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Hi, I'm Francisca or Xisca, and I live in the west of rural La Palma, Canarias. The project is about testing crops to adapt to a dry climate, and mixing with endemics. Variety is key here, and it could be called a botanical garden. Besides producing food and aromatic and medicinal plants, it's a dream to leave behind something that can be of help to those who come after us...
Our inspiration is syntropic agroforestry. It's like a vegetable garden and an orchard mixed together, with native wild flora as well. My partner works in construction. Animals are also present: chickens, dogs.
I'm of French origin and also speak English and Spanish. I've taught animal behavior in a school and also hosted students from these schools and organized nature discovery activities (as a holiday camp director). I also studied anthropology and have a great respect and interest for the people who still live close to nature.
I've been on this farm in western La Palma for 14 years, and I miss the motivation that comes from teaching and showing. Besides leaving useful flora, I like to pass on what I know. I can share mainly about botany and gardening techniques.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Animal Care
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Interests
Sustainability
Self development
Farming
Writing
Plant care
Gardening
Animals
Yoga / Wellness
Outdoor activities
Nature
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
I have already mentioned botanic, my main passion along a natural way of living (I studied anthropology) and I am also a dog trainer and behaviourist. I can share a lot about stress management (trained in the modality "Somatic Experiencing" and also in Transformational Social Therapy). I also know a lot of tips about natural living, health and diets. I also have books about those topics. I am a life long learner and interested by any sharings around those themes.
Help
Your help will be both appreciated in the gardens and to help make more caves become rooms. I focus on doing what you will also enjoy as a result, because joy, small victories and thankfulness are the salt of our inner life.
Gardening, maintaining, planting both for food and endemics... The activities are varied because there are no large areas or monocultures, meaning there is no repetitive activity.
The work depends greatly on the weather - mostly sunny - and the season. There are no frosts here, and there are two growing seasons with no winter stop.
The island is steep, limiting profesional agriculture and leading to a high level of abandonment of the land.
It's a good place for those who grew up in the countryside, because it requires a certain ability to adapt, and you can take advantage of the change of scenery despite being in Europe.
It's very appropriate for volunteers who already have experience and want versatility, which is like juggling with more and more balls! For example, to demonstrate that versatility is more challenging than specialisation, we learn and recognize different plants better when we are already used to differentiating between plants. Or else you get mixed up easily!
The goal is to be able to recognize a plant without having to think! To anyone who's never seen an avocado tree and a mango tree before, they look the same... Afterward, they'll seem unmistakable...
And my goal is for volunteers to have the pleasure (and first, the desire) of looking at nature and, instead of seeing "weeds and trees," to see individuals. It's like, instead of seeing people, when we recognize people at first sight.
I teach a technique called "selective weeding," which requires recognizing plants, because it's not the boring work of "pulling everything up."
I'm happy to add new things to an existing base, if plants are your passion!
For those who are already comfortable with more repetitive field tasks, I offer the opportunity to learn and practice a blend of cognitive and manual intelligence, by having to manage many different parameters without having to constantly follow orders.
I accompany, and we do it together, but taking initiative without making mistakes is what we all like to achieve.
We're also currently working on more terrasses, i.e., stone/wall work. It is not required, but those who want to learn the basics - or already know - can participate.
Now, with the context given, I can specify my daily and general activities and tools. The most important maintenance, more than "weeding," is pruning to mulch the soil. I use, for example, pasture grass and tithonia, and they are cut regularly with a sickle. Certain plants are also given to the chickens, which requires identifying which ones we bring them. Grain needs to be brought in and manure removed.
Watering is regular in summer and requires checking and sometimes repairing, adding... It's more than just turning a tap on and off.
The gardens are all in stone-walled terrasses, planted according to their sun exposure. Daily checking and harvesting provides an opportunity to observe in order to notice if water is lacking and also to eat strawberry guavas and pitangas on the spot!
Interestingly, it develops a more acute sense of observation than usual, because we miss more than expected. It's more pleasant not to do this alone, because no one can see for themselves what they had missed!
We prepare pots, sow, and transplant... I teach soil and substrate mixes and how to transplant without damaging the roots, which sometimes requires a certain skill. A hoe and a crowbar are used to make the holes.
We also do direct sowing, and it's necessary to open the mulch and/or prepare the soil, remove stones...
I have a brush cutter for the larger areas without crops. I still have uncultivated land, where I particularly want to plant endemic species produced by the island nursery for native plants. Once I've installed some species along the trekking path, I plan to make signs with their names.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
French: Fluent
Accommodation
Accommodation is in a cave house, typical of the Canary Islands. There is a shared main cave and individual cave rooms, or you can stay in a tent if you prefer to be under the trees because the climate is mild.
There is electricity from the public grid, hot water, a shower, a flush toilet, a washing machine, a gas stove, a refrigerator, and a freezer to limit shopping trips. The first village is 2 kilometers away, with a shop, a bar, and the church.
I have a library of books on flora and personal development and health/diet topics.
The farm is next to the GR 130 trail, a museum with an old mill, and an archaeological site.
There is ocean views (500m ask) without access. The beach requires a trip.
They usually ask, so: there are no snakes. The fauna, apart from birds, insects, lizards, rodents and rabbits is limited.
In the Canaries we live a lot outdoors because of the climate and beauty, the silence, and the fresh air. The area is considered rural land and a protected landscape (terreno rústico, paisaje protegido). That is, there are no plastic greenhouses or cement water tanks (mine is in a cave!). There is still wild nature, and there is no monoculture. There is a lot of endemic flora, and I prefer to welcome those who would like to learn to recognize it, and I can teach you. I also have knowledge of medicinal or simply edible plants.
There is no nearby place to go out, but we live together; I don't have a separate place for volunteers. I appreciate that nature is your passion, so I can share mine.
Your diet your choice, omnivorous like mine or vegetarian if you want. I can cater to those with a particular diet because I have to eat gluten- and casein-free, so I know that we need to listen to ourself. You can eat what I don't eat, each to their own diet. Please specify what is essential for you and what you never eat.
My limit as a consumer is linked to respecting the planet. I have a spirit of minimalism or voluntary simplicity, and I don't like processed foods or out-of-season consumption.
So, I don't buy frozen pizzas or cherries from Chile! My home is also alcohol-free.
My perspective on living close to nature is to prioritize what's in the garden and what's produced on the island, whenever possible.
However, there's a refrigerator and a freezer, abundance and variety, but with simplicity and the need to cook from scratch. I don't have multiple bottles of sauces, but I do have spices, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, coffee, tea...
Diet preferences and differences may lead to possibly cooking our own food to respect individual needs. I mean, I never make pasta for myself, but you can make spaghetti, or you can take advantage of the opportunity to eat more bananas than you used to! They grow here!
The laundry soap and cleaning products in general are fragrance-free because I hate chemicals to the point where they make me nauseous. I ask that you have fragrance-free personal products (essential oils are fine). Don't come with clothes smelling softener around! I also don't tolerate vaping, but you can smoke tobacco outside.
The challenge has become a game i play at: increasing our natural abundance and reducing the more modern influences. I want to create a botanical garden with unusual things, even edible flowers. I ask that you come with a spirit of curiosity and feel free to respect your tastes at the same time.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Space for parking camper vans
This host can provide space for campervans.
How many Workawayers can stay?
More than two
My animals / pets
Chickens
Photos
