We are looking for people that enjoy a 100%-plant-based dietary lifestyle to join or help us in our goals of sustainable and regenerative planting, applying fruit-based reforestation and environmentally-friendly construction methods, and de-centralising food production while living closer to nature. We welcome and encourage a diverse spectrum of experiences and skills, along with motivation and an aspiration to learn. Knowledge of construction, sustainable methods of food production, and ecological technologies are a plus. Please see our Info page for details on all facets of the project.
As well as the work exchange opportunity detailed below, there is the option to rent without any work obligation, and we also we have, in the area, a separate property available to rent.
Volunteering and Internships
We consider all new arrivals doing work exchange to be “potential members”, so the application process to volunteer or have an internship with us is exactly the same as to become a member.
Community members
Everyone is involved in the decision making and the governing of the community.
Members are expected to help us for a minimum of 20 h per week. It is possible to take a day off by paying a donation of $10.
We do not charge rent to stay and do work exchange, but we do charge $25 per calendar month (not pro rata) for utilities and usage wear-down. A security deposit of $100 will be collected on arrival, which is returned at the end of your stay, minus the cost of any community belongings you personally broke or lost, and any money owed. For stays of less than a month, $50 of that will be kept as a donation to the community (it is difficult for us to accommodate short-term volunteers due to the training required for various tasks).
You will get a fair share of the food available from the land and, share our living spaces (kitchen, showers, compost toilets, etc) and will be provided a place to sleep (room, simple building, camping or glamping space – depending on availability).
Daily tasks, work, projects, etc
- Weeding from around trees and in vegetable gardens
- Mulching trees
- Chopping (unwanted) weed-trees and grasses
- Harvesting
- Managing compost from kitchen and the composting toilets
- Cleaning the facilities and living spaces
- Watering and maintaining the nursery
- Fertilising plants
- Planting and transplanting, in ground or in pots for the nursery
- Propagating by rooting cuttings, air-layering, grafting
- Pruning
- Maintaining and upgrading facilities, trails, tools, and other infrastructure
- Collecting important local seeds and plants to propagate
- Educating oneself on sustainable poly-culture principles and agroforestry (planting companions, fruit tree parameters and care)
- Collecting organic material to add to potting soil (leaves, tree moss, legume pods, and other organic matter
Applying
We recommend you to review to full comprehension this website.
The minimum term is 2 weeks, but we prioritise those wishing to come for at least one month.
To apply to join us as a potential member/volunteer, please fill out our questionnaire. We require that each individual planning to arrive, if capable of doing so, fill out a separate questionnaire (even if arriving with others). All questionnaire will be reviewed, then the community will decide whether to extend an invitation. Expect a few days, up to two weeks for us to decide and reply. If it’s been longer than 2 weeks, feel free to email us to check the status of your application, at busy times we could lose track of applications.
Accepted applicants are considered “potential members” for their first eleven months here. After this trial period, members will decide via consensus whether to extend full membership, or whether to continue the trial period for longer. In case of recurring non-alignment with our values, the community may ask the person to leave.
Subsidy
Here at TF we want to create communities where people contribute, share and connect because it meets their own needs to do so and understand that the ways people belong to a community are diverse. For this reason we offer a subsidy program to acknowledge and hold space for people who need time to heal, work on personal projects, or adapt to raw, jungle or community life. This is especially created for people who would like to rent but do not have resources to do so or honestly are not in a space to contribute under the traditional volunteer scheme. This is a natural space for healing and we want to acknowledge the specific barriers that people face in finding spaces that offer nurturing, freedom and safety to live, heal and thrive. This might be approved for one month or more depending on the case and the match of the individual to the community.
If you wish to apply for a subsidy, please fill out this alternate application questionnaire
Last updated on September 5, 2024