Help us evolve our permaculture farm surrounded by nature and wildlife in Santa Cruz, Nicaragua

Infos

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  Description

  Welcome to our little corner of the Nicaraguan jungle!
  
  We’re Lucie and Ash, and together we’re building a constantly evolving permaculture farm and homestead surrounded by nature, wildlife, and more projects than we can count. If there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that there is never a dull day on the farm.
  
  What we love most about living here is the balance between chaos and serenity. Our property is tucked away in the jungle, far from the main road, which gives us peace, privacy, and a strong connection to nature. We wake up to birdsong, share our space with horses, dogs, puppies, a cat, and soon chickens again, and spend our days surrounded by trees, gardens, and wildlife.
  
  One of our biggest passions is syntropic agroforestry. Every month our forests become more abundant, and the list of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and medicinal plants we can harvest keeps growing. We love experimenting, learning, and finding better ways to work with nature rather than against it.
  
  No two days are the same here. We might start the morning planting tomatoes and finish the afternoon moving rocks, building hugel mounds, planting fruit trees, troubleshooting hot compost, repairing fences, building an adobe house or creating a new garden. Flexibility, curiosity, and a sense of adventure go a long way!
  
  We’re not alone in this journey. Chepe and Eduardo, our local team members, are deeply involved in the farm and are an important part of everything that happens here. They bring invaluable local knowledge, practical skills, and plenty of good humor to daily life.
  
  Beyond the farm itself, we’re lucky to have wonderful neighbors - a mix of local Nicaraguan families and expats from around the world. The area offers beautiful views, a welcoming community, and endless opportunities to learn about sustainable living, tropical agriculture, and rural life in Nicaragua.
  
  If you enjoy nature, animals, hands-on projects, learning new skills, and embracing the unexpected, you’ll probably feel right at home here.

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  Types d'aide et opportunités d'apprendre

  Projets artistiques

  Aide avec des éco-projets

  Enseignement

  Jardinage d'entretien

  Projets DIY créatifs

  S’occuper des animaux

  Aide dans une ferme

  Cuisine/repas pour la famille

  Aide à la maison

  Petits travaux d'entretien

  Garde de maison et d'animaux
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  Centres d’intérêt

  

  Végétarien ou végan

  

  Dev. durable

  

  Animaux de compagnie

  

  Films et télé

  

  Ferme

  

  Bénévolat

  

  Menuiserie

  

  Cuisine et alimentation

  

  Arts du spectacle

  

  Langues

  

  Astronomie

  

  Bricolage / artisanat

  

  Livres

  

  Jardinage

  

  Histoire

  

  Musique

  

  Soin des plantes

  

  Écriture

  

  Auto-stop

  

  Animaux

  

  Cyclisme

  

  Montagne

  

  Fitness

  

  Plage

  

  Yoga / bien-être

  

  Nature

  

  Camping

  

  Danse

  

  Activités en plein air

  

  Randonnée
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  Objectifs de développement durable de l’ONU que cet hôte essaie d'atteindre

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  Qu'est-ce que c'est ?
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  Echange culturel et opportunités d'apprendre

  We believe that cultural exchange is one of the most rewarding parts of hosting volunteers. Both of us have traveled extensively, stayed with people around the world, and experienced the generosity of others. We’re excited to now be on the hosting side and welcome people who bring fresh perspectives, new ideas, creativity, and positive energy to our farm.
  
  We love sharing what we’ve learned throughout our journey. If you’re interested, we’re happy to teach and exchange knowledge about syntropic agroforestry, composting, tropical permaculture, food preservation and fermentation, medicinal plants, natural remedies, and eco-building techniques. We don’t claim to know everything, but we’re constantly learning and enjoy sharing both our successes and our mistakes.
  
  Language exchange is also a big part of life here. Between us, we speak English, Spanish, Czech, and French, and we’re always happy to help people practice. You’ll also have plenty of opportunities to improve your Spanish through daily interactions with our local team, Chepe and Eduardo, as well as with neighbors and the wider community.
  
