Volunteering area

People Care primarily & Earth Care

Location

Cota, Cundinamarca, Colombia

Project description

They are a Camphill Community, the only one currently operating in Latin America. In Agualinda, adults with special needs live, learn and work while creating relationships based on respect, love and reciprocity.

The space is a 2600 m2 plot with a large 8-room house. Open, bright and spacious communal social spaces. Outside there is a large flat garden with space for activities and surrounded by different fruit trees, a vegetable garden area with a small greenhouse and a roofed space for gardening and farming tasks, recycling and crafts. In the back they have a compost area. All of this is surrounded by a natural fence of Eugenias trees. They are a 20-minute walk from the town of Cota.

They practice and learn day-by-day Anthroposophical Social Therapy, always respecting and honouring the beliefs of each individual in the community. They have a structured routine:

• They start at 7 am, prepare breakfast, and wake up the residents who share the house with the team and the volunteers.
• After the morning routine, they start the morning activities, followed by lunch and finish the day with more afternoon activities.
• There are break times between the morning and afternoon activities.

In the morning and afternoon activities, different activities are carried out according to the abilities and needs of our residents. They are generally very easy to understand and concrete. For example, when gardening, some typical activities are: weeding, transplanting, fertilising. In the kitchen, preparing lunch with the residents, make whole wheat bread and sourdough bread twice a week for everyone’s breakfast, make dessert of the week, are some of the more regular tasks done. In each space there are many activities to do in a conscious way, always being there to support and have fun with whom you are doing the activity with.

Main activities will include
(but not limited to)

• Accompaniment of people with different skills (special needs) in activities such as painting, looms, crafts, cooking, baking, pastry making, horticulture, farming, gardening, skills for daily life, swimming, equine therapy, among others.

• Assistance with kitchen cleaning tasks after meals and with regular house cleaning.

• Support in meal preparation (rotation with other volunteers).

• Support with vegetable garden and gardening projects (depending on the season).

Specific information/requisites

They ask for punctuality with the schedule they provide, commitment to the place and the agreements we have to live a healthy community life.

We offer shared accommodation and all meals.

We ask that you apply 3 months in advance.

Skills that would help you have a better experience:

• A level of Spanish,
• Cooking skills,
• Love for animals and
• Working with the land.

More information

camphillagualinda.com / Their Facebook page