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What are
You looking for?
we are
Green Communities
Green Communities hosts volunteer groups from around the world to engage in sustainable development projects with locals in four communities in the Los Santos region of Costa Rica.
From the moment our groups arrive in the country to the minute they depart, our team provides them with all the logistics, security and tour arrangements they need to have a meaningful, authentic service and immersion experience. We host student groups from the middle school, high school and university levels, as well as families and corporate groups.
Our projects range from permaculture to organic coffee farming to innovative recycling programs to workshops for our schoolchildren. Due to the high cost of materials and the locals’ time away from their daily work, these projects are only made possible by volunteers.
We provide you with all you need for a life-changing experience, including lodging, staff, meals, transportation, activities and excursions; and you provide us with a commitment to make the world a better place.
Know more about
Our programs
Group
programs
programs
The best way you can explore and appreciate this planet is by travelling and volunteering. Here is an excellent option to grow and educate yourself while you travel with us.
Individual
program
program
If you’ve already volunteered with us before and are looking to return for a longer stay or coming for the first time to know our project our internship program will give you the opportunity to live and learn the entire experience.
COSTA RICAN
Biosphere Reserve
The Biosphere Reserves constitute a network of territories that develop and strengthen models of sustainability where biodiversity and local economies flourish jointly.
UNESCO’s MaB Program and its World Network of Biosphere Reserves have built a vision of a world where people reconnect with nature and act collectively to build prosperous societies in harmony with the biosphere.
By being awarded the Costa Rican Biosphere Reserves brand, we aim is to take advantage of the recognition and prestige that Biosphere Reserves have to create opportunities for local entrepreneurship, as well as promote, nationally and internationally, the products and services that are generated under criteria of Sustainability in the Biosphere Reserves of Costa Rica.
This brand not only reflects natural and cultural wealth, but also a commitment and responsibility. It distinguishes the initiatives that live the values of the Biosphere Reserves.
The development of the guidelines for the use of the Biosphere Reserve brand is a joint effort of the National MaB Committee of Costa Rica and the four local Management Committees of the Biosphere Reserves of Costa Rica, with the facilitation of the Manduca Audiovisual team, the support from the Costa Rican Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO and financing from the UNESCO Participation Program.
Know more about
Our project
Our mission is two-fold: to restore the planet to a more livable state and to bring different cultures together. Located up in the mountains along the Pan-American Highway, south of San Jose where much of our world-famous coffee is grown, Los Santos is part cloud forest, part rain forest.
This pristine wilderness, and our ability to continue to produce coffee in it, are under constant threat from conventional farming practices and global warming. In an effort to return our Earth to a more livable state, and to preserve our local land for future generations, we have banded together with environmentally conscious community members as well as volunteer groups from across the globe.
We know that with the involvement of so many passionate people, and the impact that our projects have, we will reverse the effects of global warming, preserve the Los Santos region, and break down cultural barriers. You are the missing piece we need to realize this dream.
WHAT people
Say about us
“Happy national coffee day! I had the amazing opportunity this summer to work with Los Santos Green Communities to help farmers in Costa Rica convert to 100% organic coffee. The process is lengthy and difficult, but with the help of volunteers, it’s made possible. It inspires me to continue to reach out to different communities and give within the global and local spectrum. And it’s by far the best coffee I’ve ever had! Thank you Jonathan for creating such an amazing program and inspiring so many individuals to follow their passions and make a difference in this world.”
“This trip was completely amazing and a life changing experience! I learned so much and made so many new friends, it’s definitely an amazing experience.”
“I was inspired beyond comprehension by the drive and passion that fuel this operation. My time in Los Santos was, in simple terms, life-changing. I hope the message of resourcefulness and conservation that Santos Tours instills in its participants reaches unseen distances. Thank you Santos Tours and Jonathan Cerdes for giving me a new perspective on life.”
“Phenomenal experience! I really cannot put into words how life changing this was! An amazing project that I would love to do again.”
“The tour guide was awesome; the tour was very educational and gave a purpose to my vacation. Thank you! I will never forget this experience.”
“I spent two weeks working in a community called San Pedro with Santos Tours. I can guarantee that you have never met anyone remotely like the members of staff at Santos Tours, truly remarkable and incredibly inspiring. Perhaps more importantly I thoroughly enjoyed working. It was so rewarding and I feel like I’ve made a lasting positive effect.”