MyFarm offers an amazing opportunity for a truly life-changing African experience; come and stay with us as a volunteer assistant, helping in all aspects of the project, exploring your own potential whilst making a significant contribution to a really meaningful project.
We offer a variety of work and accommodation options reflecting your talents, skills and requirements. Programs can be as short as one week but, if possible, we like you to stay for one month giving you the opportunity to learn the ropes and become a real part of the team.
Work Options
The ‘Work Options’ we can offer are numerous and diverse, with something to suit everybody. At all times, you will be working under the supervision of a member of staff or trained volunteer – we understand how daunting the first few days in such an exotic environment are so we will be there to support you all the time.
We do not expect you to decide what you will do before you arrive but in our application form you will be ask to indicate your general preferences and skills so we can be sure to offer you suitable activities at the earliest opportunities. There is no minimum requirement for days of work but obviously the more you do, the more it helps!
The following list is only a guide-line to the activities we currently undertake which would benefit from varying levels of volunteer input.
- Education – an opportunity to directly make a difference to a child’s life
Play supervisor for the local ’drop-in’ children
Sport & Games supervisor
English language mentor
IT assistant
Teaching assistant
Monitoring and Evaluation
- Gardening/Landscaping – an opportunity to learn about food production in a tropical climate.
Tree planting, pruning and grafting
Nursery work
Hydroponics
General maintenance & clearance
Record keeping & labelling
- Product Transformation – so many different products are made on the farm from jam to shoe polish using a combination of alternative technologies and traditional techniques.
Drying, preparing, packing, labelling products
Making soaps, creams, jams etc.
Assisting in product development
- Business training - Marketing & Sales – we need people with this sort of talent
Using our training guide, "How to make money", and assist the youth in their business
startups.
Accommodation Options
The accommodation option you chose will depend on many things and we judge no-one for decisions they make. Staying on the farm is not for those who like their home comforts including hot water and air-conditioning. But for those who want to experience how many Africans live with the added bonus of solar power and even some indoor plumbing, then the farm offers a unique opportunity. It also gives you the option to become fully immersed in the project not commuting back and forth. However, if you are looking for a real holiday with the opportunity to make a difference, then the luxury of a hotel interspersed with voluntary work would suit you very well.
Farm Stay
You would stay on the farm (or multiples thereof), living in a village-like atmosphere, interacting not only with locals but many interesting people from all walks of life and becoming part this friendly, extended family. Breakfast and lunch, water and local juices are provided, shared together with the residential staff and often visiting groups. Breakfast is normally bread with jam or honey with wonderful seasonal fruits, lunch and dinner are typical Gambian fare, usually with rice.
The volunteer accommodation is currently upstairs in a grass-roofed round house in the centre of the farm. It can accommodate up to 10 people and there is also a private twin room. Mosquito nets are provided over each bed. The toilet facilities are a short distance from the rooms. They are basic but clean, no running hot water and you may share your shower with a frog!
Tariffs
If we have the availability, we will charge 10 Euro for the nigth, with breakfast and lunch included. And then you can choose if you want to give a donation for the MyFarm after your stay.
