Quick Facts
Program code
CL-FS101
Category
Farm Stay, Farm Work
Country
Chile
Location
Placements throughout the country
Program start
flexible start and end dates, year-round
Minimum duration
1 month
Minimum age
18 years
Program details
Agriculture has always played a major role in Chile and accounts for a large part of the country’s GDP to this day. The fertile soils and lush meadows of the evergreen lake region offer good conditions for agriculture and livestock farming. And, the Mediterranean Central Region has been able to establish itself as an important producer of fruits and especially wonderful wines.
Our program places in farming and livestock offer you a unique opportunity to experience authentic rural life in Chile. If you enjoy being in the outdoor, working well in a team, and being able to do hard physical work, then you're in the right place.
Please keep in mind that the program sites are sometimes in remote areas, so you will have to go without the overcrowded leisure options that can be found in cities. Instead, you will experience an unforgettable, unique time in the countryside and learn how rewarding it is to be connected with animal and nature.
When submitting your application, you are welcome to share your expectations and wishes regarding your placement. We will then focus on it as best we can. Your individual program description will be sent to you after we have completed the placement process. So, before you book your farm stay you will have exact information on location, tasks, working hours, accommodation, etc.
Tasks
In central Chile, agriculturists grow avocados, olives, fruits, vegetables and above all: wine.
Cattle, goat and chicken breeding is also common, though not that important in this region. The central valley south of Santiago is a rural, where you can find any kind of farm, from modern plants with high-tech facilities to family-run small farms with horse-drawn wagons and traditional handcraft. Horses still play a major role at almost all farms and they are an integral part of the Chilean "Huaso" culture (you will find out on site, what this is about).
Due to climate, in the southern lake region, people do mainly dairy farming, this is where the irresistibly delicious caramel cream "Manjar" comes from. Sheep breeding is also an important aspect, but the sheep do not move across the country, they are kept in pastures. There are also many small beekeeping businesses and the cultivation of fruits such as apples, strawberries, plums and murtas, a native type of berry is important.
The island of Chiloé is all about potatoes, there are over 200 types of potatoes there!
In the vastness of the Patagonian pampas, the focus is on sheep farming, sheep are tended by mounted shepherds in the pampas.
So, tasks can be as diverse as the regions and farms are.
Here are some examples:
- Gardening and field work
- Sowing and harvesting
- Doing maintenance work
- Working in the stable
- Feeding and caring for animals
- Bringing animals to the pasture / paddock / stable)
- Milking animals
- Administrative work
- Selling agricultural products
Working Hours are between 30 and 40 hours per week (depending on program place).
The program description with information regarding your farm profile and tasks will be send to you after the placement process has been completed.
Accommodation
Accommodation in a single or shared room is included and is provided by the farm and can either be in the farm owner's house or in a house on the same site where the employees live. However, in any case you get a lot of contact with the locals and can experience Chilean country life and the habits of the people there firsthand.
Farm Stay programs include full board (typical food / dishes). Meals are provided either as meals served, food for self-cooking or money for your own shopping.
Location
Our farm stay places are located in the central region, in the southern Chilean lake region, and in Patagonia. All three areas are very beautiful and allow you to get to know the Chilean country life and the way of life outside the big cities.
Each of the three regions has its own charm:
During a farm stay in Chile's central region there will usually be bright skies, sunshine and correspondingly high temperatures. Thanks to irrigation, the valleys are fertile, while the surrounding mountains are rugged and dry. Here you will find beautiful wineries and a lot of fruit producing farms.
The southern Chilean lake region attracts with green meadows, picturesque landscapes and delicious German-style cakes, because the region was made arable by German settlers around 1850. In addition to the green fields and pastures, there are still pristine valleys with crystal clear rivers and untouched primeval forests. It rains often there, thus nature is more abundant and the temperatures are usually pleasant.
Patagonia invites to wild rides, amazing landscapes and untouched nature. Here you can feel like a cowboy after work (or even at work) and be enchanted by the vastness and wildness of this stunning region.
Language skills
Spanish at communication level. For optimal preparation for your Farm Work in Chile, we advise you to take a Spanish course before the program starts. This gives you the opportunity to slowly get used to the language, culture and mentality and to meet like-minded people in a relaxes atmosphere.
You can book your Spanish course in Chile directly with us!
Requirements
- Spanish skills (book your Spanish course in Chile also with us)
- Minimum age 18 years
- Application at least 4 weeks before the desired start of the program. Read more about our application process here.
- Completion of a travel health insurance (get your travel insurance here!)
Pre-departure and in-country support
Before arrival, our experienced team will be at your disposal to assist you throughout the booking process and travel planning. With the booking confirmation you will receive our 24-hour emergency number, to reach us in case of emergency 24/7.
In Chile you will be supported by our in-country staff based in Santiago de Chile.
Costs & Services
Our Farm Stay in Agriculture and Livestock in Chile includes:
- Accommodation (single or shared room)
- Board (breakfast only, half board or full board)
- Professional English-speaking advice
- Translation of your application documents
- Elaboration of your internal application profile
- Farm Stay Placement
- Program confirmation for the visa application (if necessary)
- English-speaking in-country support
- Useful information about your stay in Chile
- Handbook Chile
- Certificate of participation
- 24/7 emergency number
- Information about suitable travel health insurance
Costs
Application fee: US$ 120
Placement fee: US$ 530 (minimum stay 1 month)
Each additional month: US$ 25
Additionally, you can book:
- Airport pick-up: US$ 40 (Transfer from Santiago airport to a destination in Santiago such as your accommodation or the bus station for your onward journey).
- Spanish course in Chile
- Spanish course in other countries throughout Latin America
- Travel Health Insurance
Our tips (experience more + see more = save $$)
Is it difficult for you to decide between the many great projects? You want to see and experience as much as possible during your stay in Latin America? Then build your own itinerary - experience more & see more! Our program combination makes it possible!
All our stay abroad programs can be combined with each other: So, you can combine different volunteer projects in the same country or in different countries, or you mix Working Holiday with volunteer work or Farm Stay with Working Holiday ...and so on …
Your creativity knows no limits. The longer your stay abroad in Latin America, the greater the discount you get from South America Inside. Below you can see how much you can save:
- 2 stay abroad programs: save US$ 55
- 3 stay abroad programs: save US$ 75
- 4 stay abroad programs: save US$ 165
- 5 stay abroad programs: save US$ 220
- 6 stay abroad programs and more: save US$ 325
Note: Language courses are excluded from this promotion. These discounts can not be combined with other promotions.
If you need assistance in putting together your personal experience abroad, then please contact us. Our experienced staff will help you to set up your tailor-made stay abroad.
Farm Stay Guide
Find valuable information about Farm Work abroad in our program guides. Find out about all the benefits, possibilities and challenges, that a stay abroad offers you. Read more about the great opportunities that South America Inside has at your disposal.
Browse through our section Reading Matter!
