Volunteer work
For those interested in volunteer work, there are 3 options:
a) volunteer work in a national park
b) volunteer work in the social area
c) volunteer work on a farm

a)Volunteer work in a national park
Costa Rica offers an overwhelming beauty in several national parks. Unfortunately there is not enough money to professionaly maintain the parks. Besides, the parks are threatened by deforestation, bush fires, illegal hunting and fishery. Fortunately there are hundreds of volunteers who are prepared to devolte their time to the protection and conservation of nature. With your help a piece of rain forest can be proteceted. Do you want to help on 1 of the 2 projects and are you available for 2 weeks or longer? Then please read the information below.

Before you start the volunteer work, you will have 2 weeks of Spanish language lessons at our partner school in San José. The aim of this course is to learn more about life in Costa Rica, so it will be more easy to integrate. A good intermediate level of Spanish is necessary. If you are not on at intermediate level, we advise you to do the mini group course first.

During your 2 week course, you will attend an information and training meeting. Here you will be told in which national park you are going to work and you will get more details concerning this park and sign the contract for volunteer work. There are about 12 different national parks, each with its own characteristics (rain forests, volcanos, beaches).

Your activities are determined by the park staff each day. Most of the work is being done in the areas around the visitor centres or foresters places. Examples of activities are: building or maintaining paths, guiding of visitors, making signs, supervising the foresters place, building or renovating park facilities, cooking, cleaning rooms and bathrooms, teaching the park staff to speak English, cleaning the beach, several tasks in a turtle project etc. In a rare case there is a possibility to work on special projects with more specialised tasks. If you are available for more than 4 months and have specialised knowledge, there are opportunities to set up or co-operate on these special projects.

You will sleep in lodges in the park together with other volunteers. The accommodation is not luxuruous, althouhg it has the minimum of facilities for a comfortable stay. You will share a room with 1 or more other volunteers and you need to take into consideration that you have to change rooms/lodges regularly. You must accept the park rules such as working schedules, eating schedules and rules regarding personal hygiene (e.g. cleaning rooms and lodges). Generally the meals in the parks are very simple, mostly with rice and beans as the most common ingredients. The meals are ofter completed with tropical fruit, tomato, lettuce and cabbage salads. But you will wake up in the middle of nature every morning and you can share this great experience with other volunteers. The success of these volunteer work projects depends for the largest part of on your adaptability and how much you are open to new people and a new environment.

Important items which you sould take with you are: 
- sleepingbag
- toiletries (soap, towels, toothpaste etc.)
- flashlight
- raincoat (especially in the rain season from April to November)
- comfortable, solid shoes
- cotton clothes with long sleeves
- anti-bite
- sun cream
- medication
- mosquito net
- pocket knife
- some camping gear

b)Volunteer work in the social sector
There are several agencies for volunteers who want to work in the social sector. To join one of the programs, you have to be at least 18 years old and available for 2 weeks.

Before the volunteer work (for at least 2 weeks) starts, you will do a language course for at least 2 weeks. In this course the emphasis lies more on integration instead of language education. You can work for example in homes for the elderly, disbaled or drug addicts. Volunteers are accompanied by a staff member. You will assist in the daily activities and have a chance (together with your tutor) to develop educational and therapeutic programmes. Knowledge of the Spanish language is important in the social sector. For this reason we also always recommend a language course prior to the volunteer work.

The projects are in San Rafael the Coronado or San José. Your employer does not arrange accommodation, but StudyTravel can arrange this for you. Just like during your language course, you can choose to stay at a host family or in an apartment. If you prefer, you can also find accommodation yourself.

If you choose volunteer work in a social area or in a national park, for both possibilities an intermediate knowledge of Spanish is necessary. There is a volunteer work coordinator at school who can answer all your questions.

In total you will work for approximately 40-45 hours per week on your volunteer project. The usual working hours in Costa Rica are from 08.00 till 17.00. When you are working at a social institute you can wear your normal leisure clothing. In the national parks clothing which is appropriate for the local weather circumstances, is advised. In any case it is important to bring cotton clothing with long sleeves to protect yourself from insect bites. Comfortable, solid shoes are also very important.

Some examples 2010
» all prices and details

0 lessons per wk	No acco	School Residence dr / nm	School Residence sr / nm
2 weeks	125	291	341
4 weeks		457	557
8 weeks		789	988
12 weeks		1121	1420
16 weeks		1453	1851
20 weeks		1785	2283
24 weeks		2117	2715
Starting dates:   every Monday

Course

Accommodation

Prices

 
 2010