Visit to Alto Katsi, Talamanca - Jan 21st 2009

On January 21st Michel and his family (a group of travelers from Coffee and Cacao Lands) went to Alto Katsi with donations for this small and poor community. They were the first non-indigenous group visiting this village and the people were really excited for their visit. They brought donations to all the kids in the village and they had a small activity with them.


The trip was really interesting as they should take a boat then an old truck, they crossed a few rivers using hanging bridges and finally they should walk a few kilometers before they could arrive to Alto Katsi's school.













As they could confirm the school's condition was almost inhuman and now different colaborators are trying to make this public in order to get help. A friend from the community already got an important donation to build a new structure and in a few weeks she will go to Alto Katsi with an architect in order to draw a plane for a new school.


We are very grateful with Michel and his family for their willingness to help this community and go further with their holiday. We also thank them for their great pictures. The "Comite de la Cruz Roja Costaricense de San Ramon de Alajuela" also helped to make this happen as they brought a big portion of the donations.






They stayed at the lodge for 5 days and took some tours in the area.

Mike and family will come back again in around 4 weeks with more help.

December 6th, 2008: Donation activity in the mountains of Talamanca - Indigenous Village

On Saturday December 6th 2008 we had a Christmas event in a small community in the mountains of Talamanca. Thanks to the donations from friends, family and colaborators we could bring a lot of gifts to up to 80 people in a small and quite isolated rural community in the La Estrella Valley, Talamanca.


It was a little difficult to get there as the road is not in a good condition. At the end of the road the people was ready waiting for us with horses and helping hands in order to take all the stuff to the local school. After a 30 minutes walk we finally arrived to the local school where some people walked even more than 2 hours to be present that day.


We brought presents to all the kids (up to 41), food to every single family (14 families) and more. They had a very nice reception for us where all the community was present. We had a traditional lunch in plantain leves instead of dishes and an amazing atmosphere.

Here is a presentation with some pictures of the activity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06mWhjPZ7sg

Dota: Much more than coffee

The first area where we'll be working is where one of the best coffees
in Costa Rica (and in the world) grows. This is the land of the
quetzals, the cloud forest and the warmest and friendliest people you
could ever know. One of the most amazing features of this region is the
wide variety of biodiversity due to the unique feature of having
forest ranges from 250 m – 3500 m.a.s.l. (meters above sea level), in
a relatively small area. The different altitudinal points generate
different climate types: Tropical Rain Forest, Cloud Forest, Paramo
Forest (over 3000 m). This allows the presence of a wide variety of
plants and animals, some of which are endemic to this region. Among
this species the Quetzal is one of the most beautiful and
representative. It is also one of the most beautiful birds in the world.

Things you'll be doing

Here you can stay inside the Fundación Nubotropica. A foundation
created by the community to promote the conservation and sustainable
development of the region. You can stay in a lodge surrounded by
the cloud forest and you can practice some hiking and great bird
watching.

Besides the Fundación Nubotrópica you can visit the small towns around the region or you can take different tours inside the local farms. Tours include bird watching, waterfalls, hiking, caves, tropical forests, beaches and more. You can stay in small lodges available in the area, or if you prefer a deeper contact with the local culture, you can stay with a host family. The transportation between the lodges, families and/or tours will be provided by local drivers.

How this project makes a difference

The Fundación Nubotropica promotes the conservation and sustainable
development of the community by giving environmental education to the local people and by supporting activities and research.

With your only presence you’ll support the foundation and its initiatives as the main income come by tourist visits. If you want to go further and involve you can help in different ways such us helping in creating and maintaining the trials inside the foundation’s reserve. You can also help in the maintenance of the facilities, or joining their many initiatives.

In either option: Fundación Nubotrópica, lodges, host families or local tours, you will be in contact with the local people and you will help the community by providing a significant income that will support the local economies.

The main objective is that the community realizes that preserving the environment is a powerful way to grow and that the most important treasure that they have is their environment and their culture.