Volunteer

We are SO grateful to have you come to Blue Osa as a volunteer. Blue Osa is growing and expanding and we are reaching out to the larger community to increase our visibility. Your contribution of knowledge and service to our community is vital and important to Blue Osa’s mission:

To provide the most nurturing and transformative environment possible to our guests.

Being a volunteer gives you an opportunity to come and experience Blue Osa in a very unique way. You become an intrinsic part of our community and our special way of life. We are opening our doors for you to become a part of our community. Our community consists of the guests, the staff, Marie, Adam, our animals, vendors, tour guides, drivers, and many others who are a part of our ecosystem.

In yogic philosophy, being a volunteer, or offering service is one of the highest forms of yoga practice. The Sanskrit word for volunteering is “seva”. Seva basically means to offer service and to do so mindfully with non-attachment.

In deep gratitude for offering seva to Blue Osa and our community, our promise is to provide:

• • Upon your arrival and departure, ground transportation to and from Puerto Jimenez.
• • 3 healthy delicious meals daily.
• • Private accommodations in our staff quarters.
• • Yoga classes when offered.
• • In some cases, eco-tours will be provided in exchange for a blog post about the excursion.

Here’s everything you need to know

The following are our Policies and Procedures for volunteers. This information will help smooth your integration into the Blue Osa community and give you the information you need so that you can fully express your gift in a way that supports both you and Blue Osa to shine.

We know that you really want to fit in and be a constructive member of our community. We have found that the following guidelines will help us to support you, for you to support us. We thought it wise to put it in writing. If anything stands out or surprises you, please contact us to discuss it at your earliest convenience.

We do expect all volunteers to comply with everything below. If you come and are not able to, you may be asked to leave without warning.

Say Hello

You are a part of our family, and greetings are very important!

In Costa Rica, saying hello and goodbye is an essential way of life. Typically you say something like “Hola. Pura Vida!” If it is man to man, you always shake hands. If it is a female-to-male or male-to-female greeting, then the custom is to offer a New York-style “kiss” on the cheek. (Of course, you are not obligated to do this. A simple greeting of “Hola” will suffice.)

While we sometimes get frustrated with each other, we always follow these simple rituals, which help to maintain a sense of community and camaraderie. This rule/ritual actually applies everywhere in Costa Rica.

100% Accountability

During my time at Blue Osa, I will do my best to be 100% accountable for my experience. I am choosing to believe that I attract that which occurs around me and to me. This belief will prompt me to take ownership of both the good and the uncomfortable and to mindfully choose how I am going to respond externally and internally to the event. I am choosing to embrace the idea that my inner story is of my own design and that my external responses affect those around me. I am choosing to be a force for good both with others and with myself.

Sexual Conduct + Guest Relationships

Sex, fraternization, and private time of any kind with guests and employees is strictly forbidden. This is non-negotiable. We do encourage you to develop healthy and meaningful relationships with our Blue Osa community but must insist that you remain professional at all times. Any time with guests/employees must be done in public areas, in full view of other guests/employees.  You are NOT allowed in guest rooms.

We have a zero-tolerance for sexual harassment of any kind.

Required Resource Material

We require all of our volunteer residents to get a copy of Yogi Aaron’s book, Stop Stretching! A new yogic approach to master your body and live pain-free. There are two reasons:

1. As a yoga teacher at Blue Osa, we expect you to follow a code of conduct of safety in your teachings.  This book will clearly explain what that is, and what guidelines you need to follow.
2. As writers and social media promoters, we expect you to be able to speak from our voice. This book will be a guide you on how to speak from that voice.

This book is available on Amazon here. Please have this book read before arriving to Blue Osa.

Working Hours + Time Off

Below is a description of working hours. We expect 30 hours a week from volunteers for the work/assistance you are coming to provide. Additionally, we do ask/expect some seva from you in the form of community service. At night time, we are sometimes very busy with kitchen clean-up and ask our volunteers to offer 15 – 30 minutes of help. This will help cement deeper relations with staff.

Accommodations

We provide for your accommodations while you are at Blue Osa. Accommodations consist of eco-style housing in our staff rooms. There is no AC so if you are heat sensitive or have problems with heat, we may have to talk. Each room is equipped with a fan. The bathroom is shared. There is a private outdoor shower for your use.

Guest rooms are off limits to our volunteers. At no time, should you enter a guest room. (The exceptions are  working with our housekeeping crew or you need enter for a medical emergancy.)

Be Clean

We ask that you practice keeping your spaces clean and tidy, specifically the areas you are working. You will most likely be working in the common areas. Please remember this is a guest area as well and should be kept tidy. Our housekeeping will provide a basic service to clean your room once a week along with changing your sheets and providing fresh towels.

