Give a hand-up to a local school
Cimarrones is a community in the province of Limon in Costa Rica. The weather is hot and humid most of the year. The village has a population of 700. Most heads of family work in the nearby banana or pineapple plantations, or provide local transport services and construction labour in nearby Siquirres (56,000 inhabitants). Wages are low, job security is virtually non-existent and health care benefits are not extended to the seasonal workers. Poverty and inequality remain high.
The community has an elementary school with approximately 220 students. Between October and November there is frequent rain and the school in Cimarrones experienced flooding. This DWC project will improve drainage and rainwater management and see a roof built over an exterior cement slab that is used as an activity area for students. As is, with frequent rain, this concrete space is seldom used. With a new roof, even on rainy days, the space can be used for performances and as an activity space for students.
Team members will be engaged in a variety of construction tasks including groundwork and drainage, mixing and moving concrete and/or mortar, installing roof supports and framework.
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.
Volunteer to make a differenceA Typical Workday in Costa Rica
Your DWC team will work with our in-country partner Mar a Mar just outside the small town of Siquirres.
In general, expect to work 6-8 hours per day. Breakfast starts at 6:00 or 7:00 am. After breakfast, the team is transported to the project site (by private bus) and the workday begins, between 8:00 and 9:00 AM. There will be lunch in the middle of the day, which is either provided by our host partner or host family . Your workday will end around 4:00 pm. You will be transported back to your hotel for an evening filled with a dinner out, cultural experiences, team bonding or R&R.
Your group will be led by a trained DWC team leader and will be working with a local site supervisor, translator and laborers to complete this project. The worksite will have various types of task to support all skill and strength levels of your team. No building experience is necessary, but a desire to connect with the locals and pitch in as you can is one of the best parts of DWC projects.
This trip includes all accommodations, airport pickup/drop off, in-country transportation and 3 meals a day for the duration of the trip dates.
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 with Equitable Cambodia to build sanitary latrines in villages and then did the same in Nepal in 2019, then helped build a house in Nepal in 2023. He led teams that constructed a campground bathroom and shower facility in Costa Rica in 2022 and 2023. Later In 2023, he led a team to build a women’s center in Nepal and a classroom in Kenya. In 2024, Marty led teams to Cambodia, Guatemala, and Peru. He currently lives in Colorado with his wife of 43 years, Becky, who has accompanied him on several trips since she retired as an elementary school teacher. 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