Experience report on volunteering at Finca Noah (Barbara and Bernadette)

Two "repeat offenders"

It was a bit like "coming home"

When we drove through the gates of Finca Noah in mid-July, it felt a bit like "arriving" for both of us. With every metre we drove up the inviting driveway, we were even happier to see our friends Farah, Nadine and Juan again. Eloy and his gang, Rambo, Coco and all the others also jumped straight back into our hearts. The last time we enjoyed the cheerfulness and hospitality of the residents was in September 2023. Back then, we combined our friendly visit with a week as volunteers.

Like in a film, we were shown the memories from back then. We asked ourselves: "Who else will we know? ...two-legged and four-legged friends?" There were quite a few! I was particularly excited to see how the animal world presented itself on the finca. The many posts on social media and in Farah and Nadine's newsletter regularly reported that there was never a dull moment at the finca. And so it was this time too! The grounds were as inviting as ever. Everything was neatly cleaned under Farah's direction. Yes, she can be quite meticulous when it comes to tidiness, cleanliness and animal welfare. An excellent school for mindfulness and respect for everything and everyone on the finca, in our opinion. But let's be honest: it's great to be able to enjoy the wonderful atmosphere and energy of this place. We believe that you should also be allowed to contribute to this.

It was very hot for us when we arrived. We had just escaped a triad of weather consisting of wet, cold and a feeling of autumn. And the in July!!! We enjoyed the work on the finca all the more. Yes, indeed "enjoyed" we have the already meditative task of collecting the countless sheep popples! It's unbelievable how these little "Gumpibälleli" can scatter.

Appointments, pending matters and "important tasks" completely lose their importance at Finca Noah. The fact that this is "about real life, saving lives, protecting and sustainably protecting" becomes clear when we hear the loud, persistent bleating of a neighbour's lamb. Juan, Nadine and Farah show us just how quick active help can be: when they went to see what was going on, they found a dead mother, a dead lamb next to her and another lamb that was still alive and crying for help. To cut a long story short: the call to the owner of the animals resulted in another sheep finding shelter and a home on the finca...

At the end of our visit, Barbara, a former top athlete in cycling, said very aptly: "This is the best boot camp ever!"  

Barbara and Bernadette, Wald