International Volunteering in Costa Rica
With a Variety of Projects in our Costa Rica program there is something for everyone! San Miguel, Costa Rica located at the top of Sarapiqui Valley is truly a snapshot of this country’s vibrant culture. What this little town of less than 3,000 residents lacks in size, it more than makes up for in rich in biodiversity.
We have done our best to list as many projects as we can.
Explore some of our more popular projects here and let’s talk we have many more volunteer opportunities within each project and location
Volunteers Projects in Costa Rica
Testimonial
Teaching English and other subjects in Costa Rica
Creativity and the desire to help is all you need to be a part of this project. Due to the lack of resources children are falling behind in rural Costa Rican schools. As an international volunteer teaching English you can make a difference.
There is a real demand for native English speaking teachers in rural Costa Rican communities. After high school students in Costa Rica must pass an English exam in order to continue on to a University. Rural schools do not have the budget to hire more teachers or purchase materials and most teachers do not speak fluent English.
Volunteers can also choose to teach math, science, social studies, and physical education. You can provide effective, practical help with spoken and written English. For the students, the increased exposure to conversational English will enable them to advance their language skills and brighten their futures.
Volunteers are encouraged to be creative with simple ways to teach, you can teach songs, play games, do art work with letters and numbers we want you to be as creative as you can. Pronunciation is the biggest challenge; our only requirement is you speak English!
Farmhand and tour guide at coffee co-op
The local Coffee Co-op is an agriculture co-op made of 142 local coffee farmers. The principal aim has been the marketing of members ‘coffee production. The Co-op has become leader in the region in coffee growing and consolidated it business, which contributes to improving the living standards of its members and the socioeconomic development of the community and company.
Volunteers in this project can work in each aspect of the coffee production process from planting and picking coffee beans to packaging and transporting the final product. There is a variety of work Volunteers assist with to include creating and repairing walking trails, pulling and cutting yuca (cassava), giving informational nature tours, planting coffee plants, repairing walkways the walkways and bridges, painting signs for the trails, and assisting in the entire coffee production from picking coffee bean to bagging the final product.
Volunteers who specialize in these area welcome: fair trade act, marketing, administrative assistance and social media. In this project you can expect to learn about the Flora and Fauna of Costa Rica, medical plants of the area, making organic compost, and coffee production form planting the seed to full production. GREAT GROUP PROJECT
Construction and Renovations Projects
International Volunteers in this project can help build and repair classrooms, community centers, schools, family homes, and small business that are in desperate need of small construction work. No specific experience is needed—anyone willing to do manual labor on small renovations is welcome on this project. Anyone handy with a hammer or knowledgeable in construction, architecture, or engineering will be particularly helpful.
The San Miguel community often lacks the income for materials and labor to complete building and repair projects. Schools receive little governmental funding for much-needed renovations, businesses often lack materials and labor, and many families cannot afford to or are physically unable to repair their homes.
Whether it is a renovation or a construction project, your time and efforts will be greatly appreciated in this small Costa Rican community for the years to come. This is a perfect project for groups! Smaller groups with less experience may help with more simple renovations, whereas larger groups or those with construction experience can take on a larger project!
Day Care
Assistance for Center for Education and Nutrition (CEN) Working with dis-advantaged children.
CEN’s daycare program provides childcare for low-income, working-class mothers with young children.
Staff is limited here so volunteer will assist day care workers in the day to day care of small children, play games, teaching English, educating mothers about nutrition, working in the clothing donation center, assisting in the day-to-day operations of CEN and just playing with the children.
Group Projects
We’d love to customize this experience for you. Whether you’d like to volunteer abroad, are a group from a University or College, a family, corporate service team or just some friends getting together for meaningful travel, , we can develop a project directly related to your goals and even assist you with the fun things to do!
Group projects can be large or small and include but are not limited to working at the coffee co-op small and large construction projects, hosting a summer or winter camp for kids, cleaning trails, recycling efforts to volunteering in the schools and more. We always have needs and are happy to discuss where your group might be the best fit in this community.
Year Round.
School calendar: There are two main vacations from mid-December to mid-February, with a shorter break in the first two weeks of July. Schools are out from the 2nd Monday of December and resume the 2nd Monday of February. School is also out mid-year for two weeks, starting the 2nd Monday of July. During school breaks CCandV can organize private English classes and tutoring in the community.
Our team has been working in this community for many years with the local leaders and families. All host families have been vetted and approved by our local coordinator Chris. You will be living with a host family in San Miguel de Sarapiquí where you will have your own bedroom and in some cases might share a room with another volunteer of the same gender if you’re with a group.
Your host family is well screened and very welcoming; all meals will be cooked by your host mom, please be sure and let us know if you have any dietary needs. Vegetarian meals are commonly cooked in Costa Rica for those that request this. Enjoy your time with this new culture!
Climate: Costa Rica enjoys two major seasonal categories: the dry season-from December to May, and the wet season-from June to November. Costa Rica’s weather is famously beautiful, with an annual average temperature of 57-72°F.
Volunteers generally are at the project Monday through Friday with weekends free to explore. Our local coordinator and even your host families can assist you with, suggest or even help you organize local excursions. Costa Rica’s bus transit system offers an affordable way for you to travel throughout Costa Rica to enjoy some of the countries beauty. Not too far away you can enjoy white water rafting, zip lines,
I loved to bond with my host family and hang out with them.
At the actual service site I felt like the work we did was very tough. However, I felt as if our group really bonded with our foreman and the community members that came to help.
We built a relationship with this town and I felt appreciated every single day by the community.”
Matt Hyland