Profile information
-
Host is looking for help immediately
-
Host rating
100 %
-
Last replied
6 Jul 2026
-
Reply rate
87.0 %
Usually responds within 3 days
-
Feedback
8
-
ID verified
-
Email verified
Badges (3)
Min stay requested: at least 1 month
Details
-
Description
My wife (29) and I (44) live on the beautiful island of Ometepe on 2.5 hectares of land with a big food forest.
We love being free to go out whenever we want. That is why we are looking for someone/couple to live in our caretaker's house to look after our 3 dogs, 5 cats, and chickens at the moments while we are away. -
Types of help and learning opportunities
Animal Care
House & pet sitting
-
Interests
Self developmentFarmingVegetarian or veganPetsMusicGardeningCooking & foodAnimalsNatureMountainHikingCycling -
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We enjoy socializing and meeting new people. You will also learn how the Nicaraguan people live.
-
Help
We are looking for someone, or a couple, who loves nature and animals and wants to take care of our 3 dogs, 5 cats and chickens when we are away. Most of the time we are just at home and you have all the freedom for your own life. We only offer accommodation (a private house with kitchen, bathroom etc.), no food (only food from the food forest that is available)
2 hours a day, 7 days a week when we are away (that is an average of 5 weeks per half year). When we are home you are generally free, occasionally pet sitting when we are away for a day. -
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Dutch: Fluent -
Accommodation
The house for the pet sitter:
- 42 m2, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom (shower + toilet + sink), kitchen/living room, patio
- Surrounding garden may be used for vegetable garden
- The cottage is 100 meters away from our own house, and 80 meters from the unpaved road.
- You are responsible for your own food. You may always use vegetables and fruit that are available in the food forest. The kitchen has all the standard things such as gas stove, oven, refrigerator etc. -
What else ...
Here is some more information:
Where you will end up: The island of Ometepe
- Ometepe is a large island in Lake Cocibolca and consists of 2 volcanoes that are connected to each other. The volcano where we live (the Madéras volcano) is 100% dead.
- Population: 45,000 people
- Many activities: waterfall, climbing volcanoes, hiking, kayaking, swimming, etc.
- Monkeys, parrots, hummingbirds etc. in the garden.
- Also insects such as large spiders, scorpions (a harmless species), ants, etc. Fortunately, there are no dangerous animals on the island. Only the coral snake, but it is so shy and afraid of people that you never see it.
- Always nice weather, you mainly live outside
- Transport: bicycle/scooter/motorcycle/car is always handy, but there are also buses and taxis.
- Shops and beach within walking distance
- Super safe, there is virtually no crime
- There is always something to do and several expats live there
Who are we looking for and what is the intention
- A couple (max 2) or someone alone.
- Period: minimum 6 months, preferably at least a year. The longer the better. That means that you can build your own life here
- We like to be free. We go on holiday a few times a year, every 3 weeks or so a night in Managua to do some shopping for things you can't get on the island, and occasionally a day away.
We like it when we are away that there is someone who can keep an eye on our babies Zeus, Toto and Boris + 5 cats and chickens. In concrete terms, that means: feeding them 3 times a day and a quick walk through the garden together before going to bed, they love that. In addition, we take them for a walk every now and then.
When we are home, you have all the freedom, and we can always coordinate the planning.
- If you have green fingers and would like to help in the food forest, you are of course welcome. We produce more than enough of many things to share. The food forest was created 2 years ago, so not all trees are producing fruit yet.
- It is possible to do work online
Visa
- You don't have to apply for it. When you enter the country you get a tourist visa for 90 days that you can renew with a border run to Costa Rica for 90 days. It's easy. Some people have been doing that for 10 years.
Financial
- I can imagine that you want to know how much money you need here. That's very little. You hardly have any fixed monthly costs here. We cook for 3 months on a $ 15 tank of gas. Water & electricity are free, only if there is ever a fixed connection then it costs a few dollars per month. You don't have to heat your house. You can eat vegetables from your own food forest, but 100% self-sufficiency is difficult so you always need groceries.
- Public health care is free for everyone here in the country. So if you deregister from NL you save a lot on health care costs. Private hospitals are not free but they are affordable, we don't have insurance for them and pay cash when we go there.
In summary:
We are not looking for someone who wants to go on a short vacation, but more for someone who wants to live in nature for a longer period. Occasionally look after the animals, but mainly you have all the freedom to do what you want. -
A little more information
-
Internet access
-
Limited internet access
-
We have pets
-
We are smokers
-
Can host families
-
-
Can host digital nomads
This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.
-
Can possibly accept pets
This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.
-
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
-
Feedback (4)
The caretaker house is far better than what is usually offered elsewhere, and the work hardly feels like work at all if you love animals as much as I do. A genuine love for animals is … read more
Jack & Chaya stayed here for 1.5 weeks for free without doing a single thing.
They didn't want to work. They thought 2 hours a day was too much; they didn't feel "comfortable" with that, they complained.
They did not honor the agreements made.
They left the house in a huge mess; it looked like a garbage dump.
I wouldn't recommend … read more
After we arrived, we informed the host that our stay would be shorter than originally planned. A few days … read more
Rob friendly guy, but unfortunately, everything he touches with his fingers goes wrong or breaks, and his #redacted#.
He says very often “sorry, it won’t happen again,” but unfortunately, he makes the same mistake again a few hours later, and even more worse.
1,000 things went wrong, but I will limit … read more
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:
(4.3)
Communication:
(4.0)
The caretaker house is far better than what is usually offered elsewhere, and the work hardly feels like work at all if you love animals as much as I do. A genuine love for animals is … read more
Jack & Chaya stayed here for 1.5 weeks for free without doing a single thing.
They didn't want to work. They thought 2 hours a day was too much; they didn't feel "comfortable" with that, they complained.
They did not honor the agreements made.
They left the house in a huge mess; it looked like a garbage dump.
I wouldn't recommend … read more
After we arrived, we informed the host that our stay would be shorter than originally planned. A few days … read more
Rob friendly guy, but unfortunately, everything he touches with his fingers goes wrong or breaks, and his #redacted#.
He says very often “sorry, it won’t happen again,” but unfortunately, he makes the same mistake again a few hours later, and even more worse.
1,000 things went wrong, but I will limit … read more
They’re a super welcoming Dutch couple who have created a beautiful and inspiring project with their food forest, animals and magical natural surroundings. They were kind enough to pick us up from the ferry when we arrived, and on our first evening they cooked us a lovely meal and invited us for a … read more