Honors Sustainable Living in Costa Rica

Summer: May 19 to June 9, 2018
Credits: 6
* Honors College students only *

Faculty Leader
Dr. Jill Fleuriet - see bio here

Overview
Students will live, work and practice yoga on a sustainable, organic ranch and yoga retreat in the Costa Rican rainforest. Entirely off the grid, Rancho Margot Eco Lodge is nestled in between The Children’s Eternal Forest and Lake Arenal National Park and within the UNESCO Agua y Paz biosphere. Through our daily work and practice at the ranch, we will consider what it means to live intentionally and sustainably, pulling from various disciplines and philosophies.  



Academics and Experiences
The first week will combine Spanish language training and immersion through working the ranch: gardening, animal husbandry and wellness, trail maintenance, ranch maintenance. The second two weeks will continue language immersion alongside sustainability workshops in composting, soap making and repellant making, dairy production including milking cows and cheese making, and microorganism cultivation, among others. We will also work with the community programming with children on biodiversity and conservation projects. Daily yoga and written or verbal reflection required. Each week will also offer evening social, ecological, and academic programs. Each weekend will offer additional experiences in local ecology, culture and economy, including a coffee and chocolate production tour, hiking around the Arenal Volcano, swimming in hot springs, and Saturday’s soccer game with local community children.



Accommodations and Expectations
This program is for students interested in experiencing an alternative way of living that lacks amenities of urban commercial life. Lodging is modest. There is no air conditioning, and the climate is humid and warm with the possibility of daily rain (rainforest!). Food is fresh and locally sourced; there is no commercial food available on the Ranch. Waste reduction and management is a core principle of the ranch. Daily expectations include significant physical movement and work, including yoga and ranch work. Students should be in good physical shape and able to work in sun/rain and with animals. We will live humbly and closely as a group and within the larger community of Ranch workers, interns, community children, volunteers, wildlife, including bugs, birds, frogs and snakes, and farm animals, including chickens, cows, horses, and pigs. 



Application Deadline: December 15
All program applicants must click the Apply Now button (found near the top of the page) and complete the application requirements by the deadline.  By clicking Apply Now, the application system will display the requirements for your program.

** Note: this program is only available to students in the Honors College. **

Payment Timeline
Each payment is non-refundable. These payments are for program costs, submitted to the Honors College. Your tuition and fee payments will be through ASAP, per usual.

Application Deadline: December 15
Acceptance Decisions: January 15
Program Down Payment of $500: February 1
IEF Study Abroad Scholarship Application Due: February 15
Second payment of $1000: March 1
Third and Final payment (amount pending): March 23 

Questions?
If you have questions about the program, please contact Dr. Jill Fleuriet at Jill.Fleuriet@utsa.edu or visit her during office hours in MS 4.02.04 on Fridays from 8:30am to 11:30am.



Page quick link: http://studyabroad.utsa.edu/?go=CRsustainable