The Indigenous Reservation project is one of our personal favorites. The people there are just amazing. They're so nice that since the moment you arrive there they make you feel like family. It is a blessing for us to count this community as one of our projects.

Here below we've tried to give you an idea of what a typical day in Bambu on the Indigenous Reservation is like:

 

Usually, our volunteers stay with host families. They're all amazing and what happens 100% of the time is at the end our volunteers leave their host families in tears, not wanting to leave. Each year we have more and more volunteers return back to this project for the second time, some bringing family members to "show off." Sometimes our volunteers choose to stay at the Bambu Cultural Center. This place was created by Danilo Gabb, along with members of his family.

They built this amazing structure with the purpose of preserving the way indigenous houses were constructed in the past and to show to people. At the same time, this structure generates employment to 20 different families in charge of things such as: cooking, cleaning, tours, general maintenance, cultural activities and more. That's why when we send volunteers there, we always explain to them the fact that they're helping all these families just by staying in there. The place is gigantic and has amazing views of the Yorkin river, Panama, and is a great place to watch toucans (and many other kinds of birds), iguanas and more. Here our volunteers have a typical Costarican breakfast (gallo pinto-mix of rice and beans, eggs, plantains, bread, coffee and some tropical juice). This usually happens between 7 and 8 am.

 

After having breakfast they go to the retirement home (which is right down the street). It's a big, nice place and so very well taken care of by the nuns Marianela, Ederlina, and the administrator, Casey (who came with the Peace Corp over 20 years ago and never left). In this place our volunteers spend around 2-and-a-half-hours, joining the residents of this center on their morning walks around the gardens, creating activities in the play room such as crafts, games, music, dominoes and more. Some of the residents speak English so it's always fun to watch them try to teach Spanish to our volunteers. The residents are very used to welcoming our volunteers, as a matter of fact they love having their company. We always try to create new activities for them to keep them interested in our company. Every time we have a group, we try to bring new supplies for them to play with, new games, new paints. They appreciate those so much, with the last group of volunteers we had in there, they had so much fun, they're very special people, they sure know how to make our volunteers happy and loved.

 

Usually after the retirement home we go to the elementary school (across the street from the retirement home). The school is called "Bratsi." Here we follow a program we've been teaching for the last year to the fifth and sixth grade kids. Each lesson lasts for about 50 minutes. So what we do is to introduce a new subject for about 30 minutes and then we create an activity to reinforce the learning. There is always someone with the volunteers guiding them in the teaching process. The kids respond very well to the lessons. If it is possible, we create a sport activity for them. Often times we playe with all the kids from the school (an average of 70 kids) Frisbee, soccer, volleyball. It's great fun for the kids and the volunteers too.

 

Lunch is served between 12:30 and 1 p.m. at the cultural center or the host family homes, depending on where you're staying. Some volunteers take Spanish lessons during the afternoons, and this is provided at the cultural center by one of our teachers. With the last group during the afternoons we went spear fishing on the river, visited the Yorkin waterfall, and we visited a banana organic farm. We also went to deliver food donations to one family and lot of clothes for them too (their father just died). It is always a good idea for the volunteers to participate in activities like these.

 

At 5 pm we provide English classes for everyone interested in the community. We usually receive an average of ten people of all ages, kids, teenagers and adults. After the classes, we always play typical Costarican games. They're so much fun. The kids and the volunteers love them. We all laugh like crazy; it's a great way to bond with each other.

 

At 7 p.m. it's dinner time. We all eat together and laugh and comment about what we did during the day. Then it's time to go to sleep in tents distributed all over the cultural center. (This way to sleep is nice as the bugs stay out!) There are enough bathrooms in there, plenty of space to read a book quietly, while there can be a big activity in some other part of the building. The restrooms are rustic but very clean and the place is located in a great area that generates a nice breeze to keep the place fresh.

 

Tours can be added to the schedule as well. For example, with the last group we visited a lot of places while we were there. We went to a beautiful overnight trip to the mountains where we rode horses, met other indigenous communities, and amazing tropical waterfalls. We visited the Puerto Viejo area and spent a day on the Punta Uva beach (an hour away from the indigenous reservation) where we went hiking (an easy to walk mountain / hill) with an excellent view of the Caribean Coast. We had a delicious lunch there too, provided by a local restaurant and enjoyed just being there.  It is always a nice trip; people love that beach. It's the typical, tropical post card beach. Great place to see monkeys and sloths too!

 

The trip to the indigenous reservation can be an amazing experience for volunteers, not only because of the type of work that gets done there, but also because of the connecton that gets made with individual community members and the quality of the tours.