Finca La Quimera

Finca la Quimera is the perfect place to immerse yourself in the wild nature and the rural life of Costa Rica, a great place to explore and learn how to become more sustainable by using our natural resources more efficiently and ethically, while we learn from other cultures, from community life, and we grow closer to ourselves.

Hello! My name is Alba, I was born and raised in Spain and I have lived in Costa Rica since a few years ago when I decided to leave my job in a large company in my home country. I am the founder of this beautiful and secluded project in the mountains, a 9-hectare finca in the middle of the valley, surrounded by primary and secondary forests and the beautiful Jicotea river. Surrounded by this lush nature I began this permaculture project, focused on sustainability and I normally share this space with my daughter, my dogs, my cat, the chickens and, since 2020, with volunteers from all over the world. I started this project with the help of some local workers (who over the years have become great friends), who still come some days of the week to help us. Thanks to the experiences shared with them I have learned about life in the countryside, the construction and the agriculture, main areas in this project and in which, today, we continue learning. Next, I present the team that, together with me, manages the project. At the moment I am spending a season outside the country for personal reasons, and these are the people who live in Finca La Quimera and attend personally the volunteer program: - Lara: she was also born in Spain and has lived in Costa Rica for several years. She has founded several agroecological projects and lived on several community farms. She loves farming and spending time with the animals, the dance, the movement and cooking. - Tavo: of Costa Rican origin, born in Cervantes, a small town in Cartago. He has more than 25 years of experience in organic farming and is also a laboratory technician. He has a biofactory where he produces the inputs we use in our farming (microorganisms, botanical extracts, broths, etc.) and is founder of Finca La Huella, an organic farm certified where we grow other crops different from those of Finca La Quimera (and which our long-term volunteers will probably visit) - Nico: he is our neighbor he has been helping Alba since the beginning of the project. He is in charge of the maintenance of the green areas and some construction projects and comes to the farm 1 or 2 times per week. - Douglas: also our neighbor, he is capable of fixing everything, usually leading the construction projects and maintenance of structures. With Nico, both have been supporting La Quimera since the very beginning. They are friendly and generous people and very open to sharing knowledge and useful tips for our daily life on the farm. Until today we have focused on creating our veggie garden, an agroforestry area, constructing a spring water catchment, a large workshop building with a communal area, a shared kitchen, and a couple of cabins in which we host volunteers, guests and project collaborators. In our volunteers' cabin we can host up to 8 people and the guest cabin (Oropéndola) has capacity for 5 people, which could be an option for volunteers traveling with family or as a couple and seeking a bit more privacy. What is our day-to-day life on the finca? We meet every day (Monday to Friday) in the communal area at 6:30am and until 7:30am we divide into groups to carry out the finca's routine tasks: prepare breakfast, light the fire, clean the kitchen and common spaces, gather and chop wood, water the gardens if needed, feed the chickens, etc. At 7:30am we have our daily meeting where our team explains the activities and projects currently happening on the finca in each of the different areas (agriculture, maintenance of structures and gardens, construction) and each person can choose where they want to participate that day (we always encourage you to participate in the different areas to understand the interrelations that occur on the finca) We have breakfast from 8 to 9 and after washing dishes and leaving the kitchen organized and clean, we begin our daily activities until 1pm, the time when lunch is served. Every day there will be a cooking team to prepare lunch, guided by one of our members. Harvesting and preparing our food are very important activities for us (food is sacred and is one of the main sources of energy to be able to carry out the rest of the activities in our life) and… we love to cook! With us you will learn new recipes, typical Costa Rican dishes and, of course, you will be able to put into practice all your creativity. We also love learning from our volunteers 😊 Since lunch is served at 1pm, the lunch cooking team will start cooking at 11am (or earlier if the day’s menu is especially elaborate) On the finca we eat foods of animal origin such as eggs, cheese, cream, and milk daily and we also eat meat (pasture-raised and local) 3 times a week from Monday to Friday. We also offer vegetarian and vegan options. The vegetables come from our gardens, from Finca La Huella or from other local producers we buy from at the Turrialba farmer's market on Fridays. On weekends our volunteers can organize their meals as they wish (no schedules) In the afternoons you can choose what to do in your free time: go to the river, walk in the forest or around the farm surroundings (there is a very good soda near the farm) or join one of the workshops we offer (crafts, primal movement, improvisation dance, authentic movement, etc.) or talks on any topic of your interest related to the finca or life in community (agricultural systems, biointensive agriculture, garden design, medicinal plants, challenges of the projects and their inhabitants… etc.) We also always encourage our volunteers to share with us their knowledge and experiences, offering also workshops or activities for the rest of the group. La Quimera offers an internet and electricity service for those who want to use it. We have a small solar panel electricity system at the farm and we offer to our volunteers the option to charge their electronic devices for a couple of hours each day (usually from 11:00 to 13:00, coinciding with the hours of most sun). We request our volunteers to charge only one device at a time to not overload the system. In addition, we offer internet connection for a couple of hours every afternoon. Depending on the use of their devices, it is recommended to bring solar chargers or batteries since device charges can only be done during the hours of more sunlight as the system is limited. Our nearest neighbor (600m toward the main street), Alicia, runs a soda called El Almendro and offers laundry, internet and electricity for those who prefer this option. There are many activities you can do in the area: visit the active Turrialba and Irazú volcanoes, the Guayabo National Monument (the old meeting point of Indigenous peoples of North and South America), coffee and cacao tours, visit National Parks such as Tapantí (one of the largest in the country) and Natural Reserves such as La Marta, go rafting or canyoning on the Pacuare River, visit CATIE's Botanical Garden in Turrialba or… even head to the Caribbean (Cahuita and Puerto Viejo are about 2.5–3 hours by car from the finca) The finca offers shuttle service to all these places and we can also pick you up or take you to Juan Santamaria International Airport in Alajuela.