Ecological and Sustainable Living Internship
Building Community through Collaboration
2024 Dates Coming Soon
$3,000/3 months
Visitors must plan to be on site for the full extent of the program to be considered.
Internships include enrollment in our Permaculture Design Course.
Can't commit to 3 months?
>> Check out our Jungle Living Experience program. <<
Join us for an inspiring, fun, educational, and immersive internship at our regenerative farm and developing ecovillage in Costa Rica!
Learn while doing. Explore a permaculture lifestyle through working collaboratively to support a thriving, farm-based community. Engage in farm-to-table activities such as food processing, fermentation projects, and cooking community meals. Deepen your knowledge and connection with the land through growing and harvesting food. Share daily operations responsibilities in the areas of hospitality and maintenance. Engage in weekly group sessions to develop your team-building skills to apply in your future work environments. Grow from one-on-one check-ins to take a deeper look at your strengths and weaknesses working with others. And finally, learn to create sustainable places, lifestyles, and communities in our included Permaculture Design Course.
During your free time, relax in nature by going for a swim in our river, waterfall or spring-fed pool; walk jungle trails; enjoy a view of the scarlet macaw biological corridor from one of our beautiful vistas; do yoga or dance in our studio; make art; play music; or simply relax in a hammock with a good book from our farm library.
Why VerdEnergia?
At VerdEnergia, interns experience the decision-making processes that farms, people and communities go through to create and live holistically healthy lifestyles. This means that we spend a lot of time in the kitchen, preparing farm-fresh and seasonal dishes to enjoy together! Interns learn to plan and prepare meals for groups, prepared from diverse ingredients, some of which they help grow and harvest themselves. Other aspects of a well-balanced lifestyle in this internship include opportunities to practice yoga and mindfulness, outdoor physical work, and relaxing time. These experiences provide interns, especially those coming from a university setting, with invaluable hands-on and real-life practice, which dramatically sets them apart from those emerging from only classroom settings.
Our program organizers teach skill sets that can be applied to any climate or place in the world and a diverse range of careers. Interns are encouraged to develop a personal project in an area of their interest that will benefit the community. Interns receive project management guidance and gain valuable experience in managing timelines, resources, and people. Our program emphasizes personal accountability and teamwork, with the purpose of building skills and experiences that will interest future employers.
Interns at VerdEnergia live as “farm to table” as possible. This means learning to cultivate, harvest, and prepare our own meals. In addition, there are opportunities to gain a range of horticultural and homesteading skills such as plant identification, nursery management, and food preservation. Verde staff manages three local agroforestry projects in conjunction with Blacksheep, our sister company, with a focus on the production of crops such as turmeric, cacao and tropical hardwoods. Having access to these agricultural projects and the experienced staff implementing them is a huge advantage for our interns.
Internship Goals
- Gain experience living and working in a community setting
- Develop team building and leadership skills that are useful in a diverse range of situations
- Increase self-motivation, accountability and organizational practices
- Develop life skills (i.e. cooking, cleaning, gardening, food processing)
- Gain skills in effective communication, group facilitation and interpersonal dynamics
- Be in a place where you feel supported to explore your interests and share your ideas
- Learn about ecology and regenerative farming practices
Your Internship Experience Includes
- Weekly group and one-on-one check-ins with organizers
- Plant walks/harvest explorations of our diverse and developing farm & sister farms
- Garden bed preparation and tending of crops
- Plant and nursery propagation
- Discussions on topics such as Sustainability and Ecological Impact
- Farm-to-table food preparation (fermentation projects, cooking and cleaning up, food processing & preservation)
- Building and maintenance learning opportunities
- Automatic enrollment in our 2 week Permaculture Design Course.
Interdisciplinary Personal Projects
Interns explore a relevant subject of their choice by developing personal projects. This includes research, design, creating a timeline and proposal. They will have an opportunity to present their project to organizers and staff. This allows them to gain direct experience in project development from an early research stage all the way to the final proposal.
Another project option to cultivate self-motivation, leadership and skill development is to hold a primary responsibility in an integral farm or community function. Examples may include nursery management, community outreach, media, recycling, waste and compost management, green building, and renewable energy. Opportunities do depend on time of year and current farm projects.
Who is this experience for?
This experience is a good match for those who do well sharing space with a group of people, enjoy contributing to a team, and are ready for a quiet rural lifestyle with time to focus on themselves. It’s a great match for people who want to hone their team building skills. We offer flexibility for different levels of physical activity. Anyone 18+ is welcome.
Farm Life
VerdEnergia is located in a small rural community in the remote mountains of the Pacific slope of Costa Rica. It is home to an ever-fluctuating mix of guests, interns, staff and community members. There will be times where our farm might only have two or more members on site, and times where we will be bustling with activity! We believe in social cooperation and celebrating diverse ways of living and viewpoints across various cultures. As an intern, you have an important role to take part in the creation of the community feeling at the farm. A few notes:
- Community living is integral to our daily operations, and we rely on collaboration and good communication to function as a group.
