• Keep the beaches, parks and city spick and span
• Gain hands-on experience in city development
• Immerse in the Costa Rican way of life through safe, carefully-screened homestays
• Explore nature’s best in Costa Rica, famous for its bountiful biodiversity

How would you like to be part of a slice of heaven? With its immaculate white beaches and sparkly waters in all shades of clear blue, Costa Rica is the epitome of paradise on earth. Volunteer in Costa Rica and you can help in maintaining the exquisite beauty of the country. Its glorious beaches are world-renowned, attracting hordes of tourists each year. Unfortunately, many tourists also leave behind a trail of trash. The beaches need constant cleaning up in order to be kept pristine. The city of Puntarenas also needs your help in cleaning up. Puntarenas has just survived a major earthquake, which left destroyed buildings, debris and trash in its wake. Helping in clean-up and beautifying efforts will leave you more appreciative of the splendor of the country!

Volunteer’s Responsibilities

As a volunteer in the City Development project in Costa Rica, you will be supporting city development and clean-up efforts of Puntarenas. Depending on the individual’s skills and expertise, and the needs of the local staff, your daily duties include but are not limited to:

• Cleaning up and beautification of beaches and local parks
• Cleaning up the city
• Painting local buildings
• Painting rocks and trees to improve the appearance of the city
• Boosting morale of the local people

How You Can Make a Difference

It takes much manpower and resources to keep the beaches and city of Puntarenas spick and span. Following an earthquake, not only is the city in shambles, its people are in low spirits. Going beyond a mere clean-up project, you’ll be improving the morale of the local people and help the city get back to its feet that much quicker. By volunteering in Costa Rica, you’ll be helping to maintain the beautiful beaches and the local parks too, so that the Costa Ricans can have a pristine retreat they can call home. Another aspect of the project is in decorating the town keeping up its tropical vibe by painting the rocks and trees too. If you have an interest in city development, this is also the perfect opportunity for you to gain hands-on experience.

Skills and Qualifications

There are no specific qualifications needed to volunteer in the City Development project, except an interest in marine life and conservation. A basic/intermediate fluency in Spanish is preferred, and we recommend enrolling in our Spanish Language Studies program to make your project more beneficial. While this program is open to anyone, marine biology students are strongly encouraged to apply. A volunteer should be enthusiastic and a self-starter, yet able to follow directions well.

Project Location

This project is located on the conservation base north of Puerto Jimenez on the Peninsula de Osa in Playa Blanca, in the southern pacific province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Playa Blanca experiences a tropical climate with hot temperatures and almost 100% humidity, and frequent rain. Nearby, there are fantastic attractions such as the Corcovada National Park, Drake Bay and Golfito.