Our Internship in Sustainable Living is a 2-month full-immersion experiential opportunity for individuals interested in a hands-on introduction to sustainability practices but whom are unable to dedicate a year to our apprenticeship.  For an in-depth overview of the program, please download, read and see our Internship in Sustainable Living document.  

This "permaculture exploration" experience is taught, organized and managed by our year-long apprentices and offers participants the chance to learn, contribute and get their hands dirty on a variety of sustainability-focused projects at the Ranch. 

Participants in the Internship in Sustainable Living live and work with amazing people at the Ranch and in Mastatal. They make lifelong friends, participating in a style of living that oftentimes changes them forever. This experience offers the unique opportunity to become a part of the magic and beauty of a remote area of Costa Rica, while simultaneously learning tangible skills to take back home. 

Our goals for this program are to:

• Empower individuals who are genuinely interested in creating a more sustainable world.

• To train a supportive and hardworking group of interns to assist our apprentices during one of the quieter times of the year when there is little or no “core team” presence.

• Provide our apprentices the opportunity to teach what they have learned over the previous 7 months using the same model as their apprenticeship training of progressive learning and daily practice of a variety of skills.

• Inspire and enable individuals to continue to develop creative solutions and generate positive social change and more successfully employ sustainable practices in their lives and communities after they leave.

• Introduce some of the concepts and skills we employ and teach at Rancho Mastatal.

• Provide post-internship support through our networks.

To apply, please fill out our Internship Application.  

expectations

Please make sure to read our extensive document about the internship. We have created this document to clearly outline our expectations of interns and for interns to understand what we will deliver to them during their stay with us. A link to this can be found above in the first paragraph.

dates

2021 Start Date: August 2 (arrival date July 31, Sunday, August 1 day off)
2021 End Date: September 30 (departure date October 1)

This is a 2-month commitment starting on July 31 and ending on September 30, 2021.  Participants are expected to arrive on July 31.  During this time of the year, there are no or few Ranch Core Team members on site.  Please keep this in consideration when applying.    

cost

The cost for this program is $600 per month ($1,200 total for the 2-month program) and includes all meals, lodging, full access to the Ranch and its facilities.  

CANCELLATION POLICY

Please see our cancellation policy here.    

Number of positions

We have 4-6 openings for this internship.  

lodging

Participants stay in either the Ranch's comfortable bunkhouse or the Hankey House. These structures are set amongst mango, banana, pejibaye, pili nut, breadfruit, salak palm, pulasan, cashew, startfruit, mangosteen and other tropical fruit trees. The houses are outfitted with comfortable beds, hammocks, running water, electricity, nearby composting toilets, and outdoor showers.

food

Meals at the Ranch are cooked from scratch, delicious, and plentiful with the majority of ingredients coming from the Ranch and a variety of local farms.  Our kitchen is NOT 100% vegetarian.  It is very difficult for us to accommodate individuals dietary preferences and we will expect you to adapt to our diet which we believe to be, healthy, balanced, well considered and environmentally sound. Please let us know if you have any allergies.

apply

Please fill out our Internship Application if you are interested in this opportunity.