, and that's what I got! Karuna always makes… read more
There were many people in attendance and other Workaway volunteers and Max fit right into our group. He was a wonderful and valued addition!
He is fun to be around, thoughtful, considerate and was a huge help in building the… read more
She is a take charge kind of woman! She is strong, kind, funny and fun to be around and always super positive! She takes initiative, sees what needs to be done and does it without being asked! I love this about her!
She helped me with the start of my super adobe hŌMe, attended our 1st super adobe building workshop… read more
They helped me start building my super adobe home and attended our 1st super adobe building workshop with architect Ramon
They worked hard without any complaints and always had a big smile!
They survived our 1st huge rainstorm of the… read more
When we spoke I asked him if he had questions about anything and he said my description said it all. He wanted to arrive the next day.
I greeted him and so did all the… read more
We had a lot of fun working together and there was flexibility if I sometimes didn't feel well, so we went with the flow and we achieved a lot by that
I loved our deep conversations and new perspectives from her on… read more
We were working mostly on an outdoor oven, a nesting box for the chicken and on a super adobe wall, which was really hard work, but pretty satisfying. We started working early in the morning (at 7) because… read more
She is a bundle of energy… read more
She is very shy and quiet. English is not her first language but she is very fluent.
I told her how rugged the conditions were ahead of time on a whatapp chat BEFORE she even arrived and… read more
I came to Karuna as a day volunteer from my current WorkAway host and we… read more
She was very warm and welcoming and made… read more
We laughed a lot! 🤣 Some. nights we played the card game Crazy Eights and made up our own rules. So fun!
Having recently completely my wood fired oven, we made pizzas with friends, and ate more pizza… read more
Eric is very cooperative, helpful, super quiet and took the initiative to fill the worst holes in… read more
