Volunteer, develop skills and find friends – all while making a difference in our beautiful beach town of Matapalo, Costa Rica. In your downtime, explore the stunning coastline, enjoy amazing activities, or chill in a hammock while watching sloths and monkeys.
See our volunteer programs
Born out of a passion for community-based development, equitable education and sustainable tourism, WeVOL has been helping individuals, groups and families participate in life-changing adventures since 2022.
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WeVolunteers help host free after-school programming, provide English learning opportunities, help improve local school infrastructure, and tend to school gardens.
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WeVOL programming contributes to community development projects and local tourism businesses. WeVolunteers engage with local kayak, surf and cooking instructors, as well as lifeguards and farmers.
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Through WeVOL’s reforestation project, WeVolunteers plant and care for fruit trees to help provide sustainable local food sources for the community.
With an MA in International Training and Education (ITEP), Kerri has worked as an international educational consultant, volunteer travel director and curriculum designer for over 20 years to help broaden opportunities in school systems around the world.
After spending many summers abroad, she landed in Costa Rica. There, she found the ideal location to put her education and experience into practice. Now she shares her knowledge and expertise with adventure-seekers who are excited to Travel Like You Care.
Janiva Cifuentes-Hiss brings more than 15 years of experience facilitating service-based travel programs throughout the planet. She has led study abroad and volunteer programs in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panamá, Guatemala, Honduras, Ecuador, Perú, Argentina, India, Kenya, Tanzania, and Spain. Janiva studied abroad at the University of Salamanca in Spain and graduated from Pomona College with a BA in Latin American Studies. For more than a decade, she has created and led volunteer programs in Costa Rica focusing on environmental education, English immersion, reforestation, regenerative organic agriculture and permaculture. Janiva is proud to support WeVOL’s community-based solutions in Matapalo.
Born in a remote area in southern Costa Rica, Jaime was the second child of a very young couple whose lives revolved around agriculture, ensuring the family’s well-being, and dedication to the improvement of their rural community: Sabanillas de Limoncito. At a young age he started working in the fields, growing corn, beans, bananas and anything that the land provides. Milking cows and riding horses since the age of five turned him into a cowboy by the time he was thirteen. At seventeen, Jaime was awarded a scholarship to study in the United States. He spent a year living with a family in Central Oregon and attended senior year in high school. He learned the English language rather quickly and this became the tool he relied on to provide for himself and his family.
Join us! Jaime has stories to tell you as he brews coffee or opens a coconut with his machete, basically an extension of his arm.
A trip worth a thousand words and a million and one memories. I am blown away by the experience I just had with WeVOL and could not be happier that I chose their place for my volunteer trip. I am so happy I chose WeVOL for my volunteer experience. In hindsight, if I knew I was going to have this amazing of a time, I would have stayed longer. I am going home feeling refreshed, fulfilled and grateful. Thank you so much Kerri, Jaime, Ani and Zoe. Hasta Luego! If you are debating which organization to choose and where to travel to, have no doubt in choosing WeVOL Costa Rica.
