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12 Jan 2025
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Hello! We are Julia & Jackie, owners of a permaculture homestead. We have 5 cats and 3 dogs, all of whom are super cute and cuddly. Julia is a marine biologist and Jackie is an educator. We've been living in the Philippines for 10 years, volunteering for different marine conservation NGOs, until we decided to build our own NGO and home on Siquijor Island. We both love animals, the environment, and we care deeply about the footprint we leave on this world. We run a small environmental education organization. It's volunteer-powered by ourselves and local high school teachers and students who want to form after-school environmental clubs. Ever since we have moved into the homestead, we have been able to design our land using inspiration from what we advocate, so that we can practice what we preach!
Our 2000 sq. meter permaculture homestead was built from the ground up in 2021, and we've put in a lot of effort into living a sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle. We've got a large organic vegetable garden and free-range farm animals-chickens, ducks rabbits and even a cow! We are also often taking in stray kittens and puppies and do our best to rehabilitate and re-home them. Water is limited and precious on the island, so we've created a biological greywater treatment system so that we can reuse sink and shower water in our garden. We've also got a natural dunking pool filtered by plants and air bubble circulation, creating a balanced ecosystem filled with micro and macro-organisms which keep the water clean without chemicals!
It's extremely important to us that volunteers who join us are willing to respect our lifestyle and live like we do whilst working with us. Specifically, we mean that we avoid buying any single-use plastics (straws, chips, cookies, snacks, etc.) and ask that while you stay with us, you also do not bring single use plastics into our home. Thank you!
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Farmstay help
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
As a German marine biologist and American educator who have lived and volunteered abroad for over a decade, we have loads of stories and experiences to share from around the globe. We are especially excited to share our love for the Philippines, where we have been doing community and school-based environmental work since 2013. We are happy to give our workawayers a local language manual, advice on how to best experience local life, and insights into the cultural and social dynamics of this complex and beautiful archipelago. We also have lots of materials on local wildlife above and below water in case our visitors are as enthusiastic about Philippines biodiversity as we are.
Our workawayers will work together with us as a team to operate our experimental permaculture homestead, which is our model for tropics-based rural sustainable homesteading and a home base for our education programs with high school students. Here are a few skills and technologies you will learn through our day to day activities:
Lots of ORGANIC GARDENING--
How to improve soil fertility and consistency through....
-vermicomposting
-rapid hot composting
-rice hull carbonization
-mulching
-Korean Natural Farming (IMO, LAB, FPJ, FAA, FFJ, WCA, etc.)
-Compost tea fertilizer and organic pest-control sprays
Lots of ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
How to feed and care for free-range and semi free-range chickens, ducks, rabbits and our cow Uschi :)
-collecting forage
-collecting leaf and straw bedding
-composting manure
-cleaning enclosures and ponds
-mixing feeds
-black soldierfly maggot farming
PERMACULTURE WATER and WASTE SYSTEMS
-How to clean and reuse greywater through plant-based filtration.
-How to maintain a natural dunking pool (filtered only by plants and circulation- no chemicals)
-How to maintain wildlife ponds with aquaponics filtration.
-How to operate a composting toilet.
We hope to learn from our workawayers as well, whether it's about permaculture technologies we haven't yet tried, insights and lessons from other places our visitors have traveled to, or feedback on how the permaculture homestead could be improved as an educational center or better shared through social media. We hope to meet people who are equally passionate about nature and sustainable living and share with them the joy of hard work in pursuit of a beautiful goal.
Help
If you are interested in applying here, it's essential that you do not mind getting dirty, and we don't just mean dirty hands. Living on a permaculture homestead is a lifestyle choice that requires a lot of work to maintain a healthy balance. We need volunteers who are physically fit, willing to learn, and willing to get down and dirty with us!
There is never a boring day on the Farm, and there is so much to learn!
-Gardening: this includes watering all plants, seeding, transplanting, trimming, propagating, weeding, etc.
