If you wish to come to our farm, to share our life and to help with the work as a volunteer you are very welcome to apply, however we urge you to read the following articles thoroughly.
From our past volunteer history we know that some people will be more happy here than others. So we have created a set of information for volunteers that is supposed to help you to make up your mind and to kow what to expect from our farm.
Please read the following information thoroughly before applying for a position.
We offer
- volunteer position all year
- the best produced food, wholesome and nutritious
- accommodation in one bedroom house with hot shower and toilet and a double gas ring.
- great working and learning experience
- various excursions to beaches on the Ionian cost, mountains, springs
We ask from you
- a sincere willingness to work
- 5 hours 6 days a week
- to respect our way of life
- to help out with common chores like washing dishes
Who can apply to become a volunteer
- individuals or couples with insurance that covers the unlikely case of accidents
- we welcome people with children by special arrangement
- people who are seriously interested in actually working on the farm
- people who are seeking great outdoor experience
- who are not scared of doing hard work, getting dirty, sweaty or bitten by a mosquito
- we welcome vegans as well as non vegans
- people who are interested in our simple way of live and what we are doing here
- who are open minded
- previous farm experience is not necessary
Who should NOT apply
- people who just choose our place because they have no where else to go
- who are not interested in our way of live
- people who want a cheap holiday without offering much
- people who expect to find here a luxurious resort or anything like this
- people who are not fans of camping outdoors
- people who can not live without checking their mobile phone every 5 minutes
The work
- 5-6 hours 6 days a week or fulfilling a given task
- farm work can be very easy, pleasant, rewarding, fulfilling and exciting
- it can also be dirty, tiresome, physically challenging, repetitive and boring, this usually depends on the workers attitude
- volunteer jobs will include (according to the season): weeding, mulching, sowing, planting, harvesting, food processing, clearing around trees, collecting wood and others
- work may also include painting and house repair
- we usually give the more easy jobs to volunteers
- volunteers will not be asked to operate any farm machinery, but maybe to use simple tools
- we expect volunteers to fulfil their task in a responsible manner, so as if it was their own garden they work in
- volunteers should consider themselves as part of a team or as part of the farm for as long as they are here, to work towards our mutual goal of bringing the farm forward and to do as much work as possible in as little time as possible
- only through this we will all benefit from having more spare time and to go on various excursion
- successful and hard working people can be sure that we will do our best to give them plenty of spare time and to show them various beauty spots of the area like beaches, rivers, lakes or mountains
Accommodation
- we have plan to built a straw bale house that served as accommodation for volunteers
- bathroom facilities can be found in the main house
- in short accommodation is simple and basic, please do not expect anything luxurious
- you should be willing to share your room with other helpers or sleep in a tent in the summer months.
- showers are solar so if its not sunny here no 'hot' water.
What to bring with you
- the already mentioned sleeping bag is not essential but highly recommend
- some old cloths and shoes or boots that you do not mind getting dirty or torn
- your own pair of working gloves,
- please make sure you have an insurance that covers you in the unlikely event of an accident
- if you play any instrument and wish to bring it along, it will be greatly appreciated by us
Food
- we will supply all food necessary
- usually we will have shared meals
- we provide exclusively vegan and non vegan food
- all other or what ever else you need and you can not live without, ( like coca cola )you will have to purchase yourself
- most of the food we provide is produces by us on the farm and a lot of it comes straight from the garden especially in summer and autumn
- our food consist mainly of fresh fruit and vegetables, cooked vegetables, pulses, rice, pasta, potatoes, bread, olives, olive oil, sun dried figs, pears, tomatoes, walnuts, sesame, pseudo grains ,wild greens
- we rarely consume soy products
Excursions
- during warm weather we frequently visit the beaches near Krestena or we may go to the Neda river and have a very refreshing bath in the cleanest water available under a thick canopy of old plane trees and a breathtaking mountainous gorge
- how often we go on a trip depends on how much work we get done
- we usually try to visit the beach once a week if time allows
- sometimes we may stay over night and visit a mountain spring on the way home, from where we collect our drinking water
- please note that due to soaring fuel prices all over Greece we may ask you to contribute a little to the fuel cost, especially if we go on a longer journey
Charges and Deposit
- in general we do not charge volunteers for staying with us
- we do however ask a small deposit of about 25 Euro from volunteers on their arrival, this deposit is completely refunded back on departure provided there was no reason to retain any part of it
- we may retain some of this money if volunteers cause any damage to the farm, or main house,to farm equipment, loose tools that we provided or do not fulfil their commitment after the 1-2 day trial period
- before introducing the deposit back in the old days, loss of tools was a fairly common problem, it is not only a financial cost to us but can also cause greate damage to farm machinery. We also suffered damage of farm machinery by volunteers who got drunk, so there is a good reason why we do this
- we never had to keep any deposit of any volunteer so far and we hope we will never have to
- as mentioned before it may happen that we ask you to contribute to fuel costs when going on a journey
- please note that we live from what we produce and currently have no monetary income with crisis in Greece now!
