Volunteer

ImgVolunteer

If you are planning to stay for more than a week with us we encourage you to become a volunteer

REQUIREMENTS:

Minimum stay of 2 weeks.

You receive 3 vegetarian/vegan meals a day, including on your days off. We request a financial contribution of between $40 and $150 for your stay of 2 weeks to 1 month (depending on your financial situation) to help towards expenses.

We ask new volunteers to arrive on the 1st or 15th of the month.

Stays of longer than 1 month are encouraged (but cannot be guaranteed). At the end of the first month we can discuss and agree on an individual basis.

Different arrangements for long stay volunteers can be discussed after at least 3 months of living at the community.

Before you come...

Food: We provide 3 meals a day but not snacks for break time. There is a small honesty shop at the farm selling peanuts, raisins, chocolates, beer, wine, coffee, peanut butter, but you might like to bring bread, avocadoes, tea bags etc.

Clothes: It gets cold at nights. We provide blankets but be sure you bring enough warm clothes for sleeping. We have plenty of gumboots you can borrow for work. Bring sun cream, we live on the equator.

Soaps/Shampoos: The waste water from the bathroom and laundry area goes to a small garden. Please bring only natural soaps and shampoos.

Disposable Items: We try to minimise waste and ask you to minimise bringing: plastic bottles, plastic packaging, disposable sanitary towels (we sell moon cups) or disposable diapers, commercial cigarettes (we sell tobacco without filters).

Animals: We have a lot of dogs and cats already. Please don´t bring yours with you, even if its just for a short stay, as it usually leads to dog fights or problems.

Thing you could bring to share!!! Below is a list of things that make people happy, are expensive or hard to get in Ecuador or we get through very quickly. If you want to bring something extra feel free!!

Olive oil, mugs, biro pens, tea bags, coffee, fly strips.

WHAT VOLUNTEERS DO:

Everyone works for 5 hours per day plus helps to cook and wash up one meal per day
Every day we have daily tasks to do involving care for our animals (donkeys, dogs, cats and chickens), watering the gardens and turning or making compost.
We also have a cleaning schedule to make sure the living spaces stay nice. After the daily tasks the project work normally relates to gardening or construction
Gardening may involve planting, weeding, making organic fertilizers, digging new beds, making swales or reforestation.
Construction may involve earth bag building, adobe work, carpentry or painting.
If people have specific skills such as plumbing or electrical work, we can always improve on our existing systems. In the coming years, we aim to improve our water collection system.

DAYS OFF / FREE DAYS:

People work 5 days per week and we can give you consecutive days off, but not necessarily the weekend. You can either stay at the farm or go travelling.
Usually we finish work at 1.30 pm and after lunch people have time to themselves. We have a beautiful yoga room with mats for people to do their own practice or share a class with the family. Sometimes we share sacred song nights, heart circles or meditations for those who wish to join in. Nicky offers healing sessions at an extra cost and these can be organized during days off or in the afternoons and evening

We are happy to receive families!

Read more

We have two children, Satya and Arundel, who go to a Montessori school one day per week. The rest of the time they are at Rhiannon and we would love that they grow up with other children around. We have a lot of space for kids to run around and a beautiful children’s playground to share. We would like to encourage more families who want to educate their children in an alternative way to come and volunteer. We have the flexibility to organize volunteer work around the kids and parents can also spend some of their work time doing activities with all the children.

About our community

See our photo gallery

Meet our community

stories

  • I came to Rhiannon to stay for a month and ended up there for almost six the first time around. Its a woderful place, beautiful, giving, free und full of things to do and learn, full of people with good hearts and kind thoughts and full of room to experiment and inspire yourself and others. Every time Ive been back has been a new experience of the ever changing, growing life there and i hope to be back many times over to see what happens next.

    Lukas

  • I first came to Rhiannon in 2012 and have been back in 2014 and 2016. I love this place, the people, the lifestyle, nature, views (those mountains!) and the sense of community. I learned a lot about myself living there and the place and its people hold a special place in my heart. I will be back again, as it is now a place I call home. Miss you all!

    James Mc Sherry

  • I only planned to stay a month at Rhinnon, but ended up there for 3! Waking up every morning surrounded by the mountains, living truly WITH nature . I made some wonderful friendships and learnt I can choose to be happy, not have to make myself happy. I found the daily gardening, interacting with the farm animals, communal cooking and everyday experience of Rhiannon to be an enlightening process and something I'm truly grateful for. I'm really excited to be returning in a few weeks time! ❤

    Robby

  • My life also changed drastically at Rhiannon!! I was there 8 1/2 years ago and met my partner there! Now I live in Austria with my beautiful children and Stefan and have taken so so much from Rhiannon. I work in a forest/nature based children´s group and practice yoga and the open heart of Rhiannon has had a profound effect on my life path. I am so grateful and often think of Nicky and Helen and many others even if we haven`t seen each other for years! Thanks xxxx

    Brianna

  • My 8 weeks living at Rhiannon changed my life. At Rhiannon, I was exposed to permaculture, yoga, shamanic ceremony, and a way of thinking and experiencing life that values community, good food, and deep connection. I now manage an educational community farm in Colorado, and I know that my experience at Rhiannon brought me to the place I am now in life. Thank you!!

    Adam

  • I first went to rhiannon for a 'visit' to stay 2 or 3 days, but the first 2 nights were so profoundly life changing that i stayed a few months, (and then returned about 6 times over the next 4 years), said goodbye to many years of depression, developed enduring friendships, learnt so much about myself and others, the sacred, magic, life and living, death and dying, to be grateful, to share and celebrate.... i really hope to return, we are family, mitakuye oyasin xxxx

    Hoolieta

  • My time at Rhiannon was some of the most formative times of my life. The two short months I spent there, I learned to love, let go and accept. I arrived my first day to a flowering San Pedro, a lightning storm and a heart ceremony. Waking up to the amazing view from my tipi every morning was so incredibly epic. The love and support I received every day inspired me to be the best version of my self. The amount of love and care put into every meal made me feel healthier than ever before. The work was gratifying, interrupted from time to time with an emergency dance party. Tranny Tuesdays pizza parties were always a blast. Harvesting everyday from the garden was such a luxury. I speak of Rhiannon and the beautiful people I met often. I truly can't wait to get back for another era of my life. Otro mundo es posible.

    David

  • My family in the mountains of ecuador, we will be together again. Rhiannon helped me to open my heart, share life and love, dance and breath freely. Work was play in those hills and friends were kin. I can not wait to bring my child there to meet such a special place.

    Sharna

  • Living and working at Rhiannon was one of the most rewarding and deeply sweet times of my life! Not only did I learn a ton and work really hard, I experienced enduring friendships, community, and love. I would come back in a heartbeat.

    Nan Jordan

  • Rhiannon it is an amazing, growing community which has changed my life and lives of many other people. I went to Rhiannon for one month and I stayed 1,5 years. I love this place, people, nature and life. I re-learn about pure qualities of life, friendships and relationships. I have found peace, love and I have learn many amazing things as well. Rhiannon brought me back to who I am. Nicky, Helen, Satya and Arundel are my family now, they all work so hard to make this place always better and more friendly. I enjoyed working in the garden, being part of other projects, playing music, practising yoga, learning new ways of working with my hands, spending evenings by the fire, making friends with new people, playing with animals, gazing at the stars, enjoying sunny days and just being free. It is a safe environment, I always felt welcome and I know everyone else did to. I probably couldn’t recommend this place more. I will be back, oh, yes I will.

    Monika Dziatkiewicz

Another world is possible, come and experience it for yourself !