Yoga Trade Part 1: Rancho Margot Eco Lodge

Rancho Margot is a sustainable eco lodge located in the jungle of northern Costa Rica, near the Arenal Lake and Volcano. It was my first yoga trade experience teaching and volunteering abroad. You do not have to be a yoga teacher to do a work trade here!

I found the opportunity to be a volunteer worker and yoga instructor in Costa Rica on a website called Yoga Trade. This website is a fantastic resource for yoga instructors, massage therapists, and others in the field of wellness who want to travel without spending loads of money on food and board! Another great resource with work trade jobs for everyone, no matter your profession, is the website Work Away, but I will save all of my knowledge on volunteer tourism for another blog post! This article is all about a magical little place called Rancho Margot, an Eco Lodge located in the jungle close to La Fortuna, as well as the Arenal Lake and Volcano in northern Costa Rica. I found this job listing and was immediately interested because being half Colombian, I wanted to visit a place that would allow me to practice my Spanish and bring me back to my Latin roots. With some determination and a lot of good luck, things worked out for me to head down to Rancho Margot on August 1st, 2021.

Upon arriving, I quickly realized the Ranch itself is actually much larger than you would think before getting here, about 400 acres total. And here they are really taking environmental sustainability to a whole new level, something I was so happy to be a part of and learn more about. Around 90% of all foods prepared are grown or raised here, and the farm is free of any pesticides or chemicals. There is also an emphasis on creating as little pollution here as possible: and for the unavoidable, there’s a bio-digestor. It that takes human and animal waste and transforms the methane gas into energy. Another natural generator for energy is a hydro electric pump system, fueled by the river’s streams. There is also a compost operation that accounts for all organic waste accumulated here —turning food scraps and more into fertile soil for the farms. Rancho Margot also planted tons of trees on the property and only uses outside sources of wood or already fallen trees for all construction projects. One other cool aspect of the ranch is that most of the employees actually live here, eliminating a ton of the air pollution that would come with commuting into the jungle everyday. I am sure there are more sustainable practices in place beyond what I have listed, but either way the message here is that this eco lodge is fully functional with an almost zero carbon footprint. All practices here have some sort of symbiotic counter action. I was completely blown away at the scale of this place. Beyond being a beautiful getaway in the tropical jungle, Rancho Margot is an extremely educational opportunity for all who choose to venture here with an interest in living in a way that is kinder to the environment.

As a volunteer here you are asked to work 6 hours a day, 6 days a week. If you are the only volunteer on site, two of these hours may be covered by your two yoga classes per day. Depending on the number of guests and volunteers at Rancho Margot, there is a chance you will only have one yoga class a day or even none. In these instances you will compensate for that extra hour or two of work in other areas of the ranch. My days usually consist of waking up at 6:30am and then heading to teach my daily 7am yoga class. After this I take around an hour or less for breakfast and then head to help in the gardens for around three hours until lunchtime. Other options for your volunteer hours of work here could be helping with the maids cleaning and doing laundry, or in the kitchen helping prepare food or doing dishes. There are also times when you can work on writing blog posts or other social media content for the Ranch’s website. For me though, the gardens feel like where I belong. I work under Don Jose, a wise agricultural expert, and I spend most of the time weeding, planting, or harvesting the vegetables and herbs. After morning work, lunch is at 12 every afternoon and we take about an hour to eat, chat, and utilize the internet. Afterwards I usually return to the gardens to work more or you can take some free time until the yoga class at 4pm. During free time it can be fun to walk to the river and lay out and read, or if you are lucky catch a ride down to the opening of Lake Arenal in El Castillo to swim. After the 4pm yoga class I normally wipe down the yoga props that were used and sweep any leaves in the yoga shala. I might continue to practice a bit solo until dinner at 6pm! Where you are needed to work may change a bit from day to day or week to week, but you are never asked to do anything unreasonable. The idea here is to simply pull your weight around the ranch and be helpful, everyday is truly a new adventure.

Volunteers usually eat our meals by the cafeteria area which is a different location from the workers. But eventually many of the other employees will head over to this main dining area because it is the only place at the Ranch were you can utilize internet, so you aren’t lonely for long. Something cool about Rancho Margot, is that the lack of strong internet access really brings the people here closer together and disconnects us from our phones. I participated in many game nights, evenings dancing, and playing cards, just fun things we have gotten away from as a society as we are so absorbed in the internet and media. Another perk is that the food here is absolutely amazing and chemical free, expect loads of beans and rice, eggs with every meal (because of the surplus of chickens), fresh fruits and juices, lots of salads, plenty of meat dishes, soups, vegetables, mashed potatoes, yucca, and more. If you are vegan it may be a little more difficult to try a wide array of the dishes here, but as a vegetarian the kitchen always looks out for me. So I am sure whatever your dietary restrictions are, just let them know, offer to help out with dishes/clean up, and you will be eating very well. After dinner it's always beneficial to help with wiping down tables, putting food away, or doing dishes. Always be sure to have your mask on in the kitchen and around the buffet food!

Something really important to take note of before coming to Rancho Margot is that some of the employees, who range in age from 20s to 50s, only speak Spanish. With that being said, having some intermediate if not fluent knowledge of Spanish will help you tremendously during your time here. My knowledge of Spanish has given me the chance to get to know so many of the amazing people who live and work here. These friendships are the golden ticket to all the best local spots in the surrounding areas, knowledge on all the slang commonly used, the local gossip, and beyond that relationships that will stay with you long after your time at the ranch has ended. Here I thought I would have tons of alone time when not working but I am finding myself always surrounded by my new amigos, constantly practicing my Spanish and carrying on. The best thing about being at Rancho Margot is truly the comradery that I have found in all the people who work here, especially those who also live on site. The energy here often feels like a mix between a college dorm and man vs wild. Some nights we are all huddled in the cafeteria area awaiting the calming of an unforgiving storm as some of the guys rush around to fix burst pipes. And sometimes we are all carefree plotting on what our plans for the night are, whether it be drinking Pilsen’s and singing along to Shakira or just playing chess and dominos. I feel so genuinely safe here and know that the people here are looking out for me, and I think that as a solo female traveler it is the best possible outcome I could have wished for. Beyond feeling safe I feel like I am part of a strong community as a volunteer here and that I am working towards a way of life that is the key to humans having a future here on earth. Eating and living off the land, minimizing pollution being released into our environment, and treating all living beings with respect.

Coming to Rancho Margot has truly been life changing, and when I leave I hope to share my experience and share this opportunity with others who have a yearning to come back to mama earth and live consciously. One thing to realize if you are coming here as a volunteer is that this is by no means a vacation. You may be in paradise but you are expected to work roughly 6 hours a day, 6 days a week (sometimes less if there are no guests). But with this being said, you get to work in one of the most beautiful and biodiverse places on Earth and with some of the kindest, funniest people you will ever meet. For anyone who feels called, I highly recommend looking into volunteering at Rancho Margot. You don’t have to be a yoga instructor, they take many different types of volunteers! It is an amazing chance to step out of your comfort zone and soak up more knowledge in many areas of life. From the food, to the people, to the land; you will be in awe of the energy all around you here.