Medicinal plant education centre in San Isidro de Penas Blancas, Costa Rica

Details

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  Description

  * PLEASE READ CURRENT UPDATES ON HELP BEFORE REACHING OUT.
  
  We are Katie, Eddy and Hana Ilana (our almost 10 year old daughter). We steward a home and property which is continually blossoming into Katie’s medicinal plant education, healing centre and small guesthouse.
  
  We are approximately 20 km south of La Fortuna in San Isidro de Penas Blancas, steps from the beautiful Rio Chachagua. We are a bi-cultural (Costa Rican/Nicaraguan and American) and bi-lingual (Spanish/English) family that likes to live close to Nature and enjoy life, Pura Vida. Katie is an Herbalist, Flower Essence Practitioner, Earth Centered Ceremonialist and Eddy is a Landscaper, Carpenter and knows everything you can imagine about tropical plants, farming and building as he grew up living off the land here.
  
  Katie and Hana and our animal family - which includes 5 Kitties, and 1 Dwarf Bunny - hold down the fort while Eddy often works abroad on projects in the US or other parts of Costa Rica. And then, part of the year Katie is off teaching and co-facilitating healing retreats, while Eddy is at home. With all the coming and going, hosting and constant house and land projects going on - we can often use extra hands!
  
  Currently, we are slowly but surely working on fixing up and creating more and better spaces for our students, clients and guests. Katie sees clients and hosts numberous medicinal plant related workshops and immersions throughout the year and we also rent our container house and Glamping tent out to overnight guests. We are constantly working towards better ways to to steward our land to expand to accommodate even bigger dreams!

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  Types of help and learning opportunities

  Art Projects

  Help with Eco Projects

  Gardening

  DIY and building projects

  Animal Care

  Farmstay help

  Babysitting and creative play

  Creating/ Cooking family meals

  Help around the house

  Hospitality/Tourism

  General Maintenance

  Help with Computers/ Internet
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  Cultural exchange and learning opportunities

  We live in the beautiful, mountainous Arenal region of Costa Rica and in a mixed Tico/Expat village & farming community. Our house is set away from the tourist center of La Fortuna, yet we are still close enough to visit on day trips. Staying with us you will definitely get to connect closely to Nature, be immersed in family life, experience life in our small farming community and be able to practice your Spanish or English (we speak mainly English in the house, though Eddy is a native Spanish speaker). You will have a chance to enjoy the tropical beauty of the area and we are steps away from an awesome local swimming hole on the Rio Chachagua.
  
  🌿THERE ARE ALSO GREAT OPPORTUNITIES AND A CHANCE TO LEARN ABOUT HERBALISM, TROPICAL MEDICINAL PLANTS AND OTHER HEALING MODALITIES WITH KATIE. THIS IS A SEPERATE ENDEAVOR WE CAN DISCUSS IF INTERESTED.🌺

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  Projects involving children

  This project could involve children. For more information see our guidelines and tips here.

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  Help

  CURRENTLY (JULY 2024) WE ARE SPECIFICALLY LOOKING FOR HELP WITH:
  
  🔧🔨HOUSE AND RANCHO FIXES-HANDYPERSON SKILLS🏡
  
  👩‍🌾 GARDEN & YARD CARE- GRASS CUTTING, WEEDING/WEEDWACKING, PRUNING, COMPOST TRENCHING, SOIL REMEDIATION, PEST CONTROL (NATURAL) CREATING NEW FLOWER GARDEN, BEAUTIFYING
  
  👧 CHILDCARE/NANNY TYPE DUTIES FOR MY DAUGHTER
  
  🌿SOMEONE WITH TECH SKILLSETS TO HELP WITH MY WEBSITE RECONSTRUCTION/FINISH. MARKETING GUIDANCE FOR THE EMBODYING HERBALISM BUSINESS
  
