Coffee Farming Sustainable Agriculture

Project Summary

In the past few years, a large shift in our ideas about how to feed the planet and grow food has taken place. Food systems that provide consumers with healthy and seasonal produce which minimizes adverse impacts on the natural environment have began to play a larger role than before. The movement towards small-scale and local farms emphasizes the importance of sustainability. Volunteers will work at a small working farm. Learn how to grow and tend to a coffee plantation with other sustainable crops.

They will learn to utilize non-synthetic pesticides, emphasize local varieties and species of crop, incorporate native plants, raise pastured livestock without the use of hormones or antibiotics, and practice crop rotation. This small working farm is a model for many others in Costa Rica to show how to demonstrate sustainable, integrated farming techniques that could easily be adopted by local farmers. Doing so would help improve the livelihoods of the farmers and positively impact the environment.

Skills/Qualifications Needed

We ask that you commit to a minimum 1-week stay to participate in this project. The longer you stay, the more you’ll learn. Farm life is not easy life, volunteers should be fit and healthy to participate. They will need to rise early and spend lots of time outdoors in the sun. They will need to walk, lift, bend, and squat while planting and maintaining the farm.

Volunteer's Responsibilities

Volunteers will learn about tropical agro-ecology and sustainable agriculture principles through hands-on experience. They will learn the importance of systems of farm management. Volunteers will be responsible for maintaining the sustainable farm.

Volunteers will maintain the livestock on the farm by helping with feeding the animals, and maintaining the animal enclosures. They will also help with the weeding, nursery, harvesting of produce, and sowing of crops depending on the time of year. .

Accommodation/Food/Supervision

Volunteers will live and work at the conservation site. Volunteers will stay in shared rooms. Three daily meals a day are included, as well as snack. Wifi is available at this project for volunteers.

On-going volunteer programs in Costa Rica