Get involved!

PURAVIDA is open to volunteers all year round. Possibilities are endless for those ready to dig in and use their creativity; working on developing the permaculture gardens, helping the workers in the cacao field and learning how to swing a machete, constructing  eco buildings and participating in the afternoon workshops for the community. Anyone is welcome, people with skills in permaculture, eco building and sustainability are especially needed.

You are welcome to come and just visit for a short stay if you just want to get a feel for barefooted living but if you want to come and help and learn then a minimum stay of two weeks would enable you to get really stuck in. We are also looking for volunteers for longer stays to help on longer projects and developments at the farm. There are endless possibilities at our beautiful farm and a lot of room for your own creativity and innovative capacity.

WWOOFers: AT THE MOMENT WE ARE ONLY ABLE TO RECEIVE 2 WWOFers AT A TIME for a MINIMUM OF TWO MONTHS COMMITMENT (depending on the situation of the Farm). Please look at our WWOOF Brasil profile and contact us for availability at fazenda.puravida@gmail.com

Contributing Eco Warriors: We have more spaces available for visitors who wish to get involved for a shorter period of time. We ask for a contribution towards food and lodgings as we are not totally self sustained just yet! We suggest R$ 25 per person per day if you are staying less than 2 weeks, and R$ 15 if you are staying longer. Our work schedule depends on current projects, but we leave it to you to feel free how much you want to take part. We suggest stays of at least 2 weeks to help nurture the community spirit. Contact us on fazenda.puravida@gmail.com for availability and further info, but also feel free to turn up at the farm. We do not have easy or regular access to the internet so may not always receive your mail in time.

Life on the Farm:

This season we are in the process of improving the living spaces, increasing our outdoor kitchen, adding a new room to the guest house and preparing another of the pre-existing houses for added accomodation. We are also working on our supply systems, expanding and improving our nursery, adding to the food gardens and helping out under the cacau trees. We are building our knowledge of the land and developing our permaculture plan for it.

When not in the fields there is a wealth of activities to discover and make for yourself. We invite you to share the journey as well as to take space and time to nourish your own personal creativity. For this reason we recommend stays of at least 2 weeks to settle in and hopefully stay longer.

We have few “luxuries” in the modern sense…

- no electricity – evenings are candle-lit and we recommend wind-up anythings. There is power on the other side of the river to charge batteries.
- no phone – nearest phone box is in the village, nearest internet is a 20min bus ride away, nearest fast internet is an hour´s bus away.
- no TV – we entertain ourselves and each other!
- no McDonalds – apart from fresh fish and shrimp from the river once in a while, we don´t eat a lot of meat but we do eat well. We are abundant in seasonal fruits, cacau and bananas but our gardens are not fully established yet so we still need to buy in a lot of what we eat. We do weekly shopping trips to local fresh markets and supermarkets.
- no cleaners – all cooking and cleaning is shared and encouraged. Especially in this heat and humidity, tidiness keeps the bugs away from your plate, your bed and your body. We wash in the river so please think about what type of soap you bring, and you are your own washing machine.
- no four-poster beds… (yet) – we have a couple hammocks, and floor space with a pile of reedmats and blankets. You are also free to pitch a tent. Please bring added bedding for your comfort as necessary.
- no flushing toilet – our facilities are clean but rustic.
- no mowed lawns – flipflops are mostly fine, but do bring appropriate footwear for forests and fields.
- no air-conditioning – days can be hot, bring hats and sunscreen. Evenings can be cool and a long sleeve shirt, skirt or trousers also protects against mosquitos which attack for an hour at dusk.
- no pharmacy – we have first aid supplies and personal stores of remedies, oils and some medications. Don´t forget your pills and potions if you have special need for them!
- no fridge – cold drinks come from accross the river on occasions. Some people may need to store special medications in a fridge, these will sit with the beers at the local bar and access will be 10 minutes from the farm. No fridge also means that we eat fresh, milk hardly ever and cheese a rare pleasure.
- no laziness – we don´t have strict rotas, official meetings and minute by minute timetables. We are in Bahia for one thing! And on the other hand, we encourage active participation, collaboration and common sense. Listen to your body and allow space and awareness of others.

Pura Vida is a microcosmos of the greater issues in the world. There are wonders and wobbles, but so far everyone has left with a personal and profound enrichment in one way or another.

Directions:

From Itacare: get a bus to Ubaitaba or Ubata (last bus 5pm), buy a ticket to Agua Fria and ask the driver to drop you off at Fazenda Pura Vida (about 1 km after the village). If no one is at the house, walk down to the river and yodle for the attention of one of us on the other side. We´ll come to fetch you with the canoe. Journey approx an hour and a half.

From Ubaitaba: get a bus heading to Itacare (last bus 5pm), buy a ticket to Agua Fria and ask the driver to drop you off at Fazenda Pura Vida etc… Journey approx an hour.

From Ilheus: get a bus to Itacare and follow as above.

From Salvador: get a bus to either Ubaitaba (from the central bus station) or Itacare (from Bom Dispatcho accross the bay, a 40min ferry ride), and follow as above.

There are airports in Salvador and Ilheus.
 
 

Please contact us on fazenda.puravida@gmail.com for more details.

 

We look forward to hearing from you!!!