Programs Abroad

COSTA RICA - Eco-Tourism and Rainforest Protection

	Project: Wildlife and Nature Booking Nº: CR110 Country: Costa Rica + Location: Province of Limón, Atlantic coast Minimum Stay: 4 weeks Start dates: All year round Price: 4 weeks, from 960 USD
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Task

Reforestation (planting and seeding)
Eco-Tourism
Maintaining lodge facilities and trails
Educational activities with local school

The project owns and operates an Eco-Lodge located in the Caribbean province of Limon. The project’s aim is Rain Forest Conservation through responsible and sustainable tourism. Become part of the growing reforestation project that is run by the Eco-Lodge. As a volunteer you will have a chance to learn more about the farm on our guided tour. They have planted hundreds of tropical hardwoods on the part of the land originally cut down by banana plantations in the 1800s. By creating corridors back into the rainforest the aim is to provide more habitats for local wildlife. Local staff will show you how to plant your seedling to give it the best chance of survival. Your trees will hopefully one day become part of the tropical rainforest and contribute to the conservation of endemic and endangered species.

Your main tasks will be outdoor in the Costa Rican rain forest. Volunteers help planting and seeding new trees and plants, water them and assist the local lumberjacks with their daily work in support of the conservation of the rain forest. You will have the chance to see a lot of exotic wildlife and surely will have a lot of fun observing it. Volunteers also help maintaining the infrastructure and facilities of the Eco-Lodge. You also might be asked to support the local staff attending the eco-tourists that come to visit the lodge. The lodge offers a wide range of outdoor activities like hiking, adventure horseback riding, bird watching, tree climbing, waterfall hikes as well as rappel and canopy. So, not all is about work! Volunteers can participate during spare time or as assistant at the activities offered by the lodge.

The Eco-Lodge & Preserve Center has an extension of over 2,200 acres of primary rain forest. The area is the most important direct watershed of the Bananito River, which supplies 85 % of potable water to the harbor city of Limon. The region was formerly used as farmland and banana plantation. After many years of trying out other farming alternatives, the farm is today home to a reforestation project and cattle breeding program intended to produce dual-purpose breeds, i.e., cattle useful for milk production and for beef production. Soon a moderate-sized oil palm plantation will be established.

Accommodation

Volunteers are accommodated in the volunteer house
Full board with 3 meals per day

Volunteers share one cabin and the lodge has capacity for maximum 4 volunteers. In total the lodge runs 11 cabins and houses eco-tourist from all over the world. Without the use of electricity the lodge hopes to create a quiet and relaxing environment for the guests and volunteers, very much in tune with the surroundings. Each one of the cabins has solar heated warm water and a tastefully appointed, tiled and rather ample restroom and shower area. The rooms were built following Caribbean style using stilts as their bases. This architectonic tradition of the Caribbean originally had two main purposes: one is to avoid sleeping in a flooded room when floods occurred, and the other main idea behind the stilts, is that it keeps insects away. The main office is located in the building opposite the entrance to the cabins. If you follow the main road downhill, you will find the so called “rancho”, which has a dining area, bar, and small library upstairs, and kitchen and personnel facilities downstairs.

After a hard working day you will really enjoy the facilities of the lodge or just relax in one of the hammocks surrounded by an unspoiled wilderness area. Meals are served at the “rancho”. Please advise us of any dietary restrictions as soon as is convenient.

Requirements

Language:
English and at least basic Spanish skills.

Skills:
No specific professional skills and experiences are required.

Age:
18+ years

Vaccination:
specified. Please ask for medical advice in your home country.

Insurance:
Full travel & medical insurance for Costa Rica.

Visa:
Usually, tourist visa is fine for stays less than 3 months. However, we recommend consulting the Costa Rican Embassy of your home country for further information.

