The Secluded South East of Costa Rica
Our first producer visit in Costa Rica was to APPTA, a group of remotely based communities growing cocoa and bananas. We made the day-long journey to the Talamanca region of Costa Rica with our colleague Hugo, stopping in Limon to sample the Caribbean twist on the country’s favourite dish Gallo Pinto. With two hours to spare before sunset, we visited the Cahuita National Park
The journey to APPTA was a long and challenging one. We made an early start and drove south to Bribri where APPTA’s head office is based. From there we made a further drive down to the river, as the community we were set to visit is barely accessible by land. We took an hour long boat ride, jumping out at one point to push the boat when it became stuck in the rocks! Even in the challenging face of the physical environment, the produce from APPTA makes this same remarkable journey, in order that they can sell organic and fairtrade goods to international markets.
We were present at a producer meeting where new tools bought with the fairtrade premium were handed out. The community have previously invested in a school, which is served by satellite link due to the isolated location. There was also some discussion about the financial issues they were currently facing, so I was delighted upon my return to work this week, to find out that APPTA have now been approved for a credit facility with Shared Interest.
To round of the day, we returned to Bribri to visit the cocoa processing plant and hear more about APPTA’s aspirations for the future.
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It makes one realise that some people struggle to get around their environment everyday not just when Britain has the “Big Freeze”
Buying new tools sounds like good business sense to improve production and increase earnings, a good demonstration that people given the opportunity can trade their way to a better livelihood.