Costa Rica Volunteer Vacation Program Profile

Costa Rica volunteer vacation programs abound, but each has somewhat different service trip experiences to offer. We decided that, instead of giving our children holiday gifts this year, we’d spend Christmas in Costa Rica with a great volunteer vacation program. We hoped that the gift of exposure to another culture through good works would be a greater gift that whatever toys or games our kids would have gotten at home.

Now, when researching different volunteer vacations, it’s important to consider what kind of service trip you want to participate in. Beach clean-up? Home-building? Reforestation? In our case, we wanted to do a variety of volunteer work, yet have some time to relax and enjoy exploring Costa Rica as well. Because my parents are joining us in Costa Rica, we also wanted a volunteer vacation that could easily accommodate all levels of physical health (i.e. not too physically demanding). This way, children and seniors could fully participate in all the given activities.

We found True Nature Education, a service program based in Costa Rica with an office in North Carolina. The True Nature Education Program was co-founded by Americans Luna and Joshua Canter, who moved to the Costa Rican village of La Florida in 2003. For the last five years, True Nature Education has been hosting a variety of educational programs throughout Costa Rica.

In talking with Joshua Canter (and subsequently signing my family up for this Costa Rica volunteer vacation), I learned that he and Luna also co-founded the CREER Service Organization. CREER, which means “to believe” in Spanish, was created out of gratitude for the incredible support, generosity, and hospitality that the native Costa Ricans provided upon their arrival into the county and into their village. Community, education, and service have been at the core of True Nature’s and CREER’s values since their inception and continue to be the driving force of the operations. CREER is striving to develop sustainable solutions for the ongoing health of the native Costa Rican culture. CREER offers educational programs, employment and micro-loans — which, along with the volunteer activities of its sister True Nature Education, should result in long-lasting opportunities for Costa Rica’s residents.

The tentative itinerary includes time at small villages and a local organic farm, a rainforest zip line canopy tour, community service in the rainforest and village, beach activities, a snorkel trip, and much more. I asked Joshua about the itinerary, and he responded that the itineraries vary with the needs and desires of each group. True Nature Education does its best to “mold trips prior to departure and while we are in Costa Rica with the group, creating a rewarding and memorable experience for everyone who joins us. Service is the common element which weave through all programs. With service we also have programs which focus on yoga, sustainability, women’s empowerment, and more.”

The most enthusiastically-received, popular True Nature Education volunteer vacation activities include working with sea turtles in Matapalo, reforestation, and working with the children and in the schools in the villages. In addition, the zip lining, horseback riding on the beach, and rainforest and volcano exploration are the most popular non-service activities. Funny, I didn’t notice “crash in exhaustion for some down time” on the list…Wait ’til they get a load of my family!

Luna and Joshua Canter hope to continue to expand CREER and True Nature Education, bringing more people to experience Costa Rica, while serving more of the native people in the country’s rural villages. Stay tuned: I’ll have more about True Nature Education and this Costa Rica volunteer vacation soon.