SFS COSTA RICA: BIODIVERSITY AND SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS (SUMMER I)
PROGRAM DETAILS
- Term: Summer Session I
- Credits: 4 semester-hour credits (8 credits if taken with Session II)
- Prerequisites: No course prerequisites: 18 years of age
- Application Deadline: Rolling admissions. Early applications encouraged
- Financial Aid: All accepted students can apply for need-based scholarships, grants, and loans
OVERVIEW
Spend a summer in Costa Rica and examine the relationships between food systems, ecology, conservation, and sustainability. Two of the country’s most popular crops – coffee and chocolate – serve as case studies for these issues as you learn how different agricultural techniques have the potential to restore biodiversity and combat climate change. Trace the sociocultural histories of coffee and cacao, from Indigenous histories to modern production and exports, and see how people around the world can follow Costa Rica’s example of sustainability.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT:
- Visit La Iguana Chocolate Farm, where you’ll harvest cacao by hand and learn about permaculture, sustainable living, and local methods of chocolate processing.
SFS students live and study at the Center for Sustainable Development Studies. The Center is an active organic farm overlooking the vibrant Central Valley, where green is the predominant color as far as the eye can see. Dorms and classrooms intermingle with orchards and gardens, while Center dog Hera keeps watch over it all. The friendly town of Atenas is a 10-minute cab ride away, offering restaurants, shops, parks, and cultural events.
SUMMER COMBINED
Take back-to-back summer sessions and get the hands-on learning and skill-building experiences of an internship, while also going off the beaten path and exploring the world. Each summer session focuses on a different topic, and you’ll have time to travel independently between sessions. Receive a $1,000 discount on your second session.
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