Trial period and minimum stay
- volunteers come here first for a trial period of 1-2 days to see if they like us, the work and the farm and if we like them
- after this trial period we decide together if it is a good idea to stay or better to leave
- if after these 1-2 days the volunteer decides to stay with us, they commit themselves to stay a minimum of 12 days and that they will do their best to provide satisfactory work
- if volunteers wish to end this commitment before the minimum time of 12 days is completed, we keep the option to retain their deposit
Time of year we welcome volunteers
- we live in a part of Greece with very rainy winters, spring and autumn can be rainy too but may as well be very dry
- summers are usually hot and very dry
- we accepting volunteers all year
- adverse weather conditions may change these given times
Volunteering with Children
- volunteers with children can be accepted
- we will take up people with up to two children
- minimum age of children should be 3 and a half - 4 years old
- if you are a family with 2 adults we would think that both adults can contribute work, usually there are jobs that can be easily done while keeping an eye on the little ones
- generally we can be flexible in this case and are prepared to make special arrangements
Summary
- we wish only application from volunteers who have carefully read the above and made a well thought over decision that they want to stay on our farm
- if you are a sincere willing worker, happy with a simple outdoor lifestyle and open minded you should definitely like it here
- you may find that some of our rules and conditions are a bit unusual and strict, however they were developed after a lot of experience with volunteers from all over the world and they were not created without reason
- we have made very good experiances with many volunteers for which we are truly thankful but there are always a few people who have a different idea about work and living together
- as soon as you come here you will find out that we are pretty easy going people who are interested in both of us having a benifit and a great time here on the farm
- please note that a volunteer can always leave this place and go somewher else but we can not leave if we do not get along and it would be very unpleasant for us to ask someone to leave.
Keywords include the following and beyond!
Love, light,Gypsies at the heart, Nomads,energy, healing, acceptance, prayer, prayers, meditation, silence,
retreat, Source, Divine, divinity, Organic, wholesome, whole-foods, raw,
juice, juices, juicery, detox, wellness, resort, pray, prayer, mantra,
paradise, smoothie, smoothies, nature, natural, naturist, Rainbow family,
nudist,live, living, awaken, awakening, awakened, yoga,
kundalini, ashram, oneness, diksha, deeksha body-work, Shaman,
Shamanic, Shamanism, Sativa, breathing, breathe, breath, breathwork,
energy-work, massage, Thai massage, transformation, expansion, tantra
art of Love, tantric, magic, magical, majestic, fairy, mermaid,
art of allowing, surrender, dedication, relaxed, calm, peaceful, serene, delicious,
joyful, delightful, happy, hippie,fun, free, in love,
Universe, universal.
For application for a volunteer post or any further questions please send an email to:
epikourios.apollon@gmail.com
Please provide following information when first writing to us:
Name, Age, Gender
email
Country of origine
time you would like to come/ possible duration of your stay
previous farm experience
Education/ Work/ special skills
some notes about your beliefs/ religion if any
information about your diet
purpose of your travel
why you would like to become volunteer on our farm / what do you expect from us and your stay here
and what ever else you consider relevant about yourself
Please confirm that you have read and agree with our conditions
we will then let you know about vacant volunteer posts
