When I decided to join the Climate Compliance Conference team in November 2018, I did not expect this program to have such a long-lasting effect on my outlook on life. Spending 6 months living a communal life with people from all walks of life, trying to live as self-sustainably as possible, learning and sharing knowledge at the same time, being closer to nature than I've ever been, working with communities with very different stories to everything I've encountered before - all of these things shaped my experience and gave me the courage to decide to pursue a different lifestyle even after completion of the program.
You'll most probably find yourself identifying as a Climate Activist after living at RVA for half a year, even if you didn't expect to ;)

The 6 month in RVA changed my perspective so much.
I learned how to seed, grow, and harvest organic plants, how fresh tropical fruits on a road taste good, how beautiful Vincy nature is... I can’t mention all things what I saw, felt, and experienced.
However, the biggest notice there is I used to be surrounded by too much stuff, energy, and plastics. I did minimal life with organic foods, a few disposable things, and magnificent natures to spend time. Almost everything was my first experience and it was so simple but made me relaxed.
To be honest, the system and the equipment to live comfortably are not perfect yet. But that also can be the reason why I recommend you come to RVA. People from all over the world are trying to improve their lives through sharing their ideas and having responsibilities to run RVA. So you could see the difference of their sense of value and how difficult but fun to live with others.
To sum up, the life in RVA give you new criterion of values which affects your entire life. If you want a natural adventure, RVA will help you.

I joined a one month team some years back and have since then kept in contact with Richmond Vale Academy on and off. I learned a lot of practical skills from my time at RVA and I also realized what Global Warming and Climate Change means for a small island nation like St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the causes for this. And most importantly I learned that we can do something about it!
After the course I lived in Kingstown some years, which I didn't like much. I returned to farming and I am now working my dream job as assistant manager of SVG horse school, I am closely connected to my farm and the community of Richmond Vale Academy, which i love so much and which taught me to be more independent.
Having been in contact with RVA I have improved my self-esteem and discovered some new gifts and talents in myself that i never knew existed like singing, writing and socializing with people from all over the world.
I can see myself contributing to Richmond Vale Academy and my country in the years to come.

One of the many points why I enjoyed my time at Richmond Vake Academy so much, was that we really lived a sustainable lifestyle. The amount of trash we produced was minimal compared to the amount I produce back home. You don't have to spend money there at all if you don't want to. It opens your eyes that a truly sustainable way of living is indeed possible and in Richmond you are pretty close to it! So if you truly want to do something for the earth and want to life together sustainable, than Richmond Vale Academy is a great place to begin your work! And you not just live stustainable you also life together with many people from all different places in the world which gives you a opportunity to discover each other's culture and listen to people from all over the world!

The things i remember most from my arrival at RVA was the diversity of trees, plants and flowers that meets you on the road up to the school. Everything was so colorfull and bright. You also have a beautiful view of the ocean right infront of the school and a big, open mainhall that you walk through at the start of your journey.

You know mostly how your time will be spent after reading all the information you get before you arrive, but I was a bit surprised over how much you actually are part of. The students have the program they signed up for but also many other responsibilities like maintance, school garden, compost, horses and more. This will for many teach you have to use tools, how to plan meals for many people and other skills you can take with you where ever you go next.

For me the food was a huge difference from what I am used to. Normally I will never be able to say that I eat healthy, but at RVA I was as close as I can get. Most of the food you eat you grow yourself. Fresh vegetables everyday and a short walk over to the fruit forest and you can grab yourself some guavas or barbados cerrys and plenty more. And you will taste the difference from the shop fruits you have back home, just go and try it and you will understand.

After this experience you will think more about how you do things back home and most likely change some of it aswell now that you know more about how your actions can impact our world.

Before coming here I was so nervous because I was going to one country that I've never heard before. But from first day to until last day, local people and RVA were so kind to us. Of course like everywhere here is not perfect as well but believe in me you will never regret to come here. We are volunteer, our main purpose is doing something for the people, at the same time we are human and sometimes we need to chill, relax and good friends. You can find everything that I mentioned. Making home gardens, swim in the beach, hiking, explore the island, have a nice conversation with local people... This is the right place to be productive, to learn and share.. Thank you RVA, thank you Caribbean.. Coming here was my best decision ever.. Definitely I would come again and recommend to everyone who wants to unforgettable experience..

When it comes to climate change, we all have at least some knowledge about it. And all of us know at least a couple things we can do to lower its impacts: take public transport, buy local, switch to green energy, save water, don't overly consume things you don't necasserily need, cut especially beef and dairy out of our diets and so on...
Concerning that, RVA's permaculture teacher Luke mentioned, that if we only look at things we should not do to lower our footprint, that can be very depressing as we look at ourselves as a "disease" to the earth, but if we think about the things we can do that actually have a positive impact on the planet, this is the direction we should look into.
Learning how to grow your own food organically - even though RVA is not self-sufficient yet, getting your energy from the solar stations up on the roof and sharing a home with 60 other people gives you a pretty good idea what an ecological lifestyle should be like.
Apart from that, building homegardens out in the communities in St.Vincent was on one hand a quick start for local people to live more self-sustainably, but also a good way for us to experience a culture that is very different from our own.
In general, this program made me a lot more passionate about the topic of climate change, along with a lot of other social and political problems and even though sometimes you get a little tired of everything, in the end I am very glad I participated as there is a lot that I will take home.

I had the opportunity to volunteer in Richmond Vale Academy for 4 months from January 4 to April 22, 2019, as a teacher in training.

I worked with 12 women from the communities there in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean in a program called Climate Compliance Conference.

It was a great experience abroad, I met many very good people around the world and made many friends. I learned about culture from different countries and I had the opportunity to practice my English.

The school has very good location with a beautiful view to the volcano and the sea.