Work exchange expert Gabby takes us around the world to 3 eco-friendly volunteer opportunities to immerse ourselves in nature and reconnect with mother earth and all her creatures.
As an avid supporter of budget travel and unique cultural experiences, I love doing work exchanges.
Through online platforms like Workaway and Worldpackers, you can find work in exchange for free accommodation all over the world. Whether it’s working in a hostel, nannying for a family’s kids, or gardening on a farm, it’s affordable and exciting to volunteer abroad.
I’ve done over 10 work exchanges myself. And the ones where I’m deeply immersed in nature have been the most life-changing.
From a jungle surf camp, to a sustainable forest retreat, to a thriving rainforest resort, these work exchanges allow travelers to learn about their delicate ecosystems first-hand.
Related: 5 Top Tips to be a Mindful Eco-Friendly Traveler in New Zealand
Spending an extended period of time living in nature is cleansing for the mind, body, and soul. You get to detach from electronics because there’s no internet or phone signal. You get to admire incredible animals and plants they you’d never see in a city. And create lasting bonds with your peers as you explore and enjoy the natural world without distractions.
So for anyone looking to experience a minimalist, eco-friendly lifestyle, here are 3 life-changing volunteer opportunities in nature around the world.
Eco-Friendly Nature-Immersive Volunteer Opportunities Around the World
1. Dreamsea Surf Camp near Tamarindo, Costa Rica
In western Costa Rica, near a tourist town called Tamarindo, lies Dreamsea Surf Camp. This thriving multicultural community in the middle of the jungle accepts volunteers as well as paying guests.
The motto here is “Collect moments, not things”.
Living at Dreamsea means you will immerse yourself in nature, create a close bond with the environment around you, and focus on spiritual growth.
For two months, I worked on Dreamsea’s social media and blog in exchange for a free stay in this tropical paradise.
I slept in a tent and encountered swarms of ants, scary spiders, and a couple scorpions. I also visited during rainy season and a hurricane flooded the camp, ruining many people’s belongings. By the end of my trip, most of my clothes were moldy from the constant humidity and had to be thrown away.
Honestly, these facts didn’t even bother me. Dreamsea taught me that material possessions are worthless compared to the connections you make with other people and your environment.
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I learned to surf, swam in waterfalls, climbed mango trees, ate fresh fruits and drank from coconuts. I even woke up to the sound of howler monkeys in the trees above me. The camp organized beach clean-ups, talent shows, yoga classes and guided meditations.
Dreamsea teaches values that honor the Earth and the living beings on it.
Everyone is constantly promoting respect for the ocean, acceptance of others who are different from you, and cultivation of your own inner peace.
I look back on those two months as some of the best of my life.
Living in a State of Bliss at Dreamsea Surf Camp
2. Pachamama Forest Retreat near Knysna, South Africa
South Africa’s south coast is famous for its rugged natural landscape and its rich greenery. Venture about 30 minutes inland from the coastal town of Knysna and you’ll find the small eco-village of Pachamama Forest Retreat.
This is an incredible place to escape the hustle of everyday life and live off the grid. I spent one week here as a volunteer and left feeling completely rejuvenated and at peace.
The area consists of small cabins, a kitchen area, toilets and showers, a yoga studio, and a timbermill. Everything is built on-site using wood from the local trees.
Eco-Friendly technologies keep Pachamama running without costing the Earth.
Compost toilets turn waste into fertilizer and rainwater tanks collect all the water for the kitchen and showers. Once a week, we started a fire under the shower water tanks and enjoyed the luxury of a hot shower.
I lived in this peaceful forest retreat in exchange for about 5-7 hours of work a day.
The tasks included planting in the garden, removing invasive species from the forest, and creating planks for building cabins at the sawmill. One day consisted of chopping down small wattle trees and weaving them into garden beds.
Pachamama focuses on teaching its volunteers about permaculture and sustainable living.
Learning Permaculture in the South African Forest
We ate only vegan food using produce from the garden. It was winter when I visited, so we had nightly campfires and brewed tea nonstop to keep warm.
I’m used to meeting lots of travelers during work exchanges, but most of the people at Pachamama were South African. Everyone was eager to tell stories about their culture and educate us foreigners about their rich, wild land.
3. PKs Jungle Village near Cape Tribulation, Australia
Last, we venture to Tropical North Queensland, Australia. The northeastern corner of Australia is a very special place. It is home to Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree Rainforest, the oldest rainforest in the world.
Of all these experiences in nature, this one was the most remote.
Cape Tribulation is not a town; It is one road in the middle of the dense rainforest with a few lodges and tour companies scattered around it.
Living in Cape Tribulation
The tourist lodge known as PKs Jungle Village is one of the few establishments on this road. I volunteered here for one month. I worked as a receptionist, checking in guests and showing them around the resort. The lodge is just steps away from the beach, where you could walk for hours without seeing another human.
Life up here took some getting used to, even after I had experienced jungle living in Costa Rica.
Related: Two Weeks, No Shower: A Guide to Freedom Camping in New Zealand
The heat and humidity is unbelievable. The spiders, snakes, and bats are gigantic. And the nearest city is three hours away. Also, you can’t swim in the ocean for half the year, unless you want to risk meeting a jellyfish, stingray, or saltwater crocodile.
But once I got used to this, I fell in love with the untouched wilderness and the closeness you feel with it.
PKs Jungle Village forces you to disconnect from technology and just be in the moment.
My coworkers and I spent our afternoons flinging ourselves off of rope swings into freshwater swimming holes and filling our stomachs with rambutans, mangosteens, and other exotic fruits.
We acted like children, having foot races and arm-wrestling and playing silly games to stay entertained on rainy days.
We explored the vibrant wilderness constantly, in search of animals and insects. From leaves the size of refrigerators to twisted, gnarled trees the size of skyscrapers, everything is massive and untamed.
I even spotted a few cassowaries here. This elusive ostrich-like bird has a bright blue head topped with a horn and looks like something out of the dinosaur era.
Because PKs is a tourist lodge, there are proper dorm beds, toilets, and showers. There is even a bar and restaurant on site. So you have all the amenities you need. But once you step off PKs grounds, you are surrounded by some of the Earth’s oldest, wildest, and most powerful rainforest.
These 3 eco-friendly nature-immersive volunteer opportunities are truly life-changing
The liberation you feel from stress and from technology and material things is freeing. I do believe we are lucky to have our gadgets and the internet and Wifi, and it definitely makes life easier.
But nowadays, people tend to rely on technology A LOT, particularly for happiness and a sense of fulfillment.
Volunteering in the middle of the jungle or the forest is a great way to find happiness and joy with just the bare minimum.
Related: 6 Easy Steps Toward Sustainable Living: PS It’s Not That Hard
The beauty of nature, the excitement of working hard and learning new things, and the wholeness you feel when connecting with other people. These are the things that you’ll take away from a nature-immersion volunteer experience in a foreign country.
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