Tourism Activities Available at SCLC

2008-2009 (until further notice)

The SCLC is a non-profit organization working to link communities and conservation through education and ecotourism in the Sarapiqui region of Costa Rica’s northern lowlands. The SCLC focuses its efforts in four areas — environmental education, community development, conservation, and tourism — in order to help form future environmental leaders, raise the organizational capacity of local communities, promote sustainable land use, and connect tourists to the local community and environment. The activities listed below have been carefully chosen so that tourism helps the SCLC to fulfill its mission. By booking tourism activities with the SCLC, you will be contributing to environmental conservation, promoting the well-being of local communities, and producing sustainable economic benefits for the SCLC and the local community. All activities include a free English translation from a SCLC representative

CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

NEW!! Latin Dance Show

Price: Popular Dance Show $90 with 8 dancers, Folkloric Dance Show $105 with 8 dancers

Recommended time: 7:30pm Monday - Sunday 1 hour

Dancing is a central part of Costa Rican culture. Come and hear Latin music and enjoy dances performed by a local dance group. See either traditional folkloric dances or a popular combination of meringue, salsa, and cumbia. Listen, watch, and see if you can manage to sit still!

Latin Dance Class

Price: $10 p/p for groups 10 to 25 pax, if group is larger please contact SCLC directly for pricing.

Recommended time: 7:30pm Monday – Sunday 1 hour

Ever wanted to learn Latin dancing? Then this is the class for you! You will learn 3 styles: Merengue, Salsa, and Cumbia. Local dancers will first demonstrate and then lead the group step by step. You will also practice with a partner and everyone will also take turns dancing in a circle, showing off their new dance moves. This activity is great fun, perfect for group’s kick off or tour ending, but also for families and friends.

Cooking Class

Price: $10 p/p, 5 to 25 pax, $ 17 p/p for groups< 5 pax *Monday – Friday, Saturdays and Sundays

flexible 1 ½ - 2 hours

This class will offer you the opportunity to learn how to make traditional Costa Rican dishes. The classes are led by a local community member, and everyone participates in the cooking process. You will learn about the history, botanical names, and cultivation of each fresh ingredient. The menu consists of guacamole (a dip made with avocados), batidos (milkshakes), empanadas (turnovers), tortillas (flat bread), and patacones (fried green plantains). Enjoy trying all of your culinary creations at the end of the class!!

Desserts Class

Price: $10p/p, $100 minimum (low season $50 minimum), 25 person maximum *

Flexible, perfect for a midday snack 1 ½ hours

This might possibly be the most scrumptious educational activity around! A local cook will teach you how to prepare three traditional ¨postres¨ (desserts): chorreada (a pancake-like postre made of corn), plátanos maduros a la gloria (plantains in a cinnamon and clove mixture), and miel de piña y coco (a compote made of pineapple and coconut). As pineapples and plantains abound in the area, participants can be assured that the majority of the ingredients are locally grown. This hands-on activity not only allows participants to create, but best of all, to eat their creations!

*We are always happy to accommodate special needs. So if your group exceeds 25 people or if you would like a certain menu or a more in-depth session to experience everything from the initial grocery shopping in a local tienda to the making of the food, just contact us and we will be happy to create something special for you

Arts and Crafts Class

Price: $10 p/p, $100 minimum (low season $50 minimum), 25 person maximum

Monday – Sunday, time flexible 1 ½ hours

This is an educative and creative class where you will learn from a local artisan how to make jewelry with rainforest seeds, woodworking, rainforest painting, and palm frond weaving. Only natural resources are used during the class and you will be able to take your creations back home.

Charla

Price: $8 p/p, $80 minimum (low season $40 minimum), 30 person maximum

Monday – Sunday, time flexible 1 hour

In Spanish, “Charla” means “chat.” During this informative talk given by a local community member you will learn about living in Sarapiquí. Topics include local ecosystems, immigration, domestic life, local artisan work, student experience and much more! A question and answer session concludes the activity, fostering international communication and understanding. Good Costa Rican coffee and fresh baked goods complete the experience.

Introduction to Spanish

Price: $8 p/p, $80 minimum (low season $40 minimum), 20 person maximum

Monday –Sunday, time flexible 1 ½ hours

This is a fun and useful form of intercultural exchange. The class is taught by a local Costa Rican who is studying English. Here you will learn basics, such as introducing yourselves, talking about where you are from, how to get around, how to order in a restaurant, and some local names of flora and fauna found in the Sarapiquí region.

