THE BASE
Base is where you will live, eat, and play during your time on the program! It is communal living at its finest. Some call it rustic, others call it home. The base is usually co-ed bunk-style dorm rooms with assorted common areas for eating and relaxing.
Note: Pictures below are examples from our past program and will be updated once our base is set up.
ACCOMODATIONS & FACILITIES
Sleeping Arrangements: We offer free accommodation for all residential volunteers. We offer volunteers bunk beds in mixed dormitory rooms. Bunk beds will not have any bedding or mattresses provided, so you must bring your own air mattress or sleeping pad, a sleeping bag or blanket, and a pillow.
These can also be purchased in local shops in St Bernard about 3 km from our base. Some bedding may be left behind from previous volunteers, but we can’t guarantee it, please reach out to our Volunteer Relations Coordinator before your trip to find out what we have available during your stay.
Additionally, we will have some tent spaces available, if you wish to bring your own tent. If so, please, inform the Volunteer Relations Coordinator so we can reserve you a spot.
Bathroom Facilities: Basic toilets and showers will be available at the base for everyone to use. Please keep in mind that a drainage system gets clogged a lot, so toilet paper and any sanitary items need to be disposed of in provided bins.
There are no actual showers in the bathrooms so we have to have bucket showers. We will have about 3-4 bucket shower spaces on base.
Bucket showers are a convenient way of showering when circumstances dictate that traditional plumbing is unavailable. The shower process entails watering yourself with water ladled from a bucket, lathering soaping, and rinsing again with ladled water.
We will have western-style toilets, which need to be flushed with a bucket of water though.
We don’t provide separate bathroom facilities for women and men.
Kitchen facilities: The kitchen at our base will be equipped with basic cooking equipment such as pots, frying pans, basic utensils, cutlery, plates, cups, glasses etc. It will be available for you to use in the morning so that you can prepare your breakfast. You can also use it on your days off and in the evening if you wish to prepare your own dinner instead of the one provided. Please note that during working days, the kitchen will be occupied by local cooks who will be preparing lunch and dinner, so you will have limited or no access to the kitchen throughout the day.
We will have a designated storage space where you can keep your food, but we ask that all food is stored in sealed containers. We highly recommend bringing a sharpie/marker to mark your items.
We do not anticipate having a refrigerator or freezer at the base for public use, so please don’t bring anything that needs to be stored at a low temperature.
Communal space: We will have a dedicated common space at the base where you will be able to spend time with other volunteers, attend daily meetings, eat your meals, and participate in events. We will also have a designated well-being space for anyone who wants to spend time in a more quiet environment. Please note that consumption of alcohol, loud behavior, and loud music are not allowed in the well-being space.
Please feel free to bring along some board games, footballs, volleyballs, or any other kind of entertainment. We encourage you to consider bringing indoor activities for those times when we need to stay inside.
Laundry: We will provide a clean work shirt for each day, however, personal laundry can be hand-washed. Usually, the team also engages community members to provide personal laundry service a couple of times a week, though volunteers must cover that cost themselves.
BASE VIDEO
from a previous program in the Philippines
22010_Base video.MP4ELECTRICITY AND INTERNET
We do not provide WiFi and there is also no phone reception available on base.
There is a WiFi network available in the community and on our base though. The service operates through vending machines, known as PISO WiFi vending machines. These are strategically placed in public spaces.
Users can connect to the internet by selecting the Piso WiFi network on their device, navigating to the login page, and inserting money into the machine. After that, the machine will guide you step by step on how to get online. The WiFi range typically extends up to 50 meters from the vending machine.
The machine offers various connectivity options - for example, you can pay 10 pesos for one hour or 1 peso for 5 minutes. The machine accepts 1 peso, 5 pesos, and 10 pesos coins.
There is also no phone reception in the area where we work, the closest working phone reception is at St. Bernard Town about 8 km away. However, we still recommend having a functioning SIM card for when you leave Mahayag to ensure communication during breaks or on weekends when traveling around the country. A local SIM card with a data package can be purchased at the airport on arrival or in St Bernard. There are several SIM card providers in the country, but Globe provides the best coverage in our local area. Here you can read an extensive guide to getting a SIM card in the Philippines. Please make sure your phone is unlocked, otherwise, the local sim card will not work on your phone.
Additionally, most resorts around here offer wifi, and this is where we tend to spend most of our time off!
If you regularly need a computer or phone for personal use, we recommend bringing your own.
In the Philippines, the power sockets are of type A and B. The standard voltage is 220V, and the standard frequency is 60Hz. We have occasional power outages. If necessary, please ensure you purchase a power adapter to charge your electrical items. Power outlets are limited, and we currently have 2 or 3 sockets per room. Solar chargers and power banks are ideal.
FOOD
We provide three meals a day, six days per week - on each working day. There will be no meals provided on your day off. Although the menu can vary depending on the availability of products in the local area, the typical meals at the AHAH base are the following:
Breakfast: Oats, Peanut Butter, Jam, Bread, Eggs, Fruits, Tea and Instant Coffee. Products will be available for you, but you will be responsible for preparing your own breakfast before going to the worksite.
Lunch: Local Filipino food with vegetarian options available for volunteers who request it. Rice is usually served with every meal in the Philippines. Some of the most popular Filipino dishes that you can expect to have frequently are pancit, chicken adobo, sinigang, kare kare, bulalo, lumpia, sisig, torta. Most of those are originally prepared with meat but can be adjusted to be vegetarian.
Dinner: Local Filipino food. In the Philippines, there is little distinction between the lunch and dinner menu. We will try to provide a different menu throughout the day, but generally, please expect similar types of dishes to be served for lunch and dinner.
Vegetarian diets can be accommodated, but vegans, celiacs, and other dietary requirements will have to supplement what we can provide with items they bring or source and purchase themselves.
VEGETARIANS! Please note that if you are eating out, most of the items listed in the veggie section include meat. Always ask if the food contains meat or inform your waiter that you are vegetarian.
You can store personal food items on the shelves, but there is no refrigerated personal space. You will be able to use the kitchen whenever local staff are not cooking meals for the base.
In the area where we live, you can find small shops, locally known as sari-sari stores, that sell snacks, drinks, and fruits. Local eateries can also be found selling home-cooked Filipino meals.