Details

The Lodge & Preserve center is located in the Caribbean province of Limon close to the Atlantic coast of the Caribbean Sea. The project site offers a variety of unique and high adrenaline rain forest adventure activities to its tourist in an unspoiled and pristine natural surrounding. The volunteer project is built on a family farm, of which only one third is actually used for farming. The founder has farmed in Latin America since the 1950's and purchased the land for farming and wood exploitation in 1974. In the early years of his land tenure, he obtained a government permit to do selective logging on the forested portions of his land. This permit went mostly unused, and in 1994 the family decided to declare the untouched two thirds of the farm (2,000 acres) a private, biological reserve and built the lodge as an alternative source of income. This was a moral, not an economic decision, since it is unlikely that the income from the lodge will ever approximate the commercial value of the protected wood.

The Eco-Lodge’s cabins stand on a ridge flanked by two streams. On one side of the ridge you will see the Bananito River and its valley, where the farm’s pastures, plantations, and reforested areas are (great bird watching here!). On the other side your eyes will fall upon the beautiful Cerro Muchilla and a Biosphere reserve, which our borders touch.

The income generated by the nature and adventure programs at the Eco-Lodge, together with the Rainforest Study Programs, significantly support a local foundation, which has become a regional leader in watershed conservation in the province of Limon. Additionally, they operate programs that actively support sea turtle, wildlife and rain forest conservation in private preserves and National Parks alike.

Prices

Duration	in USD
4 weeks	960.-
5 weeks	1,200.-
6 weeks	1,440.-
7 weeks	1,680.-
8 weeks	1,920.-
Additional week	240.-

One time registration fee 75 USD.

What’s included:

Accommodation
3 meals per day (breakfast, lunch, dinner)
Orientation kit
Local support
24h-Emergency Number

What’s not included:

Flight
Airport Pick-up
Medical Insurance
Visa (if necesary)
Personal expenses

Country

Country information Costa Rica

Costa Rica stands as one of the smallest countries in Central America with approximately 19,000 square miles and a coastline of 810 miles. The country borders Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the south and the Pacific and Caribbean Sea on either side. Costa Rica is home to 4.5 million people with upwards of 350,000 people living in the capital city of San Jose.

The Costa Rican climate is commonly humid and warm year round, although temperatures in the highlands are typically colder and cloudier. Incredibly, 23% of an already small amount of densely populated land remains protected territory by National Parks and/or private reserves. This protected land is home and host to a wide variety of exotic plants, animals and social/environmental projects to ensure the protection and conservation of the tropical habitat. When walking the streets of Costa Rica, make sure to ask Costa Rican natives, who typically know heaps, about their national treasures.

Further, Costa Rica is the most politically stable country in Central America, with a disbanded army for more than sixty years and a relatively high standard of education. Tourism is one of the main economic income sources for Costa Rica. With over 2 million tourists exploring Costa Rica each year, the country stands as the most visited nation in the Central American region. Through eco-tourism programs, (which CR was one of the first countries offering this type of programming), range of activities and year round tropical weather, the country attracts tourists from all over the world.

Aside from protected land, the true jewels of Costa Rica are the surrounding islands with serene beaches and breath-taking nature. This country offers beautiful landscapes for dream vacations of beach lounging, surfing, snorkeling, hiking volcanoes, zip-lining, rafting, bird watching, fishing and/or exploring rain forests.

The dry season of Costa Rica is between December through April, though like most Latin countries, schools are closed, beaches full and finding hotels may be tricky at last minute notice. A second peak season arrives with the Europeans and North Americans during June and July. As the off-season arrives in May, so does the green with the rainy season. Lastly, Costa Rica encompasses year round possibilities for surfers, fishing enthusiasts and wildlife lovers alike. Depending what coast you want to surf, what fish you want to catch and what bird you hope to see, there are some variations on ideal months to further research.

Finally, Costa Rica is a perfect place to learn Spanish, as the Spanish spoken here is typically slow without strong accents and layers of slang. The Costa Ricans are very friendly, energetic people and rarely without a smile!