Being here in Costa Rica for a week, I’ve started to settle in and notice some things about being here that I hadn’t before. It’s become clear to me that Costa Rica is synonymous with its nature and wildlife, but it is also supported by a backbone of kind and dedicated people. The Costa Rican people are proud of and passionate about their country’s conservation and social efforts. They recognize the value in wildlife and nature, and their country has thrived and seen incredible success because of it. Costa Rica’s culture of conservation and sustainability is critical to its environment, economy, and success. It’s the knowledge and passion of the nature guides and everyday people you’ll encounter here that will make your time here nothing but incredible.
One such experience that comes to mind was our tour of an organic pineapple plantation. I had no idea how labor-consuming organic agriculture was. Rather than spraying pesticides, here, they lay plastic along the fields and use garlic and chili oil to protect the crop. Workers have to poke holes in the plastic for each individual plant, and once the pineapples grow they are harvested one by one. In standard agriculture, the field is usually burned after harvest so replanting can happen right away. Here, they plow the soil over and over again, plant a kind of bean that releases nitrogen into the soil, and then replant. I was really inspired by the drive, passion, and hard work of the people involved in this project. They recognize and fight against the negative impacts pesticides have on the environment and nature. This experience completely changed my perspective on organic food, which I didn’t view as being worth the investment beforehand. Now I understand, true organic food is so much more than a health buzzword. It is supporting a healthy environment and a healthy community. The result of this practice is not only more sustainable agriculture but also absolutely delicious products. Our tour guide pulled us a pineapple straight from the field and let us sample it, and it was the most delicious pineapple I’ve ever had, not to mention pineapple juice, marmalade, and piña coladas.
The following day we visited a small, polyculture banana farm that also produces plantains, sweet potatoes, hot peppers, avocados, and more. It was really cool to get the opportunity to visit this little family-owned farm. The woman who ran it was excited to share her farm with us. I was so inspired by how she practices her own form of protest in maintaining her small organic and sustainable farm amongst all of the Dole pineapple plantations surrounding her. She is also incredibly innovative in that she’s been able to stay afloat by supplementing her income with tourism and selling unique dessert mixes (like brownies, banana bread, etc) with banana flour. It was so cute and comforting to see how this was a completely family run operation. After the tours of the field, two older Costa Rican ladies in the family helped cook us samples in the kitchen, and the woman’s little daughter even came out to visit us at one point. We helped make smashed and fried plantains (patacones), and they served them to us with delicious refried beans, arepas made with banana flour, and pour-over coffee. It was incredible! It goes to show that its so important to support these small local farmers, both here and at home. This really inspired me to shop at the local farmer’s market or specialty grocers at home more often.
Yesterday, in Tortuguero, really struck me as well. Our tour guide, Johnny, walked us to the beach and told us the history of turtle conservation in Tortuguero. What stuck out to me was how he explained the transition in Costa Rica. Before Tortuguero was a national park, sea turtle hunting was the predominant way of life. When people began to push for sea turtle conservation and Tortuguero became protected land, there was a negative reaction from the community. Tourists began to visit the national park, and the locals were confused. They believed that everyone had monkeys and sea turtles. Regardless, Johnny told us how backpackers would set up tents in their front yard when he was younger, and his family would let them use their amenities and take them out on their boats for a fee. When more and more tourists came from around the world, they began to realize they had something truly special. Slowly, the economy shifted from turtle hunting to ecotourism. Things changed from backpackers setting up tents in front yards to around fifteen lodges and resorts employing the bulk of the population. Johnny is now a tour guide, and he radiated pride for Tortuguero’s turtles and conservation. I felt hopeful hearing how a community seemingly “set in its ways” could be open to new information and change. I hope that other communities around the world can take inspiration from beautiful Tortuguero in the future.
I feel very inspired and hopeful being here. Costa Rica is such a success story when it comes to conservation and sustainability, and I believe a lot of that can be attested to the people here and their love of their nature and wildlife. Costa Rica is its wildlife and this wildlife is protected and cherished by its people. There is great reciprocity and care given to each of these important groups. The people conserve land and treat their wildlife with respect, in return, the wildlife flourishes and the tourism industry continues to be successful. Which bring my to the idea that the people of Costa Rica understand the true value of wildlife, something we are missing in the U.S. and elsewhere. We are so accustomed to wildlife being on our screens or in cages at zoos that we forget the point. Wildlife is beautiful because it exists freely, naturally, and on its own. The experiences of seeing monkeys in enclosures at your local zoo and seeing and hearing howler monkeys in their natural environment is incomparable. I think the people here understand that, and having the opportunity to be here makes you understand it too.
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