Achieving Sustainable Development Through Women's Entrepreneurship: A Comparative Study of Social Microenterprises in Costa Rica and Nicaragua

INTRODUCTION

Women around the world, especially in 'developing' countries, are key players in the management of natural resources and the development of healthy communities. As the primary caretakers of children and the family, they are responsible for nutrition, health and management of the household. As managers of the household, they also engage in environmental activities, often assuming the roles of food producer, animal tender, water and fuel collector. Furthermore, they represent approximately half of most countries’ population and therefore half of the potential labor force. Yet, despite their significant contributions to the well-being of society, their voices remain underrepresented at all levels of the decision-making processes on issues related to the environment and development.

In the last two decades, the voices of women are being increasingly heard. Their full equality, participation and leadership are being supported and promoted at the local, national and international level through countless programs. Microenterprise is one such program that has spread like wildfire across developing nations targeting rural women, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Hailed as a form of economic salvation, microenterprises have not only helped women generate income, but also overcome gender barriers,develop invaluable leadership skills, a remarkable entrepreneurial spirit and a strong sense of activism. In this sense, female-led microenterprises can have a positive impact on multiple levels—economic, environmental and social—which essentially reflects the goals of “sustainable development.” Limited research shows the impact of women entrepreneurs on sustainable development. Most studies tend to focus on economic growth and the market economy.

This comparative study examines the increasingly important role of female entrepreneurs in achieving sustainable development at the grassroots level. Drawing on five case studies conducted over a two month period in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, the study shows the remarkable transformation of everyday rural housewives into social entrepreneurs leading microenterprises that benefit themselves, the community and the environment. It will also provide a brief overview and summary of the characteristics most common to these organizations including noteworthy successes and challenges.

The following are the woman-led microenterprises covered by the study (click on names to view individual posts):

1. Grupo Ecologico de Mujeres de Abanico (GEMA) – A medicinal plant cooperative that grows, processes and sells herbs in La Fortuna, Costa Rica. 

2. Colectivo Feminino Resclatando Nuestro Ecologia (COFERENE) – A community-wide recycling program in San Ramon, Costa Rica.

3. Asociacion de Mujeres Agroindustriales de San Luis de Grecia (ASOMAG) – An all-natural beauty product industry in Grecia, Costa Rica.

4. Asociacion de Mujeres de Reciclaje (AMURECI) – A recycled art and souvenir business in Santa Clara, Costa Rica.

5.  Genesis – A cotton spinning cooperative in Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua

THE THREE E’S EQUAL SUSTAINABILITY: ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMY AND EQUITY

The concept of sustainability arose in 1983 with the United Nations creation of The World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) led by Gro Harlem Bruntland, former Prime Minister of Norway. The Commission was formed to develop and implement ways environmental concerns could be addressed cooperatively among developing countries and result in the fulfillment of common goals that integrate ecological, social and economic issues.

With the release of the world-reknowned Brundtland report in 1987 entitled “Our Common Future”, an official contemporary definition of “sustainable development” was established. Sustainable development is still widely regarded as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".  The Brundtland report was groundbreaking in that it integrated social justice in the environmental debate declaring that inequality and poverty were the fundamental causes of the environmental crisis. After all, a world in which poverty and gender inequity persists will always be prone to both ecological and economic disasters.

At the heart of sustainability lies the concept of the three E's: Ecology/environment, economy/employment, and equity/equality.  Ideally any proposed initiative should consider the simultaneous interaction of these three elements. All Three Es require a long-term perspective and recognize the interdependence of all the “E’s.” Sustainability seeks to satisfy the needs and interests of all parties within the framework of concern for equity. This expanded focus offers the great possibility for broader changes to happen within a community and between communities (Edwards, 16-21).

Within this holistic model of sustainability, we shall see how female entrepreneurs in Central America have naturally incorporated the Three Es into the mission of their microenterprises and made an incredible impact on their community.


BIRTH OF THE MICROENTERPRISES

In the last 10-15 years, rural women across Costa Rica and
Nicaragua have taken ownership of problems plaguing their
community by organizing themselves and forming small
productive organizations that promote personal economic
growth, environmental conservation and social justice.  GEMA,
a medicinal plant cooperative,and ASOMAG, a natural
beauty product business emerged to combat the widespread
use of toxic pesticides that resulted in chronic health problems
among women and children, as well as the destruction of fertile
lands. COFERENE, a community recycling program and AMURECI, a recycled art business began as a way to creatively
reduce the level of trash suffocating their community while generating meaningful employment for women. Genesis,
a cotton spinning cooperative, made up of mostly women from
the second poorest city in the second poorest country in Latin
America, organized to secure basic services and a stable income
for their families. In sum, being most affected by the environmental degradation, pollution and/or lack of basic services, women have taken matters into their own hands and constructed microenterprises in the hopes of creating a better future for themselves and their family.

Furthermore, rural women appear to be drawn to the idea of self-employment in microenterprises for a number of reasons: flexible hours, close proximity to the home, working with close friends and family members, combining income generation with domestic and reproductive tasks, freedom to make structural changes and connection to local markets.


CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MICROENTERPRISES

• Small to medium size; comprised of 5-18 workers
• Led or dominated by women

DEMOGRAPHICS OF WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS

• Age: between 20 and 70

• Marital status: mostly married but also includes single and divorced women

• Number of children: 1-5

• Education level: women above age 40 tend to possess a K-6 level education while others a K-12; very few have a university degree.

• Socioeconomic status: marginalized, low-income communities

• Current occupations: President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, or member of an association or cooperative

• Former occupations: housewife/homemaker and occasionally with small side jobs such as selling food drinks and handicrafts in the community.

• Multifunctional role: perform multifunctional roles as homemaker and businesswoman combining the concern for the well-being of their family with the business activities.

COMMON THEMES AND SUCCESSES

There are striking similarities in the successes achieved and the key values practiced by the organizations that truly resonate with the concepts of sustainability.

• Environmental Stewardship – All of organizations are committed to the sustainable use of natural resources. GEMA and ASOMAG grow the natural ingredients for their products on 100% organic farms. COFERENE and AMURECI are dedicated to the 3 Rs – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. COFERENE collects, processes and sells recycled materials compiled in the community to local, national and international businesses. AMURECI’s products are 100% environmentally friendly and made from natural or recycled materials. Genesis believes in the clean, sustainable production of organic cotton.

• Fair distribution – Women in the microenterprises have equal access to fair wages and professional growth. The businesses are owned and managed by the workers. As a “worker-owned” cooperative, Genesis lives and breathes fairness as each worker is entitled to a fair share and the business is based on the 1person/1vote principle.

• Democratic participation- All workers have a voice and participate in the decision-making process. As mentioned Genesis was designed to guarantee the democratic participation of all cooperative workers.

• Cultivation of women’s leadership – As female-oriented groups, they are dedicated to supporting the spiritual, economic and social growth of other women by facilitating women’s workshops, supporting local women’s initiatives and continually recruiting more women into their program. All the women have grown tremendously in their entrepreneurship roles. They have gained enormous self-confidence in a strong “macho” society and attained unimaginable levels of socio-economic independence from their husbands.

