Since 2019, Sol y Valle is a project based on the principles of Permaculture and Sustainability, let by a local and international community. More than half of the farm is a protected secondary forest with trees over 50 years old: a breat of fresh air in the heart of Costa Rica's deforested agricultural region. Other areas of the property include a bamboo forest for construction needs, a food forest with more than 100 fruit trees, organic gardens for self-consumption of a plant-based diet, a seed bank for seed-saving of local varieties, a biofactory in which we reproduce our own microorganisms, and several bioconstruction projects like a dry composting toilet.
We are a project managed by a community of young professionals, deeply committed to caring for the Earth. One of our main goals is to live as self-sustainably as possible, producing more crops than we can consume. We also want it to be a reference place so the local and global community can apply more environmentally and socially sustainabke strategies. We offer a volunteering and learning program of different lenghts and focuses. Additionally, we give educational tours, workshops, and various classes in permaculture, well-being and languages.
Currently, we are carrying out a fundraising campaing to create a space that will serve as a learning and post-harvesting center, with plans to start a construction around the beginning of 2025. Apart from this, as of 2024, we have been working on expanding the communal kithcen, starting wit a retaining wall with volcanic rock. Part of the roof and columns will be made with Guadua bamboo, harvested on this same land. We are in the process of bein certified Organic.
The Extra fee indicated covers a period of FOUR WEEKS, and includes:
- Transfer from the airport to a hostel in San Jose.
- Two nights in a hostel in San Jose, breakfast included.
- Orientation day, a day in which we give a cultural introduction to Costa Rica, safety and transportation recommendations, directions to the project and a tour of San Jose with lunch included.
- Accommodation and meals at the project.
The program has flexible dates depending on the availability of the project, with flexibility from 4 weeks to 6 months, but this includes an additional fee to the indicated fee.
İş Tanımı
Depending on the phases of the moon and time of the year, we will work on different agricultural activities in the following areas of action in our project:
* EDIBLE FOREST:
- Bioocntrol fumigating and fertilizing with compost
- Sowing, planting, mulching, irrigating, and harvesting
- Pruning fruit or coffee trees
- Protecting plants from leafcutter ants, other insects, and disease
- Chopping and weeding vetiver grass that hols the curves in place
- Opening growing beds
* GARDENS
- Biocontrol fumigatin and fertilizing with compost
- Sowing, planting, irrigating and harvesting
- Mulching and weeding
- Protecting plants from leafcutter ants, other insects, and diesease
- Opening growing beds
* NURSERY
- Plant propagation by seeds and cuttings
- Water and weeding plants
* COMPOSTING
- Turning compost that comes out of the kitchen once a week
- Filtering the compost that is ready to be used, once every month or two months
* HARVESTS AND PROCESSING
- Cleaning, measuring, and storing the crops taken from the edible forest or orchards
* BIOCONSTRUCTION
- Varying new infrastructure projects, and maintaining current infrastructure
- Harvesting, preparing, curing, varnishing, and building with native Guadua bamboo
- Making or reinforcing structures with natural plasters
- Designing and building furniture
- Maintaining and organizing tools in the bodega
* SECONDARY FOREST
This area is mainly worked on by Don Humberto, normally no one else works with him, since volunteers tend to collaborate in the aforementioned areas. Only a person with knowledge in botany, biology, or a related discipline, who can work with him in Spanish, could collaborate on the project of:
- Mapping and inventory of plants in this area, which covers approximately half of this land.
* ONLINE PRESENCE
- Assist with managing our social media and website desing
- Provide marketing and sales strategies if the volunteer has prior experience with this field
- Writing blog or articles about experiences at the farm
If the person has specific skills in fields like construction, bioconstruction, carpentry, marketing, and tropical species identification in the secondary forest, we will invite them to focus their participation in one of those specific areas.
Konaklama ve Yemek
Host situation provided by both the farm or a local family.
* AT THE FARM:
- 3 people at the shared cabin
* LOCAL FAMILY
- 7-9 people staying with local families
Konum ve Serbest Zaman
La Flor de Santiago is a very small village located about 15 minutes away from Paraíso de Cartago and around 35 minutes by bus away from the city of Cartago in the province of Cartago.
In La Flor de Santiago we can find a little primary school, a small grocery store and the bus stop to connect with the other towns around. Actually Cervantes is the nearest town where volunteers can find cafeterias, supermarkets, and a cash point (ATM). Still volunteers will have Paraíso with a bigger variety of services available when needed.
Notlar
The project has the conditions to accept adult participants, this means, over 18 years old.
