Family farm
Ecuador
Finca El Aullador (The Howler Farm) is a 10-hectare conservation and multiple use area. The farm is located near Mompiche on the coast of Esmeraldas Province in Ecuador, a premier surfing and tourism destination. The farm is 2 kilometers from one of the best "left point-break"in Ecuador. The farm is managed by a father and son team (João and Ivan). Pichi and his family are responsible for day-to-day tasks. Our goal is to combine production and conservation to save the biodiversity of the coastal Chocó region of Ecuador.
Out of the 10 hectares, 7.5 are under primary and secondary forest. Two-and-a-half hectares are dedicated to organic shade grown cacao (criollo and fino de aroma) fruit trees, and interspersed short-cycle crops. At the farm we are trying different ways of integrating conservation and agriculture.
The owners do not live in the property but nearby. Your day-to-day supervisor will be Francisco (Pichi). The work can be hard and being inmersed in a tropical forest, you will have to contend with bugs and other inconveniences. This is a life changing experience but not for those that expect comfort. Accommodations are spartan, there is no regular road access, no electricity. You will ahve to do most of your own cooking, albeit most often people joing forces with Pichi. We are flexible given the unique characteristics of our farm.
Organic methods: The Howler Farm is an experimental conservationa and multiple use zone. Besides not using any chemicals, we work with natural vegetation processes to integrate agroforestry and conservation. Our focus on organic shade grown cacao allows us to maintain a high level of biodiversity while producing enough for basic food and cash needs of the family. Our actions are relatively recent, so many of our initiatives are only now beginning to take shape.
Certifications: We are not commercial, too small. We are organic by deep conviction
Current projects: Currently our goa is to enhance cacao and food production and make of our farm a research base for both biologists and agroecologists. We are currently developing our first management plan as required by the porvincial government. Specifically, in June 2020 we will initiate research on the howler monkey in partnership with the the University of San Francisco de Quito. WE continue to plant fruit trees, prune our cacao trees, harvest, ferment, dry. Soon we need to graft some trees that due to disease have become unproductive. Our projects are ongoing.
Internet access available
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Learning opportunities
Vegetable farming
Fruit or nut farming
Poultry farming
Raising of other farm animals
Forestry
Beekeeping
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Meat processing
Methods or systems
Holistic management
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
4.1
Hectares
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10
Acres
Joao
Member since 2019
Languages spoken:
English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
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Mon
Tue
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Response rate: 77%
Response time: typically within 3 days
Ecuador
Reviews
Julie
France
•
December 2025
Je suis partie plus tôt que prévu car j'ai été affecté par un manque d'organisation de la part de Joao et peut être un manque de clarté quand à l'experience à laquelle je devrais m'attendre à partir de l'annonce. Pleins de petites choses que je ne prenais pas au serieux comme le fait qu'il me fasse attendre à Mompiche à mon arrivée en bus de nuit car il prenait son petit dej chez lui, puis qu'il n'y avais pas de gaz ou d'eau à mon arrivée. Mais au fur et à mesure j'ai eu l'impression qu'il n'avait rien préparé avant mon arrivée. J'avais hate du premier jour de travail, qui ne se passe pas avec Joao mais avec Fernando. Pour moi le wwoofing est un moment pour partager et apprendre ensemble, ici c'est à peine si Fernando m'a dit bonjour (alors que je parle parfaitement espagnol), il m'a emmené aux arbres de cacao, m'a dit de les tailler et rapidement montré, puis m'a laissé en me disant qu'il reviendrai... finalement il est juste revenu 4h après pour me dire que c'était fini que je pouvais partir. J'ai donc passé la matinée seule à travailler.