• Inter-generational perspective- As mothers responsible for the well-being of the family, especially the children, they tend to think about the impact of their actions on future generations. Their long-term perspective motivates them to pass the valuable skills acquired through trial and error and formal trainings to their children. Many of the women plan to pass their business roles on to their daughters. Some of their children already participate in their businesses to a certain degree.

• Interdependence – Participating in both domestic and agricultural work, these female entrepreneurs possess a natural understanding of the interconnectedness of the social, economic and environmental fields. They made a conscious decision to build a business that would benefit the entire community including the natural world. Generating income alone does not fully sustain families if they are being debilitated by widespread diseases from the consumption of contaminated local food and water.

• Community development – The women are continually developing new ways to meet the changing and growing needs of society. The small size of their businesses allow the women to easily refocus their efforts on different areas of the community at any given time. AMURECI is predominantly concerned with recycled paper and artwork, but they also connect women to employment opportunities, provide them with leadership advice and support small local projects.

• Education – Having minimal formal education, these women feel blessed to have completed a vast numbers of trainings virtually related to every sector in society: business management, leadership, gender, communication, conflict resolution, information technology, construction, art, beauty, farming, medicinal plants and the list goes on. Becoming educated in an array of fields has significantly raised their self-esteem and helped them perceive themselves as professional businesswomen. Some have continued their education on their own at local universities and received government-sponsored scholarships. Others have used their skills to start side businesses to supplement their income. Not only are they dedicated to educating themselves, but they become inspired and motivated to educate more women by organizing and facilitating workshops, sharing what they have learned others.

• Multi-level partnerships – The success of all of these organizations can also be attributed to the resources leveraged from local, national and international institutions. The Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje (INA), a national Costa Rican vocational training institute has been instrumental in imparting basic skills to women that are starting a new business. The Jubilee House Community Inc is an American NGO in Nicaragua that has worked vigorously to train cooperative workers of Genesis in all the nuts and bolts of business administration and management . In all of the microenterprises, women have worked with local schools, universities, private businesses, the municipality, the national government, other microenterprises and international organizations to secure funding, training opportunities, equipment and new markets for the products.

• Optimism – No matter how great the odds, the women have managed to maintain a remarkably positive attitude. AMURECI is severely struggling with finances and also dealing with the constant lack of community support for their program. With their well-endowed creativity, they have generated new projects bring in additional income. Genesis was deceived $150,000 and have not been able to start work because of the fraud. Amazingly, however, all 18 members remain motivated, hopeful and strong. Like AMURECI, they have designed an alternative income generating project to focus on in the meantime.
  

• Unity – Combined with their positive outlook, the women have grown and bonded tremendously together. They have supported each other through the organizations’ peaks and valleys. They have learned to work cooperatively together and also learned much from each other. It is impressive that a group as large as Genesis has continued to work together despite the magnitude of their challenges. COFERENE successfully maintains worker moral by organizing several family-oriented staff excursions a year, bringing the members closer together each time.

OBSTACLES THAT IMPEDE GROWTH

• Tradition – Stands as one of the greatest to barriers for women’s participation in public processes. Women are still expected to dominate the domestic sphere. Their valid reasons for involvement are no match for the religious, cultural and other sociological influences that keep women at home. In the beginning stages of every microenterprise, there is always a large number of female participants. Over time, however, the numbers tend to drop by more than half. Lack of spousal support is cited as the number one reason for the lack of female participation in small business initiatives.
  

• Dual roles – All the women juggled multiple responsibilities as the primary caretakers of the home and family, and as the income generators outside the house. Many times, women were permitted to participate under the condition that all responsibilities in the home remained in their hands and completely unchanged. This dual role puts immense pressure on women to combine household responsibilities with business activities and may limit their ability to reach their full potential as female entrepreneurs.

• Lack of financial capital – Microenterprises are constantly finding themselves struggling to keep their goods and services afloat due the continued lack of funds. Even when financial stability is secured, the loans women receive are seldom large enough to enable the expansion of microenterprises.

 
RECOMMENDATIONS

• Capacity building – All of the female entrepreneurs expressed their love and enthusiasm for learning through various capacitation workshops. Local, regional, national and international conferences that regularly bring these change-makers together would help reaffirm their efforts, inspire new ideas for growth and change, provide training in new skill sets, and facilitate the exchange of successes and challenges with like-minded individuals. Conferences also greatly increase the representation of women in the decision-making process at all levels, allowing them to voice their specific needs. A step further would also be pairing newly emerging entrepreneurs with veterans from at home and abroad that share similar experiences and expertise.

• Volunteer support- Ecotourism or sustainable tourism is an increasingly popular trend among developed countries. In a country that attracts the largest number of tourists in Central America, organizations can recruit volunteers not only through national and international volunteer organizations, but also through tour agencies. They can market their programs in a way that catches the attention of tourists seeking authentic opportunities to interact with the locals in a meaningful way. Sending a flyer or brochure with their mission statement and the volunteer opportunities available could expand their volunteer base. While they may receive short term volunteers, they may also find those that come with the intention of staying for longer periods. Furthermore, a focus on long-term volunteers will also require that lodging options. Organizations can generate extra income by hosting volunteers and charging a reasonable fee. This way, they gain free labor, supplemental income and an enriching intercultural experience.

• Marketing – All of these microenterprises offer goods and services that are highly beneficial to the community. Yet, most community members are uninformed about the noble work these entrepreneurs do. A comprehensive marketing strategy that targets government officials, local community members, national and international organizations would attract greater attention and lead to greater support in various forms (funds, in-kind, volunteer, etc) for their businesses.

CONCLUSION

Women-led microenterprises can become an important vehicle of sustainable development from the bottom-up. As small-scale, low investment projects, they provide immediate personal fulfillment and stable employment, especially for uneducated or semi-educated women. Microenterprises empower women to be self-sufficient financially and emotionally, enabling them to make a meaningful difference in their lives. As this study shows, women are generating new concepts for entrepreneurship by leading microenterprises that, in the long run, produce far reaching economic, social and environmental impacts for the entire community.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Christie, I. & Warburton, D. 2001. From Here to Sustainability: Politics in the Real World. London: Earthscan.

Edwards, A.R. 2005 The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait of a Paradigm Shift. B.C.: New Society Publishers.

GTZ. World Bank. Inter-American Development Bank. 2010. "Women’s Economic Opportunities in the Formal Private Sector in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Focus on Entrepreneurship."

Portilla, Melania. 2007. “ The Growing Strength of Rural Micro-entrepreneurs in Latin America and the Caribbean.” COMUNIICA.

Author: Joan Ngo

Genesis: A Cotton Spinning Cooperative

Genesis is an extraordinary female-dominated, worker-owned spinning cooperative dedicated to community economic development, the advancement of workers’ rights and the protection of the environment. Located in Ciudad Sandino, one of the poorest cities in Nicaragua with an 80% unemployment rate, it is one of several “worker-owned” cooperatives formed and funded by Jubilee House Community Inc., a nongovernmental organization (NGO) and its project the Center for Development in Central America (JHC-CDCA).  Comprised of 18 members (15 women and 3 men), these workers spent an incredible four years building a 15,000 sq. ft. factory (about half the size of a football field) from the ground up with their bare hands, one cement block at a time. The labor for construction was their contribution and is what Jubilee House Community Inc. describes as their “sweat equity buy-in to the cooperative.”

