Community Service & Cultural Exploration
Throughout our journey we will have meaningful opportunities for community service and enriching cultural experiences. To fully appreciate these opportunities, each teenager should come in with a curious and open mind. Each person will participate in all the following activities. Upon completion of the program, each participant will receive a certificate recognizing 40 hours of community service.
Rein Teen Tours is also happy to contribute to Fundacion Neotropica, a non-profit organization whose mission it is to transform existing natural resource management practices in the neotropics into sustainable practices that protect Costa Rica’s natural heritage and improve the quality of life for present and future generations.
Turrialba
Our partner in Turrialba is CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), an incredible organization that combines education and developmental research to promote green development, to increase human well-being, and to reduce rural poverty.
One of the projects CATIE has established in the community is called Reutilizar con Proposito (Repurpose with Purpose), a partnership with Southwest Airlines. This project takes the discarded leather seats from Southwest’s airplanes and trains local women how to recycle the leather into bags, purses, backpacks, and other useful items. The mission it is to empower the women by teaching them a skill, which in turn prepares them to become entrepreneurs, allowing them to escape poverty and being better able to support their families.
While at CATIE our participants will work with the women and see the leather recycling and manufacturing process – the recycling of raw materials, the process needed to ready the material, and cutting and sewing the leather. We will also help prepare back-to-school packages for the local school children. The other part of our experience involves visiting the nearby town of Mollejones, a rural agricultural community supported by CATIE. During our visit to Mollejones we have two projects – helping the local women with the cutting and preparing of the leather to be used in the recycling and manufacturing process, and helping the local farmers harvest their guayaba or sugarcane crops, which is a vital source of income for local families.
Sarapiqui
The Sarapiqui Conservation Learning Center (SCLC) is our local partner in the Sarapiqui area. SCLC is a community and eco-tourism program that promotes sustainable development and conservation through community service and cultural experiences. SCLC gives visitors the opportunity to learn about conservation and the local culture through direct contact with the community itself.
The first part of our experience in Sarapiqui will be working with local farmers on a Reforestation Project, planting trees and native flora in this environmentally sensitive area. Reforestation directly helps to preserve the tropical rainforest and a multitude of endangered species in the San Juan – La Selva Biological Corridor. Learn about the importance of a balanced ecosystem during this rewarding experience.
Next, we’ll get to know the local community through a fun and enriching cultural exchange. We’ll learn Costa Rican Games such as suisa, jacksis, and bolinchas from some of the local children. Practice your dance moves during our Latin Dance Classes! Learn dance styles such as merengue, salsa, and cumbia criolla from our energetic instructors. We’ll gain a real understanding of “keeping it local” when we learn how to make natural soaps and shampoos from medicinal plants found only in this tropical rainforest.
Monteverde
During our time in Monteverde we volunteer with the incredible Bosque Eterno de los Ninos (BEN), the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. BEN is Costa Rica’s largest private reserve, purchased and protected thanks to the fundraising efforts of children from around the world. With more than 56,000 acres, the eternal rainforest is one the most biologically diverse places on the planet.
This amazing organization relies on the help from international volunteers to maintain and protect the reserve. Our participants may be asked to perform several tasks –
- Sweeping walkways – This technique is the least invasive on the trails, as other equipment causes noise pollution and stress for the forests’ animals. This allows for a safer experience for people visiting the reserve.
- Painting structures – The maintenance of structures in the rainforest is extremely important, as it helps to prolong their useful life in a humid environment. In turn, this helps save money which allows for more investment in other projects, infrastructure, and activities.
- Trail maintenance – This keeps the hiking trails in better shape by moving natural materials, known as grava, directly onto the surface of the trails.
While performing the above activities, BEN staff will teach us why each activity is important to the functioning of the reserve.
Ostional National Wildlife Refuge
During our time in this Pacific Paradise, we’ll work alongside the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge was established with the primary mission being the conservation of sea turtles and the protection of their reproductive habitat. Ostional is the second most important nesting site for the olive ridley sea turtles in the world. This site is one of few in the world to host the mass-nesting behavior, known as arribadas, a phenomenon considered one of the most amazing wonders of nature. During arribadas, tens of thousands of sea turtles come ashore to nest simultaneously over a period of several days. Ostional hosts the highest frequency of mass-nesting events of olive ridley sea turtles on Earth.
All our volunteer activities with Ostional National Wildlife Refuge center on the health of the sea turtles and their environment. Depending on the timing of the arribadas, we may be asked to help with excavating the sea turtle eggs and data collection, which helps determine the health of the baby turtles. Other activities include beach clean-ups, recycling projects in and around the beach and green spaces, and maintenance work of the local facilities. Throughout the experience, the local staff will educate us on how every project we participate in is vital for the health of the sea turtles.
