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🐐 Farmhand Volunteer in Puerto Rico - Livestock Care Position

3.5
(5 reviews)5

The experience

No experience necessary | must be willing to learn!

You will work with a variety of animals to accomplish tasks such as washing and packing eggs, cleaning pens, repairing fences, hoof care, sorting animals, and cutting forage or banana leaves for livestock. If you are interested, we can teach the basics of animal husbandry and herd management. Get hands-on experience, work outdoors, and be part of our small, sustainable farm team. 🐄

What you offer

25 hours of help per week

Animal Care: Help look after and take care of animals.

Building & Repairing: Help with a wide range of repairs or building.

Farming: Plant crops, sow seeds and help in outside tasks.

Gardening: Help grow plants and cultivate gardens

What you get

2 days 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.

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.

Basic Internet Access: Basic speed internet for you to work remotely

Requirements

Intermediate English or Intermediate Spanish

Over 18 years old

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

We are a nonprofit farm working to combat food insecurity in Vieques, Puerto Rico by providing fresh, nutritious foods and supporting other beginning farmers in the region.

In return for 25 hours a week, we provide staple foodstuffs such as beans and rice. We try to incorporate fresh food from the farm into our meals as much as possible and always start out our day with farm fresh eggs! While some meals will be family style, you are expected to be able to cook for yourself as well. If you need specialty items not provided by our team, or have dietary restrictions, you are welcome to purchase them from the local grocery, if available.

Please understand that we farm because of food shortages and issues on the island. Therefore, you might not be able to find the same quality of foodstuffs at the same price as you would in other locations. We are a tropical island, but fruit still has seasons, and fresh mangoes are not available year-round.

We expect volunteers to arrive ready to learn. Prior experience is not required, but we do ask that you be willing to work with us and our methods. Let us know ahead of time if you have a special interest in a specific topic or skill!

We can pick you up from the ferry or airport in Vieques when you arrive, but please understand that we cannot always provide transportation. Many volunteers find it easy to walk or hitchhike around the island, and we are always happy to bring you along if we are going on errands, but vehicles are not the most reliable here. If you put in a few extra hours to help us maintain the vehicles, we will make sure you get where you want to go.

Activities & Shift

We offer community living in a dorm style room with 6 camp-style bunks and a full bathroom.

We are looking for volunteers who can commit to a month or longer. It is a working farm, so very labor-intensive, but rewarding. Each day, you would be expected to assist with animal care, and/or various building projects, and daily or weekly housekeeping tasks. We often cook together, and clean-up is part of that process, of course. We expect that you are self-motivated, hard-working, and compassionate to others. We expect that you are willing to participate in communal living and become part of our group dynamic.

The livestock farmhand position will include collecting, washing, and packaging eggs from our chickens, cleaning pens and water troughs, fixing fences, and basic animal care under supervision of our team. Depending on your length of stay and interest, we can also teach you how to milk a goat and manage breeding and birthing seasons. The morning shift will start between 7 and 8am and will be work as part of a larger team, while the afternoon shift will start at 1pm and will be mostly independent work and closing the farm for the night.

Note-this is our livestock volunteer description. If you are interested in helping with the crops or value-add production, check out our other listings!

Rules

Please be clear with expectations and boundaries. It is expected for a task when assigned to be completed. We want to make this experience positive for both you and our team, and we can accommodate most requests but need to know if something makes you uncomfortable.
Violent and hostile behaviors are not tolerated.