Genesis emerged to meet the needs of its former sister cooperative, Nueva Vida, a women’s sewing cooperative that makes organic cotton clothing for fair trade companies in the U.S. (such as Maggie’s Organics) and Europe. It is also recognized as the world’s first certified worker-owned fair trade zone. The Fair Trade Zone provides sustainable employment under humane working conditions, and is fully owned and managed by members of Nueva Vida.  Also located in Ciudad Sandino, Nueva Vida is now running completely independently of JHC-CDCA. In 2007, 8 years after it was launched, Nueva Vida experienced an explosion of growth in sales, but lacked an ongoing supply of cotton cloth to keep up with the new demands. JHC-CDCA identified and organized another group of dedicated local individuals to form a spinning cooperative that would spin the organic cotton into yarn. Thus, Genesis was founded to be a fundamental link in the production chain of organic cotton, which will spin the cotton bought from Nicaraguan cotton farmers at fair prices and then sell their yarn to Nueva Vida in the Fair Trade Zone.  This will help reduce costs and turn-around time for clients.

The story of Genesis is one of triumph, despair, resiliency, and hope for a better future. In February 2007, JHC-CDCA helped the group secure land and all the materials required for construction of the spinning plant. Forty-six members began work with cement blocks and iron beams to build the factory. Within 6 months, their membership was down too 36 members, and continued to drop until it reached the current 18 members. In between building, JHC-CDCA provided workers with opportunities for training in a wide range of skills and expertise. As a worker-owned cooperative, members have been required to complete countless hours of training in construction, business management and administration, accounting, marketing, gender equality, health issues, teamwork, communication, conflict resolution, information technology, and business/cooperative law.

While the spinning facility is finally complete and they have gained the legal status of a true cooperative, Genesis cannot begin their operation due to a major recent setback. In 2010, the group was swindled out of $150,000 by a U.S. broker that promised them spinning machinery and failed to deliver. As they await the ruling of the lawsuit against the broker and another offer of spinning equipment, they are designing alternative income generating projects such as jewelry making to sustain themselves and their families.

Unlike similar groups visited in Costa Rica during this study, Genesis is still in the development stage, and has not yet begun business operations. This is of particular interest because all other organizations visited as part of this comparative study have been in their production phase and already overcome their biggest barriers early-on. In contrast, here is a group that is still in the initial stages, but has already achieved a tremendous amount: The construction of a factory, the legalization of their cooperative status and the innumerable life skills that are transferable to every facet of society. They worked extremely hard for over 4 years and are so close to realizing their dream.  For the moment at least, their plans have come to a screeching halt. Yet, despite the long delay that may await them, the cooperative maintains an impressive level of optimism and continues to grow together.

The 18 members of the cooperative range from ages 21 to 69, and have devoted nearly all of their time and energy to the effort without pay because they feel they are part of something positive and important for the community. Moreover, they truly believe in the value of working hard to fulfill one’s own hopes and dreams. At the heart of this cooperative lies the values of mutual assistance, responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. During the visit, each of these values resonated as they expressed their thoughts and immense gratitude for all of the opportunities they have been presented with. Here are some of their stories…

Pablo is 44 years old with a wife and 5 children. He described how difficult it has been to do this type of work. They have endured years of working in the hot sun and no salaries. His family has reprimanded him for failing to bring home income. However, “what I see is a bright future for my family and I have had to explain that to them.”

Martha is a 45 year old proud mother of 4 children. She claims the project has been a huge sacrifice but also emphasizes the many benefits they have gained such as the educational opportunities through numerous workshops. It is true they have no salary and they have families to maintain, but they love this project and have used their newly acquired skills to create side-jobs such as selling juice, tortillas and bread to the community. “ I thank GOD and the foundation for this project and hope we are in the final stages of making our dream a reality. I believe that a better future lies not too far ahead.”

Milagro is another female member who spoke of the how the group reacted when they discovered the spinning equipment betrayal. “Imagine the deception we felt when the long waited machines finally arrived and they didn’t work. Our spirits collapsed, we fell into a depression, but we united and felt intense strength in our unity. A friend taught us how to make jewelry to sell to groups of foreigners that frequently visit our project. The idea gave us hope and something productive to do while we wait for a new set of equipment. It’s funny how we learned how to build a factory with our bare hands and now we’re learning to make jewelry. It feels good to transition into a project that is more feminine and makes us feel like beautiful women. Our children are helping us as well. We have taught the skills we learned to them and they in-turn help us. We’ve also learned a lot from each other during the 4 years we’ve bonded. While we live with this pain and betrayal, we continue and here we are still…”

These words vividly illustrate the remarkable strength and resiliency of the cooperative workers. Coming from extremely poor backgrounds, having labored for years without monetary compensation and waiting patiently for their machinery, they still manage to see the unique, beneficial value in their work and continue to move forward together.

Author: Joan Ngo

NOTE: A directed study comparative analysis paper with further details on this and similar sites is available here: Achieving Sustainable Development Through Women's Entrepreneurship: A Comparative Study of Social Microenterprises in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

AMURECI (Asociacion de Mujeres de Reciclaje)

AMURECI is an association of incredibly creative women dedicated to the production of unique handcrafted art and souvenirs made from recycled materials from the community. Located right off the main highway towards Volcano Arenal in the small town of Santa Clara, it has become a gift shop for passing tourists as well as a service-learning destination for world volunteers. Its mission is three-fold: 1) Support the social, economic and spiritual growth of women, 2) Pomote the economic development of Santa Clara and surrounding areas and 3) Inspire environmental stewardship.

The birth of AMURECI happened one afternoon, about 10 years ago, when four beloved young housewives met for their usual “coffee time” to engage in a daily conversation about their lives. Two of the women had just attended a women’s leadership workshop held by a local cooperative. All participants were required to create and present a “project” that they would like to implement in the community. The project envisioned involved recycling paper and selling recycled paper products. The idea was mentioned and the others loved the it. From there, a series of community meetings were organized with local women to make their dream a reality.

Established in February of 2001, AMURECI was the first women’s group in Santa Clara to receive a loan from Banco Popular, a Costa Rican bank, to start a microenterprise. Like other female-led grassroots organizations in Costa Rica, getting their business off the ground involved a lot of patience, teamwork and most of all faith. The women had to collect paper and cardboard waste in the community on foot. They attended workshops on how to make recycled paper and art. They identified and capitalized on the strengths and talents of each individual woman in the group. Some were business savvy, while others were creative artists. They worked diligently to coordinate their efforts to ensure all their bases were covered. In addition, the women had to remain positive and strong amid widespread skepticism that their project would succeed. For a long time, even their husbands thought they were  only getting together regularly to share gossip.  Fortunately, despite the doubts, the women were always permitted to meet and work towards building their dream. The initial community meetings yielded 12 members but gradually fell to 7 as most women couldn’t maintain the support of their husbands or had a hard time believing that a recycled paper and art business could become successful.


Slowly but surely though, their dream business started to become a reality. Through partnerships formed with other local organizations, AMURECI began receiving volunteers who provided them with English classes and training to work with tourists. The local municipality delivered technological support while the local university provided workshops on self-esteem. The National Apprenticeship Institute (Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje, INA) offered painting and customer service classes. Additional support was given by the Ministry of Agriculture as part of it's gender program.

