Volunteers – FAQ

Below are some answers to commonly asked questions about volunteering at the farm. You can also download our more comprehensive FAQ here: Volunteer FAQ

Where is the farm located?

Bona Fide is based in the rural community of Balgue on Ometepe Island in Lake Nicaragua, a day’s travel from the capital, Managua. Ferries and smaller boats (lanchas) leave from San Jorge on the mainland to Moyogalpa, the main port of Ometepe on a regular basis. From there several buses a day leave for the area. Please make sure to prearrange all visits.

You can download the directions here: Directions to Finca Bona Fide.

What work can volunteers expect to do on the farm?

Volunteers work together on the farm Monday-Friday from 7am – 12 noon with a break for breakfast. There are also plenty of opportunities to get involved with other farm work and projects in the afternoons and on weekends. The type of work depends on the season and the particular needs of the farm but may consist of planting trees, harvesting, carpentry, construction, natural building, working on the garden or in the nursery, building terraces, digging swales, weeding, compost management, building raised beds, watering plants and much more. If you are volunteering during the rainy season you can expect to do plenty of tree planting and in the dry season plenty of watering. Also, we organize our volunteer activities according to the needs of the community center. Part of the volunteer’s week is spent helping out at Mano Amiga with whatever projects are going on.

What is the food and accommodation like?

The food that we eat on the farm varies based on the season. At times, we are gorging on mangoes and bananas, others we’re busy peeling and drying jackfruit. Regardless of what fruits/crops are in season you’ll always be eating corn, rice, beans, fish, cheese, milk, sorghum, carrots, onions, garlic, tomatoes, cucumber, beets, yuca, taro, squash, papaya, cabbage and greens. Our volunteer garden gives us access to various greens and vegetables, from mustards and fennell to lettuces and okra. We also eat lots of perennial greens such as moringa, katuk, chaya, and spinach among others. Our head chef, Clemencia, is quite innovative and uses the spices, herbs, fruits, grains, and greens that we produce here on the farm to come up with some tasty and creative meals. Volunteers help the kitchen staff to prepare breakfast and lunch daily and cook for themselves as a group in the evenings and weekends creating some truly inspiring and mouthwatering dishes. There is a volunteer cookbook on site to keep these creations alive.

Accommodation at the farm is rustic. During the dry season, we have a number of platforms scattered around the farm for tents. We do have a few spare tents, mattresses and mosquito nets, however we recommend you bring your own if possible because our equipment is in a constant state of wear and may be in use. During the rainy season, accommodation is more limited and although we try to give people their own space this is sometimes not possible. Alternatively, ask us if you would like to stay with a local Nicaraguan family instead of on the farm. We have initiated a brand new home stay program in the local community.

What is the climate like?

Ometepe Island has two seasons: wet and dry. The wet season (invierno in Spanish) runs approximately from June-November/December and is humid, warm and as the name suggests, wet! The dry season runs from approximately December to May/June and is dry and very hot.

What should I bring with me?

The following is not an exhaustive list but here are some things you might find useful: sunhat and sunscreen, towel /sarong and bathing suit, insect repellant (please bring enviro-friendly kind, NO DEET), shampoo/conditioner/soap (biodegradable only, we recommend Dr. Brohners), comfortable clothing that you can work in (including long trousers to protect your legs), gardening gloves, long sleeves to minimize insect bites in the evenings, water bottle, rain jacket, rubber boots (available locally and cheaply if you want to keep dry in the rainy season!), sandals/flip flops and covered shoes, headlamp/flashlight (very, very useful!), sheet/sleeping bag, tent, sleeping pad and mosquito netting (see above under ‘accommodation’). We highly recommend bringing probiotics and any other natural remedies/salves you use.

If you have any extra room at all we would LOVE you to bring some supplies for the community centre: magazines in English (e.g. National Geographic or magazines for children and young people), English or Spanish books and stationery – pens, paints, glitter glue etc! We also love to receive tools and seeds for the farm and can tell you what we need if you drop us a quick email.

Who can volunteer at the farm?

We welcome volunteers of all ages and from all backgrounds and walks of life. We only require that people are fit, healthy (capable of doing 5 hours of farm work per day) and are willing to learn and share. We would love to know if you have any specific skills we can harness! Knowledge of and experience in particular areas such as gardening, agro-forestry, web design/social media, carpentry, natural building, fundraising/grant writing, etc. are always of great use to the Project. We also have a limited number of internships per season available. For more information please visit our Volunteer/Internships page.

We ask for a minimum commitment of two weeks. We understand that many people are under time constraints, and for that reason make exceptions when we can. For people with less flexibility but a desire to explore the farm, we offer pre-arranged tours for $15 per person.

How much does it cost to volunteer?

We ask volunteers to contribute to the kitchen fund to help cover the basic upkeep and expenses of the volunteer program. Volunteers pay different rates based on their length of stay. Rates for staying under one month range from $10-$15 per day depending on the length of stay; per month it’s $220 US dollars.

Aside from lodging expenses, you should budget another $10-$30 dollars per week depending on how much you want to go out or partake in area activities such as workshops in town, hiking the volcanoes or other travel. There is no bank in Balgue, so it would be best to stop at an ATM or bank before arriving to the farm. There is one town, Moyogalpa, on the way to the farm that has various ATMs/banks. It is best to exchange money on the mainland as you get a more favorable exchange rate.

What does my pay cover?

The money you pay goes into the Kitchen Fund and goes towards four principal expenses:

The cost of food, three meals a day seven days a week.
The salary of the staff and workers with whom you interact daily and those that work in the kitchen.
The cost of maintenance of the program, new beds, plates, cups, utensils, building upkeep, water bills, etc.
Intern projects, funding for the projects thought up by our interns.

Also, by participating in the program you have access to many of the in-season fruits of the farm, the medicinal garden, perennial greens garden and volunteer vegetable garden, as well as access to our extensive research and leisure library.

Is there Internet on the farm?

The farm does have internet from Red Libre Ometepe. We have WiFi in the kitchen for the use of the volunteeers. We do not have a communal computer/laptop so bringing your own device to connect to the world wide web is helpful. We ask all those who use the Internet to contribute to the Internet bill.

If you have any other questions please don’t hesitate to email us: coordinator@projectbonafide.com