ABOUT ME

I (Robin - the woman) live on a young, off-the-grid, ocean-view permaculture farm in the mountains of Dominica. My land mates and I spend most of the day working outside on a variety of projects.

Here are some of the things I'm working on:
* Building permaculture practices: mulching, building compost, collecting cow poo
* Pulling vines off of trees that are completely covered
* Weeding the garden
* Picking pigeon peas and grapefruits
* Building new vegetable beds.
* Planting corn, sweet potatoes, soy
* Setting up structures for vines I'm growing
* to do: make a worm bin
* Filling in swamp areas

Other projects the guys are working on:
* Terracing
* Buidling hurricane-resistant domes out of ferro-cement.
*Building a bio-gas system

The best experience here is a participatory experience: come experience pioneer-style / jungle living and get your hands dirty with some garden work, construction projects, or bushwhacking, if that sounds fun to you. We will share our knowledge about jungle farming, and invite you on any outings we do to our friends'.

We like people who want to experience our culture of cooperative farm life. This is what distinguishes couchsurfing from AirBNB for us. (We can easily get paid for having people stay in our home, as this is a very nice location.) But, if you want to see what it's like to live in a community of inspired individuals who are trying to build something (and thereby make the world a better place?), and if you are curious about construction for hurricane zones, soil, plants, farming, off-grid living, cooking, food preservation, sewing, dog training, building landslide-proof land, or generally a resilient, sustainable lifestyle then we would enjoy hosting you.

This is not the best base to explore the rest of the island from, unless you have a 4wd car, or don't mind long uphill hikes. We are a 2km steep hike from the road.. However, mosts of our guests do take trips about the island, and a trail connects us to a couple of cool places.

We have limited electricity, internet, and comforts. The house is open-aired. We have a compost toilet and a hot shower. (By shower, i mean, a stream of water that comes out of a tube.) The mattresses are thin foam.

Since we like to cook for guests here (we have no (functioning) fridge, and we're not close to any shops), we ask guests to chip in on food cost and/or food supplies.

We sometimes have several guests here at once. We have one room available, some hammocks, and some tents.

There is an awesome unlisted waterfall a short walk from here.

If you're interested, please let me know what interests you about staying here?

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

We like meeting travelers because they tend to be open to learning about new people / cultures. We like sharing the life we're building with people, who are interested in alternative ways of self-organizing and living.

Interests

Me: In the past, I've been an outdoorsy long-distance endurance person. I work in user experience design and research. I enjoy geeking out about exercise movements/training, information design, nutrition, travel, bikes and boats. I have a 50 year old sailboat that I sometimes go visit / sail.

See my Instagrams: https://www.instagram.com/robin314159/
https://www.instagram.com/tropical_bobo

Aaron: construction, farming, speaking French/Spanish, cooking, playing music, politics, economics, psychology.

• design
• music
• outdoor activities
• cycling
• hiking
• swimming

Music, Movies, and Books

folk, indie, world music
thought-provoking fiction
Black Mirror, Wes Anderson, The Dispossessed

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I've biked across Asia from China to Turkey.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm trying to learn French, and improve sailing skills. I am also trying to better learn diesel engine mechanics, plumbing, and electrical, soil chemistry, self-improvement techniques, ukelele strumming techniques, yoga.

What I Can Share with Hosts

FARM:
* Learn about permaculture farming, jungle cooking, how to use a cutlass/ machete to bushwhack, how to make yogurt or wine, off-the-grid living.
* Take a walk to the waterfall
* Volunteer in building something positive (weeding, planting, building, etc)
* Take a dip in our jungle, spring-fed pond
* Play music with us
* Discuss and solve the world's problems.

BOAT:
* A relaxed time on the boat... or learn:
* How to sail
* Fish
* How to tie knots
* How to move onto a boat in the Caribbean

Swim around, use the paddleboard, sit on the bow, watch the sun go down.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belize, Bolivia, Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Botswana, Canada, China, Colombia, Cook Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Ecuador, Fiji, France, Germany, Grenada, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Iran, Italy, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Namibia, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Peru, South Africa, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela

Countries I’ve Lived In

United States