|
Combine a trip to Central America’s most visited country with a chance to volunteer at an Animal Rescue Centre, which offers shelter, food, medical attention and rehabilitation to confiscated, donated or injured animals such as monkeys or wild hogs, and birds such as macaws and parrots. As well as undertaking an important role in this process, you will also get the chance to help the community in other projects.
Project Location
The Wildlife Rescue Centre is located in the Puntarenas province, in Costa Rica´s Central Pacific Coast. The closest beach is Mata Palo located about 30 minutes away by public bus. Manuel Antonio National Park is 45 minutes north by bus.
The closest full-service town is Quepos, located about 35km north, 1hr 15mins away by public bus. Quepos has a local airport, hospital, Internet cafes, banks and all types of facilities and services.
It takes about 5½ hours or so by public bus from San José (the capital City) to the centre.
This Programme
In 1973 a group of local farmers or “campesinos” established a farming co-operative focused on sustainable agriculture as a way to promote the social and economical development of local families through the use of profitable enterprises and the protection of the environment that surrounds them. The co-operative owns approximately 1000 hectares, which are used mainly for African palm tree cultivation, reforestation, conservation of primary forest and ecotourism.
It is also a wonderful example of a social co-operative organisation in which the whole local community is involved, from the youngest children attending school to the oldest members working with the co-operative. In this community of 110 families, approximately 95% of the 500 individuals who make up the community, work in the co-operative.
Since the year 2002, the co-operative has taken on the responsibility of protecting Costa Rica´s fauna by giving shelter, food, medical attention and rehabilitation to confiscated, donated or injured animals. The centre is home to wild animals such as monkeys, wild hogs, and birds such as macaws and parrots.
The co-operative also has a dairy farm, an organic vegetable garden, an African palm plantation, and a small basic grocery store. There is also a public two-classroom school, which provides education for 80 children.
The programme receives no funds from the government, depending only on its own income and private donations.
Volunteers play a very important role helping to take care of the animals and improving their living conditions in the wildlife rescue centre. They can also help with other projects within the community such as working in the dairy farm and teaching English at the local school.
Volunteer Activities
Volunteers may work in the animal rescue centre taking care of the animals and improving their living conditions. Activities include:
- Preparing food for the animals
- Feeding the animals
- Cleaning cages
- Building and repairing enclosures
- Building and repairing feeding platforms
- Cleaning and bathing animals
Volunteers are also needed to help out other of the organisation’s projects, for example:
- In the dairy farm: milk cows, distribute the milk to the families in the community, herd cattle.
- In the vegetable garden: plant new vegetables, prepare compost and fertiliser, harvest crops, distribute crops
- In the store: price merchandise, sell products to customers
- Help with general infrastructure maintenance
- Clean hiking trails
- Repair trails and bridges
- Making wood signs for the wildlife centre and hiking trails
This project also offers the option of working with children teaching English at a local public school.
Accommodation and Meals
Volunteers stay with local families, in a private room and shared bathroom. The host families are members of the co-operative and they all live in the community, within walking distance, less than 1km from the rescue centre. Included in the programme are three daily meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner. These will be provided by the host families.
The meals are based on a Costa Rican diet, food is fairly basic, includes rice, beans, corn, meat, pasta, vegetables and seasonal fruits. Distance to the dairy farm is about 1.5 km. A public telephone is available at the community centre.
|
