Program Reviews

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.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an amazing and beautiful place. It is a paradise, full of good vibes, good energy and wonderful people that I hope to see again someday. I lived there for 6 months, I was part of the Climate Compliance program of november 2017. With my team we were able to build 10 organic home gardens for women-headed households in order to guarantee food security and sovereignty in a sustainable way, at the same time we took action on a small scale against Climate Change. I am really grateful to have had the opportunity to go there and to have challenged myself, before I could not imagine the kind of experience that it would be but in the end I grew a lot in Saint Vincent. I was able to learn many things, not only about permaculture but about me, how to live in community, to improve a language and to learn about different cultures. This experience gives me inspiration and motivation and also a new direction of what I really want to do next.

During the month I was at RVA, I came across amazing people and experienced a number of opportunities that contributed to my growth.
To witness first hand, the self-sustainable system that was put in place at the academy was eye-opening. Learning to work as a team and understanding the importance of contributing to the community, was one of the many benefits of participating in this program.
My team and I were eager to focus on projects that dealt with the locals directly. So, we spent time at local schools teaching children about 2 endangered tree species. We also planted the trees around the island, at school, public gardens and at the academy. By the end of the month, we planted 50 trees in total. It was very rewarding.
We also helped our team leader with his graduation project, a fruit forest at the academy. This project helped me envision the possibilities we have as humans to contribute to nature and live off of it at the same time.
I also appreciated the effort made by the staff to feed us local, whole foods the entire time we were there.
Overall, I'm grateful to have been apart of a program that provided me with an opportunity to give back.

I was part of the 2018 November team and I wish I could do it all over again!
The island is absolutely stunning- very mountainous with narrow winding roads, thick jungle and black sand beaches. There's a rainbow everyday and a sunset every night
The local people are very friendly and getting to know them was the highlight of the trip. RVA is on the north leeward side of the island, right near the end of the highway and at the foot of the volcano (I definitely recommend climbing it but bring lots of water!).
There is a football pitch and volleyball net with games every week and is right next to a secluded beach with a reef that is perfect for snorkeling (just be careful when it has been raining a lot because the currents get a lot stronger!). There are also a lot of opportunities to go scuba diving!
It is a 45 minute walk from the village- or 5 minute truck ride, where there's a restaurant that does great karaoke, a calmer beach and Banas' amazing food :) This is also where most of the home gardens are, so you will get to spend quite a bit of time there!
Over the course of the one month programme there will be three major projects: a school based project (we designed and built a humanure toilet for the gardens), a community based project (we investigated the home gardens to see how to improve them in the future) and a permaculture project in the schools gardens. You also get to attend morning classes with all sorts of interesting topics, and tours around the island with the wonderful Selly, join all sorts of clubs, help with the upkeep of the school and learn skills like traditional drumming and bowl making.
RVA is full of funny, interesting, friendly and compassionate people, all uniting around the same cause, you will have some amazing opportunities there. Vincy is the most beautiful place on earth and you will adore every second of your time there.
One mistake I made was flying straight back home- take the time after the project to explore the rest of the Grenadines if you can!
Blessed Love <3 :)

I completed the FWP 18 month program in 2018. It was one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life so far. I learned a lot of practical skills along the way but I really learned about myself and the way in which I wanted to live. Living with other people in a community setting can be tough and it is important to be self motivated, because this program is really what you make it. You meet some of the most amazing and creative people as well as those that push your buttons! I can't promise that you will love every minute because it is by no means easy, but it is really worth giving it a go! You have the added advantage of living in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, there is no where quite like Saint Vincent!

I recently completed the 18 month program at Richmond Vale Academy and I recommend it highly with certain caveats. To begin it is important to know that RVA is not a school in any sense that you may be acquainted with, although there are certain classes involved for the most part what they offer is a framework within which you can learn. This means that the learning that takes place is for the most part of YOUR OWN INITIATIVE. I have seen a student spend a year and a half in the project and never learn how to plant a seed or make a compost so if you need someone looking over your shoulder or holding your hand then this is not the place for you. I would also point out that you will encounter any number of problems and setbacks be they simply the difficulties of living in the developing world or interpersonal issues with the people that you work with and if you are just there to find out what you want to do with your life you will most likely end up as a burden to those who are there to make a difference and not have what it takes to overcome the difficulties that you will inevitably face as an activist. That being said I would advise examining your reasons for participating very well before joining the 18 month program. There are other options that are less intense and better suited for those who are still "figuring things out". I would also like to point out that all development instructors are also ambassadors in a sense and need to be good examples of strong moral and ethical values and failing this will make it harder for everyone that has to follow in your footsteps and rebuild relationships with the people you have interacted with. Many students do not complete this course so making the decision to finish what you started and sticking with that is important.
Caveats aside I will restate that I highly recommend this program, I made the best of my time and learned about as much as could be learned from the experiences that I had. I have fallen in love with St Vincent and Ecuador where I worked as a development instructor and will be returning to Ecuador to teach agroforestry and permaculture and I intend to return to St Vincent periodically to see my friends on the mountain. By the time I left RVA I had been in charge of the fruit forest, ran the garden, started a fitness club, built biosand filters for a remote village in Ecuador, built a model garden in the school where I taught English, translated an Korean natural farming manual into Spanish for the staff of Humana, became a godfather, left behind a vermicompost, started a zero till patch of corn which evolved into the staple production area that is currently being designed, operated the bio-gas plant, did some amazing dirt biking in the Andes to reach remote farmers, made friends that I will keep for life and so, so much more. From my experience and from what I know of the experiences of many other students I can tell you that this program will defy your expectations. Go with no expectations for anything or anyone but yourself and you will succeed. My experience was one of growth and happiness, whether yours will be the same is up to you.