Protect endangered biodiversity & 100 farmer lives

The rainy season has come to Costa Rica, and the Osa Peninsula is one of the wettest and most humid regions in the country. “The rivers’ water levels sometimes rise overnight and we can’t get to our office safely and on time in the mornings,” our local liaison, Alexander, general manager of the local farmer cooperative Osacoop, tells us during our planning sessions.

When planning the execution of this project, we’ve learned so much about how to best adapt our approach around the intense schedule of local farmers, to enable them to participate in the trainings - in particular, women who take on most of the household chores and childcare, next to the farming activities - and the early evening thunderstorms that are usual at this time of the year in the Costa Rican Pacific coast.

COVID-19 has also been an important factor in our planning. To protect our staff and prevent breakthrough infections among locals, we’re working on comprehensive protocols that include testing, masking, social distancing, quarantining and working in well-ventilated areas. 

What’s more important, we’re excited to announce we’re also being backed by the British Embassy in San José to fund part of this project. Combined with the generous donations of our GlobalGiving donors, we’ll be better equipped to train producers and their families in environmentally-friendly agricultural production practices, biodiversity protection and forest restoration.

We’re confident, as Alexander tells us frequently, that the families you are supporting will be greatly strengthened by this training, with better capacity and knowledge to protect both their livelihoods and the environment. The trainings are planned to take place beginning of October.