Costa Rica is a paradise for nature and animal lovers, offering opportunities for sustainable tourism. The country is home to numerous protected natural parks where wildlife thrives in their natural habitats.
This animal refuge is located on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, near Puerto Viejo. It serves as a sanctuary for sick, injured, and orphaned animals, with a focus on monkeys, sloths, mammals, birds, and reptiles. The refuge provides 24-hour veterinary care and rehabilitation services to ensure the animals can be released back into the rainforest whenever possible. Visitors to the refuge can participate in informative workshops and educational programs, allowing for interaction with both animals and people. It is a place to work as a team, gain valuable experiences, and make a difference. The refuge also encompasses a 49-hectare property of primary forest, which serves as an ideal release site for many animals, providing them with a chance to thrive in a healthy and natural environment, free from human interference.
The staff and on-site volunteers are responsible for monitoring the rehabilitation process, ensuring the released animals’ safety and monitoring their feeding until they are fully ready for independence. Volunteer tasks include cleaning and maintaining the facilities, preparing meals for the animals, training, and observing activities at the rescue center. The work involves direct interaction with different species and animals at the center, but tasks may vary, and some days may be dedicated to center maintenance or meal preparation in Costa Rica, the epitome of sustainable tourism.
Duration during the week | Budget total mission |
|---|---|
4 weeks | 1583 € |
5 weeks | 1878 € |
6 weeks | 2103 € |
7 weeks | 2328 € |
8 weeks | 2603 € |
10 weeks | 3203 € |
12 weeks | 3753 € |
You will be staying in a shared, dormitory-type room with up to 4 people per room and a maximum of 12 people in the house. The volunteer house is well ventilated and fully screened to keep out insects. There are also 2 showers and 2 toilets. The research centre has a public house/common area including a dining room and a relaxation area with hammocks where you can eat, relax, and meet other volunteers/students. There is also a kitchen with a cook that prepares 3 delicious meals a day.
The accommodation is surrounded by a beautiful tropical garden, with a wide variety of plants and animals. From the porch you can see unique species including hummingbirds, toucans and butterflies. In the garden you will find a wide variety of fruit trees such: mangoes, bananas, oranges, pineapples, carambola and many more. You are free to eat the fruit, as long as it is the right season!
Transportation
The day after your arrival in San Jose, you will be accompanied by a supervisor to the San Jose bus station. There, you will purchase a bus ticket which will take you directly to the project site after a 5 hour journey.
Commitments
The work can be physically demanding, therefore, volunteers must be: responsible, disciplined, hardworking, motivated, a team player, flexible, patient and proactive. They must be in good physical and mental shape as well as be capable of walking at least 4 hours a day in the hot, tropical climate.
Money and phone service
We recommend that you bring cash for personal expenses (few local businesses take credit cards); the suggested weekly budget is U$50 for laundry and entertainment. You can buy a local SIM card for basic communications. There is no town nearby, so you will need to buy what you need before you arrive at the project.
We constantly adapt our environmental missions abroad to meet the needs on the spot. The programme description is intended to give an idea of the mission, but participants should expect to quickly adapt to circumstances. Missions respond to issues that change over time, therefore we must constantly evolve to adapt to our environment, not the other way around.
– 18+ .
– Intermediate level of English or Spanish (be able to understand instructions & communicate)
– Minimum of 2 weeks