- Interns should be comfortable living and working together as well as contributing to farm upkeep.
- Each member of the farm staff and community has a different job and responsibilities, but we all do our best to work together as a cohesive group.
- Our climate is very hot and humid in the main part of the day with occasional hard rains.
- There is usually enough internet bandwidth to send emails and whatsapp messages, and not much more.
- Anyone in the community is welcome to offer guided activities such as yoga, breathwork, meditation, dance and movement workshops, etc.
Participation in the following is required:
- Support cook and clean shifts for community meals
- Basic tidying of the common spaces and shared sleeping space
- Participate in any meetings or cleaning parties scheduled by our program organizers
Schedule
Monday through Friday we begin projects early during the coolest time of the day. Saturday and Sunday are days off from internship projects, though everyone still contributes to community meals. Interns may choose to take a couple long weekend trips to explore Costa Rica’s incredible natural and cultural diversity. Any trip off the property is not part of our program; you will pay for your own expenses off-site.
What to Bring
You will need a few items with you for safety and to help you make the most of your experience:
- Bright flashlight or headlamp with rechargeable batteries or USB
- Biodegradable soap and personal hygiene products
- Quick-dry towel or sarong
- Lightweight clothing suitable for the tropics (including long sleeves & pants)
- Sturdy shoes (There is a place to buy rubber boots in town - or you can bring your own)
Check out our Frequently Asked Questions and Community Agreements pages for more information about what to bring and what to expect. We will also send you a more detailed What to Bring list once you are registered.
Accommodations
Included in your stay is a bed in our shared dormitories. These freshly renovated spaces are screened in, comfortable, bright, and open-air; they include ceiling fans, bunk beds with personal lights and storage shelves. We provide a pillow, sheets and a light blanket. Camping is an option if you want more privacy during certain times of the year (costs are the same), but you will need to bring your own gear and bedding. Please check with us before planning to camp. We also have limited upgrades to our fully furnished, open-air private rooms for an additional cost.
Meals
Your stay includes all of your meals on site. We are proud to highlight traditional Costa Rican cuisine with a few twists and eat farm-to-table as much as possible. We rotate cooking responsibilities using food that we've grown on our own farm or purchased locally, with a preference for high quality organic. Our typical meals are vegetarian and gluten-free.
All of our animal products come from locally-raised, pastured animals. Reasonable accommodation for vegans and those with food allergies can be made. Please indicate your needs in your application and upon your arrival.
Transportation & Travel
We are in a remote location that requires you to coordinate your arrival with the team onsite. Transportation on and off the farm must be arranged in advance and isn't included in your program costs. Please note that we are about a 2.5 hour drive from the SJO Airport.
People that come for longer stays often choose to take trips away from Verde to explore Costa Rica and its incredible natural and cultural diversity. It should be understood that any trip off the farm is separate from our program; you would pay for your own expenses off site. And because we have an ever-fluctuating number of guests, students, interns and visitors, we can’t guarantee your accommodations here will be the same upon your return.
Pricing & Timeline
In addition to the cost of the program, interns are responsible for buying/bringing personal supplies like flashlights, work gloves, boots, etc. Interns are also responsible for the costs of personal transportation to and from the farm, as well as housing and food when off site. Please take note of our refund policies and our Frequently Asked Questions.
- We offer our program for $3,000 for 3 months.
- This all-inclusive experience includes lodging in our shared dormitories, meals, staff facilitation, and discounted enrollment in our Permaculture Design Course.
- We ask that visitors plan to be on site for the duration of the program to be considered. Internships begin and end at scheduled times.
- If you are seeking an internship for school credit and require an adjusted (longer) timeline, we are happy to discuss accommodation.
- Upgrades to private rooms are +$30/night
Scholarships
If you can, please give an additional amount to our scholarship program. Scholarships allow people to attend who would not otherwise be able to and benefits everyone from an increase in diversity of experiences. The suggested scholarship contribution is on a sliding scale of $50-$400.
As a community that values equality and diversity, we offer the ability to apply for partial or full scholarships, and we give preference to candidates from the following categories. Please contact us for more information!
Costa Rican citizens who intend to use what they learn in our course to help Costa Rica’s environment and people.
Environmental and Community Building Activists or Grassroots Organizers, especially those working in the Global South and/or with marginalized communities.
Applicants that are from historically marginalized groups, such as indigenous/First Nations peoples and people of color.
Applicants with a particularly compelling reason why they will add something special to the group, as well as financial need.
Need a different timeline to suit your schedule?
>> Consider a shorter visit through our Jungle Living Experience program <<
About VerdEnergia
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With the principles of Permaculture as our guiding tool, we seek to transmute the challenges facing our communities into replicable solutions. Our work enables us to find right livelihood through the regeneration and gentle cultivation of the forest we are honored to call home.