As their business expanded, the women found themselves juggling dual roles as full-time moms and housewife's, and entrepreneurs. Unfamiliar and worried about how this situation, the women sought the advice of a local social worker to determine the best way to care for their children in the face of their rapidly changing roles.  One solution was for the women to help each other with raising their kids. Interestingly enough, the children have grown up to become more independent than most Costa Rican kids.

Today, ten years later, the 7 women in the association now have a spacious colorful facility off the main road in Santa Clara where their goods are made and sold. Recycled materials, specifically paper, newspapers, magazines and cardboard are supplied by another local women’s group called the “4 R’s” in charge of collecting and classifying the community’s solid waste. Combining shreds of paper with dried banana leaves and water, the women gradually transform this mix into recycled paper to create a variety of products including journals, bookmarks, folders, notebooks, greeting cards and mobiles. Using seeds that drop from the trees of the nearby rainforest, they also make simple, earthy jewelry from earrings to necklaces. Their handmade goods can be found at various tourist spots in the La Fortuna and Poas Volcano regions, as well as in nearby communities.

AMURECI also has a program called “Paper Adventures” that are comprised of fun, educational paper making workshops for children and adults to teach the community and tourists creative ways to recycle. Paper Adventures is a two hour session for groups or individuals of any age for $16 U.S. per person. The sessions include a step by step process on how the women make paper, a take-home finished product that can be decorated, and delicious homemade snacks with locally grown coffee. Hours of operation are 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

Reflecting back on the formative years of AMURECI, Militza Chacon, President of the Association, claims “the women have grown tremendously…before we were just housewives wondering what we could do to bring more meaning into our lives and the lives of other women. We have not only made a positive impact , but we have also become professional businesswomen along the way.”  Her colleague, Martha Carvajal, the AMUREI Treasurer, adds that “we feel like professionals in what we do because of all of the training we have received and the experience we have gained throughout the years..”

The women of AMURECI are not only the recipients of training workshops, but have also become leaders as they organize and facilitate workshops for others. Groups of women in Costa Rica as far north as Guanacaste have come to AMURECI in search of inspiration, encouragement and support. These women, like them back in the day, are housewives hoping to build their own microenterprise in their communities someday.  An incredible opportunity key leaders of the Association received was an all expense paid trip to a business management conference organized by the Instituto de Andalucia in Sevilla, Spain. It was the first time the women had traveled overseas and become part of a global network of professional businesswomen. As one of 345 organizations represented, the women participated in 2 weeks worth of workshops that included a fair featuring the work of all the organizations. Proudly displayed on the wall of their art lab is a poster-size sign displaying AMURECI’s booth number 148, which had appeared at the fair and which now stands as a daily reminder of one of their major accomplishments.

In the last few years, AMURECI has had difficulty securing long-term, stable volunteer support. In the past, they have been granted volunteers by international organizations such as “Cross Cultural Solutions and local groups like “Juventud de Agricultura de Zona Norte” (JAZON) and Project ASIS, an organization focused on conservation and wildlife. Most of the volunteers they have received have been short-term, but ideally they would like volunteers to stay months at a time so their visits can be more productive.

Furthermore, as the world economy has suffered, so has AMURECI. The last few years have seen less tourists and therefore less business. Struggling to pay the debt they still owe to Banco Popular, the women have adopted side jobs such as catering. They now cook large orders of food for special events in the community and occasionally prepare lunches and dinners for local and international tourists stopping in their community for a homemade meal.  These days, the women of AMURECI find themselves with more leisure time on their hands than they would actually like. The hardest work has been done. They had an idea. Fulfilled it. And made a difference in the community. They are currently working hard to pay off their debt and expand their business. They would like to continually grow and provide new forms of employment opportunities to other women.

The next step: Reviving their lost afternoon coffee dates perhaps? Since the early years some of the women have moved to different homes and now live further apart from one another. However, they hope to revive this once-cherished tradition soon. This time, however, they hope to have them embody a greater spiritual focus and possibly have each meeting revolve around a specific theme, such as gender or leadership.  Anything that truly celebrates the strength and beauty of women.

Author: Joan Ngo

NOTE: A directed study comparative analysis paper with further details on this and similar sites is available here: Achieving Sustainable Development Through Women's Entrepreneurship: A Comparative Study of Social Microenterprises in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

La Mariposa Eco-Hotel

La Mariposa: The Beginning

The vision of La Mariposa began with one woman's motivation to help pay off the debt that the "affluent world" in reality owes the "developing world". Due to the inherent inequalities that exist within the structure of the global market, many people live in environmentally and economically degraded communities. Paulette Goudge, after having worked in the UK as a social worker for over 20 years, decided to sell her house and use her life pension in order to help the impoverished community of San Juan de La Concepcion in Nicaragua become a more stable and sustainable town. About 25 years ago Paulette first came to Nicaragua, where she witnessed the "Counter-Revolution" between the Daniel Ortega-backed Sandinistas and the United States C. I. A. supported Contras. During this time she initiated relationships with local community members while learning Spanish, and also adopted her now 25 year old daughter, Guillermina. Upon returning to Nicaragua about 5 years ago, she and critical members within the community of San Juan de La Concepcion began building this eco-hotel based upon the integration of Spanish and cultural learning classes with spreading environmental awareness to both the community as well as travelers passing through. This extremely inspirational lady puts all of the income the eco-hotel receives towards supporting the local people and economy by providing resources and community projects. These include the development of organic farms, the construction of a retaining wall, latrines, a small library at the Panama primary school, after school programs, reforestation projects, youth sports projects, wildlife and animal rescue, and other local employment opportunities. La Mariposa is a great example of how the integration of both critical environmental and social factors truly embody what it means to be sustainable.

Solar Energy

Amazingly most, if not all, of the energy used at La Mariposa is off the grid system!! The eco-hotel has 9 solar panels on the roof that uses the energy from the sun's rays to supply power to the building's refrigerator, internet, televisions, lights, and fans.  The 9 panels consist of photovoltaic (PV) cells that convert sunlight into an electric current. These photovoltaic cells have both a positive and negative slice of silicon (a semiconductor material) placed under a thin slice of glass, which form an electrical field created by the interaction of atoms from both sides. As photons of sunlight hit these panels, the electrons get "knocked off" causing a movement of electrons from one slice of silicon to another. However, this movement is one-way, from the positive layer to the negative layer, and so electrons become trapped in the negative layer. A small circuit of wires on the silicon catches these negative electrons, uses them to power the electrical appliances within the building, and then leads back to the positive layer of silicon, which completes the electric current and continues the cycle. The type of current produced is called direct current (D.C.) and before it may be used to power the eco-hotel, it is converted to alternating current (A.C.) by an electronic inverter. The solar panels are connected to batteries which store D.C. energy, convert it into A.C. through an inverter, and then distribute it throughout the building. Batteries like these are essential when sunlight is not available. Solar power is one of many alternative forms of energy that exist in our world day. Others include wind, hydro-electric, and geothermal, that also make a huge impact in the reduction of fossil fuel use and are key components of the current shifting vision of future energy use. Solar power at La Mariposa is just one illustration of the many environmentally sustainable practices exhibited at the site.

