Become a volunteer at Piña Palmera
“If you come to help us, better to stay home. If you come to work with us, we welcome you.”
A community of the Philippines
Since our founding, Piña Palmera has welcomed volunteers from around the world to live with us and collaborate in our work:
Volunteers typically participate in the daily work at Piña Palmera. This means they get involved and collaborate in all areas of the organization: the kitchen, the store, the coconut oil workshop, the vegetable garden, maintenance, the carpentry shop, and the RBCC work in the communities.
To volunteer, you don’t need a disability-related profession. On the contrary, if you do have a profession (whether or not it’s related to disability), it’s important that you participate in all the different activities, regardless of your expertise, just like everyone else. We work with inclusion, and every activity is connected to the daily life of a person with a disability. This will allow you to learn about our history, our way of working, and become part of the Piña Palmera community.
An important part of our culture here is the co-working and co-living between people with and without disabilities. The exchange of ideas and experiences you will be exposed to will give you opportunities to learn new things, reflect and discuss, which will serve you in both your personal and your professional life in the future.
What you do on a daily basis as a volunteer is flexible and depends on your knowledge, abilities, professional training, and the needs of the organization. Flexibility and patience are two of the most important qualities that we expect of our volunteers.
More information about each work area, the daily activities of volunteers and the conditions here are available in the volunteer manual and in the corresponding sections of this website.
For those who are considering coming to volunteer at Piña Palmera, reading the volunteer manual is required. In it, you will find information on the following subjects:
- What is Piña Palmera?
- Life as a volunteer
- Work areas at Piña Palmera and the responsibilities of a volunteer
- Information about the rights and the expectations of a volunteer
- Security precautions to follow inside and outside of Piña Palmera
If you have further questions after reading the manual, do not hesitate to contact us!
Generally we ask that all volunteers stay at least six months, but in case this is not possible, please contact us to see if there are other arrangements that we can make.
Piña Palmera tiene como un principio básico la participación activa y equitativa de las personas
que colaboran en cada actividad que realizamos. Generalmente invitamos a que si surgen
dudas, discrepancias e inquietudes acerca de la metodología, actitudes del equipo, estructura
organizacional y operativa se hable en su momento de forma directa con los o las coordinadoras
de área, coordinadora de voluntarios o coordinación general, con la finalidad de generar un
diálogo de entendimiento y sobretodo de reflexión abierta y honesta sobre el tema en cuestión.
Requirements
1. Be at least 20 years old
2. Have read the volunteer manual and agree to follow the rules
3. Be open to having community experiences that may be new for you
4. Have interest in the topic of disabilities in rural areas (although experience is not required)
5. Be willing to work alongside everyone at Piña
6. Be willing to learn Spanish (here the people do not speak English)
7. Contact us via email at: caipinapalmera@gmail.com
And maybe the most important, but often overlooked requirement: Have the integrity to ask before leaping to judgment
Migration Processes:
There are legal processes required for those who come from other countries. To work at Piña Palmera as a volunteer, you will need to obtain a visa, and to get it you must contact the Mexican embassy in your country of origin or residence in advance. Once you started the process in the Mexican Embassy in your country, Piña Palmera can provide you with a letter confirming your stay in our center to support your request
If you are a student, and you plan to engage in a research project, internship, or social service at Piña Palmera, you will need to present a certificate from the school or institution in which the project has been developed or a letter explaning what you plan to do.
Room and board:
For a cost of $500 pesos (US $30) per month there is the opportunity to live in Piña Palmera during volunteering (for those who stay 6 months). This cooperation is a symbolic contribution to help cover the costs of services and maintenance of the volunteer area. The volunteer shares a room with one or two colleagues of the same sex. The kitchen and bathrooms are also shared between several people. Hay una cocina compartida, donde se pueden preparar alimentos colaborando con el gasto para gas.
Money:
In Zipolite, there is no bank, nor an ATM machine. The closest ones are in Pochutla, about 30 minutes away.
Transfer:
If you arrive by plane:
- From Puerto Escondido airport, there are two options:
- Taxi leaving the airport direct to Zipolite (Between $ 700 and $ 900).
- Take a collective urban from the airport (Approximately $ 40) and ask him to drop you off at the bus stop that go to Pochutla. There you take a bus or an urban route to Pochutla (white with blue line) for a cost of approximately $ 40, you ask him to drop you off at the cruise of San Antonio (“Crucero de San Antonio”). On the cruise you take a collective van to Zipolite ($ 15) that will drop you off at the entrance of Piña Palmera
- From Huatulco airport:
- Taxi leaving the airport direct to Zipolite (Between $ 700 and $ 900).
- Exit walking from the airport to the highway, take a collective urban (in direction to Pochutla city) that charges around $ 40, you ask the driver to get you off at Pochutla cruise (“Crucero de Pochutla”). There you take a red and white collective taxi ($ 20) or a van that goes direct to Zipolite ($ 12), either of both options leaves you in front of Piña Palmera.
If you arrive by bus:
- From Pochutla bus terminal:
- When leaving the terminal ask where is the bus stop of the passenger vans that go straight to Zipolite ($ 20).
- You take a collective taxi to the Pochutla cruise (“Crucero de Pochutla”) ($ 30) and there you take a collective taxi ($ 20) or passenger van ($ 12) that go straight to Zipolite.
Vaccines:
We recommend that you are up to date with your vaccines. If you have questions about this, we suggest visiting a vaccination clinic in your country.
To sign up:
Simply send an email to Flavia Anau, the general coordinator at: caipinapalmera@gmail.com.. Briefly explain who you are, what is your motivation for coming to Piña Palmera and when you plan to come. It is important that you contact us at least 3 months before your anticipated stay.