Nature-Immersed Co-Living Space and Food Forest in Oaxaca, Mexico

Details

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  Description

  We are Raquel and Julio. We live amidst 100 hectares of ancestral forest in the mountains of Oaxaca, just 1 hour north of Puerto Escondido. This land has been in our family for 3 generations, we have cacao, coffee, many different kinds of banana, gaunabanas, mangos, peanuts, lime trees and many other fauna and flora that share this beautiful space with us. Our intention with this space moving forward is to create a co-living space with the help of our volunteers specifically targeted to people that want to live a life more connected to nature. We aim to provide a sanctuary for individuals to discover healing and tranquility. Here, amidst the embrace of nature, one can rekindle a harmonious bond with the earth's four elements. This renewed connection fosters a sense of purpose and self-awareness, empowering individuals with the clarity and inner peace needed to navigate life's journey and unveil their unique essence and innate healing powers.
  Volunteers that come to join our family will be greeted with open arms and open hearts we only ask that you come with the same and pursue your work with compassionate intention. We provide food and lodging and there is starlink internet on part of the property.

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Language practice

  Help with Eco Projects

  Teaching

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  Hospitality/Tourism

  General Maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet
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  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We provide a myriad of learning opportunities and avenues for cultural exchange. Volunteers can delve into art projects, hone their language skills, contribute to eco-projects, impart knowledge through teaching, and engage in gardening. Through these activities, we aim to foster a rich cultural exchange and learning environment where individuals can learn from the local community and contribute to projects that hold significant value.

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  We invite you to take ownership of the following tasks to maintain our 8 cozy cabins: cleaning, dusting and preparing the beds for guests, repainting, decorating and doing minor repairs in carpentry, plumbing, and electrical tasks. Ensuring the smooth flow of our gravity-fed water system from the mountain stream is crucial. These tasks may include treking in the forest to check for leaks in the pipe, ensuring all the tanks have enough water by opening the valves and keeping an eye on which water-sources are plentiful and which are going dry. We are very grateful when volunteers show initiative and help with tasks that they find themselves. We recommend that you cover your legs completely during the day, to prevent mosquito bites and scratches from tree branches. A good pair of trainers is essential for helping with the tasks in the forest and for general gardening work.
  
  Embrace the shared responsibility of keeping communal spaces tidy, especially post meals. Seize the chance to delve into the art of crafting traditional Mexican dishes which have been adapted to suit vegetarian diets like pozole, entomatadas, tacos dorados, mole, tlayudas, rajas con queso, nopales and of course, guacamole! I (Raquel) will guide you through the preparation and by the end of your stay I'm confident that you'll be able to make these dishes autonomously for your family back home! We also love trying new food from different countries, and we always welcome volunteers to cook for everyone. Your involvement in these tasks not only sustains our space but enriches our collective experience.
  
  For aficionados of Coffee and Cacao, our place is a haven. With 100 mature cacao trees, 200 saplings in the nursery, and about two hectares of coffee, there's a thriving ecosystem. We host 1,000 young coffee plants and are gearing up to accommodate 3,000 more. We seek help in nurturing the young coffee plants, putting them into the ground, and during the harvest season (December, January for Coffee), assistance with harvesting and processing is invaluable. We've recently harvested over 30 kg of tumeric, and we need help making tumeric powder and other artesenal products (like tumeric honey and dehydrated mango slices). Our goal is to continue flourishing, and every helping hand propels us closer to this vision.
  
  We are seeking individuals possessing initiative, a positive demeanor and resilient spirit, ready to embrace the jungle lifestyle. Those with an open mind, prepared to tackle challenges such as cold showers, jungle insects, outdoor work, and humidity, will find this environment a rewarding adventure.

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  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
  You can contact them directly for more information.
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  Accommodation

  Couples that come to join us will have their own cabin with a private bathroom and shower to enjoy. If we have a lot of volunteers, solo travelers may be asked to share a cabin with one other person. Because of events and bookings it is possible that volunteers may need to move from their cabin into another space in order to accommodate paying guests.
  We promise you will never go hungry here! We believe that food is very important for everyone and is best when shared together at the dinner table. Normally the food being made is traditional mexican vegetarian with local products. Typically, volunteers prepare breakfast in the morning: fresh fruit, porridge, coffee, bread or hotcakes! Then we all get some work done and have a big lunch in the middle of day and then another one in the evening. It is an open kitchen and volunteers are welcome to cook their own meals/snacks as well. Normally we have different volunteers on duty for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Depending on how confident you are in the kitchen, you're welcome to take complete ownership of the meal and teach us your recipes!

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  What else ...

  Close to us we have rivers and waterfalls to swim and explore the rich bio-diversity of the Oaxacan Jungle. Upon each volunteer's arrival, we conduct a reading based on the Aztec calendar, corresponding to their birthdate, to unveil their inherent essence or energies. This practice fosters a deeper understanding among us, facilitating collaborative synergy.
  We offer a tamazcal ceremony for the full moon every month and sometimes offer more ceremonies if we have bookings. Volunteers are asked to help us with these ceremonies and are encouraged to join us, there should be at least 1 tamazcal ceremony per month but we cannot guarentee if there will be more. The cabins have cosy terraces which are beautiful spaces to read during the hot afternoons, or to share some beers and play cards together in the evenings.

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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

  This host has indicated that they love having digital nomads stay.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  This host can provide space for campervans.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  More than two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day 5 days a week

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