3 hr work in Hawaiian farm and get free lodging and food? (appointed, house)

[Kansoku]

I heard that there are places in Hawaii where owners of small farm will give you free lodging and food for working 3 hrs a day. Do anybody know the websites of these places?

One place I learned is that of Coconut Chris: YouTube - CoconutChrisHawaii's Channel

(I learned that he does 3 hrs a day from somebody in this forum: 30 Bananas a Day! )

And in another forum I read this:

If you want cheap though, Big Island is the ticket. I lived for six month in Puna and never earned more than 50 dollars in any given month. I worked 3 hours a day on a farm for room and board, then did odd jobs for other farmers in the area in exchange for luxuries like beer or herbal refreshment. I hitchhiked everywhere (big island is one of the few remaining hitchhiker friendly places) and had a great time.

Big island is the ultimate homesteaders dream. It is an agricultural paradise. The constant vulcanism means a superabundance of minerals in the soil. The warm climate means that there is no off season, you can grow everything year round. The diversity of climates means you can find exactly the amount of rainfall you want, anywhere from 10 to 200+ inches a year. Things just want to grow there, drop a seed and walk away. You don't need to store food for winter or insulate your house (or your body). If things crash and your land gets overrun by starving city folk, it is easy as pie to survive indefinitely in the jungle. There is food EVERYWHERE. In a given acre of Puna rainforest, there are literally several tons of human edible food. Best of all, most people don't know about it (at least, the source of starch I'm thinking of, they would recognize the Kalo, Guava, Avocado, Kukui, Ape, Mountain Apple and other edible semi-wild foods found everywhere), so the rainforests won't quickly get ravaged by hungry hilo emigres. Cheap Cities in North America - General Discussion - Discussion Areas - Ran Prieur Discussion Board - Message Board - Yuku

I have heard that Dharma Farms (4 hours a day) has bad reputation though.

[islandboo]

I think what you are referring to is called WWOOFing. You can search the forum for advice and other people's experience. This is a link for Hawai'i opportunities: What is WWOOF? | WWOOF Hawaii

Be sure to read up about it - some folks have had rather unpleasant experiences.

[leilaniguy]

Try Hedonesia or Pangaia. Both have websites. If you are expecting cleanliness, toilets, a room with a bed or a cooked meal though, you might be disappointed, and if anything goes wrong they will be of NO help at all. Been there, done that, we had to house a young lady (+ 3 trips to the E.R.) for two weeks while she recovered from injuries she got during a weeks' stay at Pangaia.

[hotzcatz]

WWOOFing is very variable from what I've heard. I haven't done it myself, but we've met a few folks who have here and there. I wouldn't do it without a backup plan, myself. Some of the "farms" are nothing more than a trail through the brush with an old van for "room" and a few papayas for "board". Might be okay crashspace for a night or two, but not anything you'd probably want to become accustomed to. Frequently, these are really remote areas, too, so getting into town for supplies becomes "an experience". But other WWOOFing experiences are entirely great with good accommodations and good food.

Also be aware that the term "farm" may be misleading. A "farm" in Hawaii doesn't necessarily have a barn with cows. It could be rocky lava with a papaya plant every ten feet.

So, look carefully before you leap and have an alternate plan in place in case it isn't what you thought it was. A lot of folks really enjoy WWOOFing and have a great time.

[Kansoku]

the same poster in quoted in the OP also said:

I don't remember the name, but it was a farm in Pohoiki run by a guy named Ed. You can find it on WOOF most likely. He is a character, and it was an interesting experience to say the least. Once you are there, it is very easy to find other slacker jobs too. Cheap Cities in North America - General Discussion - Discussion Areas - Ran Prieur Discussion Board - Message Board - Yuku

Is this true? What kind of slacker jobs are there?

[Kansoku]

Originally Posted by leilaniguy

Try Hedonesia or Pangaia. Both have websites. If you are expecting cleanliness, toilets, a room with a bed or a cooked meal though, you might be disappointed, and if anything goes wrong they will be of NO help at all. Been there, done that, we had to house a young lady (+ 3 trips to the E.R.) for two weeks while she recovered from injuries she got during a weeks' stay at Pangaia.

What were the injuries and the cause thereof?

[leilaniguy]

It was finally diagnosed as a sever case of contact Dermatitis (like poison ivy). She lost all the skin off of both hands and had blisters everywhere she had touched herself. She couldn't even feed herself. The source plant was never identified.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by leilaniguy

It was finally diagnosed as a sever case of contact Dermatitis (like poison ivy). She lost all the skin off of both hands and had blisters everywhere she had touched herself. She couldn't even feed herself. The source plant was never identified.

True, it could be anything... this is the tropics and we have a lot of weird stuffs growing here.

One that catches a lot of people by surprise is mangoes. They are a member of the poison ivy family, and some people can get fairly painful reactions just from handling the ripe fruit. Never heard of one this bad, but who knows?

[hotzcatz]

Mango, silky or silver oak, taro, and some cassava, too, I think. Many medical doctors don't have time to be farmers or gardeners so they may not be familiar with the various handling techniques for various plants. Unless multiple folks showed up with similar injuries, the doctors may not ever figure it out. It sounds like the Pangaia folks are new to the tropics, but I'm just making a conjecture since I don't know them.

[leilaniguy]

Pangaia was featured on an episode of Weather Channel's "Cantore Stories". One of the members shown on the program, ENRG, left there and moved to across the street from me for about a year. Trippy guy. Some people have been there years, but mostly it's a revolving door.