Costa Rica
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Pura Vida! We are a couple, Roberto (from Costa Rica) and Sophie (from England), who currently live and work in the area of Pacuare, on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. Our house is located about 20m from the beach, right next to the mouth of the Rio Pacuare - it is a really beautiful part of the world, very remote, with few people and some of the most amazing wildlife the country has to offer (one of the reasons we love it here so much!)
Roberto and his family have lived in this area for most of their lives, and we currently run a small enterprise on our property producing coconut fibre from coconut husks which we sell to vendors throughout the country. This means we have 4 employees (friends!) who live on site and work on the coconut fibre production with us. We are also next door to one of the many turtle conservation projects in the area so we like to host the volunteers in the evenings when we put some music on and chill out after work.
As well as the coconut business, we are also working on starting up an Eco Hostel. This is a project very early in its conception, but we are moving forward with plans to improve our current land and buildings and then open our doors to travellers from around the world.
We are looking to host anyone with any relevant skills who is willing to help us with our projects and help to maintain our property, all while being able to experience living life as a real Costa Rican 'tico'!
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
Hospitality/Tourism
General Maintenance
Although you will be able to get by here speaking English (as Sophie is from England) we do recommend that you are able to speak at least a little bit of Spanish, or are willing to learn! There would be the opportunity to learn either Spanish or English while you are here if you wish to.
For us the most rewarding part of living here is being surrounded by nature, and we would love to share that with you - everyday we get a visit from the monkeys, there is a resident sloth who hangs out in the garden from time to time, and we have frogs, lizards, birds, butterflies and so much more, so this placement would definitely suit someone interested in nature and animals. There are things like bugs and snakes that live here too which has proved a problem for some people in the past, so it is better to be aware of this in case you have any strong fears or phobias - but we would like to think we can help make sure your time here is amazing despite this!
We like to grow some of our own fruits and vegetables and currently have lemons, avocados and chillies in season which we often use in our cooking.
We like to enjoy our time off and often take boat trips to places like Tortuguero or Parismina, and sometimes go swimming in the river or at the beach. The guys here like to play volleyball and football, and we sometimes watch international games and movies on the projector. Although we are in a remote location, there is a small bar nearby and we do like to have a party every now and then.
You would be able to visit the local town when we go and do our food and supplies shopping, and if you would like to visit anywhere else in Costa Rica, before, during or after your stay here, we can help arrange transport if required.
We welcome all travellers who would be able to help with one or more of the following, depending on your skills:
- Gardening and property maintenance - we have a fairly large plot of land which we need to look after by cutting the grass, clearing tree litter (mostly coconuts!), planting fruits and vegetables, building and maintaining fences and other small construction or manual labour jobs. If anybody has any special skills in construction, we would love to hear from you as we currently have a couple of small buildings we are looking to repair/improve.
- Daily household cooking and cleaning - we have a few mouths to feed each mealtime and it would be great if we had some help in the kitchen which would free up more of our time to work on our business projects. Rice and beans is a staple here (there's no escaping it!) but we also like to try new things, so anyone with experience of cooking for large families would be welcome.
- Social media and content management - we run our own social media pages for our business and any help with content creation, scheduling, advertising and researching would be much appreciated (you would need to be able to provide your own laptop/tablet for this).
If you think you can also help us in any other way, please let us know as we are open to ideas of how to combine your skills with what help we require.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Spanish: Fluent
This host offers a language exchange
This host has indicated that they are interested in sharing their own language or learning a new language.
You can contact them directly for more information.
You would be provided with a single bed in one of our dormitory rooms with a set of shelves for storing your things. There is a shared bathroom with a toilet, sink and shower, and you will have full access to our communal kitchen and living areas.
There is no mains electricity here, so we run everything from solar panels - this means that our water is not heated and our electricity sockets are currently only available in the communal areas and usually only while there is sunshine (but we are looking to improve this!)
We cook communally for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and often have coffee and a snack in the afternoon (4pm is coffee time!) We would like to ask for a small contribution towards the food costs for your stay, and any extras such as alcohol, treats etc. would need to be bought yourself from the town or the local bar. (Maximum 15 hours per week help)
As we live in a remote part of the country, our location is only accessible by boat - you would need to take a taxi or bus to the nearest town of Batán and from here we can arrange a taxi to the boat dock, and then a boat to our local drop off point. The taxi from Batán costs ₡10,000 each way, and the round trip on the boat is ₡25,000 per person.
We can help you with any of your travel requirements so just let us know what your plans are and we can make sure to get things arranged for you.
Although you can use US Dollars here in Costa Rica, we highly recommend bringing colones with you. Everyone accepts colones, and you are more likely to get a better price and not have to pay higher rates of exchange.
Finally, while it is warm and sunny here most of the time, we have a very tropical climate which means occasionally it can rain quite heavily - it is quite useful to bring a raincoat if you can!
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
This host has said they are willing to accept those travelling with a pet.
More than two
Maximum 15 hours per week
