Free Farm-stays?

You could try Totoco Ecolodge on Ometepe. When I stayed there last year, there was at least one backpacker tending their organic vegetable plots in return for free board and lodging.

Otherwise, your best bet is probably to turn up and ask around, although that works better if you've got plenty of time to spare, because you may not find something immediately.

I also recommend just showing up and asking locals. Totoco eco lodge is not local.

There are a lot of people who will let you help them out and in exchange they will let you stay.

As someone who lives here and has done a lot of volunteering with people of little to no means........foreigners who come here and PAY a good amount of money for the privilege of helping a foreigner work at their eco whatever is infuriating.

Consider this: foreigners buy land usually cheaply from local farmers, etc then build with really cheap local labor, and rent to foreigners by promoting themselves and their site on the web charging with international credit cards, soliciting for woofers/volunteers to work the land and possibly even build up their site often with the volunteer paying for this privilege for tent space/bunk bed and a meal of what is produced on the "organic" farm with limited work for locals....but who is cleaning the organic toilet compost bucket?
We have noticed over years of traveling/living abroad that there are lots of foreigners "volunteering" at many foreign owned places which often takes jobs away from local people who often don't benefit from tourism unless they have their own businesses - though it is much easier for a foreigner to build a business (even without legal residency).
The local farmers need work and land to farm to be able to feed themselves and their families - if they sold their land they will probably not be able to manage their money from the sale and eventually will be much poorer without their land.
On our first visit & subsequent visits Nicaragua - we learned some of these foreign run eco-places have stolen the land (cooperative land cannot be sold to foreigners but corruption can make it happen) and steal the water from the local water systems and even have really large water tanks and pools while their local neighbors maybe have a 5 gallon bucket to store what little water finally trickles down to them, killed local pigs or other farm animals that crossed thru a barb wire fence, etc.. & their self promotion of their businesses on the web while a locally owned business often can suffer economically and is challenged to compete with these foreign owned businesses and foreign volunteer workers. Locally owned businesses are run by families and support extended families.
Local farmers understand that organic farming is healthier for them and nature but the challenge is how would they be able to do it within their poverty conditions/limited resources and education and in the isolated places they live and if it doesn't work and the crop fails......hunger and poverty persists.
Sustainable tourism really means supporting locally owned businesses as much as possible.
By the way we learned of an non denominational orphanage on Ometepe Island that appreciates volunteers and donations.

Loroa

I think you’ve touched on some interesting topics but it seems that you’ve generalize this group, not included the wealthy Nicaraguans doing the same thing but to a larger degree, not mentioned the inefficient government that allows anyone (Nicas & foreigners alike) to take advantage of the system and you haven’t acknowledged the benefits from foreign capital.

Since when is buying land at market prices and paying local wages a crime? With that concept all tourists should pay US prices for everything here like 15$ a meal or 30$ for a dorm room. Wages and land prices are a government issue; foreigners and wealthy Nicaraguans take advantage equally.

Indeed the locals do not have the resources to farm organically. I’ve worked in places where whole farming communities have rendered their groundwater supply undrinkable after decades of poor agricultural and cattle raising practices. Without alternatives they continue to drink the water, causing sickness while continuing to contaminate the water. Not to mention the slash and burn practices that prevails throughout Latin America. Stop foreign organics to allow long term unsustainable practices? Doesn’t seem like a great alternative either.
But I digress; I’m just looking for a cheaper place where you can volunteer.

Thanks for the advice to go to locals, we’ll look into that. We're thinking about heading to Jinotega area for some cooler weather!
Cheers!

There are several websites for working on farms or workexchanges. Some of them include: workaway.com, helpx.net.

Interesting info above.