Organic Farms

La Mariposa has 3 producing and thriving organic farms.  One is on site behind the eco-hotel, another in the municipality of La Concha, and the last is located in the nearby neighborhood of Santiago. All together, they produce most of the food prepared and served at the eco-hotel.  This includes tomatoes, peppers, arugula, broccoli, squash, zucchini, pumpkin, melon, lettuce, citris plants, coffee, green beans, bananas, and more. The organic farm on the grounds at La Mariposa exemplifies the importance and benefits of natural symbioses between different types of vegetation and forms of wildlife. For example, the coffee plants are grown among fruit trees and local trees of the area like the Madero, Saba, Acheyote and Guanacaste trees. This assimilation of various plants and trees avoids the spread of disease and allows for a rich and diverse system of wildlife. These trees also offer shade to the coffee trees, attract many different bird species which contribute to the community by eating harmful insects that damage the plants, and branch and leaf litter that falls to the ground becomes decaying matter that helps retain moisture and restore soil nutrients. The interactive relationship between the eco-hotel and the farm demonstrates the very practical and mutual benefits obtained through sustainable practices. The pruning of coffee plants and other bigger trees offers firewood and construction materials to the eco-hotel and the used shower water provides water to the plants on the farm. By growing most of their own food, the eco-hotel supports the local economy and needs not depend on any international food companies that end up forcing smaller farmers out of the market who cannot compete against their low prices. This total organic process at La Mariposa allows workers and guests to enjoy natural delicious foods without the dangerous chemicals often applied to crops on commercial farms operated by global food companies.

Soil

The soil on the organic farms are made from a number of process that incorporate critical nutrients and create an ideal growing environment for the plants. La Mariposa makes use of all of their food scraps by either feeding them to the animals that live at the Eco-hotel or by integrating them into the worm compost for decomposition and soil production. La Mariposa buys fertilizer in large quantities from various local and organic soil providers which they use in combination with their own soil. Because of the volcanic geography of San Juan de La Concepcion, the soil is is extremely fertile and rich in phosphorus and nitrogen. The worm compost bins serve to break down organic waste and turn it into very nutrient- and vitamin-abundant soil. There is also a high concentration of bacteria, ranging from millions to billions of different types in a single handful, that are extremely beneficial for the plants. Parts of banana trunks that have been chopped up are layered on top of the worm compost to keep the soil moist and to add additional nutrients. This compost is then mixed with water and distributed over the plants as well as integrated into the soil. The fertilizer, volcanic soil, and compost/water mix is thus used in the cultivation of new plants and offers an extremely advantageous and healthy environment for them to grow. Many of these practices exhibited at La Mariposa were put in place and are maintained by the extremely experienced and knowledgeable gardeners and farmers that are employed from the community.

Animals
The chatter of toucans, parrots, parakeets, cicadas, frogs, monkeys and dogs are only a fraction of the variety of wildlife sounds you may hear as you arrive at La Mariposa. The number and variety of the animals not only creates an emotionally and synthetically pleasing ambiance of tropical life very present at La Mariposa but also plays an important role in the practice of sustainability for the eco-hotel. For example, the animals eat much of the food waste that can not be incorporated into the worm compost. Rice husk is used for the chickens because it produces a warm bedding for the birds to scratch, feed, and defecate in. Their feces are used as fertilizer and they are often released in the garden to eat many of the bugs, specifically the extremely destructive leaf cutter ants that are harmful to the plants and flowers. The chickens also produce eggs that are used in many meals served at the eco-hotel. The horses, cattle and oxen on the various organic farms offsite are used for transportation as well as milk and cheese production. La Mariposa also provides wildlife habitat in other ways, including the planting and preservation of a variety of flora for hummingbirds and butterflies. As mentioned earlier, the growth of natural large trees on the property attracts many bird species and provides a sanctuary for them in the midst of intense deforestation currently taking place in and around the country. These efforts to reestablish the natural vegetation have also created a habitat for iguanas, lizards, boas, squirrels, agoutis, and coatis. A frog pond on the grounds provides an ecosystem for some aquatic life, and since frogs eat insects, this also helps keep the mosquito population at a minimum. La Mariposa also rescues, rehabilitates, and then releases animals back into the wild when possible. The eco-hotel is currently home to four monkeys, seven dogs and five cats, all of which were taken in and nourished back to health. This too highlights the essence of sustainability as a holistic approach that incorporates social with environmental practices.

Author: Erica Wheeler-Dubin

La Mariposa: Spanish School, Community Projects & Activities

Spanish School

La Mariposa Escuela de Espanol has been operating since the beginning of the eco-hotel. During this time, they have established a great group of experienced, well-trained and professional teachers. All of them live in the local community. Bergman, the head of the school, uses a unique blend of language teaching skills, enthusiasm and humor to teach people of all levels and ages. Several of the teachers speak English, which helps people who have no previous Spanish skills. The teachers are happy to tailor classes around what each individual wants to learn about, whether it be exploring Nicaraguan recipe books, discussing current events, or strolling through La Mariposa’s beautiful grounds learning about medicinal plants. The teaching method that they have developed combines openness, humor and friendliness with professional Spanish language instruction. “The vast majority of Mariposa students leave the school not only much more fluent in Spanish but also having made good friends with their teachers here”, according to owner Paulette Goudge. Generally the classes are one on one; this approach is great for getting special attention and providing assistance with individual interests and learning styles. The teachers know that some students need serious grammar study but by mixing exciting conversational teaching with a range of activities, the results are much more successfully and enjoyable! Kids and adults are all invited to participate in classes. La Mariposa is much more than just a Spanish school though.  Yhey use their profits to support a number of projects within the community. This directly benefits the Spanish school because the students are able to get involved with the local community and every activity or outing provides an opportunity to practice speaking Spanish.

Community Projects

Paulette describes the community projects as being organic in nature, as they are not based on a set blueprint.  Rather, they grow and evolve according to the inputs of all people involved. Paulette and her interns undertake a large range of projects, using donations from students and visitors to assist with requests from the community. Though there innumerable such projects, I would like to describe the one that three of our group members volunteered at. The Santiago "Story Corner" after-school program began in 2007 by the international organization Save the Children, in conjunction with the private nonprofit organization Libros Para Niños (Books for Kids). A building was constructed for a small library in the barrio (neighborhood) of Santiago, which is part of La Concha. The "Story Corner" provides an after-school activity for children, and the building has become a social meeting place for the kids. In March of 2010, representatives from Save the Children told Paulette that they would be cutting funding and could no longer afford to pay the teacher. Paulette agreed to continue paying the teacher and Libros Para Niños agreed to continue sending books. The guests at La Mariposa also contribute to the success of this project by donating additional books, clothing, school supplies, and toys. Guest can volunteer to read with the kids, or just spend time with the kids. Three of the participants from our group; Tait, Jeanne and Joan; spent the afternoon reading with the kids. It took a little while for the kids to warm up to them but they eventually opened up enough to participate in an impromptu yoga class taught by Jeanne. This picture show them beginning in a circle and ending in a relaxing position on the ground. 

