Profile information
Host rating
80 %
Last replied
21 Oct 2024
Reply rate
56.3 %
Usually responds within 3 days
Feedback
12
Email verified
Badges (3)
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Details
Description
Hola! We are Stephanie and Roberto and we live on a 15 acre virgin farm in the mountains of Utuado, Boriken. We are currently working on creating an organic and sustainable homestead and food forest. We are passionate about preserving and protecting the land, cultivating organic and sustainable farming practices, herb medicine and are committed to serving the community here in Utuado, Puerto Rico. The farm has a wide range of fruit trees including avocado, papaya, guava, mandarin, orange, banana, plantain, and many more. We have over 200 pineapples plants and are in the process of planting medicinal herb and veggie gardens, and fruit trees. We have 6 cats, 2 dogs, and many lovely jungle critters to keep us company at night, including the sacred coqui. A typical day includes irrigation, weeding, turning compost piles, transplanting fruit trees and medicinal plants, harvesting, processing and cooking, creating and maintaining trails, using heavy tools like machetes, axes, shovels, etc.
We are 420 friendly. :)
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Farmstay help
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
We are bilingual and speak both English and Spanish. Roberto also speaks Portuguese. Roberto has worked over 20 years in the irrigation, landscape, and farming industry. He has a wide range of skills and a wealth of knowledge. Stephanie has volunteered on several organic farms around the world, including a several in Boriken. We are both passionate about nutrition, herb medicine, and a healthy organic lifestyle. We love sharing ideas, getting to know different cultures and traditions, and look forward to learning from our guests lived experiences. Utuado is a beautiful and sacred land, made up of lush rainforest, rivers and waterfalls, wildlife, a vibrant culture, and historic sites for you to explore when you have free time.
Help
We are looking for couples, friends or partners who have an open mind and heart, who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty and work hard. While it’s preferred that our volunteers have experience in farming, cultivating, organic and sustainable practices, construction, irrigation, and/or gardening work, it is not required. We are looking for volunteers for a minimum of one week’s worth of work. 5 days, around 20-25 hours of work. Each day might look different and we are flexible with scheduling, depending on the current project. Our current projects include clearing space for planting citrus and fruit trees, maintaining compost piles, moving logs and creating log borders for garden beds, cleaning pineapple beds, and the never ending weeding.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
Portuguese: Intermediate
Accommodation
Our home is located on the farm and guests will have their own room/bed. The accommodations are not luxurious but are comfortable and clean. Some of the plumbing is funky. We shower outside, with heated filtered spring water. We get all of our water from a nearby spring.
We provide the food for all meals. We love to cook but won’t always do all the cooking and cleaning. We appreciate communal living, where everyone participates in the chores of life. We expect our guests to treat our home with the care and respect they would their own. There are nearby rivers and pools, volunteers can feel free to explore the magic of Utuado when they have free time. We can recommend nearby hikes and waterfalls. It’s easier when volunteers have their own vehicle but we understand that won’t always be the case. We can offer transportation to and from Arecibo, and can recommend ways to get to and from San Juan or the rest of the island.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
Hours expected
Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week
Feedback (7)
-Great food. Stephanie worked to fit as many veggies into food in a great-tasting way. She also was interested in what foods I… read more
Stephanie has a beautiful farm in Utuado, where she grows a variety of fruits and vegetables. We helped her prepare the land to cultivate, weeded the area where she had planted, we planted ginger and prepared areas to plant when the moon… read more
Photos
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
(5.0)
Communication:
(5.0)
-Great food. Stephanie worked to fit as many veggies into food in a great-tasting way. She also was interested in what foods I… read more
Stephanie has a beautiful farm in Utuado, where she grows a variety of fruits and vegetables. We helped her prepare the land to cultivate, weeded the area where she had planted, we planted ginger and prepared areas to plant when the moon… read more
Jordan has incredible work ethic, she is motivated (even when we are not) and can work independently as well as with others.… read more
In the three weeks that I was there we worked on many projects. We built raised beds, mixed soil, planted seeds, worked on… read more
Stephanie and Roberto did an amazing… read more
During my stay we teamed up with the community to fix some potholes… read more
They are the most generous hosts, they made sure we felt at home in their house and gave us three delicious and nutritious meals a day- some of the best food I’ve ever had!
We loved the work- planting a beautiful fruit forest. We… read more