Home/Farm Visits

Price: $10 p/p, $100 minimum (low season $50 minimum), 25 person maximum

Monday – Sunday, time flexible 2 hours

Note: Groups must provide their own transportation, if transportation please contact SCLC for pricing

You will have a rare opportunity to visit local people in their home, listen to them speak about their life, their family, their history, their community, and their work. You will also take a tour of the home and small farm, and receive coffee and a special homemade treat!

School Visit

Price: $15 p/p, 5 person minimum

Mon - Fri, AM 9:30-11:30, Mon-Thus PM 2:00-4:00

Activity not available December through mid Feb and 2 weeks in July (exact dates TBD based on release of 2008 school calendar)

Highly recommended for: Teachers and Educational Administrators

This is a unique opportunity to compare and contrast the education system in Sarapiquí with your own. The visit consists of a guided tour of the school, led by the director, a teacher, and/or students, a presentation, and a question and answer session. Groups will either visit one of the local elementary schools or high schools. One-third of each participant fee will go directly to the school visited.

Homestay with local family

Price: $18 pax/night does not include transportation to the house, if transportation is needed please contact SCLC

Includes breakfast and dinner

Ever wondered what it’s like to actually live in another country, as opposed to simply traveling through it? Homestay with local families offer visitors a rare opportunity to experience first hand what it is like to live in rural Costa Rica. Share meals, conversation, and leisure time with a local family. This opportunity is sure to provide you with a unique cultural and linguistic experience!

Black Pepper Tour

Price: $14.00 adults/$7.00 for children under 12

Monday-Sunday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Ever wondered how vegetables arrive in faraway supermarkets and eventually make it onto your plate? Tour a local pepper plantation and learn about the history of peppers, how peppers grow, and how they are cultivated and sold. Then enjoy tasting a variety of dishes made with peppers, including a unique pepper dessert!

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Field Ecology

Price: $12 p/p, 5 person minimum

Monday - Sunday, AM 9:00am-12pm, PM 2pm-5:00pm

Spend a day as a tropical field ecologist and assist the SCLC staff and local community members with the Center’s on-going conservation monitoring projects. Groups will be assigned a research topic and will learn to collect and analyze field data through hands on activities. Projects include monitoring reforestation and/or biodiversity on local farms, and/or water quality along the Rio Sarapiquí.

Lectures:

Price: flat fee of $75, minimum 5 people

Monday – Sunday, time flexible 1 hour

Mesomerican Biological Corridor/San Juan-La Selva Biological Corridor and the Great Green Macaw

The SCLC Director will explain the intricacies and challenges of working toward sustainable development in Sarapiquí, the 6th poorest county in Costa Rica based on the San Juan-La Selva Biological Corridor. You will learn more about the demographic makeup of Sarapiquí, the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor project, and how the SCLC is making a difference in linking communities and conservation. Proceeds from this activity will go to the SCLC’s Mesoamerican Biological Corridor Outreach Fund.

Conservation, Environment, and Development in Sarapiquí

You have $1,000,000 to save the rainforest in Sarapiquí! How would you spend it? Would you buy land and create national parks? Would you fund reforestation and environmental education with local people? Would you try to stop banana and pineapple development? Possible themes include: • The local and wider implications of Sarapiquí’s banana & pineapple plantations • The future of the critically endangered Great Green Macaw • The shortcomings of Costa Rica’s national parks and alternatives to these in Sarapiquí

Reforestation Projects

Half-day activity

price: $15/pp, 5 person minimum

Monday - Sunday, 9:00am-12pm, 2pm-5:00pm

Full-day activity price: $20/pp, 5 person minimum, includes typical lunch with a local family

Monday-Sunday, 9:00am-5:00pm

All prices include trees and materials for planting.

Full-day activity recommended for: high school to adult groups with a particular interest in community development, conservation, or a related topic.

Visit a local farm in a community neighboring private reserves, and help plant native trees on the property. Reforestation is a clear environmental need that is not addressed at smaller scales by Costa Rican government programs. Yet it is something that interests many farmers and can be offered at minimal sacrifice to them. Indeed, reforestation can be done by nearly everyone and for multiple purposes, such as shade, riparian zone protection, soil recuperation, nitrogen fixing, living fences, wildlife attraction, and wood for home/farm and artisanal use. This activity provides an important lesson about grassroots forestry, community awareness and the impact humans have on conservation and the environment.