  🏠 HOUSESITTING - WHILE WE ALL ARE AWAY 2 WEEKS IN MIDDLE OF OCTOBER
  AND POSSIBILY SOME WEEKS IN DECEMBER/JANUARY
  
  
  We have a multitude of varying projects as we continue building this beautiful dream into manifestation. Depending on your specific skillsets, we will communicate and fill you in on what you may wish to be a part of. We prefer 1-2 (single or couple/friends) volunteers with a week-long commitment (there may be possibilities for longer term if we are a good fit). We are also happy to accept families, as long as we have clear terms. Help is needed for approximately 4 hours day/5 days week. We can arrange these periods based on both of our needs and you will have ample time off, as we consider that sacred for all. You will be intricately a part of our day to day family life and you MUST be accepting and good with children. Her life experience and safety is our top priority.
  
  There is always alot of daily cleaning, meal -prep, childcare, pet care, house and yard, garden projects. And, because we live in the jungle and even our indoor spaces are exposed d to the outside, the houses are in need of constant care!
  
  We also sometimes need help with heavier physical labor projects and landscaping. We are fixing up many areas to improve and host more students, volunteers and overnight guests.

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  Languages spoken

  English: Fluent
  Spanish: Fluent

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  Accommodation

  ACCOMMODATIONS:
  We have a variety of options for accommodations, it does depend on the time of year you will be staying, the length of your stay and personal needs. We will always try and accommodate you to the best of our ability.
  
  We have tents and air mattresses that can be set up on the property or inside the back of the rancho (best in rainy season) and you can use the rancho bathrooms and shower (cold water only), as well as the rancho kitchen there for any personal meals.
  
  OR
  
  Our Glamping tent, with one full bed and option of extra blow up mattress. When it is not in use by students or guests.
  
  *We also have a private, converted shipping container house with one Queen bed, private bathroom, kitchenette and living space that may sometimes be available if we do not have students, guests or family using it.
  
  FOOD:
  Breakfast: I will provide breakfast daily.
  Lunch: You will be responsible for your personal lunch. You will have full use of the rancho kitchen.
  Dinner: A collaborative meal that we pitch in making together using our staple foods.
  *This is different for famlies. We will need to discuss depending on your family size and needs.*
  
  Note: I can accommodate some food sensitivities and allergies, though please note we are not a Vegetarian household (we will be sensitive and keep everything separate if you are). Also, a good time to mention, we are ok with light alcohol use (we like to have a beer after work) but any use or abuse of substances will NOT be tolerated.

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  What else ...

  We want you to understand that we live in a tropical jungle and our house is rustic and open air. We live very close to Nature's and with many creatures like geckos, bats, insects, etc. We deal with the extreme humidity, heat and all that comes with it. Most of our spaces are fan only and cold showers.
  
  The main house has many amenities like an oven, an enormous refrigerator, washer/dryer, and internet that you will have use of. We have decent high speed Wifi as well and you will be able to get online most of the time.
  
  We truly want you to enjoy your stay while you are with us. You will have ample time to rest/relax, play, swim in the river, swing in the hammock, Meditate, practice Yoga/Qigong/Dance/Movement in our rancho space, take walks, and commune with Nature. We are also in close proximity to visit amazing places nearby like: Two Little Monkeys Chocolate farm (across the street!), Finca Luna Nueva Lodge, Brave Earth Community, the Children’s Eternal Rainforest. La Fortuna (30 mins away) is the epicenter of adventure based tours in Costa Rica and abounds with many epic hot springs, hikes, waterfalls and so micj more! We can potentially help you with transport on your off time if it works within our schedules, or the local bus stop is about 20 min walk away.

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  A little more information

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    Internet access

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    Limited internet access

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    We have pets

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    We are smokers

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    Can host families

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  Can host digital nomads

  We just recently obtained high speed internet! There are common spaces that have good service that you can use.

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  Space for parking camper vans

  We have a mostly flat parking space that could potentially be used for a people traveling in a small campervan.

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  How many Workawayers can stay?

  Two

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  Hours expected

  Maximum 4-5 hours a day, 5 days a week

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