Ecobrick Challenge Santa Teresa Costa Rica
One of our volunteers tells her experience with the eco-brick:
‘Before my visit to Santa Teresa, I had never heard of an eco-brick; however, it was only a matter of time until I was surrounded by discussions and sights of eco-bricks on the beach. An eco-brick is a large plastic bottle filled with small pieces of non-recycable trash, such as chip bags and cigarette butts. These bricks help build things for the community. For example, eco-bricks are being used to build new classrooms in surrounding towns near Santa Teresa.’
‘It is really nice to see so many people share the same passion of keeping the beaches clean while giving back to the community. I learned a lot about eco-bricks. My friends and I had an active roll in the creation and distribution of eco-bricks at beach entrances. I was surprised to see how quickly the eco-bricks filled with trash. It was really nice to see how other people in the community, locals and tourists, participate in the project. People help by filling designated eco-bricks located on the beach or by filling their own bottle and dropping it off at the specific drop-off locations.’
‘After the completion of my first eco-brick, I was shocked by the amount of trash on the beach. Having the task of looking for and collecting trash made me really pay attention to how much litter there was. Most of this litter washes in from the ocean, which makes me think about how much trash there must be in the ocean. It is really sad to see how poorly we treat the environment and endanger wildlife.’
‘The eco-brick project of Santa Teresa provides the opportunity to care for the environment and help protect the beaches. It helped me to see that with a little bit of help from each person, we can remove a lot of trash from the ocean and beaches. This is beneficial not only for the environment, but also for people visiting the beaches. I especially like how the eco-bricks are created completly by man-power, no machines are needed for recycling these items. Unlike many other recycling processes that use fuel, eco-bricks only benefit the environment, they have no negative side affects. I think the eco-brick project of Santa Teresa provides hope for environmental recovery and I feel lucky to have been a participant. It feels good to do my part to protect the environment.’
Increasing Environmental Awareness by volunteering at Casa Pampa
When I've started my travel through Costa Rica, I wanted to find places where I could learn more about how to have a positive impact on the environment and reduce my footprint.
I've decided to become a volunteer in Casa Pampa because I've read on the website worldpacker that they were developing some projects about sustainable tourism, environmental awareness and organic agriculture. We are several volunteers from all over the world working in Casa Pampa.
It's beautiful to work surounding by people who you shared some interests with and it's funny and really interessting to be with people who have different cultures. The atmosphere was really good and I learnt a lot from the other volunteers!
I think this experience in Casa Pampa helped me to be more aware about what I'm comsuming every day and what I'm throwing away. I've learnt how to solve that thanks to simple solutions that you can bring into your daily life.
I recommend this experience to everybody who wants to learn how to be more responsible and respectful with the environment.
It's a beautiful experience to do something good for the planet, meet people from all over the world and discover amazing landscapes and beaches around Santa Teresa!
Billy's Adventure at Casa Pampa Santa Teresa / Mal Pais , Costa Rica
I was going to be at Casa Pampa for four weeks. To be honest, I was a little nervous. I wasn’t sure what to expect. We’re taught in school and through facebook and youtube ways to be more environmentally conscious. To be fair I was more versed in what it means to be eco-friendly than most people.
So why was I nervous? Well for a while I had kept my distance from adapting an eco-conscious lifestyle, dancing on the fringe. I was the type to like the post and follow them, but never one to actively share the message or even adapt the habits for that matter.
It seemed like a job for somebody else, like the government, to implement these practices, such as organic composting. I wanted to not think about having to throw away my trash like I currently did. This was my mistake, this passive mindset that casually accepted that was most popular was the most easy.
That nervousness went away the moment I arrived at Casa Pampa. There was first the warmth, the sort that reminded me of going back home. Although I was the youngest of the four volunteers and the only one from the States, never once did I feel like an outsider.
This can be attributed to two things that are both tied to Casa Pampa’s environmental mission.
