Help out and play this winter in sunny Baja, Mexico

Detalles

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  Descripción

  It is important that you read this entire profile!!
  
  This volunteer opportunity is normally only available during the "winter" months of November through March and sometimes in April
  
  Rich and Shari are retired, living in Idaho, USA, but spending the winter months in beautiful Baja Mexico. We have a beachside property near the growing village of El Sargento, not too far from La Paz, BCS.
  
  We are non-smokers, interested in health conscious, ecologically responsible lifestyles, respecting different cultures and ideas. Shari is very interested in music, being a semi-retired piano and voice teacher. Rich is a competent builder and handyman. If you want to learn building, maintenance or repair skills and would like to volunteer assistance while gaining knowledge, we welcome your request!

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  Tipos de ayuda y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  Jardinería

  Proyectos de construcción y bricolaje

  Mantenimiento general
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  Intercambio cultural y oportunidades de aprendizaje

  Since we do not live here full time, nor are of Mexican or Spanish American heritage, the "Mexican" cultural experience we can offer you is limited. We know some of Mexican holidays, customs and history, and can help you learn or practice more Spanish (although we are only intermediate/beginning level speakers). There are however many opportunities to experience more culture and language within the community.
  Directly we can teach you about the US and primarily western culture plus provide you practice with your English. In addition, Shari has a great deal of experience with teaching and sharing musical and theatrical knowledge and talent. Rich is very knowledgeable about many practical things, especially mechanical, electrical and most things regarding the construction professions.

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  Ayuda

  We host volunteers of all ages, but volunteers must be fit and reasonably strong as some of your assistance may involve lifting and moving moderately weighted objects. Building or maintenance skills, and familiarity with tools are not necessary, but would be beneficial. The ability to work safely, listen carefully, pay attention to details, remember instructions, ask pertinent questions, and learn simple skills is important.
  
  Volunteer tasks might include helping to: build short stone retaining walls, move and level soil, pour and finish concrete, paint, lift and position building components, clean and sand surfaces, and make and install shelves, doors and cabinets. Skills that can be learned or practiced include: stone masonry, concrete forming/ placement/ finishing, plastering & stucco, painting, sheetrock installation & finishing, simple electrical/plumbing, cabinet making and general woodworking, fabric (PVC) assembly, automobile maintenance/repair, welding, gardening, and landscaping.
  
  You could also volunteer help with general maintenance, which might include grounds cleanup, pruning select vegetation, manual watering, fertilizing, possible transplantation or removal of plants, rust removal, re-painting, and fence repair.

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  Idiomas

  Idiomas hablados
  Inglés: Fluido
  Español: Intermedio

  Este anfitrión ofrece intercambio de idiomas
  Would like to improve my intermediate Spanish. Can share beginning/intermediate Spanish and Fluent English.
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  Alojamiento

  A simple room above our workshop with a double bed, table and chairs is available. We can also offer tenting or a place to park your own van, trailer or RV (we have electrical, water and sewage connections).
  
  A bath area with flushing toilet and shower, plus a small kitchen/cooking space with gas stove, is available for use by volunteers (hosts have a separate home).
  
  Shari keeps our living areas pretty clean and tidy and we expect volunteers to keep their bath and kitchen spaces, clean and reasonably tidy also.

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  Algo más...

  Under most circumstances we ask for a minimum stay of 4 weeks. However, we may allow for a shorter stay under special and pre-approved arrangements. We strongly honor OUR commitments to host you, so if you agree to come for a set period of time we expect you to honor that commitment also. Granted, there are some circumstances that require leaving early (such as health or family issues), but your spontaneous change in desires or plans may incur our disapproval. Hopefully you understand this. If you have any concerns that might affect your commitment to stay, please discuss this prior to arrival.
  
  We allow pets only if they are well behaved, will not cause ANY problems, and are capable of being confined if we request this (you must provide the means of confinement).
  
  The hosts will provide limited food, electricity, water and laundry services. You can also have periodic use of some of our recreational equipment. We can provide limited transportation (via automobile) to La Paz, local shopping, and occasionally to other nearby areas.
  
  A little about our diet. Rich and Shari are mostly vegetarian - eating a small amount of fish, eggs and dairy. We center our diets around whole food fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds, and grains , bread (usually homemade) and pasta. We do not eat beef, pork, chicken or other commercially grown meat. Nor do we drink coffee or soda, and Rich rarely drinks alcoholic beverages (Shari never), hence we do not provide these items for volunteers. We do provide some additional dairy and eggs for volunteers if they desire to consume these more frequently than we do. And we try to have fish once a week to share with volunteers. However, we ask you not cook raw meat on our property. You can satisfy any extra meat appetite you may have by buying pre-cooked, canned or smoked meat - or visiting a local restaurant. Normally we ask that volunteers be responsible for their own cooking and meal preparation, however we occasionally enjoy eating together which usually takes the form of sharing responsibility for preparing a group meal. Proper cleanup and disposal of waste is expected after food preparation to avoid pest invasion.
  
