Study Abroad Programs Focusing on 'Sustainability through Community' with CELL

  Costa Rica

• San Jose: 
San Jose
• Central Pacific Coast: 
Santa Ana
• Eastern Lowlands: 
Limon,  Bribri,  Gandoca,  Talamanca
• Monteverde: 
Monteverde

  Honduras

Roatan,  Rural Areas,  Trujillo

  Nicaragua

Granada,  Leon,  Managua

Term: Fall, Spring, Winter 
Dates: Fall: early September to 1st week in December; Spring: last week in January through April

Description: CELL's unique study abroad programs focus on sustainability through community and are designed for students who believe that they can make a difference in the world: students who would like to play an active role in creating long-term solutions to problems facing our global communities and environment. Semester programs consist of a combination of structured course work, field-learning experiences, service-learning opportunities, and development of individual action plans for environmental stewardship. Our programs are interdisciplinary by design and fit any major or program of study.

* CELL Costa Rica/Honduras/Nicaragua Program

In this three-country experiential learning program, you will work with Heifer International, Sustainable Harvest International and other internationally recognized community sustainability organizations. You will also explore diverse tropical habitats, participate in service-learning projects installing solar power systems in rural villages and protecting endangered sea turtles, and along the way you will learn about the human and ecological issues facing this unique region of the world. For more details, we invite you to visit CELLs website.

Where are CELL's programs?

CELLs learning sites are places of partnership with, and service to, organizations committed to achieving sustainability through community. CELL has established partnerships with the following internationally recognized organizations:

* Heifer International and Habitat for Humanity are two of the world's most respected and admired development organizations. Through collaborating with these international organizations, CELL is able to offer students experience with some of the best development work in the world today.

* Asociación ANAI is a Costa Rica-based community/environmental organization which has pioneered some of the tropical worlds most successful community-based, sustainable-development practices. Working hand in hand with the people of Costa Rica's Talamanca region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, ANAI has been instrumental in implementing a regional initiative that is helping rural communities become more economically self-reliant through environmentally friendly activities.

* Grupo Fenix is a Nicaragua-based cooperative network of university-trained engineers and local community people who share a common passion for developing solar- and renewable-energy technologies and finding cost-effective ways to have these simple technologies utilized.  Providing affordable and renewable electricity to rural villages helps to reduce the over-consumption of firewood, which causes deforestation, the drying up of local rivers, serious erosion and loss of top soil, and devastating mud slides.

* Sustainable Harvest International is a Central American organization committed to providing farming families in Central America with the training and tools to overcome poverty while restoring our planet's tropical forests.

Highlights: In addition to the country-specific learning activities, you will also:

* Immerse yourself in Costa Rican and Nicaraguan culture including homestays with village families

* Learn Spanish - Note: Although you do not have to have had any prior Spanish language training in order to participate in this program (we provide basic language instruction), you might find it helpful to get introduced to the language prior to your arrival. We would be happy to suggest ways for you to get some exposure to the language before you arrive. Please contact us for further information.   

* Tour various historical, cultural, and natural sites from the mountains to the sea, including:
      - Capital cities: San Jose, Costa Rica and Managua, Nicaragua
      - Tropical rainforests
      - Volcano Masaya
      - Granada and its Islands
      - Mountains (Tisay or Miraflor)
      - Environmentally friendly agro-forestry practices
      - Gandoca, coastal rainforest habitat in the Talamanca region of Costa Rica

* Participate in hands-on service projects promoting community sustainability in areas such as the Sea Turtle Restoration Program

* Participate in service-learning projects promoting community sustainability in areas such as solar electric systems, solar drip-irrigation systems, solar ovens, biogas digesters, solar driers, sustainable agriculture, etc.

* Design your own action plan, working with a support team, to continue to make a difference after the program.

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$: Program cost is USD 12,500 + air fare from your home.

Experience Required: no

This Program is open to Worldwide Participants.

Participants Travel Independently or in Groups

Typically Participants Work in Groups of Group size is 10 to 15

Application Process Involves:

• Letters of Reference
• Phone Interview
• Physical Exam/Health Records
• Transcript
• Written Application

Post-Program Services Include:

• Alumni Network
• Exit Debriefing Abroad
• Job and Internship Network
• Re-Entry Debriefing at Home

Center for Ecological Living and Learning (CELL)'s Mission Statement: The Center for Ecological Living and Learning (CELL) offers study abroad programs in Iceland and a three-country program in Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. CELL believes that problems can be solve through the application of critical inquiry, imagination, ingenuity, and individual and community commitment. CELL further believes that true education should spur an inner transformation that impels life-changing action. Our programs are interdisciplinary, designed to fit any major or program of study, and designed for students who would like to make a difference in the world.

Year Founded: 2000