Help Local Farmers Build Their Businesses to Gain Autonomy
Do you enjoy working out-of-doors, or do you have an interest in learning about farming and agriculture? Do you have expertise in this industry, and want to share your skills? We at Volungo Abroad are offering you the chance to work with a variety of local, small-scale producers of coffee and sugarcane in a beautiful and rural part of Colombia, a fascinatingly diverse country filled with incredibly welcoming people and stunning landscapes. We need YOU to help us unite and solidify local agricultural farms, so that they can stand in competition with large-scale industries and keep its surrounding community alive.
This project is part of our Colombia Volunteer Circle, in which you can combine up to four projects located in the same region into one comprehensive program.
Volunteer Responsibilities
Voluntary duties will vary from day to day and season to season, depending on the current needs of the farm and at which point in the agricultural cycle you arrive. You can choose to focus on sugarcane or coffee farming. These are the general tasks you are most likely to be asked to help with:
- Assisting with agricultural work (planting, harvesting, etc.).
- Building trapiches.
- Constructing coffee grinders.
- Repairing or lending assistance in repairing farm machinery.
- Working in all areas of coffee and sugarcane production – drying, grinding, processing and packaging.
- For those with the skills, offering creative ideas in order to improve crop production, marketing of the finished products, and business management.
- Helping to produce jams, smoothies, and juices to sell to local businesses in order to raise funds for the acquisition of new machinery.
- Assisting in or running educational courses for local older students in sustainable agricultural techniques, such as composting and fertilizing.
- Helping to maintain an organized and clean working area on the farm.
- Producing marketing materials for the project.
- Project reporting and monitoring.
The exact tasks you will be asked to carry out will depend on the current needs and priorities of the project as determined by the project organizer and Volungo Abroad management. The tasks stated here are therefore examples of some of the possible types of activities you will be asked to do.
Work hours:
You will work roughly five-six hours a day, Monday to Friday, from 7am until 2pm, including a lunch break; any additional hours you wish to work in the afternoons will be greatly appreciated, but are by no means obligatory.
Location
The project is centered around a small village, which is also where your accommodation is, two hours from Colombia’s capital, Bogotá. This village is close to a larger town, which has shops, internet cafes, restaurants, ATMs, and night life. Depending on which farm you are assigned to, you may be working in the village itself, or within 30 – 45 minutes of it by bus.
Transportation
Buses from the village to the main town leave frequently throughout the day and cost around COP $2500 per trip, taking about thirty minutes (not included in the project fee). There are also plenty of taxis (including mototaxis). The project organizer can also offer their own transport, a car for a total of five people, for a small fee. There are also very frequent buses to Bogotá, run by a handful of companies, and to several nearby towns and villages.
Accommodation and Food
You will stay in the house of the project organizer. The area is fairly rural but all basic amenities are available. The house is split into two, with the project organizer and their family living in the main house and the volunteers sharing the bungalow (which includes two bathrooms). There is also a garden and outside sitting/dining area. If there are up to six volunteers, they will have private rooms; if there are between seven and ten they will each share a two person dorm room (in bunk beds).
The internet can be very slow, although if you need to you can take the short bus ride into town to use the internet cafes there.
You will be provided with three meals a day from Monday to Friday. On a Saturday you will be given one meal, although none will be provided on a Sunday. These meals are shared with the family.The project organizer is very happy to provide for any special dietary requirements (vegetarians and vegans, celiacs, any allergies or intolerances, etc.) if advised before you arrive. You are welcome to use the kitchen to prepare your own meals, as long as you keep it clean and tidy, or to eat in the restaurants in the village or town. If you choose to eat in a restaurant rather than share the food the project organizer has provided, this will be at your own cost.
Prerequisites
Professional requirements:
In general, all that is required of you is to be enthusiastic, willing, and prepared to learn new skills, displaying a hardworking attitude and respect towards the local community and those you will be living and working with.
Any knowledge of agriculture, farm machinery or mechanical engineering would be particularly useful. Please also be aware that this work takes place outside, in all weathers (though due to the climate zones it’s never really cold), and can be very physical and labor-intensive – so be prepared for a good workout, and bring suitable clothing!
Generally, you should be ready to respond to changes and be able to deal with the unexpected for any work or travel in South America. For this program in particular, you should be willing to live and work in areas where the standard of living is much lower than that in the EU or US.
Language requirements:
You must have at least a conversational level of Spanish for this project, as few local people speak any more than basic English, if any English at all. However, the project organizer has a very good level of English, having lived in England for several years, and can help you if you have any problems. Having said that, there would be little point in volunteering in another country if you could not communicate with the people you live and work with. After all, the better the Spanish you speak or learn before you arrive the more you can bring of yourself to the project, the more you can communicate and understand, and the more you will get out of your volunteering experience. In any case, you will be amazed how much Spanish you will learn by simply living and working in another country. We can help you with this! We offer a wide array courses suited to your level, including specialized courses, for as many course weeks as you require.
Additional Information and Specials
Minimum age:
18 years
Start dates:
1st or 3rd Sunday each month.
(Individual arrival dates possible, surplus applies).
Length of stay:
Beginning at 4 weeks.
Immunizations:
It is absolutely necessary that you have current immunizations. This includes, among others: yellow fever (certified), tetanus, typhoid, diphtheria, hepatitis A and B, and rabies. You’ll receive exact information pertaining to immunizations needed in Colombia, as well as your personal preliminary documentation, following your successful application with us.
You can inquire in advance concerning immunization requirements by consulting medical authorities in your country of origin, e.g. in the US, check with the Centers for Disease Control and Protection
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/none/ecuador.
Please make sure that you have up-to-date vaccinations for all of these diseases. Volungo Abroad cannot be held responsible for the provision of vaccinations for their volunteers. It is the responsibility of the volunteer to ensure that they have followed up-to-date medical advice.
Included services:
- Accommodation including bedding.
- Three meals a day (Mon-Fri; one meal on a Saturday and none on a Sunday).
- Pick up and transport from airport.
- Pre-arrival welcome pack.
- Welcome Dinner.
- 24 hour support.
- Certificate of successful volunteer participation on your project.
Excluded services:
- Daily transport to and from your project site.
- Weekend or non-organized activities.
- Snacks and non-mealtime drinks.
- Travel insurance.
- Personal spending.
- Any additional items not listed in the ‘Included Services’ list.
Special Conditions:
In general, you must bear in mind that you will be representing Volungo Abroad to communities and project partners and are therefore required to demonstrate a professional attitude.
Please keep your clothes clean, wear your hair up, keep your nails short and unpolished, and remove all piercings and jewellery. This is for biosecurity reasons – we want to keep the day center clean and sanitary – and to set a good professional standard. Lightweight long sleeves and trousers are recommended for the area, as it can get very hot and there are mosquitoes.
You will need to provide a criminal background check, medical records, proof of travel and medical insurance, and any professional certificates or proof of vocational qualifications you may have.
During this program, you will be in contact with a lot of people. However, you might also be the only volunteer working with local staff at times, so be prepared for variety in the people you will meet and work with.
