Work exchange at Eco Retreat in Cornwall, UK

• Exchange hours per day
  6
• Days off per Week
  2
• Accomodation Provided
  Yes
• Minimum Commitment (In Days)
  14
• Amenities
  Wifi
• Types of Help & Learning Opportunities
  Building & Repairing, Gardening & Planting, Kitchen & Bar Help

About Cotna Eco Retreat:

At Cotna Eco Retreat, visitors can choose from a range of accommodations including yurts, shepherd’s huts, and barns, all situated in a breathtakingly beautiful environment. In addition to providing places to stay, the residents embrace a lifestyle focused on low-impact, green, and sustainable practices.

The energy needs of the retreat are met through renewable sources such as solar and wind power, reducing reliance on non-renewable resources. Water, sourced from a natural spring, provides guests with pure Cornish spring water, ensuring a refreshing and environmentally friendly experience. To minimize waste, the residents utilize their own wood and implement recycling measures through compost bins and eco compost loos.

Alongside their dedication to sustainability, Cotna Eco Retreat is committed to organic fruit and vegetable production, offering guests and the local community access to fresh, homegrown produce. Their efforts were recognized when they received the Best Contribution to Sustainable Land Management award at the 2016 Cornwall Sustainability Awards.

As the farm has developed over time, it has become a sanctuary for wildlife, with various species finding refuge in the natural surroundings. In addition to the wildlife, the farm is home to bees, spaniels, cats, chickens, and ducks, all playing integral roles in maintaining the ecosystem.

Work Exchange Opportunity:

Work opportunities at Cotna vary, but will always include all kinds of gardening, composting, carpentry, cooking and food preparation.  Each season brings its own unique tasks.

Spring involves a lot of weeding, sowing, bed preparation and willow work. Summer is all hands to the deck with picking, weeding and … more weeding. Autumn involves harvesting, taking cuttings, cutting back hedges, beginning structural and woodland work and processing food (including juice, cider and chutney making). In Winter there are shorter days and longer evenings by the fire, but there is still a lot of structural building and preparation work to be done. These include strimming, hedge-trimming, hedge-laying, pruning, composting, veg-bed preparation for next growing season and work in the woodland.

We do our best to play to your strengths and if there is something that inspires you and is helpful to us, then go for it! If you are artistic we encourage you to come and help develop the beauty of Cotna through willow work, wooden sculptures, sign making and whatever else that might inspire you.

We ask that you commit to a minimum of 2 weeks, though we do also have a week’s trial.  If things are not working out we reserve the right to ask people to move on as soon as possible. Many WWOOFers stay with us for a few months, and we are happy with long stays.  We expect about 6 hours of work each day, with Saturdays and Sundays off.

Accommodation
The accommodation will be generally be in one of two caravans, though we always welcome volunteers with their own vans. There is a larger communal area in the straw-bale barn which you share with other volunteers as well as longer term residents Tom & Molly. Here you can cook and eat, relax on the sofas by the woodburner, use the wifi, carve wooden spoons etc.

Explore further by visiting the website link below.

Contact Details

Exchange Type

• Home for Time

Regions

• United Kingdom

Gallery

Video

Location