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Experience permaculture and homesteading on Siquijor!

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The experience

Our volunteers help us take care of our chickens, ducks, rabbits, cow and garden on the magical island of Siquijor in the Philippines. You'll learn to clean the animal enclosures, make great thermal and worm compost, mulch/fertilize/water the vegetables, and assist with maintenance and small construction projects. Volunteers work five mornings a week (8am-12pm) (3 days on, 1 off, 2 on, 1 off)- we provide coffee/tea and a big brunch on those days.

What you offer

4 hours of help per day

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

Tent: You will sleep in a tent at a camping site.

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

Requirements

Beginner English

Between 18 and 60 years old

Welcomes solo volunteers, couples, and partners of volunteers

What's not included

Flights, Travel Insurance, Internal Transportation and Visa

Program Details

Here are a few skills and technologies you will learn:

ORGANIC GARDENING
How to improve soil fertility and consistency through, vermicomposting, rapid hot composting, rice hull carbonization, mulching, Korean Natural Farming (IMO, LAB, FPJ, FAA, FFJ, WCA, etc.), and compost tea fertilizer and organic pest-control sprays

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
- How to feed and care for free-range and semi free-range chickens, ducks, rabbits and our cow Uschi :)
- Collecting forage and leaf and straw bedding
- Composting manure
- Cleaning enclosures and ponds
- Mixing feeds
- Black soldierfly maggot farming

PERMACULTURE WATER and WASTE SYSTEMS
How to:
- Clean and reuse greywater through plant-based filtration
- Maintain a natural dunking pool (filtered only by plants and circulation)
- Maintain wildlife ponds with aquaponics filtration
- Operate a composting toilet

Activities & Shift

There is never a boring day on the Farm, and there is so much to learn!
-Gardening: this includes watering all plants, seeding, transplanting, trimming, propagating, weeding, etc.
-Composting: this includes harvesting vermicompost, turning hot compost piles, gathering organic materials, etc.
-Animals: this includes feeding the farm animals, cleaning enclosures, fixing/re-building animal infrastructure, cleaning stinky duck ponds, keeping the areas tidy, collecting animal manure for fertilizer, etc.
-Carpentry/Building: assistance with any infrastructure project we need.

Rules

If you are interested in applying here, it's essential that you do not mind getting sweaty, muddy, and tired. Living on a permaculture homestead is a lifestyle choice that requires a lot of work to maintain a healthy balance. We need volunteers who are physically fit, willing to learn, and willing to get down and dirty with us!