La Vida Campesina

In April I shadowed my friend Lucas for a day of work on his cafetal (coffee plantation).

Here we are dressed in our gear de "campesinos."

And here I am with my rake and machete tied around my waist.

First I learned to identify my first raw coffee beans.

Then Lucas showed me how to prepare the ground for fertilizing.

Here is a view of the hills and coffee plantations.

Then we took a break to relax among the coffee plants.

And I got to chew on some lemon grass. Great first day on the farm.

Semana Santa

Last week we celebrated the major Costa Rican holiday of Semana Santa.

One of the most important aspects of Semana Santa is the traditional food.

First, I learned to make tortillas.

Then we sat together for a delicious meal. Here is my host family: father, grandfather and little brother.

Next we built a carriage for my host nephew to ride in the Semana Santa procession. Here is my host mother (top left) with her sisters.

On the weekend we went on a beautiful hike up the mountains in our town.

Here I am with my host brother who is 4 years old.

And here´s the family with the abuelitos (grandparents) and view of San Jose.

On the hike we picked lots of wild berries.

And came home and made delicious blackberry refresco.

Later in the weekend I helped my host grandfather make carbon from wood at his carbonera.

Here we are gathering the carbon to sell.

And finally, before the weekend was up, my host grandfather taught me how to play guitar! I am very excited to hone my new skills...

My Job Description

What work will I be doing? While my work can vary greatly, I wanted to share the 3 main goals of a Rural Community Development Volunteer with some examples of current volunteer projects.

Goal 1: Organizational Development
Community organizations, governmental & non-governmental organizations will increase their capacity to serve and address the community's needs.
1.1 Assessment & Information
Conduct activities to assess and prioritize community & organizational needs, development opportunities and information sharing techniques.
1.2 Project Design & Management
Train community members and groups in planning, budgeting, monitoring and evaluation and writing proposals for grants.

Current Project Examples:
- Help write a bi-monthly community newsletter which features all community groups' projects and plans.
- Facilitate a workshop for community leaders on how to write a budget.
- Help group of local farmers organize a bi-weekly Feria del Agricultor (Agriculture Fair).

Goal 2: Economic Opportunity
Community members, especially women and youth groups, will learn and adapt knowledge and skills to increase opportunities and capacity for income generation.
2.1 Business Plans
Train community members and groups to identify potential products and services, develop and implement basic business plans.
2.2 Training
Train community members in basic small business practices including cost analysis, planning, record keeping and marketing, as well as household financial management.

Current Project Examples:
- Assist local development association in assessing whether rural tourism is viable in their town and help them identify potential products/services they could offer.
- Carry out house to house questionnaire with women's group to assess the feasibility of their Tortilla business idea.
- Solicit INA (Insituto Nacional de Aprendizaje) to come in for a course on basic business administration for current and potential business owners.

Goal 3: Education
Community members, especially women and youth, will learn and adapt knowledge, skills, attitudes and resources necessary for lifelong learning.
3.1 Education
Conduct formal and non formal educational activities for youth, parents and adults, including tutoring, training peer tutors and educators, preparing for entrance and equivalency exams, continuing vocational education topics, parenting, environmental, information technology and health education, English as a Foreign Language (EFL), recreational opportunities, etc.
3.2 Resources
Develop educational resources such as lesson plans, curricular materials, computers, libraries, and facilities.

Current Project Examples:
- Teach environmental education through Art workshops at the school.
- Host an after school life-skills workshop for girls focused on decision-making skills, building self-esteem, etc.
- Assist English teacher in designing lesson plans for her classes.

Bienvenidos al Cuerpo de Paz

During our first 3 months in Costa Rica, we have intensive Peace Corps training to prepare us for our future jobs and lives in the field. I am now living with a host family in a beautiful little town an hour outside of San Jose.

This is my little yellow house on a hill.

Here is a view from my house to our little town which consists of a church, school, soccer field and park.

Another view from my house looking south towards the mountains.

The center of our town.

And the very important soccer field! (La cancha)

From our town we have beautiful views of the mountains.

And the entire city of San Jose.

Here is my Peace Corps training group - called Tico 18. There are 54 of us from almost every state in the United States. A very interesting combination of backgrounds and experiences.

Here is my group of Rural Community Development volunteers. The 18 of us will be working in the most rural Costa Rican communities on organizational development, economic opportunity and education.