  Lucie teaches English to local children, and volunteers are welcome to join the lessons, help out, or simply observe if they’re interested in education and language learning.
  
  Life on the farm is often social and community-oriented. We enjoy sharing meals, exchanging stories, discussing ideas, playing music, and learning from each other’s experiences. We love guitar music, medicine songs, dancing, and good conversations around a meal or a fire.
  
  Most of all, we hope that hosting people from different backgrounds continues to broaden our horizons, challenge our assumptions, and inspire new projects. We believe that everyone arrives with something valuable to teach and something new to learn, and that’s exactly the kind of exchange we’re hoping to create here.

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  Aide

  The biggest need on our farm is for someone with practical building and carpentry skills. In an ideal world, we’d love to host an experienced carpenter or builder who can work independently and help us create furniture and infrastructure around the farm. Projects may include building doors, shelves, storage solutions, horse shelters, chicken coops, outdoor structures, and whatever new idea we happen to be working on that week.
  
  Because both of us work full-time, we’re especially looking for people who are comfortable taking initiative and don’t require constant supervision. If you’re the kind of person who can look at a project, make a plan, and get started, you’ll fit in well here.
  
  We’re also happy to host volunteers interested in gardening, syntropic agroforestry, food production, and general farm work. However, since we are usually busiest with our jobs during weekday mornings, we ask volunteers who focus on farm and garden tasks to be flexible and work mainly on weekends or during weekday afternoons, when we’re more available to work alongside them and provide guidance.
  
  Another skill set we’d love to welcome is cooking and food preservation. Our gardens and food forests are becoming increasingly abundant, and we’re often harvesting a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other produce. We’d love to host a chef, passionate home cook, or food enthusiast who enjoys creating farm-to-table meals, experimenting with seasonal ingredients, and helping us preserve the harvest through fermentation, drying, pickling, canning, and other techniques. If you get excited about turning fresh produce into delicious food, you’ll have plenty to work with here.
  
  Beyond practical skills, we love learning and exchanging knowledge. We’d be especially excited to host a guitar teacher or an Argentine tango dancer/teacher. We’re both dancers and enjoy picking up new skills :-)
  
  More than anything, we’re looking for positive, adaptable people who enjoy nature, don’t mind getting their hands dirty, and are excited to be part of the ever-changing adventure of life on a farm.
  
  🌿 Current Projects
  Our projects change with the seasons, so no two visits are ever quite the same! At the moment we’re working on:
  
  - Creating a new syntropic forest – removing rocks, preparing planting beds, mulching, and planting trees and companion species.
  - Finishing our cob house – completing the cob walls and installing a natural earthen floor.
  - Farm-to-table kitchen – experimenting with our harvest to create delicious seasonal meals, preserves, fermented foods, and farm products.
  - Animal care – daily care of our horses, dogs, puppies, and other farm animals.
  - Expanding horse paddocks – planting forage grasses (zacate) and building new horse runs.
  - Harvesting – papayas, yucca (cassava), chaya, herbs, and whatever else is ready from the gardens and food forests.
  - Fermentation projects – brewing kombucha and experimenting with other fermented foods and drinks.
  - Maintaining our established syntropic forests – pruning, weeding, mulching, and caring for the ecosystem.
  - Building furniture – crafting a bed, shelves, and other handmade pieces for our cob house.
  - Preparing for new hens – repairing and improving the chicken coop before welcoming chickens back to the farm.
  
  And, of course, there are always a few surprise projects that appear along the way. That’s life on a farm!

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  Langues

  Langues parlées
  Czech: Courant
  Anglais: Courant
  Espagnol: Courant
  Français: Courant

  Cet hôte propose un échange linguistique
  Lucie speaks Czech, English, and Spanish fluently and is currently improving her French. Ash is a native French speaker who also speaks English and Spanish fluently and is bravely tackling Czech one word at a time!
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  Hébergement

  Workawayers stay in a private off-grid jungle cabin surrounded by fruit trees, gardens, and the sounds of nature. The cabin offers a peaceful retreat while still being close to daily life on the farm.
  
