Volunteer exchange in an ecological Finca in Tenerife – We are a German couple (60/58) and have been living in Tenerife on Finca la Castaña in the green north of the island since 2013. We started as bloody beginners with 300 fruit trees, vegetables and many herbs. Today, we have reached a high level of professionalism and are happy to share our experiences in ecological farming, permaculture, self-sufficiency, and a lot of other topics.
September 2025 update 🔍
Spain | Tenerife 🏔 – We are looking for volunteers to join us on a beautiful organic finca with permaculture and a food forest!
- Where: Canary Islands / Tenerife / Orotava Valley
- When: October 5 – October 31, 2025
- Duration: 3 weeks
- Project: Organic finca with permaculture and food forest
What we offer at the Chestnut Farm:
- A stunning environment where tourists usually pay a lot for holidays
- Unique accommodations
- Excellent meals prepared with many products from our garden
- More than 100 varieties of fruit 🥑, plus vegetables and herbs
- Insights into local culture and traditions
- A sustainable lifestyle
- Over 10 years of experience in organic farming
- The chance to co-create a meaningful project
- Exchange with international volunteers
- Valuable experiences if you are open to learning and sharing
- What we expect from you:
- 25 hours of support per week (Mon–Fri, 5h/day, weekends off)
- Age between 21 and 45, with normal physical condition
- Motivation and willingness to help
- Team spirit
- Ability to get along with dogs 🐕🐕🐕 and cats 🐈⬛
Important details:
- You are responsible for your own travel (visa, flights, etc.). We do not provide invitation letters. ✈️
We eat mostly vegetarian (including milk, eggs, cheese 🥛🥚🧀) and invite you to share meals with us. Unfortunately, we cannot cater to special diets (e.g., gluten-free, lactose-free).
Our finca is not suitable for families with children 🍄🐕🦺
If you are ready to experience Tenerife not just as a tourist but as an active part of an ecological project, we warmly welcome you to our finca.
What type of host are you? 🏡
- Private/Individual/family
What are you looking for help with?
- Building 🛠
- Farming/Gardening 🌿
- 🐄General Help 💁♀️
What’s the mission of your community? 🎯
Finca la Castaña was built exclusively for self-sufficiency and does not operate commercially. As the finca became larger and more complex in work, we can no longer manage it alone. However, we see an increasing interest from young people to start similar projects and are happy to share our knowledge and experience with volunteers.
How many volunteers could you host? 🎎
- Up to 10 volunteers
When would you need volunteers? 📅
- All year long
How many hours of help per day? ⏱
- 4-5 hours of help per day
How many days of help per week? 🌒
- 5 days per week – 2 days off
Note about the volunteer work and other expectations 📝
The main focus of every volunteer program is the cultural exchange and the learning effect. What is there to learn at Finca la Castaña? We built the Finca with diligence, tenacity and perseverance from the beginning and have been running it for years according to ecological principles as self-supporters. Everything in between, you can learn from our experience. This includes the structural requirements, the plants, the garden, permaculture, technology and of course discipline, will to work and many more things. We originally come from a management background, having been successfully self-employed for decades. Accident prevention regulations, risk management, etc. may still seem abstract to a young person, but will accompany every professional until retirement. You will also learn a lot about this on the Finca.
Are accommodation and food included? 🏠🍜
Yes, we offer food and accommodation
What type of accommodation can you provide? 🏕
- Private Room 🔑
- Tipi ⛺
- Tent 🎪
Diet – nutrition information 🥗🥤
We prefer the German-Mediterranean cuisine, and eat mainly vegetarian, although occasionally some meat/chicken or fish are part of our menu. However, the emphasis is on “occasionally”. Typical meat eaters will not feel comfortable with us, as well as vegans. Our volunteers eat together with us, we do not cook special diets. On weekends we offer only breakfast.
Fees transparency 🆓🔍
no fees
VISA – could you provide Visa support/info/invitation letters? 🛂
No, similar requests will be ignored
Volunteers’ benefits 🏆🏅
The Finca la Castaña has reached a size in recent years that we can no longer manage alone. We offer our volunteers the opportunity to work in all areas, partly independently and partly under supervision. Depending on their profession or previous education, this can be more in the garden, in permaculture or in the handicraft area. The Finca is technically very well equipped so the use of machines can also be practised under supervision.
If you want to learn about self-sufficiency, living abroad, organic farming, permaculture, etc., this is the place for you.
Volunteering in one of the most sought-after holiday destinations in Spain.
What to do in your free time 🚴🚣🦒
Finca la Castaña is located in the middle of the Orotava Valley, about 20-minute walk to La Orotava or also close to Puerto del la Cruz, which can be reached in a few minutes by bus. Small bars and restaurants invite you to linger and enjoy the cultural exchange, and beautiful beaches invite you to sunbathe and swim. The Teide National Park with its countless hiking trails begins a little above the Finca. There are endless possibilities for leisure activities.
Language 🗣🇬🇧
English and german
Geography 🌳
Tenerife is located about 250 km west of Africa and is therefore one of the preferred vacation destinations, especially in winter. There is a mild climate all year round so Tenerife is also called the island of eternal spring.
How to get to your site ✈ 🗺
Tenerife is the largest of the Canary Islands. They can be reached either by ship (about 36 hours) or by plane (about 5 hours from Germany). On Tenerife itself there is a good public transport network so that volunteers can easily reach Puerto de la Cruz and from there we pick them up.
Is there internet access? 🌐
Yes, but not very strong.
CONTACT DETAILS 🔍📧
For security reasons, we have hidden this host’s contact details.
If you are interested in this volunteering opportunity, please send an e-mail to: voluntouring.freelist@gmail.com (write Finca La Castana) as the subject of the e-mail title) – or write your email in the comment/references section below.👇
We will send you the host contact as soon as possible.
See more volunteering opportunities in Tenerife or Canary Islands 🌴🌋