Reforestation Projects

Another community project of La Mariposa is focused on reforestation. Deforestation in Nicaragua is due to domestic and commercial wood consumption and is compounded by the fact that Nicaragua is the poorest country in Central America. La Mariposa strives to actively participate in reforestation projects and other actions that will directly benefit the environment. Paulette explained to us during a tour of the grounds that when a tree sapling appears in the garden, they don’t just pull it out; they let it grow because she knows that it will provide many benefits. Recently, Paulette initiated a program in the local secondary school educating the students on conservation and protection of the environment. Educating local youth helps shape the next generation of environmental stewards. La Mariposa also works closely with the Ministry of the Environment on reforestation projects whenever they can. On the Mariposa grounds a small plant nursery is maintained and saplings and ornamental plants are then donated to various projects and people in the community. These plants now grow in schools and public space in and around La Concha. For example, in November 2010 they undertook a project that involved planting about 20 large trees around the sports field in San Juan to provide shade. During our visit, Erica (another participant) and I helped Santos, one of the grounds-keepers, fill bags with soil that will eventually become the home to different plants that will be used to help with reforestation.

Employment Project
“La Mariposa Eco-Hotel and Spanish School is a project in and of itself . . .” Several jobs have been created to employee the local community. Their policy is to employ people exclusively from La Concha, and the only people they accept from outside the community are interns or volunteers who are not getting paid for their work. Close to 40 people and their families benefit from this project. Most are employees at the hotel (teachers, maintenance workers, kitchen staff, etc.) other people also benefit from the various projects, such as salaries paid to teachers in the local schools, community organizers, and farm workers. There are also locally made goods for sale at the eco-hotel. One aspect of the project that is really exciting is the homestay opportunity that La Mariposa offers. This program not only provides income to local families in exchange for taking guests into their homes, but also gives visitors a chance to become a part of a Nicaraguan family. La Mariposa’s primary goal is to provide wages that are above average. This employment project also has a ripple effect: Most of the income provided to individuals or families remains in the local community, and they also hire people who might otherwise have difficulties finding work. In fact, the work environment at La Mariposa seems more like a family household in which the workers support and help each other. Paulette explains her own philosophy behind the idea of employing locals: “First and foremost the Mariposa believes in trying to repay a tiny bit of the debt the "First World" owes to the "Third World" by using the income from students and visitors to employ people from the local community - there is no better way to empower someone than exchange a fair day’s work for a fair day’s pay.”

Activities

La Mariposa offers a variety of activities that guests can enjoy during their stay, including afternoon activities and Saturday trips scheduled on a monthly cycle. Sunday horseback riding and guided garden tours are offered on La Mariposa grounds, and are more than willing to assist in whatever way they can with organizing travel plans to other destinations on request.    All of the activities are designed to provide enjoyable ways to practice speaking Spanish and learning more about Nicaragua. La Mariposa incorporates a unique mixture of discussions, local outings by foot or horseback, and visits places further away using their microbus or public transport. The eco-hotel is centrally located – less than an hour from the capital city of Managua, Laguna de Apoyo, the town of Masaya, Masaya volcano, San Juan del Oriente, and Catarina. Other nearby destinations are places such as Granada, León, Playa la Coquito, and Volcán Mombacho. Although we didn’t go explore any of these places with La Mariposa, our group did get to visit picturesque Granada, a quaint colonial town not to far away. Included are some pictures from our excursion. We all wish we had more time to spend in colorful Granada, as it is rich culturally and historically and full of exciting things to see and do.  For more in-depth information about La Mariposa and their projects, visit: www.mariposaspanishschool.com.

Author: Amanda Gates

Asociacion de Mujeres Agroindustriales de San Luis de Grecia, Alajuela (ASOMAG)

The Asociacion de Mujeres Agroindustriales de San Luis de Grecia, Alajuela (ASOMAG) is comprised of 6 dynamic women dedicated to the production and commercialization of high-quality natural beauty products. Using only freshly picked herbs from their organic farm, the women produce fragrant shampoos, soaps, gel, creams and balms. Among the most common plants grown are rosemary, chamomile, aloe vera, blackwood and indigo. Their office, laboratory and one-hectare plot are nestled on the stunning slopes of the Poas Volcano, in the small town of San Luis, about 15 minutes from the city of Grecia.

ASOMAG bears a long interesting history shaped by incredibly active housewives. In the early 90s, numerous coffee plantations in the high zones of Grecia were destroyed by acid rains produced by Volcano Poas and as a result suffered severe economic losses. In search of more viable income opportunities, citizens of the community, the majority of whom were the wives of farmers, began to organize. In 1992, the first 35 women and men came together and initiated a series of income generating projects ranging from crafting and selling pajamas and stuffed animals for children to handbags for women. Between 1992 and 1995, various projects emerged, but only one proved to be most promising: organic agriculture with a primary focus on medicinal plants. It was an idea that held great possibility as it combined the agricultural expertise of the region with the traditional knowledge of natural remedies applied by mothers and grandmothers. Furthermore, the inspiration behind “going organic” came from one of the founders of ASOMAG, who was adamantly against chemical-based production because her son had been diagnosed with leukemia.

Through immense dedication and self-motivation, ASOMAG was fully formed in 1997 by 13 women, many with either a K-6 or K-12 education. Their success can be largely attributed to the array of partnerships formed with local, national and international organizations. In 1994, several years prior to their official formation, this loosely organized group of women needed to first secure land in order to fulfill their vision of a medicinal plant business. They identified a farmer in the community by the name of Elicier with extra plots to spare. Due to the strong “macho” culture, the women approached his wife and encouraged her to convince her husband to loan them a parcel of his land. They succeeded, but lacked the skills and knowledge of organic production to begin cultivation. Through Elicier’s contacts in the Ministry of Agriculture, they were linked to Yasuhiro, a young Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) volunteer who worked tirelessly with the group for nearly 6 years, renewing his contract every 2 years, to make sure the women had the support and resources needed to become a sustainable organization. He thoroughly trained the group in organic agricultural techniques, laying the crucial groundwork necessary for production . Yasuhiro is deeply admired by the ASOMAG women. He is claimed to be the main engine that moved the project forward in its initial stages and gave them the credibility they needed to secure additional funding from outside sources. It is important to note that when the women first began cultivating medicinal plants on their “borrowed” farm, it was riddled with harmful chemicals. Elicier, like many farmers of his day, practiced intense chemical- based farming. Yasuhiro and the women tried their best to cleanse the soil, but the transition from chemical to organic takes approximately 3 years. Nevertheless, organic agriculture was pursued and many lessons were learned.


Between 1997 and 1998, the Instituto de Desarrollo Agrario (IDA), an agency that promotes the fair distribution of land, entered the picture, helping them secure the status of a true “Association” and also a new agricultural parcel. Prior to this point, women were by law prohibited from owning land without their husbands. For the first time, IDA had made it possible for women to become the sole owners of land. The hectare donated, however, was once again filled with chemicals and the group spent another number of years slowly making the transition to organic.