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Reply from Joao
Thank you for your review. I spent a lot of my time and even some money to host you, even bending the rules to accept your volunteering for less than two weeks. I am a very busy person and dedicated time that I did not have to accommodate you. Not long ago we did not even have . You arrive early morning and expect me to jump in the car and go attend to you. No lady, you are a VOLUNTEER, not a client. I do not make beds for volunteers or cook for them. I made it very clear that it was rustic and that you had to spend time by yourself. You did not have to lie about being sick. You could have told me that you were not up to it and saved us all time and grief. You were not even capable of helping with the sterilization campaign as agreed. I spent time to accommodate you : sheets, gas, buy you food, show you the farm drive you around, take you to playa negra etc. I do not have free time my dear. You are young, immature, unable to deal with adversity and ungrateful. The good thing is that you have time to evolve. Take care
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Luise
Austria
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October 2025
I spend a month at the Joao`s farm and really enjoyed my time there! The location is amazing, if you like nature, animals (monkeys, dogs,...), trying all kinds of fruits (growing on the farm). the cabin is rustic but sweet, i enjoyed having space for myself which is rather rare while traveling i guess...
joao is a super fun, helpful and respectful guy, communicates clearly and is super flexible and supportive in all belongings.
the work was straight forward and physical most of the days. I learned a lot about new plants and got a strong schoulder from using the machete.
i also had a good time in mompiche (the next town: 45 min walking/5 min bus ride. you only work in the mornings so there is enough time to visit). people are very welcoming, you can do surfing, best corviche i had in all ecuador,...
i had a problem with the clothes that i wasn`t wearing, they started to mold a little bit because it is so humid in the forest. maybe bring a plastic bag or something to put them in...
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Reply from Joao
Hi Luise, thanks for the freed back. I will get a container to put food in and buy a couple fo chairs and table!!!! All the best, Joao
Jakob
Netherlands
•
February 2024
I stayed 2 weeks at the finca of Joao. It was an inspiring experience for me.
Living on the finca means going back to the basic. No running water, get your food from the land, no internet so a lot of spare time. And howler monkeys and tucans just near the cabin. I loved it!
The work I did was pruning the cacao and removing parasitic plants, expanding the hen house, cutting down trees that were giving too much shade, and cutting away bottom crawlers around young plants. It could get quite hot and humid (it's the rainforest..) but no pressure to bust your butt off.
Joao is a really nice and interesting dude who has seen a lot and knows even more. Glad that I got to know him.
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Reply from Joao
Thanks for your visit Jakob. Glad you had a positive experience. Best of luck!
Paul
France
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December 2023
Je recommande l’expérience que j’ai vécu dans la ferme de Cacao de Joao: bien plus riche que de rester dans un hôtel à mompiche.
Joâo est quelqu’un de bienveillant et cultivé qui apprend bien des choses sur le lieu dans lequel il vit.
Les autres personnes travaillant à plein temps sont également de bonnes rencontres, rendant le woofing ici très riche d’apprentissage.
Le village est largement accessible (2km), on n’en est pas coupé !
Mompiche m’est apparu bien différent entre la première semaine que j’y ai passée (dans un hostel du village) et les 2 semaines qui suivirent (woofing chez Joao)
Bien plus vrai, bien plus humain
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Matthew
United Kingdom
•
December 2022
I really enjoyed my experience at Finca Aullador. Joao is a great person and has a beautiful piece of land in the jungle. The work was physical but that's what I was looking for. I also thought the accommodation was really good. Thanks Joao
Nate
United States
•
September 2022
The howler farm is truly a jungle lovers dream. My girlfriend and I were there for a little over 2 months and had an amazing experience. The owner is very nice and easy to get along with. He knows almost everyone in the main town of mompiche and is incredibly knowledgeable about his land and what he has growing.
You will get the basics for food, rice, lentils, pasta, tomatoes, that kind of thing. No fridge where you live so it will all be fresh eating. There is food on the farm you can help yourself to, bananas, plantains, passion fruit, cacao, and many others as well as chickens and plenty of eggs. The walk from the owners house to the farm is a 15 minute hike down a mud slide if it’s been wet at all out (it’s the jungle it’s always wet) so don’t plan on carrying any huge bags down there. You do have electricity down at the farm now they just recently ran the lines through the jungle. The work is not very challenging. They will find jobs that suit your abilities. Most of what we did was machete weeds and pick certain fruiting plants.
Overall it was in incredible experience. If you are ok not being taken care of hand an foot and you want to do your own thing while exploring this is perfect. If you want someone to show you around and bring you places, or let you use a car, maybe look for another farm. It is a 45 minute walk, after climbing the farm trail, down to mompiche town. It is a very safe place compared to the rest of Ecuador and I highly recommend this farm!
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