Volunteer at a rural development project in Poço Azul, Brazlândia, Brazil

Details

• 

  Description

  This is a rural development project, aiming to create self-sufficiency for the project and community surrounding the project thru combination of ecological farming, education and cottage industry.
  
  We are part of a non profit spiritual and social service organization, and follow the principles of Neohumanism (which in short is love for all humans, other living beings and animate and inanimate) and PROUT (Progressive Utilization Theory). We practice yoga, meditation, follow a sentient (healthy) lifestyle. Our ecological farming is based on a mixture of permaculture, biodynamics and other alternative means to achieve self-sufficiency. Regularly we have some bio-construction going on as well, developing our place to be a spiritually based community, with social service projects for the locals in the future.
  
  The project is run by yogic nuns, Didi Shaliina -from Vietnam, didi Tapashudha- from India, who have dedicated their life to self-realization and service to humanity. They teach yoga and meditation, work as a missionary, and are lifelong learners.
  
  Usually there are some volunteers around- Pavitra from Bahia, and a few local workers as well. Also we have 3 dogs and some native animal around as we are next to the National Park. The name of this area is Morados de passaros- Mean the Nets of the birds. There are many kinds of birds chirping everyday. It's a blissful village.
  
  This area is the tourist place of Brasília. There are more than 10 water falls nearby, the first one is around 20 min walking distance. At the weekend , you can walk to the waterfall to take a deep dive inside the cold, fresh water to refresh. In our land, there is a small stream which is extremely blissful. You will enjoy the nature here: fresh air, fresh water, organic foods.

• 

  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Charity Work

  Help with Eco Projects

  Teaching

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  General Maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet
• 

  UN sustainability goals this host is trying to achieve

  ...

  ...

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  What's this?
• 

  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  When volunteers come we practice Yoga excercises, meditation together at least 1x a day. Organic foods. On sunday, the volunteers can explore waterfalls nearby. We are making bambu salt, soap, avocado oil, dried tomatoes, brocoli, carrots... time to time. so they can also learn skills from these. They also can practice Portuguese with local people . Also we teach about our spiritual philosophy, yoga, meditation, PROUT, vegetarian diet, health etc.

• 

  Help

  We have been developing our project for the last 14 years and the main activities right now are related to building up the place for all its (future) activities, through bio-construction, food forests, organic farming, as well as starting some community service projects: teaching english for children in the village, teaching woman to use the sewing machine to make products for sale to generate income, making avocado oil, flaxseed oils, Making bambu salt, soaps..... The activities are diverse and any expertise in different fields is welcome. The volunteers work according to the recommended 5 hours, but working hours may vary according to the work going on, for exact information better to contact us. We generally work Monday thru Saturday and have Sundays off. Preferred minimum stay is 2 weeks, but there is no limit for longer stay if we can get along well. If you want to stay less than 2 weeks we ask for a small contribution towards food. As of now, we can only arrange the friend to pick up at the airport or bus station with Uber price .

• 

  Languages

  Languages spoken
  English: Fluent
  Hindi: Fluent
  Portuguese: Fluent
  Vietnamese: Fluent

  This host offers a language exchange
  I'm from Vietnam, so i speak vietnamese and other didi is from India. she speaks Hindi.
• 

  Accommodation

  We have 2 small simple houses each with a room and bathroom for volunteers. The women stay in one house and the men in the other. For couples we can make other arrangements if the men room is available. Also it is possible to camp, for those who like to be more in nature, but bring your own tent and camping gear.
  Accommodation is simple and it is recommended to bring your own sleeping bag.

• 

  What else ...

  We live about 43km from the capitol city Brasilia. There are many things to see and do here. Other we live next to the national park of Brasilia, so there is a lot of native (Cerrado) flora and fauna, as well as waterfalls and canyons. So there is opportunity to go hiking and taking a swim , deep jump at the plenty of waterfalls nearby.
  
  Workawayers, when open to learn, can learn a great deal about spiritual and healthy lifestyle, organic alternative farming, bio-construction etc.
  
  Workawayers are expected to respect our norms and values, and are encouraged to participate in our collective yoga and meditation practices.
  
  We have a strictly vegetarian diet, without onion, garlic, mushrooms, eggs. We provide 3 meals a day and generally we cook and eat together when possible.
  
  Smoking, drugs or alcohol are NOT allowed at anytime.

• 

  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

  5 hours or less depending on work and people available.

Feedback (7)