Handyman within the Nature Reserve

Estados Unidos

5

I had a great time in Santa Catalina! Kobus, Gerda, and Deon are all so kind and welcoming. During the shifts, I spent my time watering trees, cutting grass, learning to use a chainsaw, and helping with the chickens. Deon, the other volunteers, and I would make breakfast together in the morning, start the day's tasks, and then have a delicious lunch made by Gerda. I learned so much about the wildlife, trees, and ecosystem. The town and beach is about a 40 minute walk away but we hitch hiked or got rides from Kobus, Deon, or Gerda.

hace más de 1 año

Kobus respondido

Thank you so much for your great attitude and willingness to try new things. We hope to see you again in a few years.
Thank you for your time and effort you have put into your stay. Also, thank you for offering some of your free time to participate in our activities.
Greetings,
Gerda, Deon and Kobus

España

5

Kobus, Gerda i Dion aconsegueixen fer-te sentir com a casa. Són atents, amables i amb les idees molt clares. El projecte és una contribució real al manteniment del medi-ambient que permet despendre's de tots els motlles socials i culturals actuals, els quals ens allunyen de la nostra connexió amb la natura, per acostar-se a un món menys artificial on les plantes i els animals en són l'essència. És un voluntariat on no només aprens, sinó que t'omple i en tot moment et sents útil i realitzat, amb el fi d'assolir un objectiu global. Gràcies!

hace más de 1 año

Kobus respondido

Lluis joined our project and embraced the very different jungle life we offer.
He was a great help in taking care of our chickens, watering trees under the hot sun and mowing grass.
Lluis extended his stay and is a part of the team and will be missed when he leaves.
Thank you, for the great attitude and the effort you put into restoring nature whilst on our project.

Francia

5

Très bon accueil, nourriture abondante et hôte très convivial.

hace más de 1 año

Kobus respondido

Thank you Valerie and Yvan for visiting our project and assisting with all the tasks on hand with experience, a positive attitude and a huge smile.
We appreciated your positive energy and that you have chosen to stay longer.
All the best on the rest of your trip to Bocas.
Kobus, Gerda & Deon

Francia

5

We spend 2 weeks with very nice people. Kobus Jerda y Deon . Very passionate , crazy workers, well educated, attentive I liked to feed chickens, cut the grass, water the trees, change the bags of the little trees, put seeds on soil …… and for my husband a lot of handiwork. sometimes it was very hot and the task wasn't so easy . It's 5 hours per day but let your phone onto your bed and you will have a very very nice experience with the nature and totally appreciate what you are doing here.

hace más de 1 año

Kobus respondido

Thank you Valerie and Yvan for visiting our project and assisting with all the tasks on hand with experience, a positive attitude and a huge smile.
We appreciated your positive energy and that you have chosen to stay longer.
All the best on the rest of your trip to Bocas.
Kobus, Gerda & Deon

Alemania

5

Many thanks to Kobus, Gerda and Dean for this amazing first volunteering experience! I did things I've never done before and got really in touch with nature and the jungle. You get sweaty and dirty, but it's worth it. Thanks for teaching me a lot of things about trees, plants and the environment. The meals are so nutritional and tasty (especially Gerdas home baked sweets). Highly recommend if you wanna make an sustainable impact :)

hace más de 1 año

Kobus respondido

Thank you so much for your great attitude and willingness to try new things. We hope to see you again in a few years.
Thank you for your time and effort you have put into your stay.
Greetings,
Gerda, Deon and Kobus

Suiza

5

I really did enjoy my stay at the the reserve, which I even extended. Kobus, Gerda and Deon are a very welcoming and friendly family, the knowledge they have is huge and there is so much to learn from them. The place in the forest is incredibly beautiful and the work is fun. Last but not least - the rumors are true ;) - Gerdas food is amazing. Thank you guys so much for what you are doing and letting me be a part of it for this short time!

hace más de 1 año

Kobus respondido

Thank you Mirjam, for visiting our project and assisting with all the tasks on hand with a huge smile and positive attitude.
We appreciated your energy and that you have chosen to stay longer.
All the best on your trip.
Kobus, Gerda & Deon

Argentina

4

The family strives to take care of nature. Everything runs on renewable energy. and they are largely supplied with their products. I think you have to have a firm determination and conscience to do what they do.

hace 1 año

Dinamarca

4

Nice and accommodating hosts, they were good at passing on knowledge. Facilities were rustic, but very good. There was even a laundry machine. The work was hard, but in a fun way and they were respectful of the hours. Really good food. The only thing missing was a bit of community feeling. It felt more like a boss/worker relationship than a team. Sometimes the way they spoke about other volunteers and the locals was a little off. But overall they were very friendly and welcoming.

hace más de 1 año

Kobus respondido

Thank you for visiting the project and all your effort in removing the tiles in the bathroom that needs to be renovated. Much appreciated.
With you being the 146th volunteer to the project, we are able to offer examples of volunteers not following advice and eating mussels harvested on the polluted beach, getting sick and then blaming me for not being compassionate enough after the fifth day of having to hear about their stomach issues.
Regarding the local community members, we have skin in the game when I tell you the extent of the disregard for conservation with examples such as: that when we stop the illegal hunting on the property, our property suffer arson attacks, when our local contractor working on the project brings his butchers knife to slaughter the deer we keep and protect (thinking that he is entitled to just kill and take the animals), when my employed neighbor kills our entire breeding heard of white tailed deer to sell the meat in the community.
The privilege of travelling the world to learn about local culture and lifestyles expose you to views different from what is portrayed in travel magazines.

Chile

3

Positive aspects: You learn a lot about nature and finca work. Dion is a great guide and work companion. Food is good and abundant. Work hours are respected. You are in the middle of the jungle and thats great (prepare to meet lots of bugs) Negatives: I didn't feel welcomed by the hosts, I even felt some hostility. kobus made some sexist comments and I didn't feel treated equally relative to my partner. Work can be lonely if there aren't other volunteers around. The work is hard mainly due to the heat, but otherwise very reasonable

hace más de 1 año

Kobus respondido

Thank you, Maria, for your stay on the project.
We as host function in a world where we do encounter individuals that we have to accommodate in our space regardless of their lack of skills, pesky habits (voicing their preferences without stop, attention seeking), sensitivities, confusion, differing views, or shortcomings.
With you being the 147th volunteer, we listened to what you say, saw how you conducted yourself, but also knew that your partner offered the skills we needed to build the project.
We had to give Lucas (your skilled partner) different tasks from you. We tried to channel your abilities into something that contribute positively to the conservation project. We also tried to give you different tasks to keep your stay interesting.
I believe your outlook on life is possibly very clouded due to the misery and suffering you witness back home to the extent that you see my factual reference to the duration of a pregnancy as sexist. How odd?

Chile

4

It was a very good experience! I learned a lot about nature, Kobus is very knowledgeable. The reserve always suprises you with some exciting wild encounter. Gerda makes sure you will be well fed, food is great here. Dion is very nice and helpful too Food - excellent 5/5 Work hours - always respected 5/5 Accomodation - Not for everyone, a bit exposed but comfortable enough, be prepared to see many critters! If you love nature is awesome, jungle white sound for good sleep, bugspray is a MUST 3.5/5 Connectivity - 40min from the beach by foot, very dark road 4/5

hace más de 1 año

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