Supporting a community led business initiative
Join the effort to upgrade the kitchen at the Tsinikisha Community Campsite — a vital step toward improving daily life for both locals and visitors. As trekking tourism grows, the current kitchen struggles to meet demand. Cramped and under-equipped, it lacks the electrical capacity and space needed to prepare meals for large groups. As a volunteer, you’ll work side by side with local community members to expand and improve the kitchen, creating a more functional, welcoming space that supports both the community and the growing number of travelers who pass through. This hands-on experience offers a unique opportunity to contribute to something meaningful while gaining insight into daily life in Tsinikisha.
Beyond the physical improvements, the kitchen upgrade will have lasting social and economic impact. By supporting local women who prepare authentic, locally-sourced meals, the project helps preserve traditional recipes and culinary practices while fostering cross-cultural exchange. Volunteers will play an essential role in creating an environment that enhances food service quality and supports community resilience. Your contribution will help strengthen the local economy, empower residents, and create a more sustainable, connected future for the Tsinikisha community.
In Costa Rica
- The unfortunate truth is that 1.1 million people currently live in poverty in Costa Rica. Most of the poor population in the country is situated within rural areas.
- Around 20 percent of the population live below the national poverty line of earning less than $155 per month.
What to ExpectA Typical Workday in Costa Rica
Your DWC team will be working with Mar a Mar, our local partner just outside the small town of Siquirres. This community-focused project provides the opportunity to contribute to meaningful work while engaging with the local culture.
What to Expect
- Work Hours: 6-8 hours per day
- Start Time: Breakfast at 6:00 or 7:00 AM, followed by transportation to the project site
- Workday: Begins between 8:00 and 9:00 AM and ends around 4:00 PM
- Meals: Enjoy 3 meals a day, with lunch provided either by our host partner or restaurant or hotel.
Your Role as a Volunteer
You will work alongside local tradespeople, a trained DWC team leader, a translator, and laborers to complete a variety of tasks that support different skill and strength levels. No prior building experience is required—just a willingness to help and connect with the community!
Cultural Experience & Relaxation
After each workday, you’ll return to your hotel for an evening filled with:
- Dinner out
- Cultural experiences
- Team bonding or rest and relaxation (R&R)
Included in Your Trip
- Accommodations
- Airport pickup/drop-off
- In-country transportation
- 3 meals a day for the duration of your trip
Why Volunteer with DWC?
This trip offers you the chance to make a lasting impact while experiencing the warmth and culture of Costa Rica. By contributing to a community project, you’ll help improve lives and develop new friendships—both with the locals and your fellow volunteers.
Join us and be part of something meaningful!
Explore Pura Vida Costa Rica
Right from the region you can view Turrialba Volcano, the Atlantic sea and the Talamanca mountains. Take a guided hike through the dense jungle of nearby National Park Barbilla. This is a 29,500 acre protected forest on the Caribbean side of the Talamanca Mountains. The park is the home of the second-largest indigenous group in Costa Rica, the Cabécar. This area is ecologically rich and important as a water source for rare (and even endangered) species including three-toed sloths, jaguars, ocelots, pumas, tapirs, toucans and countless other bird species. There is an optional add-on for this trip: trekking the Mar-a Mar trail with the team. You can discuss this option with your team leader.
The climate is tropical, warm and humid, all year round. While this equatorial region is characterized by low temperature variations, frequent showers and thunderstorms are common so packing a light raincoat is a good idea.
Trip Details
Each trip is coordinated by DWC with the help of a Team Leader, who has travelled with DWC previously, is First Aid Certified, and has completed a Criminal Record Check. Your Team Leader will liaise with DWC and ensure all your questions are answered. Your Team Leader will handle all team finances through the trip and travel with you to ensure the best possible travel and volunteer experience for their team! They also facilitate fun, cultural experiences where possible, ensuring group cohesion. See your Team Leader Biography here:
Marty France
Marty is a retired US Air Force officer and university engineering professor with extensive international experience, having served in Europe and traveled to 81 countries, including many in East and West Africa and throughout Southeast Asia. He’s a former Fulbright Scholar who taught at Singapore’s top science and engineering university. Marty coordinated his first service trip with DWC in 2014 when he led a team of students working in Cambodia to build sanitary latrines in villages and then did the same in Nepal in 2019. Since then, he’s led teams to Costa Rica in 2022 and 2023, back to Nepal in 2023 and Cambodia in 2024, Kenya (2023), Guatemala (2024) and Peru (2024). For 2025 he’s planning to lead trips to Sri Lanka (March), Kenya (June), and a third trip back to Costa Rica (Nov). He currently lives in Colorado with his wife of 44 years, Becky, who’s also an avid DWC volunteer. He has two sons, four grandchildren and enjoys hiking, cycling, photography, and helping at his son’s craft brewery.
Travel Light Offset Your Carbon Footprint
Carbon offsets are used to compensate for the greenhouse gasses that we create through certain activities, such as flying. For every tonne of carbon released into the atmosphere, an ‘offset’ is a carefully designed project that absorbs or stores the equivalent CO2 emissions. You can choose to offset your own flight, your whole family’s, or do this as a gift for a friend.
Offset Your Carbon Footprint
Joy
Volunteer Program Manager