Volunteer Program in Pochote...an unforgettable experience

You wake up with the songs of the birds. The sun is shining bright and lovely into the room.


When you leave the room, which has up to four beds, you breathe in the warm, maritime air. As far as the eye can see, gorgeous nature. Palms, beach, a small copse, a river..,. yea - so man can live!

When you walk the few steps to the restaurant „ Name“, you will be warmly welcomed by a wonderful man to your breakfast. Though his name is Hänsel Hoppe, he is a typical native “Tico” (Costa Rican Guy).

Hänsel: “Food is not only food supply. It has to be an enjoyment for the people who are eating and seeing it.“, and this philosophy and love he puts in, you can taste.

After the delicious breakfast, which is mostly made of Gallo Pinto (Costa Rican traditional food out of rice and beans), eggs and bread, you go to work.

Together with at least one other Volunteer you help in the garden (which is also part of the beach), up keeping the Restaurant, while you are listening to the sound of the music classes from the attached(?) music school. You are surrounded by a group of playful, but not invasive dogs, which you will lock in your heart immediately.

When they need people, you can help in the village school by supporting the teachers, playing with the children during the breaks, or you make the school looking better with broom or wall paint.

Even though in this paradise it is mostly “tranquillo” (calm), there is always something to do. The workers there, who are doing more or less the same work as the volunteers, are really nice people who are happy when somebody is supporting them.
Doesn't matter which language you are speaking, you always are able to communicate. The perfect place to improve your Spanish, or if you prefer to speak English.... this is also understood in Pochote. They also like to speak “Spanglish” there. :)

After my sojourn in Pochote, the small fishing village, which lasted altogether one month, I came back twice in one year.

I wanted to volunteer in different places in Costa Rica. I made a lot of experience, saw awesome places and cooperated in wonderful projects. But Pochote left the biggest mark. You don't have to integrate yourself. You are already part of the fami1y. Its not just because of the work there, which is a great help, it is because of the whole package of nature, people and the work, bound together with the enormous will to change something in Pochote. To offer the children an alternative activity after school instead of lingering in the streets or at home, and to widen the view of the people and maybe your own for the beauty and the love of the earth.

POCHOTE INTERNATIONAL MUSIC CAMP 2010

The 2nd Annual Pochote International Music Camp took place during the first two weeks of the year, representing a new landmark on the Costa Rican cultural landscape, combining young talent and energy and the international expertise of guest conductors, Mr. Joseph Lee (), Mr. Paul York () Blancalicia Silièzar and Gabriela Mora, in addition to the program’s own outstanding teaching staff: Guido Calvo, Patricia Gonzales and Jorge Silièzar, thus bringing to fruition the plan proposed by Ms. Jenny Chèvez, head coordinator of the camp.

Our thanks to Mr. Paul York, whose great humanity and social sensitivity will live forever in the heart of Pochote and Mr. Joseph Lee, a man who irradiates passion, energy and patience and inspires those around him in the search for their “inner Music”. Nor can we forget the privilege and joy of experiencing the passion and commitment embodied by Gabriela Mora, she is a testament to the great talent and potential of the Costa Rican people and it is truly an honor to have her as a part of the CIMP family.

The guest of honor, however was the Music itself, which before long had filled the balmy tropical air. Violins, violas, “contrabajos” and cellos could be heard through-out the fishing village of Pochote, a small town whose name has begun to circle the globe as an example of hope and change.

The long hours of practice were spent on the beach in front of the Harmony Music School in the shade of palm, mangrove and almond trees, on driftwood benches. Gradually the Orquestra came together, its harmonies, rhythms and cadence merging with the sound of the waves.

In the evenings, everyone gathered around the firelight for the feast of music and entertainment provided by such artists as Humberto Vargas, Dionisio Cabal, Azhaar Zafaar, Maria Woodward, Jose the storyteller, as well as the folkloric dance group Nuestra Tierra. Theirs is the gift of culture and beauty, the proof that Solidarity need not be some unattainable utopian concept, a hollow catch-phrase used in political campaigns… It is the born right and responsibility of all, and the only true path towards a truly sustainable future.

It is Harmony Developments stated goal to reconcile the “bottom-line” of touristic development with the true, sustainable progress of local communities. It is our belief that, far from being opposed to one another, these concepts are in fact intrinsically related in a reciprocal cycle: This is Social Symbiosis. Thus, we continue our efforts in 2010 with renewed faith and resolve, to bring quality musical instruction for all, reaffirming the CIMP as the most important music camp in the region.

The Camp ended in a series of three concerts, the first taking place under the starlit sky of Playa Pochote, followed by ”standing room only” concerts at Los Delfines Golf and Country Club and the Eugene Oneil Theater, in San Jose, demonstrating the amazing progress and effort made by the students, the professionalism and commitment of the staff and the support of a Community committed to change.

Solidarity and Reciprocity as a bridge to a sustainable future…Culture a means for change…Music and Art as the tools to forge a better world… the renovation of Hope and the fulfillment of Dreams. For the moment at least, we feel we have begun to accomplish these goals, one step at a time.