  The central / commercial part of El Sargento is almost 1 mile away. It is another 2+ miles to La Ventana. This area is a popular destination for water sports aficionados - mainly kite boarding, windsurfing and more recently wind winging and foiling - but also kayaking, SUP, sailing, scuba, snorkeling, swimming, fishing, whale/dolphin/sea-life watching and more. There is also excellent mountain biking, hiking and beach walking opportunities. The community has a decent artistic and musical population. We often participate musically by attending and sometimes performing at local "open mic" sessions. You can find Yoga (and other misc. classes), occasional music venues, numerous varied restaurants, and lots of small family run eateries. There are local groups that play Pickle-ball, go hiking, mountain biking and more. There are plenty of Spanish speaking locals and a large number of English/French/German/(more) speaking seasonal "snowbirds" (who winter in the area) if you want to chat in different languages.
  
  Nearby La Paz is a busy city with just about everything. There is limited bus transport to La Paz and frequent buses from La Paz to other major towns and cities. Hitchhiking is fairly easy here in the peninsula (according to prior volunteers).
  
  We have a wide,uncrowded, sandy beach just in front of our 3 acre property and a fantastic view of the sea and Isla Cerralvo. Sea turtles lay their eggs here, so you might get the opportunity to see them hatch if lucky. You can occasionally see jumping rays, porpoises, plenty of sea birds, underwater marine life and even the occasional whale out in the ocean off our beach. Our neighborhood is normally pretty quiet, but we live in a rapidly growing residential community and there is some interspersed construction happening. We still have a reasonable amount of native flora on our property which is home to small wildlife (birds, ground squirrels, rabbits, etc.). We have an occasional campfire, where we share stories and music with our volunteers and other neighbors.
  
  Normal temperatures in winter are ideal, with lots of sunshine, warm days, cool evenings (great for sleeping). Humidity is fairly low for such close proximity to the ocean. It can be quite windy at times (with a breeze suitable for wind sports almost every afternoon). There a few pesty insects during this time - and most reptiles are hibernating or keeping a low profile. Sunrises and sunsets are often dramatic - aglow in reds and oranges - especially when weather brings in more cloud cover. We have plenty of transitory birds (including hummingbirds) visiting this time of year.
  
  We prefer volunteers with feedback. In lieu of that, we may ask for personal references. If you have a fully completed and informative profile with photos, and you submit a personalized request (instead of a standard cut-and-paste one), you stand a much better chance of being accepted as we get a lot of requests.
  
  We always leave feedback for volunteers staying with us. Our feedback has primarily been excellent. Unfortunately we have hosted a few volunteers who we gave a neutral feedback due to their leaving us (as in "sneaking off") without prior communication or notice. We find this behavior cowardly and disrespectful. Their response feedback was also neutral (possibly in retaliation?). We can direct you to more excellent references on the "other" popular work volunteer site should you desire these. You can expect an honest review from us if you stay here, and we also expect you to provide us with your feedback within 30 days of your departure.
  
  Here's an important part, so pay attention. We believe in respectful behavior and communication between hosts and volunteers. Unfortunately we have encountered many examples to the contrary, so we feel compelled to establish the following condition. If you commit to spend time with us and at some later time change your mind, we expect to be notified - or - if we are having an "email dialogue" with you, and we ask questions, we expect a response - both within a reasonable time frame. If you fail to extend this common courtesy we may leave a non-positive feedback for you regarding this behavior.
  
  Make sure you include the words "cardon cactus" somewhere in your initial request . That way we are pretty certain you have read everything here and have carefully considered the information therein. Otherwise you may be refused.
  
  Congratulations you made it through this lengthy profile and we look forward to receiving your request. Cheers!

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  Un poco más de información

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    Acceso a Internet

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    Acceso a Internet limitado

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    Tenemos animales

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    Somos fumadores

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    Puede alojar familias

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  Espacio para aparcar autocaravanas

  Up to small Class A motorhome possible. Chemical free sewage dump connection, water hookup, 110v power connection available.

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  ¿Cuántos voluntarios puedes hospedar?

  Dos

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  Horas esperadas

  25 hours maximum

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