What others say ....

Volunteering opportunities are available at Semilla Besada, a research conservation farm in southern Spain. Semilla Besada is the first farm in Europe to use the leading-edge insights of Holistic Managment® to reverse desertification and create a sustainable landscape. The results of this work are offered as information and training to landscape designers and land owners in brittle landscapes.

What is volunteering? Volunteering involves exchanging your labour in return for meals and accommodation. At Semilla Besada, it provides the opportunity to live with us … Bastian and Inge … and be part of the everyday life on a working research conservation farm, in an environment rather akin to the pioneering settlers of Australia and America.

Semilla Besada’s focus

The remit of this research conservation farm is sustainability. We approach this in two ways: we work on reducing our consumption and we work on increasing a sustainable contribution to that consumption. In other words, we focus on cutting our coat according to our cloth.

---

Return to top

---

Is Semilla Besada for me?

Here at Semillla Besada we have a particular shape/form/way of working and we ask that you adapt yourselves to fit in with us rather than expecting us to use extra energy to accomodate you. Our practices are based on our experience and have evolved to be what works best for us and our environment. By joining us and putting your own preferences aside, for a short time, we hope that you will experience a deep richness in sharing and being an important, integral part of a small team.

Typically we favour volunteers who are:

• omnivores. We do not cater for those who have specialized diets or food allergies, as the remit of this farm is sustainability. We attempt to minimise what we buy and use our own or what is readily available locally. Soya and other specialized ingredients have to be imported from other parts of Europe, with the attendant high prices and negative impact on the environment.

• team-players. Here the needs of the individual are taken care of by putting the needs of the team first. The reason being that, it is absolutely pivotal to a companionable, enjoyable and effective life at Semilla Besada. In fact, it’s so important that we wrote a whole article about it, as it is in direct contrast to current social attitudes and customs. Click here to view the article.

• fit and healthy. We can not take volunteers who have bad backs and other physical disabilities, such as chronic allergies or serious asthma. Farm and environmental work is hard, and at certain times of the year, there will be higher levels of pollen. We also have dogs and sheep which can adversely affect those with allergies.

• not drug users or indoor smokers. Drug taking of any sort is illegal in this area and there are consequences for property owners as well. In addition we have found that drug users do not have the other qualities which are so important in working at Semilla Besada. We also feel that where a smoker’s habit impacts on the wellbeing of others, then it is best an outdoor activity.

• not internet reliant. We do not have the solar capacity to offer internet facilities to volunteers at Semilla Besada. You would be welcome to come with us to the local towns when we go, usually about every 10 days, where internet facilities are available.

---

Return to top

---

Location and Travel

Semilla Besada is set at 1300m in the Sierra Nevada mountains of southern Spain in the province of Andalucia. Located 20 mins drive up a dirt track above the spa town of Lanjarón it is a 3 hr journey from Malaga and an hour from Granada.

We ask you to make your way to the town of Lanjarón and telephone us from there so we can arrange to come and collect you.

---

Return to top

---

Climate

In order to help you plan for your stay we have given you details of annual temperature and rainfall at Semilla Besada below.

Years 2000-6 Temperature		Years 2000-6 Rainfall

Year 2006 - Temperature		Year 2006 - Rainfall

---

Return to top

---

Typical work

This is an opportunity to be involved in a way of life. It is not a job ... 9.00am to 5pm, Mondays to Fridays with weekends off. There is an ebb and flow in accord with the seasons and the priorities that present themselves moment by moment. Our work and leisure weave in and out of each other in response to demands. We invite you to share it all! This can be a 16 hour day bringing irrigation water down to the land or a day out with the family.

Typically there is work associated with building farm outhouses, animals husbandry, fruit and nut tree care, vegetable gardens, plant nursery care, composting, harvesting and processing fruit, nut and vegetable crops, irrigation work during the summer drought, cooking and washing-up.

What to bring

We ask that you come prepared in the following ways:

• Depending on the season you are here, pack the following items: sleeping bag/sheet, walking shoes, winter clothes, torch, hat, sun cream, waterproof clothes, working gloves and a sense of humour!
• Ensure that you are ready to contribute to the life at Semilla Besada. This means not arriving with washing to do, internet to access and phone calls to make.

---

Return to top

---

Accomodation

We cater for no more than two volunteers at a time and you have the choice of a modern double-berth caravan

or a snug traditional single-room dwelling with a wood-burning stove.

---

Return to top

---

Facilities

There is a separate composting toilet and solar shower block in which biodegradable body-care products are provided for volunteers in order to safeguard soil microbiology as all water is re-used for irrigation.

You can use the family farmhouse kitchen and dining room at any time and these are considered communal space. During the summer you have access to the plunge pool which is fed by the irrigation water and spring overflow. No chemicals are used to maintain water clarity.

Semilla Besada is an hour’s walk down the mule track to Lanjarón, and a two hour walk back, so it is not within easy reach for recreational purposes.

We do not offer internet or telephone facilities at Semilla Besada, although we go to Lanjarón or Orgiva every 7 to 10 days to get supplies and you can join us to do any shopping, or make phone calls and collect emails.

---

Return to top

---

Meals We all take it in turns to prepare meals. We use our own produce and where necessary purchase organic wholefood from the local town. We are omnivores and do not cater for those with specialized diets or food allergies, as to do so would go against the remit of sustainability which is the bedrock of our work here.

It is also important to highlight the impact that a remit of sustainability has on food consumption. Once again, this is in direct contrast to current social attitudes and mores. Each year’s harvest produces a finite amount of produce. This produce is needed not only to feed us through until the next season, but may also need to be saved against the potential of a bad harvest the following year. This means that when we enter the larder to collect food for meals we make a mental note of how much is available, how many it has to cater for and how long it has to last. Then and only then are the ingredients selected for the meal.

---

Return to top

---

Learning Opportunities

We rely on you to make your own opportunities to learn through observing, developing awareness, making connections and asking questions. However, many a dinner time conversation will include opportunities to learn about anything from Traditional Chinese Medicine to Homeopathy.

In addition volunteers have access to the extensive reference library which reflects the holistic content of the life and work at Semilla Besada.

---

Return to top

---

Health and Safety

We suggest that before you travel you take out insurance to cover any medical expenses should you fall ill or have an accident during your travels.

We do not allow volunteers to use any equipment without proper training, given by us or another reputable organisation. Other than that we encourage everyone to pay attention to instructions and take care in carrying out tasks, but above all to take responsibility for inappropriate actions.

---

Return to top

---