Global Volunteers' host organization in Costa Rica are:
1) The residents and community leaders of the local villages of Cebadilla, Canitas and San Luis. Global Volunteers has worked with these communities over the course of many years and have helped these groups build and renovate many important community structures such as schools, health clinics, meeting halls and sports facilities.
2) The local non-profit organization APAPNEM (Association for the Elderly and Disabled). Global Volunteers has sent a number of teams to APAPNEM, and our teams work with the staff and local volunteers to improve the facilities.
3) The local high school in Santa Elena – El Colegio. As with the local communities, Global Volunteers works with the staff and students of this high school to renovate and improve the facilities available for the students.
4) The San Luis Coffee Cooperative which processes and markets the organic coffee grown by cooperative members in the Santa Elena area. Volunteers assist with preparations for the coffee harvest, maintainng and improving the processing facility, and sometimes they assist with the processing and packing of the coffee.
5) The Cooperativa de Artesanas de Santa Elena y Monteverde (CASEM). CASEM is a nonprofit women-owned crafts cooperative dedicated to enhancing the economic and emotional well being of local women. CASEM was established in 1982, through the efforts of eight women from the Monteverde community. Since then, CASEM has grown to nearly 200 artisans, with 10 of them being men.