This period was also marked by rapid personal and professional growth through capacitation workshops and donations provided by a variety of institutions that gave the women the confidence and business skills to begin building a business. Workshops on gender, self-esteem and leadership were offered by the Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje (INA), a national vocational training institute, and business management courses were delivered by FUNDECOOPERACION, a Holland-based organization that provides funding and technical assistance to sustainable development projects. Despite economic limitations, the women managed to pool their resources together to install a small nursery of ornamental and medicinal plants. The income generated from this particular project allowed them to invest in workshops on transforming their medicinal plants into products. Paid workshops on the production of all-natural products were made available by the University of Costa Rica. The same ingredients and recipes that were presented at these workshops are still reproduced to this day, but the concoctions have been perfected over time. As the women demonstrated their expertise and potential success in organic agriculture, medicinal plant production and the all-natural beauty product industry, FUNDECOOPERACION eventually donated funds for the construction of a laboratory and office, and covered the all the costs of their equipment.


Today, ASOMAG is a thriving female microenterprise with a “triple bottom line” business model that takes into consideration the people, profit and the environment. It claims to have the mission of not only selling high-quality products, but more importantly, educating the community about the important uses of medicinal plants and promoting the consumption of organic vegetables to protect the health of Costa Rican families as well as the environment. ASOMAG’s products are called “Yasu,” named in honor of the memorable JICA volunteer who “planted” and “nurtured” the seeds of their growth. Its 20-product line is sold to various “macrobioticas” (i.e. health food stores) in Costa Rica, mainly in Zarcero, Ingresia, Alajuela, San Jose, Heredia and San Carlos. The goods are also being made available by private businesses in Switzerland, Belgium and the United States. This past year, ASOMAG achieved organic certification of its farm and are slowly gaining organic certification for its products by the Ministry of Health. Product certification is costly, ranging from $1,000 to $1,500 per year to maintain its certification. Moreover, each product requires a one-time fee of $300 (cosmetic) to $500 (medicinal) to become certified. Despite these major costs, ASOMAG has managed to fund their entire operation including staff salaries solely through the sales of their products.


The women of ASOMAG have shown to the community and especially to themselves the power of perseverance and the far reaching effects of doing something positive for others. One of the members of the Association is a middle-aged mother of six who endured decades of physical and emotional abuse by her husband. After reaching unimaginable levels of financial and emotional independence, she broke the cycle of violence by leaving him and became committed to taking care of herself and her children on her own. Elecier, skeptical of organic farming in the beginning, witnessed first-hand the many “fruits” it yielded on the plot he loaned to the women and eventually decided to switch his entire farm to organic. Driving along the main road in San Luis towards ASOMAG headquarters, one can see a large sign in big, bold letters proudly promoting Elecier’s organic farm. The community also organizes weekly organic produce fairs. One wonders how much of this community tradition was influenced by the women of ASOMAG.

Achieving gender equity in the business industry is extremely challenging in the developing world. ASOMAG started with a group of 13 highly motivated women and gradually dwindled to the current 6 members. About half of the women lacked spousal support or became drained from having jumped so many hurdles that stood in their path. Nevertheless, the power of women in achieving sustainable development cannot be underestimated. ASOMAG has brilliantly demonstrated how ordinary women, particularly housewives, have creatively leveraged local, national and international resources to sustain and evolve their small communities.

Author: Joan Ngo

NOTE: A directed study comparative analysis paper with further details on this and similar sites is available here: Achieving Sustainable Development Through Women's Entrepreneurship: A Comparative Study of Social Microenterprises in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Colectivo Feminino Rescatando Nuestra Ecologia (COFERENE)

The Colectivo Feminino Rescatando Nuestra Ecologia (COFERENE) is a fascinating hybrid of a grassroots organization and microenterprise devoted to protecting the environment through comprehensive recycling programs and fostering community activism through information, communication and environmental education. Created by a group of housewives in San Juan, San Ramon in 1995, COFERENE is a predominately female-managed organization whose recycling initiative has become a model for the nation. The wide range of social and environmental activities combined with its multiple partnerships with the government, businesses and NGOs, transformed COFERENE from a small community-based organization to one of national notoriety with international support from organizations like the World Wildlife Fund.


Maria Isabel Ramirez Castro founded COFERENE fifteen years ago during a time when women’s groups and recycling programs did not exist. Her idea to recycle was sparked one day after cleaning up a mess left after a holiday celebration in the community. She began collecting newspapers amid scrutiny from her neighbors. All solid waste was perceived as garbage and such work was considered strange. Despite public disapproval, Maria managed to sell the idea of recycling to other housewives in the community who wanted to make a difference in their own lives and the lives of others.

Not long after, 15 housewives convened and formed an organization in attempt to generate supplemental family income and break out of their traditional roles of homemakers. In the process, they also became a practical solution to the community’s environmental problem. In the initial stages of COFERENE, there was no facility and no funds. Members collected recyclables on foot and then slowly progressed to the use of a city truck borrowed from the municipality. Items were stored in their own homes. Eventually, they rented out a warehouse and their organization snowballed from there.

COFERENE collects, classifies and packs paper, plastic, glass, aluminum and cardboard goods from San Ramon and other nearby counties. The sorted goods are then sold to local businesses (such as a furniture production factory in Palmares), national companies (like Dos Pinos) and even transnational corporations (like Coca-Cola). There are buyers for all materials and COFERENE keeps track of what is bought, by whom, when, at what price and under what conditions. Any waste leftover is channeled to the city dump. The municipality donated landfill space for COFERENE to use.

Trash collection is completely free to the community. Due to resource constraints, the group has only one truck that works with a series of established routes. Currently they collect mainly from institutions such as small shops, businesses, hospitals and schools who save their recyclables until pick up day. One of the future goals of COFERENE is to cover households with the support of the municipality as it involves more trucks and manpower. Approximately 10-12 tons of solid waste is processed at the recycling center. Most of the waste is paper and cardboard. There are also “high and low seasons” for waste. During the holidays such as Christmas and Holy Week, more paper and cardboard is generated and all of it is recycled.





In addition to the recycling program, COFERENE conducts outreach to various sectors in the community. They deliver environmental workshops, presentations and talks to businesses and K-12 schools. Courses on waste production and management teach businesses the environmental impacts of making and disposing plastic and offer alternatives. In partnership with students from the University of Costa Rica, the organization developed an environmental education program based on the use of of theater, cartoons and age-appropriate materials. City-wide campaigns on the “Recollection of Solid Waste Recyclables” are organized throughout the year to raise awareness at all levels of society.

COFERENE depends on multiple partnerships: governmental, corporate and private and NGOs. The organizations that have been the most instrumental in the success of the organization are: the Instituto Humanista Para la Cooperacion de los Paises en Desarrollo (HIVOS) who provided funding and technical support, FUNDECOOPERACION who encouraged COFERENE to formally become a microenterprise, Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje who currently offers free workshops to COFERENE members and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) who has supplied the group with environmental educational materials.

Despite multi-level institutional support, COFERENE still faces serious obstacles to maintain their growth. The municipality can be unresponsive to their request for funds and support. Operational costs are high and worker wages are low. The constant lack of funds and risk of rejection of their projects are always on the horizon. This year, COFERENE managed to secure 3 months worth of salary for each worker from the Ministry of Work. It is an opportunity that can be solicited through paperwork every year, but not guaranteed.