Alcohol

You are definitely welcome to enjoy yourself as you wish during your off time and please do so responsibly and mindfully. You may bring your own alcohol (available in town) or buy drinks from the Blue Osa bar at a 50% discount.

Drugs + Smoking

Drugs and smoking are strictly prohibited at Blue Osa. If you are a smoker, please smoke outside Blue Osa and do so privately. Please do not invite any guests to participate with you, and please do so without being in view of any person.

Laundry Service

We encourage you to travel as light as possible. You do not need much here. While we do not have a laundry for you to use on your own, we will provide a laundry service for you once a week. The laundry room is off-limits to all volunteers.

Morning Silence

One of our rituals at Blue Osa is to practice morning silence daily until 7:30. This time is reserved to honor the beginning of the day, for meditation and contemplation, yoga, and other sacred activities.

Wake Up In The Mornings

Typically breakfast is offered sometime between 6:30 and 8:30 am. Depending on where you are working and what you are doing, we do expect to see you up and working / available in the early mornings. Additionally, it is much cooler in the mornings and is the best time to work. Our workers arrive and start their day here at 6.

Dress Code

While we do not have a uniform for volunteers, please be neat and tidy in appearance when you are around guests or in guest areas.

The Kitchen

The Kitchen, the refrigerator, and the freezer are off-limits to all volunteers. If you are in the kitchen for any reason than the 4 reasons below, you might be asked to leave Blue Osa or given a severe warning:

If you are taking pictures.

If you are invited into the kitchen to work/help out.

You are cooking with the staff and/or taking cooking lessons.

Otherwise, do not enter the kitchen.

Meal Times

Your meals at Blue Osa will be provided for. Please take note of the meals times and show up when meals are offered. Once the meals are served, there will not be another opportunity to eat until the next meal. At dinnertime, you are expected to arrive when the meals are served. We use this time to share around the table, sometimes introduce ourselves, and talk about the food.

Our custom at Blue Osa is to wait until the guests have served themselves first before lining up at the buffet table.

Leaving the Property

Anytime you are leaving the property, you need to let someone know where you are going. If you are going into town for dinner, let someone know you are going to town. Living in a remote rainforest jungle 11 km from town, we need to practice mindfulness in safety. We are not trying to keep tabs on you or care what you do in your free time. We are just concerned about your safety.

Spa Services

We definitely want to invite you to enjoy the spa. We invite you to make your own arrangements with the spa staff in terms of fees and payments. They will often give a discount to the volunteers, and sometimes may even do trades, particularly if you are a writer or photographer.

Electronics

We are in the tropics and next to the sea and many electronics do not hold up well. We have found that Macs hold up much better here than PC’s. MUCH BETTER! But please remember your electronics can fail when you come here, and will usually magically turn on when you leave. It doesn’t really happen that much, but it has happened and we want to let you know.

Volunteers are expected to birng their own electonics. We do not provide them.

Wi-Fi + Internet

We generally have good wifi for being in the jungle. We do not have a lot of bandwidth and ask that you do any downloading at night when people are going to bed. NOT in the daytime.

While we do have great wifi, you do need to know that it can occasionally go out for a daya at a time. This is not a regular occurrence but can happen. If this does happen, you can usually go to town for a couple of hours at a time and catch up on what you need to do. If you are coming to Blue Osa with your own projects to work on, you should be aware of. We do not promise consistent internet usage. We are in the jungle.

Positive Behavior

Blue Osa works towards being a positive communicative community – we don’t talk about things behind other’s backs and we do talk about things head-on. Please bring things to our attention immediately so they can be addressed.

This avoids conflict, gossip, and negativity in the future.

Dogs + Stray Animals

While you are at Blue Osa, you DO NOT HAVE PERMISSION to feed stray dogs or welcome stray dogs to the property. Unless directed by Aaron or the management, you do not have permission to feed any animals that are residing at Blue Osa. If you are found feeding any stray dogs, you will be asked to leave immediately.

Going To Town

We are 11 km from Puerto Jimenez. We feel that it is important for you to know that we are this distance from town so that if you have needs there, it is not always easy to get there. However, there are usually cars going there all the time and you can usually get a ride.

While our employees have motorcycles, they are NOT permitted to give any rides to guests or volunteers. There is also a “bus” that passes by three times a day. And you can always hitchhike.

You Are A Volunteer

Please kindly remember that you are not a guest. You are a volunteer. We are so grateful for your assistance and all that you wish to add to the Blue Osa energy and life. Your service to us and our growing community is essential and we hope that your stay here will be as rewarding for you as it is for us. We look forward to having you come.