Finca Ganadito: Help us create plant-based meals for groups

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The experience

We need help preparing meals for our group vacation and retreat guests. We're looking for volunteers who are talented cooks wanting to get experience making veggie/vegan farm-to-table food. Previous experience producing food in a restaurant kitchen or stall would be ideal. Volunteers stay in a purpose-built station, work for 5 hours per day for 6 days, and can use any of the facilities at the property. This is a work exchange!


What you offer

30 hours of help per week

Cooking: Choose the menu, pick ingredients and cook delicious dishes.

Kitchen Hand: Help prepare, finish and serve meals.


What you get

1 day off per week

Shared Dorm: You will have a bed in a shared room, which means you will share the same room with other travelers.

Breakfast: You are entitled to a free breakfast, every day of your stay.

Lunch: You are entitled to a free lunch, every day of your stay.

Dinner: You are entitled to a free dinner, every day of your stay.

Free Laundry: You can use our laundry room freely.

Pick Up: We will pick you up when you arrive, and take you to our property.

Yoga classes: Take free yoga classes at our place.

Language lessons: Take free language classes at our place.

Permaculture Course: Take part in our Permaculture course for free.

Use our equipped kitchen: Feel free to use our kitchen and make your own delicious food.

Certificate: Get a certificate of completion after you finish your experience.


Requirements

Intermediate English or Intermediate Spanish

Over 20 years old

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers


What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa


Program Details

Finca Ganadito is an ecological farm community and retreat center - a tropical playground with houses, cabins and platforms, farm-to-table food and a ton of cool features. We are Rebe (Costa Rica) and Rob (UK) and we are the founders of the community and live permanently on-site.

We're trying to create a sustainable social enterprise and a low-carbon, ecological life space fit for the 21st century, combining everything we've learned from traveling to over 50 countries and working in several sectors. We'd like to invite others to share that journey with us, learn from each other, and spread the word of how to live in harmony with the planet. We're looking for experienced people with serious skills to offer. In return, we'll make your experience in Drake Bay unforgettable, unique and authentic.


Activities & Shift

Working as a volunteer, you'll be helping specifically to produce meals for our volunteers and guests, supporting Rebe in the kitchen. You will also have a chance to get involved with activities from our other programs too, such as the regenerative farming, biodiversity monitoring and sea turtle conservation. We are looking for enthusiastic people with good work ethic prepared to work hard to produce and deliver food.

Activities may include:
Harvesting and processing organic food
Preparing ingredients, stocks, sauces, tofus and other handmade ingredients
Preparing and serving meals
Keeping a kitchen journal and creating content for recipe books
Maintaining clean kitchen facilities
Helping with inventories
Collecting, processing and germinating seeds
Transplanting seedlings
Weeding and growing crops
Composting
Helping with training workshops for locals
Helping with local sea turtle conservation and education projects.


Rules

We will provide you with full orientation with basic health and safety rules.
Accommodation is in a mixed dorm in the Roundhouse or in a rental house in the ecovillage
You can use our fully-equipped kitchen in the station to prepare your own meals if you wish.
Free Wifi internet is provided, as are hot showers, and chill out area with hammocks.
In general, lights go out at 10pm at the station, except when there are planned parties or events, which may go on later.
Transportation to and from the boat dock at Drake Bay for arrival and departure is provided for FREE.
You are responsible for paying for any other transportation around the local area by taxi during your free time.