-Composting: this includes harvesting vermicompost, turning hot compost piles, gathering organic materials, etc.
-Animals: this includes feeding the farm animals, cleaning enclosures, fixing/re-building animal infrastructure, cleaning stinky duck ponds, keeping the areas tidy, collecting animal manure for fertilizer, etc.
-Carpentry/Building: assistance with any infrastructure project we need.
Languages spoken
German: Fluent
English: Fluent
French: Beginner
Accommodation
Nestled in a private corner of our property, you will stay in our Glamping tent which is safely located on a wooden roofed platform. The tent is very spacious, with a diameter of 4 meters. You can stand up inside, there is electricity, and a queensize mattress to sleep. You will have your own little outside shower and your own little compost toilet. Don't know what a composting toilet is? We will explain in detail when you arrive.
There is no stove top for you to cook your own meals unfortunately. So you would need to eat out on your off days and dinner on your working days.
On the days you work, we provide coffee/tea in the morning before work and one filling meal a day around 10:30 am. All other meals will be your own responsibility. We do not currently have a kitchen for you to use on the property. However, we are only a 5 minute motorbike ride from Siquijor and 8 minute motorbike ride from San Juan, both of which have plenty of dining options.
Our internet connection is pretty unreliable. Sometimes super good, sometimes not existing. Especially in the corner of the property where your tent is located. However there are plenty of cafes etc in San Juan, a ten minutes drive away, if you need to work or be online.
What else ...
Some extra info...
-It is essential for you TO RENT A MOTORBIKE. Between 450 and 250 Php per day depending on the season, but if you rent for longer term, you can get the price down and bargain for a longterm payment.
Public transport in our area is basically not existing or very difficult, and to even though Siquijor town is only a 5 min ride away for example, you would need to walk between 30 and 45 mins to get there.
-We try not to use single use plastics, so please be mindful of this and help us reduce our waste and do not bring single use plastics into our home!
From Cebu/Manila
1. Fly from whichever city to Dumaguete Airport. You can check for cheap flights on Traveloka app!
2. From Dumaguete Airport, take a TRICYCLE to Dumaguete Port. Fair is usually 100 pesos and takes 30 minutes. Or you can walk outside the airport and take a PASSENGER JEEPNEY to Dumaguete City. Then walk a short distance or take a tricycle to the port. Not sure about the price of this option but expect to pay around 30-50 pesos.
3. At the port, take the next ferry to Siquijor. There are many different ferry companies, but make sure to take the ferry to SIQUIJOR port, and not LARENA. You can take the ferry to Larena but it's a longer distance to our home. Fare is around 150-400 pesos, depending on the time and company. Terminal fee is 15 pesos. Expect to pay extra for your bag if you take OceanJet.
4. Either rent a motorbike, or take a tricycle to here.
What's around us...
Closest market 2.4 miles
Closest gas station 2 miles
Closest beach 2.5 miles
Cambugahay Falls 17 miles
Balete Tree 10 miles
Paliton Beach 5.3 miles
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
Two
Feedback (31)
We stayed with them for 3 weeks and there were so many aspects of our time there that were inspiring to us to implement in the future when we develope our own project:
-… read more
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We stayed with them for 3 weeks and there were so many aspects of our time there that were inspiring to us to implement in the future when we develope our own project:
-… read more
They are genuinely kind human beings with extensive knowledge in permaculture and a… read more
We learned and enjoyed so much during the couple of weeks we spend with them.
They, and their beautiful dogs, Boxie, Tubig and Eusevio ;) , made us feels so welcomed from the first moment we arrived to their beautiful home.
They have so much wisdom and… read more
They were always positive and in a good mood, always helpful and not afraid to get their hands full of chicken or cow poop ;)
We really enjoyed having them here, they were great fun!
We totally recommend them to other hosts, don't hesitate to invite them to your project!
