Placement: Volunteer on a farm on the Wild Coast, RSA

Trimming hooves

About the Placement

We offer volunteers the chance to develop new skills and experience life on a South African small-holding in one of the most beautiful, untouched areas of this diverse country. Based on the Wild Coast we are in the malaria free province of the Eastern Cape.

We aim to farm holistically, applying techniques of biodynamic and astrological farming to rehabilitate Mpetukop Farm, its soil and its own unique ecosystem.

In keeping with these goals, we have both animals and plants on the land, rotating and providing one another with a mutually beneficial ecosystem which supports a diversity of species with the aim of improving the soil for future generations.

As a result of this diversity, we are able to offer volunteers a range of areas on which to focus their skills and efforts. Of course, should a volunteer have no particular preference, we will be happy to involve them in all aspects of both farm and business.

As part of our own growth, we hope to establish a community garden in order to encourage the local community to become more self-sustainable; east more healthily; and also benefit from the sale of excess produce.

The areas of interest available to volunteers are as follows:

Horse care and equine management

Domestic stock care & management

Fruit, Herb & Vegetable Production

Producing preserves, chutneys, dairy products and herbal remedies

Practical maintenance skills

Role of Volunteer

We recommend that volunteers select a minimum of two specific areas of interest on application.

A typical day - The usual day on Mpetukop Farm runs as follows:

7.30 - 8.30 Working on farm, assisting with daily farm jobs. Feeding, watering, checking animals, enclosures, grooming horses, checking on plants and infrastructure.

8.30 - 10.00 Volunteers can choose to concentrate their time on specified areas of the farm work available. For full details of the variety of work available, please see the project outline above. It is inevitable that, at certain times of the week or month, all hands are required to deal with one specific task (such as picking and packing vegetables in preparation for a farmer’s market), volunteers will be expected to assist in such activities, even if it is not their area of specified interest.

10.00 - 10.30 Breakfast

10.30 - 13.00 Continue working on allocated tasks.

13.00 - 14.00 Lunch

14.00 - 16.30 Some volunteers may find that, having worked outside for the duration of the morning, they require a less strenuous task to occupy their afternoons. We have a wide range of such tasks available which are explained in more detail in the project outline above.

16.30 - 17.00 Feeding and watering.

In total, volunteers work 8 hrs per day, five days a week. Due to the long hours of work on the farm during the week, we will endeavour to ensure each volunteer has every Sunday and the majority of Saturdays off. If volunteers are required to work on the weekends, days off will be given during the week to compensate.

Travel Information

Volunteers can be collected either from East London airport or any B&B or backpackers in East London. We will also collect volunteers from Buccaneers Backpackers in Cintsa or Inkwenkwezi Game Reserve.

Photo Gallery

Peas picking carrots 

Trimming hooves 

Mending the water pump