We went to an ecological environmental conservation area called Nacientes Palmichal outside of Palmichal de Acosta. In 1991 a group of 15 community members organized to protect the forest of the Basin Nacientes Palmichal, formed by the Negro and Tabarcia Rivers, and to teach the population conservation and protection habits. They bring many school groups together and offer an ecotourism spot with an Airbnb to host people that want to experience the rural side of Costa Rica and see some spectacular landscapes. The river is beautiful and the rocks placed in parts of it reminded me of some of the rivers we have in Canada minus the exotic trees. Trees are trees and if you overlook the details of the leaves, you will feel you are in some Northern forest in the Ontario. During our walk uphill toward the river we encountered 2 dogs that came from a cattle farm not far away that has been there for many years and has a partnership now with the Nacientes. They practice sustainable cow farming which isn’t always the case within Costa Rica. During the longer tours of the property this is a stop to visit. We detoured further down the path and came to the river. At one point, it appeared we all needed to cross the river and so many people started to make their way across. I struggled to find footing that wouldn’t be slippery and found this exercise rather unpredictable. Almost everyone but 2 people crossed and then we were immediately told that we didn’t have to and should cross back. It was a random exercise and around the same time as I got back on the first bank two cows and their farmer with a long stick came running towards the river from a high pathway. The cows very carefully made their way to the river and crossed over trying to avoid our large group. They continued on their way and we began our trek back to the main center for a typical casada meal. Following the meal we relaxed as a few very athletic class members ran back the 2.5 km trail uphill to jump in the river for a swim. The tour took most of the day and so we skipped out on another coffee farm tour. One particular issue that I found interesting was that during our walk we passed a fence and on the other side was a large steep mountainous range with very young coffee plants. The Nacientes says they are illegally growing coffee as the angle has to be 45degrees or less and this incline was much larger. The farmers are not willing to back down. The guide has even had death threats against him for his advocacy. I was struck by the vision and passion of the people and the way they have worked so hard to make this place a sustainable environment. Their passion hasn’t gone unnoticed throughout the country. They have been highlighted by the government and even their President has had conferences here which really spotlights their work and values the efforts to the rest of the country. Rural living is always a challenge whether you are from North America or Central America. The services and supports will always be less. This country when less is available relies on its people and connections with families and neighbourhoods to pull together. Some of these values of connections are lost in 1st world countries where everything is available with money. There are people who make the more money who also feel more deserving of the bounty and forget the less advantaged, always wanting their fair share and relying less on the resources that are family, friends, and community. We see this in our healthcare system in Ontario and have tried to slowly turn this around by visioning caregivers as part of the patient experience. Some people may not want to sacrifice their lifestyle to care for a sick elderly family member and expect social services to do it in order to maintain their lifestyle. As explained by our host this is not the norm in Costa Rica.
Our day ended by coming together as a class with our host Edwin and our driver and his wife at a beautiful Tico restaurant overlooking a valley and mountainous ranges in the distance. The food was incredible, the view was amazing, and the company was priceless.
Thank you to the collaborative CMBA program for thinking big and globally and bringing this experience to the program. It has widened the scope of our knowledge, our thinking and experience. It allows us to see values and processes that are lived out each day in different ways. It brings a small ecosystem that has almost achieved 100% sustainability into the larger world and shares some secrets that we can hopefully take to our lives and our business and our politics. Pura Vida!