The Program
Welcome to Finca La Puebla where we offer our students unique learning experiences in permaculture principals and organic tropical gardening, plus!. Most people find us through WWOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms). Preference is for people who are genuinely interested in learning about growing foods organically in tropical conditions and are willing to stay a minimum of 4 weeks (1 month). Understanding the pressures of the civilized world, we can accomodate shorter visits, please inquire. Couples or friends traveling together are preferred. People who choose to come must prepare themselves for living a Costa Rica farm lifestyle – without many of the conveniences that we now consider essential in the First World. Although we do have electricity, the accommodations are simple with few amenities. There is no television service, computer or telephone on the farm. There is a pre-paid cell phone on the farm and a public phone and internet cafe are a 30 minute walk into town. If you have your own iphone or smart phone it will likely not work until you purchase a Costa Rica SIM card.
This experience can be much more than just learning about permaculture principals and organic gardening. This is an opportunity to see how people, without the economic opportunities and advantages of the First World live and how, in many ways their lives are much richer. This is an opportunity to step away from a fast paced life and slow down and think. You will have access to fresh, quality organic and unprocessed food on the farm and from the market. You’ll be able to feel how what you eat affects your body and mind. Some volunteers tell us that their experiences here have been transformative and will stay with them forever.
Finca La Puebla is not is a drop-in hostel. Once we reserve your place we consider you an important part of the farm maintenance and productivity. This will be a hands on learning experience for you and we will do everything we can to make your experience here a valuable one.
Work and Life on the Farm
Our seasons are two. Wet and Dry.
December through April is our dry season which means we get little or no rain and we reduce gardens to areas we can water. We do farm maintenance and pruning at this time as well as the drying of bananas, power bars, pineapples and tomatoes. When the rains return in April we expand our vegetable gardens and plant fruit trees and ornamentals.
May through November is our wet season. Our days are generally sunny and dry in the morning with afternoon rain. In the months of May through September we continue with gardening and maintenance. Many of our tropical fruits ripen during this period. The coffee ripens through October and November and volunteers will spend part of their time picking and processing the harvest.
Students are expected to work mornings 3-4 hours per day, five days a week. Much of this work involves preparing, planting and maintaining garden beds and tending the more delicate greens in our covered nursery area. Walter works with each student, side by side – teaching about permaculture and organic gardening as well as the basics of good soil maintenance.
Each student can expect to fit into the projects and activities currently going on at the farm and this varies from week to week and season to season. You will be maintaining gardens planted 1 or 2 months ago and eating from gardens planted 3 or 4 months ago.
There are generally 3 – 8 people living on the farm at any time. Students stay in the main house in one of the 3 bedrooms there or the more private Jungle House is available for a couple or small family. You will share cooking facilities with others. After the work day you will be independent and look after your own meals and leisure time. Every week or so we will share a pot luck dinner and there is a TV and DVD player available for you to watch movies and documentaries.
We are trying to stay organic as much as possible and to keep our needs for packaging in plastic containers low. We cannot recycle plastic (including plastic water bottles). We prefer that you bring with you recyclable or organic stuff and at least try this for the time of your stay at Finca La Puebla.
Walter would personally enjoy and appreciate it if you would bring a favorite seed with you. This does not violate the law and we will love having your personal seeds planted in the gardens. What kind of seeds? All are welcome but we especially like flower and vegetable seeds.
The community kitchen is stocked with basic food supplies for the first week. And of course food as vegetables and fruits are always available on the farm. Most students augment with food from the local market and grocery store for basics such as rice, beans, dairy and meat. It is best that you come prepared to the farm with some basic essentials for yourself – (i.e. meat, cheese, bread, butter) to suite your personel tastes.
Your time off is your own. The farm has easy bus access to San Isidro de El General – a major supply town in southern Costa Rica. There is also easy bus access to Pacific beaches and Cerro Chirippo, one of the highest mountains in Central America with some of the best hiking. Most students work extra hours to build up time off to enjoy the beaches and/or climb the mountain.
Charges
Charges are $250/person/month for the main house or $300/person/month for the private Jungle House. Your suggested prepayment of 1/2 your fee through PayPal guarantees your reservation. The remainder is to be paid in cash upon your arrival. For less than a 1 month stay the charge is $75/person/week. This charge will include accommodation in your own private bedroom with a fully equipped kitchen and all linens, bedding, etc. Your initial basic food staples will also be provided including eggs, cooking oil, rice, beans, pasta and bread.
For most programs such as WWOOF there is the expectation of your work in exchange for food and lodging. That is suitable for much of the developed world where the cost of local labor is expensive and farm produce brings a good financial return. Here in Latin America, where local labor and farm produce are inexpensive, it simply does not work. We cannot afford to set aside unfarmed acreage for the Blue Morpho habitat restoration program, maintain the farm and buildings, pay for cooking gas and electricity unless students help with some of the costs. We are not making a profit from this arrangement and We keep charges as low as possible. And this goes directly to pay for the program instructors and locals who do most of the heavy work. Your monetary contribution goes directly into the local economy. This is very much needed and helps to make our presence here a positive contribution to the community and the local ecological preservation.
Student Position Availability
We have availability for the months approaching and are accepting requests now.