Service Projects with Environmental or Community focus

 Half-day activity

Price: $20/pp, 5 person minimum

Monday - Sunday, 9:00am-12pm, 2pm-5:00pm

Full-day activity price: $30/pp, 5 person minimum, includes typical lunch with a local family

Monday-Sunday, 9:00am-5:00pm

Full-day activity recommended for: high school to adult groups with a particular interest in community development, conservation, or a related topic.

The price includes all materials and tools necessary to complete the projects. If the group is interested in donating more tools please let us know when the reservation is made. Work alongside community members and make a difference within the community. Service projects can focus on either social/cultural or environmental/conservation aspects. Examples of social/cultural projects include painting or light construction/maintenance at local schools or community institutions, building a sidewalk, bus stop or school yard. Examples of the environmental/conservation projects include tree plantation maintenance, establishing a composting or recycling center in a community or school, forest trail maintenance, landscaping at local schools, or helping on other environmentally-themed community projects. All supplies purchased with group fees for the project are donated to the host institution/organization.

Please note: Community service projects must be arranged and finalized no fewer than 2 weeks in advance. Changes are not possible after this time. Projects are arranged to address current community needs, and the menu of possible projects is fluid. We will try to honor requests, but not all project options are available at a given time. Service projects at schools are available only on weekdays, mid February – June and August – mid December, depending on school calendar. Supervised use of tools and/or machinery may be involved. Service projects mean work – come prepared with bug spray, sun block, rain gear, appropriate shoes, and a good attitude to help the community, make new friends, and have fun!

RURAL COMMUNITY BASED TOURISM

Customized cultural and community project Program Price: TBD depending on activities.

Transportation not included but can be arranged 9 am start/finish Mon-Sun Duration: 1 day to 1 week This activity will provide a rare opportunity to experience first hand what it is like to live in rural Costa Rica while contributing to the community. Here you will stay with a local family and spend your stay immersed in community life and culture. Community Based Tourism is a great option for school groups as well as single families.

Here is a sample outline of a two day stay:

Day 1  Orientation to the SCLC  Transfer to community  Community welcome and orientation  Arrive at family home  Lunch with the family  Spend the afternoon with the family taking part in daily life or go swimming to the river  Dinner with the family

Day 2  Breakfast  School visit and service project at school  Lunch at school  Cooking or Arts and crafts class in local home  Dance class and Farewell party

Day 3  Breakfast with the family  Departure

We are always happy to design tailor made packages to meet your groups special needs so please don’t hesitate to contact us for more options!

OTHER

Orientation

Price: Free (donations gladly accepted)

Monday – Sunday, time flexible approx. 15 minutes

The Orientation is given by an SCLC staff member to a group visiting the Sarapiquí Conservation Learning Center. You will learn about the SCLC’s history and mission, and how it works to accomplish that mission through education, conservation, and community development programs. Afterwards, enjoy the SCLC library and shop for souvenirs in our local artisan’s gallery.

Room Rental

Half-day price: $25

Full-day price: $50

30 people max. capacity

Bring your group to hold conferences, workshops, or classes using the upstairs room of our beautiful facility in the rainforest. The room has A/C, a projection screen, white board with markers, polarized 3-prong outlets, ample tables and chairs.

TOURISM ACTIVITY POLICIES

To make reservations or ask questions please contact the Ecotourism Coordinator

We ask groups or agencies to pay at least 50% of the total group price at least one week in advance. The other 50% can be paid the day of or no later than one week after. Payments can be made with check or deposit Once the reservation is made SCLC administration will send you an invoice with complete payment information. A

ll participants must provide their own transportation for all activities. All times listed in this document reflect optimum scheduling based on our experience with tour groups.

CANCELLATION:

If cancellation received:

30 days prior to confirmed activity: No fee

15-29 days prior to confirmed activity: 50% of total cost

14 days or fewer prior to confirmed activity: 75% of total cost

No show: 100% of total cost

RESCHEDULING ACTIVITIES:

On the day of the activity, guides or agencies must call at least one half hour before if the group will be late. If notification of rescheduling is received fewer than 29 days prior to the confirmed activity, the activity will be subject to a rescheduling fee of $50.