Working holiday

[PhilCharter3]

Hi,

Does anyone know anything about working on estancias? I´m thinking about working (labouring, farm work etc) for a month or two in summer and will be totally new to horses too.

I understand that there are some agencies to set up volunteers with work, but my intitial googling didn´t prove too fruitful.

I did find this excellent site: http://ranquilco.com/blog/volunteering/regular-volunteers/

However, you have to pay $1000 plus to work 8 hours days for one month there. I´m all for going back to basics, but having to pay to work just seems like robbery.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

[Davidglen77]

I´m all for going back to basics, but having to pay to work just seems like robbery.
Any thoughts or suggestions?

Bienvenidos a la República Argentina.......be prepared to be robbed over and over and over again!

 

[PhilipDT]

I did find this excellent site: http://ranquilco.com/blog/volunteering/regular-volunteers/

Hahahahahahahahahaha HOLY S****

Where do I even start?

While at Ranquilco, your work may include: gardening, cow milking, guest guiding and facilitation, building, fencing, canal work for irrigation, livestock and land management, firewood gathering, lodge maintenance, food preparation, cleaning, landscaping, trail building, weed eradication…along with whatever odd jobs appear.
Our organic vegetable garden and orchard is a really important part of life here at Ranquilco. Volunteers are asked therefore to rotate through the garden; weeding, watering, planting, turning compost, mulching, etc. We also host horse riding guests at the main lodge and volunteers are asked to rotate through the kitchen when guests are present, helping our chef by cleaning, serving, or cooking; including making fresh bread (hands on lessons first, we promise!)

Volunteers work Monday through Friday, eight hours per day.... Volunteers are expected to be on time and to contribute with energy and willingness

Final pricing depends on your accommodation option. As an example, the most basic option, living in our volunteer house is: One month – $750

A one time fee of $150 covers your entry and exit to the estancia

Volunteers are charged $5.00 USD for each email sent

What a *(@&#^ scam! How do I get in on this?

EDIT

it just gets better and better.

All your cooking will be done on an open fire or wood cook stove which takes some getting used to, and you have to split the firewood yourself

 

[dnussw]

I know that you're looking for work on an Estancia, but you're right, it doesn't seem fair to have to pay in order to work.

There are other seasonal/agricultural jobs to consider. For example: If you want to pick cherries/raspberries and other fine fruits in December, January or February and speak passable Spanish, you could probably find something around here (Northern Santa Cruz). If you want more information, send me a pm and I can even probably hook you up with a chacarero around here.

You will get paid, but by the kilo so don't expect much at all. And honestly I don't think lack of a work visa would be an issue here. We're right next to the Chilean border, so renewing a tourist visa wouldn't be problem either.

 

[Smcali23]

Oh wow, all the prices are in US dollars as well. 750 dollars to work your ass off for a month, plus the extras.

I mean, having to pay just to enter an estancia that you work in.

I'd keep shopping around.

 

[El Duderino]

what about WWOOF?

http://www.wwoofargentina.com/

 

[Napoleon]

That opportunity to pay a wealthy land owner so that you can work for free is AWESOME!!!

I've been chuckling to myself ever since. Is this some sort of Work/Release program that you and your parole officer are looking for? Or am I missing something?

Love these "volunteer" programs!!!

 

[citygirl]

If you don't know anything about horses - why exactly do you want to work with them? Working with horses takes skill. Can you tack up a horse? Ride? Groom? Know basic care? If not, probably going to be very difficult to find a job. Actually, working on farms in general isn't exactly the easiest job out there - esp if you want to work with livestock, not do general farm labor. If you're only there for a short time, you would be a liability, not an asset.

Personally I wouldn't pay to go do odd jobs around a farm, esp since it seems like busy work, not gaining any skills. That seems a bit crazy to me. But with no experience and only wanting to do it for a short period of time, I don't think you'll have many options.

 

[starlucia]

Bienvenidos a la República Argentina.......be prepared to be robbed over and over and over again!

The worst part is that the highway-robbing owner of that estancia is actually American

 

[Lobo Marino]

Running the risk of getting roasted by the rest of you: but USD 1,000+ does not seem so much over the top to me for a month(!) of Marlboro-Country-Lifestyle at a remote Patagonian Estancia. With limited Spanish, limited or nonexistent skills in horseback riding, cattle herding etc. any volunteer will hardly be seen as a great help, but rather as another adventour tourists and yet another mouth to be fed (or to feed himself in this case)...
And USD 5.00 for emails via satellite still sounds reasonable (I remember having paid closely the same on Inmarsat - outgoing as well as incoming).

I think it pretty much depends on what the OP is looking for. If it is supposed to be a time out at in the wilderness, but still with some (english speaking) guidance on how to survive in such situation, I would consider it...