1. When you are united by a common mission and share in the work needed to achieve that you grow close and care about each other. It isn’t about what makes us different, but what makes us the same.
2. Specifically caring about the planet and being eco-conscious transforms the sort of person you are. You care more about everything. When you start to love every little leaf and insect it becomes easier to love other people.
This introduction came to define my time here and has also come to be further marked by discovery and learning. This is primarily in concern to organic waste and how poorly we manage it. We’ve seemed to forgotten the lessons given to us by the planet, lessons that have worked for millions of years. These lessons are decomposition and its role in the cycle of life.
While my stay has been too short to see my own waste become fertilizer, I have seen the beauty of the process up close. I’ve felt the warmth my waste gave off. It was incredible and not to mention much more simple than the way I handled my waste in Los Angeles. Sorting out my waste makes it much easier to manage and not as much as a hassle. My trashcan isn’t constantly full because I’m reusing over half of it. I’m very excited to return to my home a better person, one who cares more about the planet, and when you care more about the planet you care more about humanity.
One thing I will miss is the consistent waves just steps away from my bedroom. Waking up and knowing that there are waves waiting to be surfed is certainly a privilege that I have taken complete advantage of while staying here. Till next time Casa Pampa.
-Billy Ward
Sustainable Urban Development for Santa Teresa Costa Rica
Proyecto de diseño urbano sustentable de las comunidades de Malpaís-Santa Teresa
Actividad junto a la Universidad Autónoma Centro America y la ONG Centro Para la sostentabilidad urbana para el Diseño sustentable con participación comunitaria.
Casa Pampa es un emprendimiento social sin fines de lucro, con sede en Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. Fundado en 2012, destina sus ganancias a financiar proyectos participativos sobre desarrollo sustentable en la comunidad.
Brinda a los visitantes una oportunidad de realizar turismo en una forma amigable con el medio ambiente y colaborando activamente con las iniciativas relacionadas a la protección ambiental.
El Programa de Voluntarios, está orientado a toda persona que esté interesada en trabajar y aprender junto a la comunidad local y visitantes de diversas culturas promoviendo desarrollo sustentable y la Permacultura .
Puedes ayudarnos a difundir nuestro mensaje de consciencia ambiental al suscribirse a nuestro canal de Youtube (www.youtube.com/SantaTeresaCostaRica) comentar y compartir en las redes sociales nuestros videos es la forma más efectiva de difundir nuestra “semilla verde” =)
Volunteers fom UACA dinner out ! =)
Proyecto de diseño urbano sustentable de las comunidades de Malpaís-Santa Teresa
Actividad junto a la Universidad Autónoma Centro America y la ONG Centro Para la sostentabilidad urbana para el Diseño sustentable con participación comunitaria.
Casa Pampa es un emprendimiento social sin fines de lucro, con sede en Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. Fundado en 2012, destina sus ganancias a financiar proyectos participativos sobre desarrollo sustentable en la comunidad.
Brinda a los visitantes una oportunidad de realizar turismo en una forma amigable con el medio ambiente y colaborando activamente con las iniciativas relacionadas a la protección ambiental.
El Programa de Voluntarios, está orientado a toda persona que esté interesada en trabajar y aprender junto a la comunidad local y visitantes de diversas culturas promoviendo desarrollo sustentable y la Permacultura .
Puedes ayudarnos a difundir nuestro mensaje de consciencia ambiental al suscribirse a nuestro canal de Youtube (www.youtube.com/SantaTeresaCostaRica) comentar y compartir en las redes sociales nuestros videos es la forma más efectiva de difundir nuestra “semilla verde” =)
Casa Pampa is social organization that destines its profits to finance the development of sustainable projects in the community. In the attached file you will find support letters from the local government and various not profit organization.
To know more about our projects please check the link below:
www.costaricaecohostel.com/eco-projects
Please, subscribe to our www.youtube.com/SantaTeresaCostaRica and share and comment our videos that you like to help us with the diffusion our eco projects