Take care guys, safe… read more
They welcome us really well with great coffee and lot of really good food every lunch much better than we did every night… read more
We enjoyed these two a lot! They are super friendly, good people and very hard working. Unfortunately they only stayed two weeks with us. Hopefully they ll come back some day!
We totally recommend them to any other workaway host, don't give ignasi a drill through, he ll… read more
Amber is incredibly strong (she is a tree planter who can move a goathouse almost by herself!), she seems to be always in a good mood, she is always motivated to work and learn and she loves boardgames!
She is a super friendly, outgoing and chatty nature, who would be a great addition to every workaway… read more
Merie was a super nice workawayer to have around, I am very grateful for all the help and dedication.
Thanks for everything, Merie! Safe travels!… read more
What a great workaway experience! they were a great team together and a great company to have around our farm. always in a good mood and ready to get dirty. Without much instructions they were able to do some carpentry tasks, which was an amazing experience for me, to have someone so handy around!… read more
Julia and Jackie are super friendly and you can ask them anything! And be sure to do that because they have a lot of knowledge =).
The food they provided was always super tasty.
You work from 8-12 and get days off inbetween… read more
They told me they’ve only had positive experiences hosting WorkAwayers, which I first thought was down to luck. But after spending some time with them I think it’s more down to… read more
Julia and Jackie created this lovely place on the most magical island of the Philipines. It has all you need: cute animals, incredible food, fun and interesting chats, and the feeling of being in the middle of nowhere but still close to everything you need.
If you don't mind the hard work, sweat, and dirt, this is… read more
I loved carry out all the duties of the day (well.. watering not specially jajaja) , understand the importance of what I was doing and the reason why I was doing it.
Here you never… read more
Both are extremely handy, Jack is like a little powerhouse whose favorite tool is the machete and who literally ran the first day around with the wheelbarrow.
They were super interested in what we are doing and liked all our animals, especially Uschi our cow, which is always a… read more
Thanks for everything guys, safe… read more
With wonderful people, we have felt at home.
For us, the best workaway we have done, we have learned a lot, they have taught us very well, I recommend this workaway 100%, very happy to share time with all the animals, thank you for this experience, a huge hug.
Always in a good mood, always up before us, hehehe, he was super friendly to all our animals, which is verz important to us, and seem to have fun doing what we asked him to do. He never complained and always had a helping hand! We hope to have him back on Siquijor soon!! If he will apply to any of you hosts out… read more
Also Jackie’s breakfasts are incredible! Since leaving we have been… read more
We really enjoyed our 10 days stay with Julia ans Jacky. They are very welcoming, have a contagious positiv energy that puts you on a good mood for the day !
We did a lot of different things, such as watering, constructing, cleaning, painting,… everything was interesting… read more
Communication leading up to my stay great - Jackie & Julia responded quickly and were very clear before I committed myself with what would be expected of me and of what I could… read more
We had so much fun with these two. They are quite an experience, and we were really happy to have had the chance to have them here at our place. They were always very helpful, tried so many new things with no complaint, Yehuda even touched our worms ;)
They were such… read more
It was a great start and introduction to zero footprint living and farming. We learned how everything in life circles on a googol 360 circle. The grass is fed to the… read more
If you are looking for a great experience in the Philippines far away from mass tourism this is the place.
Julia and Jackie are really kind and gave us great tips regarding discovering Siquijor.… read more
Thanks guys for everything! Safe travels and take care!
Unfortunately Jackie was away visiting family so did not get to meet her but we heard so many amazing things about her from the others on the island and from Julia.
Julia was a great host, always happy to answer all of our… read more
They worked every day without taking a day off because they enjoyed their tasks so much. They bonded with our animals and kept their accommodation super clean and tidy. They helped me with rescuing and fostering kittens and cats.… read more
They’re both so appreciative, welcoming and easy to get along with.
The kind of work they need help with varies. We really enjoyed being around all the animals and learning about permaculture, which Julia and Jackie know a lot about. To top it all… read more
