Our focus is on helping the rural farming poor to live better by going organic. So, if you are interested in learning organic farming or more interested in a cultural immersion, you will find those opportunities here. This is a hands on trade school and NOT an academic school. It is a working farm providing practical training to the rural poor. It is a working farm where you will work hard and get dirty every day.
We have sheep, chickens, rabbits as well as a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. We are also into herbal medicine and grow many of those plants. Our students are young adults, male and female, with rural backgrounds who are eager to learn organic farming. Occasionally, we host high school students for a day of learning about organic farming.
If you are interested in beginning a farm and living in Honduras, we could offer some guidance because we have done it several times and one of our goals is help poor Hondurans do the same.
It is not all work and no play. Many weekends we get off campus to relax. Sometimes it is swimming in natural hot springs, sometimes it's hiking in the mountains, sometimes it is enjoying cold water swimming under water falls, sometimes it's visiting other towns for rural local competition like horse riding, sometimes it's for pizza or a football game between our students and woofers versus another local team.
We are located 15 min. from town and 1.5 hour drive from the San Pedro airport. We are open to WWOOFers 365 days a year. However, during the Christmas new year holidays, there was only a skeleton crew at the farm. In other words, you will need to do your own cooking.
Our students are from many different areas of Honduras. In other words, as you work with and eat and hang out with them, you will be exposed to various areas and cultures of Honduras. Being on campus is like being with and visiting multiple different families in various areas from near the border of Nicaragua to near the borders of El Salvador and Guatemala....a highly diverse experience without needed to move around.
Please note this is a school and that implies a couple of things. First of all we expect volunteers to set excellent examples for the students. That includes NOT using illegal drugs and it also includes setting a good work ethic example for the students.
As an international volunteer you have unusual influence for the good or the bad. We expect volunteers to be an excellent example. As an international volunteer, it is your opportunity to have a life-changing influence in the lives of the students.
Secondly, as a school, it is a longer day than most woofing sites. While some woofing sites allow for an abbreviated schedule, that doesn't fit a school environment very well. Fortunately for most woofers, the long day is enjoyable because they are interacting all day long with a variety of students who come from various different areas of Honduras and so they are exposed to much of Honduras while on campus with us. Also, the long days means more learning.
For more info about us and the charity we run, please check our website... the tab is above at the header.
Do you enjoy soccer? We're not as good at soccer as we are at organic farming but we really enjoy it...both men and women. We play together as a team with other coed teams.
We live, work and learn in a tight knit community. If you enjoy cooking, you could teach us a favorite recipe. There are several different dorms... men's dorms and women's dorms. Most dorms have 2 or 3 beds. Everyone has their own bed. The couple's dorm has one bed. Occasionally Wwoofer will sleep in one of the student dorms.
We make and teach how to make a wide variety of fermented products used as fertilizer, soil inoculation, animal feed, plant sprays, etc. Some are similar to KNF products; others are very different.
In addition to teaching about plants, we also teach helpful care of animals including how to assist a female struggling with birthing.
In addition to working and teaching on the farm, we also help some of our neighbors who are very poor subsistence farmers. That provides volunteers opportunity to be with other locals. If you want to stay on campus, no problem but if you want to visit town, ect. with our students, that is easy.
This is a very safe area where women and children are often seen walking at night. The climate is pleasant too....typically mid to high 80's in the day and high 60's at night. The hottest days will typically be low 90's; hottest nights low 70's. However, this past March, April and May was very different....very hot. Locals never saw this before. So, not sure what to expect this year.
Volunteers normally enjoy going with the farm students who are ready to get off campus to go fishing, swimming, hiking and occasionally to a social event in town.
Organic methods: We only use natural fertilizers and natural pesticides we make. We make herbal medicines for humans as well as for plants and animals. We also use a composting toilet that is odor free and fly free as well as clean and environmentally friendly. But please note that it is NOT a flush toilet and it is not in the dorm room.
Current projects: We have a daily routine of caring for the animals and then the plants that doesn't change much throughout the year. Planting, pruning and harvesting change seasonally. We normally harvest bananas, plantains, lemons, papaya daily. Avocados, mangos, pitajaya, guayaba, oranges, passion fruit, breadfruit seasonally.
We are preparing to begin a solar energy project, a solar dryer and a community water project.
Internet access available. It is good for phone use but a bit slow for laptops. But, it's not far to a local coffee shop with great free wifi. Students enjoy being asked to go for coffee, a beer, fishing, hiking, etc.
We eat, live and sleep as a family. Everyone has their individual bed. Normally two or three beds to a room. Couples normally have a private room. Three meals a day provided. Our food is rather simple with lots of vegetables and eggs. We are sort of light on meat... normally once a day. Most woofers speak very highly of it as you may have noticed in some of the videos and reviews.
The main quality we are looking for in WWOOFers is a desire to be good role models for work and responsibility for our students. If that is you, let's get together. Honduras is an early morning culture. At 6 am we have coffee and conversation about the day's assignments. That is when you will learn what is on the schedule for the day.
When booking your flight BE SURE your flight arrives in San Pedro Sula before late afternoon. Public transportation is not available after about 6 pm.
Be sure to visit our website for more information how about WWOOFing with us.. The link is at the top of this page.
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Learning opportunities
Fruit or nut farming
Poultry farming
Sheep or goat farming
Raising of other farm animals
Wild foraging
Aromatic or medicinal plants, teas
Seed saving or production
Vegetable or fruit preservation
Bakery
Renewable energy production
Methods or systems
No-till farming
Regenerative agriculture
Host type
Self-sufficiency property
7
Hectares
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17.3
Acres
