Affordable Conservation Projects in Latin America!

International Volunteer HQ’s partner organization in Costa Rica requires volunteers NOW! IVHQ has volunteer programs throughout Costa Rica but the large majority are based in and around San Jose. Specific locations vary from project to project (for example some projects such as turtle projects are limited in their locality) but the program is based out of the capital of San Jose (this is where orientation and general administration is done). Costa Rica is a very popular destination for volunteers and has a lot of work available.

Choose from our turtle conservation or eco-agriculture conservation projects.

At the turtle project, volunteers assist a Costa Rican biologist with their work at the beach. Volunteers help with studies and protection work of the sea turtles and with the sustainable egg harvesting programs. Volunteer activities vary at different times of the year but general work includes;

• Beach patrols
• Building hatcheries to keep eggs away from predators
• Beach cleaning
• Count and tag sea turtles
• Locating nesting females
• Work with local staff to harvest eggs

Please note - While we do accept volunteers for one week on the turtle program, because the sites are located six hours from our base where we have orientation and the program takes longer to settle into, we recommend staying for a minimum of two weeks or choosing one of our other placements in and around San Jose for one week. A surcharge of US$5 per day is added to the program fees to cover costs associated with running the program. It is important to note that Spanish classes are not available on the Turtle project coastal locations.

The IVHQ Eco-Agriculture Conservation project is based in the central highlands of Costa Rica where volunteers assist local communities through strengthening the entire coffee production operations. Volunteers provide assistance on this project not only through their help with coffee production and marketing, but also through reforestation and caring for their community.

Your program begins with 1-2 days in San Jose where you will receive orientation and we will organize your bus trip to the project site. Project tasks will be determined by the time of year that you are on location but will always be providing support to the families that live on the farms in this community. General work imcludes:

• Coffee-picking in the fields
• Roasting of beans
• Packaging of the final product
• Cropping of fruits and vegetables
• Reforestation efforts

The high coffee harvesting season is from December until early February, but there is plenty of work all year round in the process. Coffee harvest season runs from November through March, and during this time you will spend at least some of the days actually picking coffee cherries from the plants. From November through to approximately May, volunteers will assist in processing the coffee. This means passing it through machinery to get the pulp of the coffee cherry off, washing the beans, and then drying the beans on drying patios that need to be raked and moved around on a regular basis to assist the drying process. All year round volunteers will be roasting and packaging the beans, and working on improving marketing and distribution to get the beans out there to the world stage.

In the non-harvest season, farming activities will include: Planting, caring for and harvesting of fruits and vegetables for local consumption, Coffee tree nursery: germination and care for baby plants, planting in the ground, Care for current trees - pruning, seeking out damaged or diseased trees to get rid of them, Reforestation of depleted areas.

Volunteers can begin our Costa Rica placements on the first and third Monday of every month. Volunteers can choose to volunteer for periods of one week to six months.

Orientation will begin on the first and third Monday of each month and last for approximately one day. Orientation will be conducted by staff in San Jose and cover everything you need to know for your volunteering placement in Costa Rica - Introduction to Costa Rica, Costa Rican Customs, Rules and Expectations, Safety, Travel Opportunities in Costa Rica and Introduction to your project and placement. The orientation will also give you a chance to meet other volunteers and swap contact details for weekend travel and socializing.

Volunteers are accommodated in a home-stay where they will live with a local family. We give that family money from your fee for support, food and board. It is exciting to stay with a family; that way you will learn the Costa Rican way of life, meet local people, eat local food, speak the local language (Spanish) and engage in local customs and traditions. Living is comfortable and all home stays have electricity and running water. Volunteers can expect to share a room with one or two other volunteers but in some home stays volunteers get their own rooms.

Volunteers must be 18 years or older at the beginning of the program and have at least a high school education.

Choose the country and program you wish to volunteer in as well as the dates you will be volunteering. Visit our site and fill out our online application form and submit it. You will then receive an automated email confirming we have received your online booking.

Within 48 hours (2 working days) you will receive an email acknowledging your booking and confirming the country, program and dates you are volunteering for. In this email you will receive more information about your chosen program as well as details on how to pay the US$220 registration fee (refundable should you choose not to go) required to confirm your booking with IVHQ.

Once your refundable registration fee has been deposited into our bank account you will be allocated an IVHQ staff member to be your volunteer travel consultant. This staff member will be your point of contact from this day forward (until you finish your volunteer program).