  The accommodation is simple, comfortable, and immersed in nature. Volunteers have access to a cozy outdoor shower, a composting toilet, and our shared community kitchen. Electricity is solar-powered, and internet access is available.
  
  Our farm is located on the slopes of Volcano Maderas, surrounded by jungle and food forests. We’re just a short walk from hiking trails, viewpoints, and Laguna de Maderas. The nearest parking area is about a 7-minute walk away, and the closest beach is around 30 minutes on foot or 5 minutes by motorcycle.
  
  Food is an important part of life here. We provide basic ingredients and often share produce harvested directly from the farm, including seasonal fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other goodies. We enjoy cooking together when schedules allow, and volunteers are welcome to use the kitchen and get creative with the abundance from the gardens. If you’re a chef or passionate home cook, you’ll probably be in heaven here.
  
  Our property is home to horses, dogs, puppies, a cat, chickens (depending on the season), and plenty of wildlife. Because we live in the jungle, you should expect occasional encounters with insects, geckos, spiders, ants, and other harmless creatures. For us, they’re simply part of living close to nature.
  
  We maintain an alcohol-free space and ask all guests and volunteers to respect this. We aim to create a peaceful, healthy environment for everyone living on the farm.
  
  For volunteers joining us under the standard Workaway exchange (up to 25 hours per week with two full days off), we provide comfortable accommodation and three meals a day.
  
  Our meals are mostly vegetarian, naturally gluten-free, and based around seasonal produce from our gardens and food forests. We love eating fresh, local food and use as many homegrown ingredients as possible. Throughout the year this includes a variety of tropical fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other farm harvests.
  
  Cooking is often a shared activity. Sometimes we’ll prepare meals together, sometimes we’ll take turns cooking, and sometimes cooking itself may become part of the volunteer experience, especially if you enjoy spending time in the kitchen. We love exchanging recipes, learning about different cuisines, and creating delicious farm-to-table meals together.
  
  One of us has celiac disease. We ask everyone to be mindful when using gluten-containing ingredients, clean thoroughly after cooking, and help us keep the kitchen safe and comfortable for everyone.

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  Autres infos...

  One final warning: there is a very good chance you’ll leave with muddy boots, a few new skills, some favorite fruit you’ve never tasted before, and at least one story that starts with, “Well, that wasn’t the plan for the day…”

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  Informations complémentaires

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    Accès Internet

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    Accès Internet limité

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    Nous avons des animaux

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    Nous sommes fumeurs

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    Familles bienvenues

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  Possibilité d’accueillir les digital nomads

  Digital nomads are welcome, but it’s important to understand that we’re still very much a developing farm rather than a polished co-working retreat. At the moment, we don’t have a dedicated office or co-working space. Most remote work happens in our communal kitchen and gathering area. This works well for focused work, but it can be challenging if several people need to be on video calls or meetings at the same time. Internet is generally suitable for remote work, but we’re located in a rural jungle environment, so occasional interruptions can happen. We also run on solar power. During the rainy season, extended periods of cloudy weather can sometimes limit our electricity production, which may require us to be mindful of energy use. That said, both of us work remotely ourselves, so we understand the needs of digital nomads and do our best to create an environment where people can balance work, volunteering, and enjoying island life. If your job requires constant high-speed internet, multiple daily video calls, or a highly professional office setup, our place may not be the best fit. If you’re flexible, independent, and happy working from a beautiful jungle farm surrounded by nature, you’ll likely feel right at home.

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  Combien de volontaires pouvez-vous accueillir ?

  Deux

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  Mes animaux

  

  Leya

  

  Mia Mid

  

  Sita Ram

  

  Mr. Mango

  

  Nala

  

  Chilindrina

  

  Vincent, the horse

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