Matapalo, Costa Rica, the once quaint beach town has become more noticed and suffering from over-development. We need your support to take action now and protect the local flora and fauna and beautify the local community. WeVOL´s Reforestation and Community Development volunteer program empowers volunteers to gain professional and personal experience while also helping a beautiful community.
What you can expect
To achieve this mission, volunteers participate in long-term reforestation, beautification, and conservation projects. This is not just a tree planting project, but a community-based project where you will join the local schools, associations, and community non-profits to clean-up and beautify the town and beach area.
Year-round projects include native tree reforestation, school vegetable garden maintenance; plus designing, building, and maintaining protected areas for future reforestation efforts. We work hard to keep our community clean and safe and are active with the local primary schools and communal areas. In addition, volunteers are encouraged to spearhead innovative programs based on their skills and expertise - for example, painting informative signs, adding recycling and trash stations around town, and more.
Our volunteers also experience a meaningful exchange of giving and learning with our local staff, team, and community members.
Upon arrival, you will join Orientation & Training. During this meeting, you will clearly understand the current projects' needs and your role. Plus, you will have time to share your ideas for short-term projects, so you can share your skills and experiences.
Your Tasks
Your tasks will include physical labor hours, structured time for designing and planning to ensure success and teamwork. Tasks include tree planting, general gardening, seed planting, germination bed maintenance, beach clean-ups, and more. All participants will be working directly with the professional, bilingual, and expert WeVOL team. WeVOL accepts volunteers who are traveling solo, partners, and groups. Volunteers receive a certificate of completion for service hours worked.
Surf School
You will join a locally-run and super cool surf company based in Dominical and catch great waves 2 days a week with an incredible team of local bilingual surfers who not only know the waves and surf points, but are also excellent instructors. Surf lessons are for all ability levels and ages. The instructors will lead personalized lessons with a maximum of 3 surfers per instructor and you will be encouraged and motivated to improve and explore local surf points, different board sizes, and truly live the salty surfer lifestyle.
- Beginners surfers will learn the basic of popping up, paddling effectively, and gain the needed muscle memory to improve and catch waves with confidence. As you progress, you will learn how to read the waves - take rights and lefts - how to paddle on your own on a green wave ,and you will get incredibly fit.
- Intermediate & Advanced surfers will have a blast with the local surf team. The surf instructor team will coach you on your paddling , pop up and stance, plus giving you expert advice and feedback to improve as you start to rip on Costa Rican waves. Plus, the surf team will take you on surf safaris to local points and beach breaks - imagine surfing wave after wave with very few surfers in the water. You will feel like a Costa Rican local and truly fine-tune your surfing skills. Get ready to get rip and surf the best waves of your life! SHAKA!
In addition to your reforestation/conservation work and surfing, our volunteer team works hard to clean and improve the local beach and town area. You can join community-based beach clean-ups and work at the public school to clean and beautify the school, the communal areas, and the town's soccer fields. You will help with cleaning the kitchen, rooms, and common areas and will have breakfast duty 2-3 times/week.
The Location
Known for its beautiful beaches, lush jungles, and laid back culture, Costa Rica is consistently a top choice for eager globetrotters. WeVOL has varied locations in Costa Rica, and this project is based in Matapalo.
Ultimate Packing List for Costa Rica
TRAVEL ESSENTIALS:
- Insulated water bottle
- Microfiber towel
- Original valid passport and copies
- Original drivers license
- Credit/debit card
- Travel insurance
- Photocopy of documents
- Return home ticket
- Spanish dictionary/guide
- Travel luggage locks
- Pens
- Eye-mask
- Flashlight/headlamp
- Travel pillow
- Waterproof phone case
- Costa Rica map
- Travel hair dryer
TECHNOLOGY:
Costa Rica uses 110 Volts.
- Phone & charger
- Battery pack
- SD Cards Class 10 w/ lots of room
- Chargers
- Plug adapter
- Action cam with mounts
- Selfie stick
- Headphones or earbuds
- Kindle
- Waterproof phone case or pouch
CLOTHING & SHOES:
No strict dress code, aim for casual. Clothes that dry fast and wick away moisture are best.
- Shorts
- T-shirts
- Tank tops
- Swimwear: bathing suit, board shorts, sarong, beach cover up
- Sunglasses
- Hat or visor
- Rain jacket in rainy season
- Socks
- Long pants and jacket/sweater
- Sundresses
- Underwear
- Sleepwear
- Outdoor/hiking clothes
- Rash guard
- Sports bra
- Flip flops
- Closed toed hiking sandals or water shoes
- Tennis shoes
- Hiking shoes/boots
TOILETRIES:
- Toothbrush & toothpaste
- Floss
- Face wash
- Makeup remover
- Deodorant
- Shampoo & conditioner
- Chapstick with SPF
- Razor
- Hair brush
- Hair ties
- Sunscreen, at least SPF 30
- After sun gel
- Mosquito repellent
- Female hygiene products
- Tweezers
- Nail clipper
- Lotion
- Contact lens solution & case
FIRST AID KIT:
- After-bite cream
- Hydrocortisone cream
- Neosporin/antibiotic ointment
- Allergy medicine
- Band aids
- Dramamine/anti nausea medicine
- Pain killers
- Tissues
- Hand sanitizer
- Prescribed medications
LUGGAGE:
- Backpack (recommended, not a suitcase)
- Waterproof Day pack
- Packing cubes or organizer
- Laundry bag
- Small purse
- Rain cover
