Homestead & Farm
Residencies
Chef
“Let our Kitchen be your canvas, and the fruits of our lands, your medium”
Food
Artisans
Calling
All
...If you are a Chef or Food Artisan looking to travel, we welcome you to apply to come spend a few months with us here in the Caribbean! You will have access to all that our land has to offer, seasonal fruits, fresh ingredients, accommodations on Yassica River, and just a short drive to the beach.
...Our expertise is in our Dominican tradition, BUT we hope for people to experience the food that we grow from the perspective of many different cultures and cooking styles.
We welcome you to bring your creative & cultural flare to our farm and table.
Be Expected
What will
to Do?!
I
In exchange for room & board you will be expected to help in the following ways:
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Host a weekly cooking class
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Weekly Posts & Recipe ideas for our followers
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Host a weekly Dinner or Brunch
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Help expand our farm fresh pantry with new preserves, Pickles, canned veggies & more!
Costs
Our Chef Residencies are an exchange, so by helping us with the above, we cover:
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Lodging
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Min of 2 meals per day (Shared with the family) So although you may enjoy cooking all your own meals you are welcome to eat with us.
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Food Staples available in the resident pantry for food prep & projects.
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Farm fresh produce
“Come Live, Work, Play & Create in the Dominican Countryside”
Will I Stay?!
Where
You will most likely be staying in our Resident cabins that overlook the banana forest in our Conuco. These suites have access to a shared kitchen and common area, and a room that either accommodates 1 or 2 residents, each with their own bathroom.
We are under construction!
Photos of our new Resident cabins COMING SOON!
Amenities
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River Access
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Pool
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Yoga & Activities Canopy
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Beach 30mins down the road
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Theater Room
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Chef's Kitchen
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Bon Fire Pit
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Wifi
Property
Will I
Eat/Cook?!
Where
You will have the option of eating what we eat as a family for at least 2 meals each day. These will generally be traditional Dominican meals, and these are included in your stay.
In addition, the cabins are equipped with a shared kitchen where you can prepare snacks and other meals utilizing a mix of provided staples, farm produce, and specialty items you have brought with you or purchased in town.
We are under construction!
Photos of our new kitchen COMING SOON!
...and Further, our retreat center also has a large, indoor/outdoor, Chef’s kitchen where you will be able to create in & prepare for your weekly dinner/class menu
Will I Find
Where
Groceries?
The Farm
You will, of course, have farm fresh produce at your fingertips daily!
The Pantry
A fair amount of staples are kept on hand and available to you for daily use. These may include things like: rice, oats, flour, pasta, sugar, corn meal, wheat, eggs, beans, potatoes, bananas, plantains.
Grocery Store
15-45 minute journey will find you at 1 of 4 supermarkets between here and Sosua. These larger stores that tend to cater to tourists and the products they love are where you will find imported items, items that you may be accustomed to back home, culturally diverse ingredients, special dietary products, specialty meats & cheese, etc.
El Colmado
these are the local corner or convenience stores, they are a dime a dozen in most towns and will have most of the basics you may need on a daily basis, it is where most of our town shops for basic: canned goods, pantry staples, breads, sweets, junk food, bottled beverages, cheese, chicken, pork chops, salami, sausage, some traditional produce, and even other convenience store items.
Commitments
Expectations
&
Encouragements
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You Are expected to be self motivated, and asked to complete your weekly food curation duties.
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You are encouraged & welcome to immerse as much as you can, if you enjoy being around the family, and want to learn to cook traditional dishes, we encourage you to do so, if you enjoy being around the farm, we encourage you to join us in some of our daily duties as well, BUT your days are flexible, you set your own pace.
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There may be some intern/resident meetings, team building or informational activities that are mandatory and you are expected to attend.
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We have limited space and if you are chosen to be a part of our team we expect that you will be present, we are not a hotel or extended stay and we try to reserve our slots for people that want to: be apart of our team, learn, and build with community.
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We encourage you to explore the island and surrounding areas in your free time. We don't expect you to be always working, unless its your passion to do so!
