The Work

What?  Work?  YEP!

Our initiative doesn’t exist in a bubble. It has to work within the current system and its less-than-ideal reality. As much as we strive towards the ubuntu-contributionism model, we are not there yet. So, we all need to work for pay (unless we’re independently wealthy, that is) in order to meet our needs while creating this new reality. At the same time, we can create better lifestyles for ourselves through the creative use of our time, talents, and finances.

We’ve done as much as we possibly can to help with this transition. We built Rainbow Camp with the bunkhouse that sleeps up to 10 people. It has electricity, a cellular signal booster, and access to internet. There’s ample outdoor (roofed) living space which can serve as a flexible workspace for digital and creative livelihoods. We also have the food forest, raised bed veggie and fruit production areas and all of the natural resources at Finca Ubuntu. Here we enjoy our connection with the land while setting up the foundations of the ecovillage.

Community work

In addition to income generating work (see below), we all work for the community as part of our commitment.  Community work takes many forms and eventually we should all be able to do work we both enjoy and are good at. At this stage of the game, we all help with whatever work needs to be done for the community – and we all lead in the areas we’re best suited to do so. Once we’re past the “roll up your sleeves and get down to it” stage, community work will be defined in the ecovillage statutes.  So yes, we work in order to pay our normal daily expenses and we work to build the community. Putting on our thinking caps, there are tons of opportunities for eco-employment – using our resources to their best advantage while generating useful products and income from our existing assets.

Income generating work

As mentioned above, most people still need to work for pay. Thankfully, there are many ways to earn income doing something you love and many of these can quite easily be done here.  We welcome people with ‘location-independent’ jobs that are compatible with our ethics, vision and mission, especially if they can be creatively combined with or can help enhance the necessary work of the community.  This is the perfect place for someone who already has (or wants to develop) an online business or is a writer. The peace & quiet of the Finca, combined with the great beauty of the place is very supportive of this kind of work.

• Writers, Researchers, etc.: The very tranquil environment is ideal for any profession where a great deal of quiet time is required. And there are plenty of potential research topics – from natural ecosystems to transition communities.
• Healing Modalities: We could offer special detox and food transition holidays, yoga, meditation, reiki or other modalities that serve to heal and bring us back into balance with ourselves and nature. If you’re trained in healing modalities – we offer an ideal place to establish your healing business.
• Self-employed or Digital Nomads: If you already do internet work or have a job that travels well, this is a great place to be. If you’re not location-independent yet, you can always start here!See examples of eco-businesses here.