Welcome to FPG Plant & Animal Sanctuary. You will get a guided tour of the place, and we know there will be a lot of information thrown at you while you are probably still recovering from your flight(s). This orientation page is your quick reference guide. You can always contact the operations manager or executive director, Rob Cole, if you have any questions.
Receiving Mail/Post
Mountain View does not have mail/post delivery to physical properties. If you would like to receive letters or packages during your stay, please use the following mailing address:
PO Box 565
Mountain View, HI 96771
The manager or executive director picks up the mail once a week and will deliver any letters or packages to the volunteers.
Living Quarters
Please note, quiet hours in the living quarters are from 10pm to 6am. Please be kind to your fellow teammates by not disrupting their sleep during these hours.
If you drive a vehicle, please do not drive into the sanctuary after 8pm. The noise of the vehicles can disrupt the animals who are settling in for the night.
Bedrooms
You will be staying in one of four bedrooms at the sanctuary. The bedrooms are divided by curtains for visual privacy. We recommend using earbuds when listening to music or watching videos, unless you clear it with the other volunteers. Please do not keep food or toiletries in your bedroom. Food attracts the attention of pests and dogs. There are cardboard flats in the pantry where you can store your personal food items. Keep it on either of the top two shelves so the dogs do not get it. You may place toiletries on the shelf in your bedroom, if it has a shelf, or in the lua (bathroom).
On your last day with us, please wash all of your bedding and towels, and hang them to dry. Make the bed for the next guest.
Kitchen
The current trend for the volunteers is to make their own breakfast and lunch. Dinner is a communal event. The cook typically rotates among the volunteers, or if someone feels strongly about it they do most of the cooking (or not cooking) during their stay. Please keep the kitchen clean; the stove top and refrigerator like getting cleaned regularly. Washing up should happen after each meal. For the communal dinner, it is pono if someone other than that night's cook washes the dishes.
There is a propane tank under the stove. Turn the valve no more than 1/4 to 1/3 of one rotation, counterclockwise (anticlockwise). Shut the valve off after cooking. Do not open the valve all the way! When the propane tank runs out, please replace the tank following these instructions. The full propane tanks are located under the volunteer lanai on the makai side. Place the empty tank under the volunteer lanai on the mauka side.
Water
There is no running water in the kitchen. Please use the water cooler for potable water. Refill the cooler when the water jug is empty. Place empty water bottles under the volunteer lanai on the mauka side.
Food
The following list contains basic items that FPG provides for the volunteers:
- Onions
- Garlic
- Potatoes
- Sweet potatoes
- Brussels sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Broccoli
- Bananas
- Celery
- Carrots
- Tomatoes
- Pineapple
- Apples
- Tofu
- Frozen vegetables
- Beans
- Grape seed oil
- Rice
- Apple cider vinegar
- Peanut butter
- Jam
- Yeast
- Flour
- Pasta
- Sauce
- Oats
We may get donations of other food from time to time. Depending on the season and the prices, some of the fruit and vegetables are outside of our budget. We may substitute other items, depending upon availability.
As volunteers come and go, the refrigerator can become a time capsule of half-forgotten meals. Please keep tabs on food containers that are outstaying their welcome in the refrigerator, and give it to the pigs while there is still something left of it to eat. (Side note: Please give food scraps to the pigs. As omnivores they appreciate the variety in their bowl. They do not like nor eat the following items:
- Citrus peel
- Raw onions
- Raw garlic
- Spicey food
These items can be saved in an old food storage container. Please do not give the pigs moldy food. Sour food is fine.)
Home Economics
While at the sanctuary, there are two items that are fun and worthwhile to learn: Making your own motherless milk, and making your own vegetable broth.
Motherless Milk
Add one cup of rolled oats* to one cup of water in a blender. Blend it on high for about 30 seconds.
Add another cup of water, and blend on high for another 30 seconds.
Add another cup of water, blend, a fourth cup of water, blend.
Chill the milk in the refrigerator for an hour.
* You can substitute one cup of oats with one cup of cooked rice, one cup of nuts that have been soaked overnight, or 1/4 cup of hemp seeds. However these alternatives will need to be strained before you can enjoy them.
Vegetable Broth
Hold on to your vegetable scraps! They are vital for making your own vegetable broth. Use the broth to flavor rice, or steam your stir fry instead of using oil. Place these scraps in a sealed container and store it in the freezer until you have about 4 cups of vegetable matter:
- Onions
- Garlic
- Carrots
- Celery
- Potato
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
When you are ready, place the vegetable scraps in the pressure cooker pot and rinse them twice.
Fill the pot with about 3 liters of water. Cook the scraps and water for about 20-30 minutes.
Strain the liquid into glass mason jars, uncovered, and place in the refrigerator. When they have cooled, secure the tops to the jars.
Place the cooked vegetable scraps in the food scrap container for the pigs.
Here are a few recipe ideas to help you make easy and tasty meals while volunteering with us:
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Dining Room
The dining room is a conceptual extension of the kitchen. Please keep the table and chairs clean, neat, and tidy. If you use condiments with your meal, please return them to the pantry or refrigerator after use.
Please wash all dishes and silverware after each meal.
Living Room
The living room contains some furniture to lounge on. Lucky and/or Winnie love whoever is sitting in "their" papasan. There are books, games and maps on the shelving unit behind the dining room table. Please return these items to the shelving unit once you are done with them, or before the conclusion of your stay, whichever comes first.
The Wet Building
Dishwashing
The "wet building" is the cube building that contains all of the running water. Outside along the back wall you will find the dishwashing sink. There is dishwashing soap in the dispenser. The dish sponge is located in the grey tub with the dirty dishes. Please keep this sink clean at all times. This means cleaning out the sink strainers after use and replacing them back on their respective drain, and making sure there are no dishes/sponges in or around the sink and side counter. Residual food in this area has attracted the slugs, snails, and cats, and now chickens (who poop everywhere). There is also a prevalence of rat lungworm disease on the Big Island, which is transmitted to humans and many other mammals through contact with slugs, softshell snails, and even coqui frogs. Although the disease is more prevalent in urban areas, minimize our risk of attracting these animals that will make a mess or even a possible health hazard by their presence.
Shower
There is an outdoor shower you can use. The shower is heated through an on-demand hot water heater. To use:
- Turn the hot tap on all the way.
- To cool the temperature, adjust only the cold tap.
(If you try to turn down the hot tap, you will drop the water pressure going through the heater, and you will be left with a cold water surprise.)
Toilet
The toilet is inside the lua. Please use the bidet to clean yourself, and a few sheets of toilet paper merely to dry yourself. Using excessive sheets of toilet paper places a burden on the septic system, and wastes resources. Do not flush feminine products down the toilet.
To use the bidet, push the slider forward for feminine wash or back for regular wash. Flushing the toilet creates an aerosol spray of the toilet bowl contents that can be found as far as 6 feet (2 meters) from the toilet. Please close the toilet lid before you flush. When the toilet paper roll runs out, replace it with a spare in the bottom drawer next to the washing machine. Men are permitted to urinate outside. Just be discreet and vary your territorial markings.
Laundry
The washing machine is inside the lua. Since we are on solar, we need to be mindful of the energy demand required of the batteries when washing our clothes and bedding. Please use the washing machine during daylight hours. Do not use the steam cycle settings that have been crossed out.
The laundry sheets are found in a cardboard envelope in the top drawer next to the washing machine. Place one sheet in the main soap container.
If you forget an item to wash, you can pause the cycle push-click the top center door. Toss your item in down the slide, and resume your wash.
Hang your laundry to dry using the clothes lines strung up on the volunteer lanai.