You are encouraged to innovate, come with a project, or idea you would like to test, meet with our team lead each week to strategize the week's theme, menu ideas, ingredient needs, etc.
You are expected to be kind, and respectful, we work as a team and family, and although we do have leaders we don't have a "boss" and so we guide each other through the day's objectives, ask each other's opinions, and ask for help when we need it.
We encourage you to come with a sense of humor, we joke often, and hard work is best served with a side of laughs.
Needed?
Experience
Tell us how much experience you have!
We are open to taking on Food Artisans of all experience levels, so be honest about what you know, your past experience, what you feel you can contribute, why you feel our farm is the right place for you, what you hope to leave with, and why this experience is important to you.
"We accept applicants from all cultures, cooking styles, & experience types"
No matter your experience here is what we hope to see...
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Have experience curating recipes, executing the dish, & plating.
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Comfortable managing any kitchen support/staff you may want/need to execute your weekly dinner
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Have a resume, portfolio, reference letters, or a social platform that demonstrates your work & capabilities
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Self motivated & organized
Extra
Opportunities!
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As a resident you will receive part of the proceeds raised from the ticketed weekly dinners.
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You will also be welcomed to curate additional cooking class that we can offer to our followers/ clientele on your behalf as an additional way to make money.
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Customers that have enjoyed your food creations or classes will have the opportunity (with your approval) to book private, small group, dinners hosted at the farm with you.
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Do you have a small team of 2-3 people that you already work with; do you need a sous chef, or curate in partnership with another person. Let us know in your application:
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Who they are
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Who you are together
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Why you feel your food artistry will be stronger together
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What you will be able to contribute to the farm together that wouldn't be the same otherwise.
Extra
Help!
"Come Cook with Us!"
Info
Application
e-mail us or message us Via What's app with questions!
what's App: (829) 844-3155
e-mail: join.conuco.criollo@gmail.com
Application
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Applications are rolling and always open.
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We recommend applying months in advance if you are trying for a particular month/season
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We do have a waitlist that you can join if you are accepted but we do not have any openings at present.
Language
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We are a Spanish speaking family, we do NOT natively speak any other languages, however a few of our members have taken English classes. You will be almost completely immersed in Spanish upon arrival.
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Lizz, our intern coordinator, however does speak English, which is her first language.
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Our clients & patrons generally speak English & Spanish, if we need to provide an interpreter fwe will.
Host Family
You won't need to be paired with a host family, we ARE your host family, and we will be available to you daily as we share our homestead with you. You will not have to navigate this new: world, culture, language, or space alone or without guidance.
Transport
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We do have a Farm car, that we use for deliveries, family outings, and any offsite intern experiences.
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"Moto Conchos": are available at the town entrance and can take you to most neighboring towns for $5 USD
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"Gua Guas" :are the local public van system that can take you most any where for a dollar or two.
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Taxis: run similar routs as the Gua Guas, but cost a bit more and have fewer passengers.
Pricing
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Room & Board are included in this exchange.
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Air fair is NOT included and will need to be purchased by each resident.
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Although family meals, staples, and farm fresh produce are included, ANY specialty items, imported items, souvenirs, excursions, or special activities that you would like to have, or do, are NOT included so please budget accordingly.
Length
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Chef residencies are a minimum of 1 month.
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Residents are often encouraged to spend 1-3 months with us.
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3 months gives you enough time, to get comfy, learn our processes, find your footing, gain confidence, build community, and begin to input & innovate.
Group Size
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We generally welcome 1 or 2 residents at any one time.
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If you hope to come with a small team of individuals to curate meals together, please let us know in your application the members in your group so we evaluate you together.
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You may also be sharing our compound with, Farm Interns & Content Creators in residency.
Timeframes
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Space is limited so we recommend applying 6 months in advance of the month(s) you desire.
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Last minute applications are welcome as long as there is vacancy for the upcoming month & your application is accepted.
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To secure your spot an acceptance letter must be signed.
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We ask that if you must cancel, please give us a month's notice so we can notify another food artisan.
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Yes, we do maintain a waitlist.