The group has had its peaks and valleys. Like most organizations, there has been a dwindling in membership and currently there are 7 full-time staff working at the center. However, no matter how great the challenge, COFERENE has remarkably managed to grow and flourish. There appears to be a legacy of passionate, charismatic female leaders managing the organization. Maria Teresa Arguedas Delgado is currently the Vice President and while she wasn’t involved in the group in the beginning, she is extremely active in all areas of the organization. She not only works alongside her staff, sorting paper and other materials, but also conducts presentations at schools and business, manages the overall operations of the microenterprise and provides unlimited leadership and enthusiasm for the program to her staff and community.




An organization like COFERENE provides an excellent perspective on the many obstacles women have faced in launching sustainable development projects as well as the incredible gains that they have made amid such odds. Aguedas claims that the greatest achievements in the organization have been the national recognition as both a grassroots organization and microenterprise, and the transformation of women from ordinary housewives into social entrepreneurs. The women have learned not only how to make a positive impact, but also how to manage a sustainable business. Participating in workshops allows them to share their achievements with other like-minded women and also learn from the experience of others. They are constantly empowering and being empowered in this line of work.

Author: Joan Ngo

NOTE: A directed study comparative analysis paper with further details on this and similar sites is available here: Achieving Sustainable Development Through Women's Entrepreneurship: A Comparative Study of Social Microenterprises in Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Catarata Eco-lodge

Catarata Eco-lodge first started as an organic agriculture project in 1992 with the help of the World Wildlife Fund and the Ministry of Agriculture. During this period, farmers were growing tired of their failed production on chemical-filled farms and the diseases emerging as a result of consuming the produce. Eleven families convened in an effort to pursue more sustainable initiatives and formed the” Pro-Environmental and Sustainable Development Association.” The organic agriculture project managed by this Association was designed FOR and BY the community and cultivated papaya, yucca and corn for commercial purposes. Over time, as ecotourism appeared in the area, the Association decided it would be more beneficial to focus on an Eco-lodge business instead. The families pooled together their resources and took out a loan from the National Costa Rican bank to construct the first rooms. Catarata is the first true Eco-lodge in La Fortuna, dedicated to conserving the environment and reducing its impact on the planet.

Catarata Eco-lodge began with only 4 rooms in 1995. There were no telephones, no roads, and not even furniture. The families of the Association as well as the community collected donations of furniture, sheets and silverware to start the operations of the Eco-lodge. They also worked diligently with the local government to build roads, establish phone lines and gain access clean water. In the early stages of its development, there were very few visitors. Not many tourists new about the Eco-lodge. Until one day, two German tourists stumbled upon their business and after their stay, submitted information about Catarata to Lonely Planet. The unexpected recommendation increased their number of visitors and encouraged them to expand further. Today, the Eco-lodge is comprised of 19 comfortable rooms with hot water, private bathrooms and ceiling fans. The water in two of their rooms are powered by solar energy. This is an attempt to save energy and further comply with CST standards to increase their rating. The rooms are surrounded by beautiful gardens, containing a wealth of tropical plant species and scenic landscapes. A large pool is located in the center of the property. There is a magnificent view of the Arenal Volcano and plenty of nearby attractions to explore such as natural thermal springs and spas, hiking trails, caves, a wildlife refuge, waterfalls and rivers.


In this picture Hannia Berrocal , the owner and manager of the Catarata Ecolodge, is giving us a presentation on the crossroads of Ecotourism, Community Development and Sustainable Development as represented by the Eco-lodge. In 2003, Hannia and her husband who were part of the Association from its inception bought the Eco-lodge and are currently the sole owners. The Association is still working in the community on various projects and the Eco-lodge supports their efforts. We are shown here sitting in the dining room of the lodge. There is ample dining space where typical Costa Rican cuisine is served daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Service is quick and the food is exceptionally good. Among their best dishes are the Casado (rice, beans, vegetables, plantains and your choice of meat), Sopa Negra (a black bean broth soap) and Pescado al Ajillo (grilled garlic fish). Restaurant hours are from 7 am to 8 pm. Breakfast is included in lodging. Meals are very affordable and typically range between $2 -$8 US dollars. Free unlimited Wi-Fi internet is also offered in this area. As a community-based Eco-lodge, dining space is frequently donated to local schools and community groups for special events.

As a certified sustainable business, Catarata strives to reduce their carbon footprint by growing their own fruits and vegetables for the restaurant. Throughout the year, pineapple, lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro and other seasonal produce is cultivated and harvested. The Eco-lodge also owns a parabolic solar cooker, which is a reflective dish that concentrates sunlight until the food in the center is cooked. These solar cookers are known to be quite dangerous as the sun’s energy can be concentrated to an extreme point that cannot be immediately seen and surrounding flammable objects can catch on fire. Parabolic solar cookers are usually compared to the box cooker which is basically an insulated box with a reflecting glass or plastic lid allowing sunlight to enter through the top and slowly heating up the box. The one major drawback to the box solar cooker is that energy enters only through the top while escaping through the other sides, pulling heat away from the food. Catarata uses the parabolic solar cooker for educational purposes, demonstrating its functions to students from local elementary and secondary schools. Additionally, the Association received funds 3 years ago to secure a truck for a local women’s recycling project. Catarata has large receptacles stored in the dining area to collect plastic bottles and other containers for the women’s group.




The picture to the bottom left is of a Paca Agouti, a solitary nocturnal animal which can be found in Latin America from Mexico to Paraguay and considered to be the second- largest rodent species behind the Capybara . They have coarse brown to black fur on the upper body and white on the underbelly. They live in the rainforests near water and feed on plants and seeds of the forest understory. Paca Agoutis are claimed to be one of the most important herbivores in the rainforest and play an important role in forest dynamics as seed predators and dispersers. They are considered as agricultural pests and therefore killed by farmers. As a result, they are endangered throughout Costa Rica. In an effort to boost their population, the Eco-lodge started a Paca Agouti breeding program to reintroduce the mammals back to the natural environment. Currently, there are four at Catarata with two of them brought from Guanacaste.

Shown to the right is Catarata’s rating by the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST). As of September of 2010, the Ecolodge holds a #2 out of #5 rating. CST is a program of the Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) and based on the degree to which they comply with a sustainable model of natural, cultural and social resource management. CST is regulated by the Costa Rican National Accreditation Commission and consists of 5 “levels” of sustainable tourism achievement. Certification is renewed every year and the evaluation process is very demanding. Four fundamental aspects are evaluated: (1) physical-biological parameters, (2) infrastructure and services (exclusive for lodging companies), (3) external client and (4) socio-economic environment. For each and every one of these items a list of specific questions is designed to help evaluate how thoroughly the firm complies with a series of standard s previously established. Each and every one of the questions refers to an element of sustainability with which the firm should comply in order to qualify in any one of the different stages or levels of fulfillment. It has implications for both the tourism operator and the tourist. For the tourism operator, it adds a new level of competitiveness distinguishing its product from others. It also encourages companies to use their resources more efficiently and promotes savings, which always has positive impacts on a business. For the tourist, it helps identify which businesses are pursuing sustainable initiatives. Catarata is continually upgrading their Eco-lodge and raising their sustainability standards by finding new ways to reduce their environmental impact such as installing more energy panels, growing more of their own food and supporting community projects like the women's recycling program. Their commitment to professional growth, preserving the environment and community development is what makes the lodge truly eco-friendly and a reflection of sustainable development.

Author: Joan Ngo