Volunteering near Cochabamba

I am currently volunteering with foundation called Delpia. The director´s father owns an abandoned farm that they are hoping to turn into an organic farm where volunteers can go and work in exchange for a place to live. I just got back from a month of working in the farm as their first volunteer. I was then planning on moving on to Peru, but I loved my time there so much I want to go back, but I want some company. So I am using this post as a formal invitation to anyone who is looking for volunteer work in Bolivia. This is about a grassroots as it gets. The farm is about a 45min walk out of a town called Independencia, which isnt listed in any guide books. There is tons of work to be done, and plenty of opportunities to explore the area. People are very friendly, but you have to get used to stares as they dont see a lot of gringos.
However, I do want to warn those who find this interesting that this not your normal WOOFing farm. This farm was abandoned for 5 years until a month ago. There is no electricity, the water in the tap outside the house comes and goes, and the cooking is done over a fire. In other words, you will be living like indigenous Bolivians have been for thousands of years. I am saying this because this is not an advertisement for the foundation, and I do not think this work would be a good fit for the average tourist, BUT if this is something that might interest you, respond to this thread, emial me at Tylerwr89@yahoo.com or email Alan, the director, at alan.lisperguer@fundacion-delpia.org
There is no cost; however, we will need to buy our food. I planted two fields of veggies that will be ready in January, there are also fruit trees, but this will not be enough to live off of. I spent under a $100 in a month there and that is including transportation. If you have any questions, let me know. I do not plan on returning to the farm until after christmas. This is a totally cool and unique way to see the Bolivia that so many tourists sadly miss.

I am planning to buy a disused compound in a small village near Cuzco / Peru, and eventuall turn it into an income generating hotel.... and nice place to live for myself... you seem like a great person to work for me, would you consider joining my "project" and work for free while sleeping on a mud floor and feeding yourself? Locals sadly demand money for that work, if only 1 US$ a day...

I'm fully prepared, as the "director / founder", to produce any "ecology / community / grassroots / nonprofit / empowering women / caring for children / protecting animals" marketing blurb if that would justify it for you.

Thanks for the offer. Not quite what I was expecting, but interesting. I am only going to focus on one start up volunteer project at a time, but I will think about it when my Bolivian visa runs out. I really thought there would be more interest in this project. I expected people to be lining up at the farm door for a grassroots thing like this. Does anyone have any ideas of other websites where I might put the project? Or any ideas in general

Try 'Volunteer South America': www.volunteersouthamerica.net</a>
Good luck !

thanks. Volunteersouthamerica.net is a great resource. The Foundation Delpia is actually on it www.proyecto-yuracare.de
Its about a third of the way down, but because the farms isnt finished and the website guy isnt around right now we havent put this project up. yet.

Hi again. I can help you making your link 'active': www.proyecto-yuracare.de</a>
In English: www.proyecto-yuracare.de/English/Home_engl.php</a>
In Spanish/En español: www.proyecto-yuracare.de/Spain/Home_spain.php</a>

DELPIA = Desarrollo Local de Pueblos Indigenas Amazonicos: fundacion-delpia.org

Also tell your website guy to add text to:
www.aboutus.org/Proyecto-yuracare.de</a> and www.aboutus.org/Fundacion-DelPia.org</a>
(And to correct the latter to ../Fundacion-Delpia.org with a small p in Delpia)

THANK YOU.
I will pass it along. What´s your story? Are you traveling or just keeping a watchful eye on the happenings in Bolivia?

Hey Tyler,

It sounds great what you write.

I just saw recently for the first time the site of Delpia, and I think they´ll have a great future. I feel free to write you the following:

My name is Andrés, I´m Dutch, married with a woman from the town Samaipata, where we now have a hostal and art gallery (www.andorinasamaipata.com). Samaipata is on the old (beautiful) road Ccbba - St Cruz. Now we´ve established the hostel and live outside in a just finished adobe house, I find it time to get people together to realize an agro-tourism and conservation based project in a big community in the Amboró park, in the cloud forest section.

I really would like to participate in a volunteerproject of Delpia, but it´s not easy to leave the hostel, soon my dad arrives for six weeks, after that finally a holiday.... maybe once in the low season....

I don´t have much experience in these things, so I´m still orientating. I now ask some tourists to put their ideas and experiences on paper, take a picture of them, all to show families and their community what this form of tourism could mean. Because the community - 60 families living there - still sees tourism as ´explotador´, mainly due to touroperators which take people into the national park.

So, I have the following questions:

1. Would you like to write me your experiences, ideas, visions, etc....
2. Maybe once in the future you could come to here, help building up something similar in the community ´Piedras Blancas´ (it´s an amazing area, with quite some progression but not sustainable) ?
3. Do you have more suggestions how to start, based on the underneath details ?

To be able to react, please take notice:

1. The community is half native, half highlanders, which brings some tension
2. I would like to convince two families who have together 500 hectareas mainly forest, to make this area a private reserve or something
3. There is a good NGO in Samaipata who could help and receive funds
4. There is a possibility to receive funds from Spain or the Netherlands, but only on request of an ONG
5. I´m thinking of horseriding (from town, but also in the area, which is more complicated due to taking care of the animals), walking trails, local guides, an ecological garden (also for children), workshops and of course volunteering options

I look forward to your answer, I think the internet connection in Independencia is not that fast.... thanks for your time

Andrés