Volunteer With Us!

Volunteer at our weekly

Community Kitchen

You can come help with our weekly community kitchen! On Friday mornings, we chop vegetables, juice fruits, and make some preparations for our Saturday meal. Then on Saturdays, we serve a community lunch. You can help out on either day (or both). You’ll work alongside native tribe members, meet people from the community, and get a taste (literally) of what we do at El Puente. You can also help out in the community garden by pulling some weeds and watering some plants while you are there. Plan on being there for between 1-3 hours. For more info, send us a message.

VOLUNTEER TESTIMONIAL by marta

"I had the opportunity to live with a family, in contact with the local culture and traditions, learning day after day...."

“I spent a volunteer experience at El Puente Association. I had the opportunity to live with a family, in contact with the local culture and traditions, learning day after day the importance of one’s presence in the daily life of the Bribri community. Participating in the preparation of the Saturday’s vegetable soup shared with the whole community, or the organisation of recreational activities for the children such as the cinema or art workshops, allowed me to get to know a different and rich culture,deeply rooted in nature’s contact.
I recommend not just passing through but staying a time in this beautiful association, which cultivates the values of respect and integration between different cultures.”

long-term volunteer

Our Volunteer Opportunities

If you’re planning to stay for more than a week, and would like to do more as a volunteer, please send us a message and we will send you an application. Before messaging, please review these FAQ’s for long-term volunteers:

long term volunteers

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you offer food or accommodations for volunteers?

- We sometimes have a room available on the property. If it is available for you the dates of your visit, the cost is $15/night, and it is a single room in a shared house. Food is not included, you will be on your own. There is a kitchen in the house.
- There is also an option to do a home-stay with a family. This costs $600/week and includes meals.

What will I do as a long term volunteer?

Help with our weekly community kitchen as described above
Work in the community garden
Maintenance projects around the property (painting, cleaning, fixing things)
Organizing books in the library, sorting recycling, raking leaves, cleaning bathrooms, and other kinda boring (but very helpful!) tasks.

What about helping with kids, or teaching English, or volunteering in more “important” ways where I’m really serving and interacting with people? Can I do some of that?

- The BriBri people are notoriously shy and skeptical of outsiders (They are sometimes referred to as “The Hidden People”). Our English classes and workshops are led by long-term volunteers who have been here for years and built trust with this community. You will have plenty of chances to talk with people, play with the kids that visit El Puente, and possibly even visit some community members at their houses.
- The most “important” thing we do at El Puente is simply provide a safe, clean, beautiful, and welcoming space that is open to everyone. That is our mission. Thus, things like cleaning, maintenance, organization, and having a welcoming and generous attitude are the best ways for you to contribute. You will interact and overlap with members of the community while you’re here. Depending on your level of Spanish, you will have great conversations and learn a lot about this community!