First of all, what are The Monteverde Institute and Life Monteverde, and what do they do?
We touched on this amazing philanthropic organization in a previous post, and in recent months their continued work has warranted a second, more dedicated look. After all, when you have this many different programs active, your ability to affect change is massive. In this article, we’ll be exploring a little bit more about these two organizations, including their purposes, projects, and how you can help.
The Monteverde Institute is a non-profit organization created in 1986 with a focus on teaching 3 key types of sustainability; social, environmental, and economic. They accomplish this mammoth task through myriad programs that include:
Reforestation,
Health,
Environmental education,
Sustainable economics,
cultural exchange,
citizen science,
sustainable futures,
A library
And much more.
They are also deeply ingrained in the community and organize community events like concerts which they finance through their academic programs, programs that allow international students to study in Monteverde. When you think about it, it's sort of like getting paid to provide a valuable resource so you can provide more valuable resources… and that’s what’s known as a win-win.
This is Selena Avendano. She is the Community Initiatives Center Director here in Monteverde, and she has agreed to talk to us about the programs that are running and why she feels they are so important… not only for the community but globally.
Selena was born and raised here in Costa Rica, and its people are a cause near and dear to her heart.
This is what she had to say when we asked her about the Monteverde Institute and her goals for the organization.
Hi Selena, thanks so much for taking the time to talk to us. I stumbled across The Monteverde Institute while I was doing research for another post, and I was so impressed by the breadth of the organization and the number of programs that are available here.
How long has The Institute been working with the local community?
The Monteverde Institute was founded in 1986 by and for the community and has been working, not only in Monteverde but along neighboring communities in the Bellbird Biological Corridor.
Why was the Monteverde Institute founded?
It was founded by the community and for the community with the idea to create a model of sustainable tourism where we could take academic tourism which has a more positive and sustainable impact on the community. And try to create win-win situations where we can take advantage of the open classroom that Monteverde is, to teach and learn about sustainability, which is a global concern through place-based education, and at the same time leave a positive impact on the community whether this is staying with families in the area, or there could be a good cultural exchange. Or doing research in the area, or contributing to some kind of community program, and at the same time all accessed funds that come from these academic programs are reinvested in the community through the Center of Community Initiatives.
I know you are a native Costa Rican, so you have first-hand knowledge of the tourism industry here, and you have had a front-row seat for all of the changes that the country’s popularity has caused… but what brought you, personally, to the Monteverde Institute?
What brought me to the Monteverde Institute is that I believe in the organization. I believe that it has kept itself sincere to its values. I believe in collaborative efforts. The Monteverde Institute has given me a place where I can work on projects that represent the values that I believe in.
When it comes to tourism, I believe that the tourism industry has many levels. Some could be considered very positive, and some which are challenges that we need to work on. I appreciate having a job that allows me to work in trying to improve the impact of tourism in the community in a positive aspect and I think it’s a model that hopefully can be replicated in other places.
That is understanding that we should not be promoting mass tourism but rather quality of tourism and trying to figure out solutions to mitigate the negative impact of tourism and to promote the positive aspects of tourism.
You have programs that cover everything from reforestation to social economics to citizen science, so this might be a tough question, but do you have a personal favorite? And why?
I do not have a personal favorite, I think my favorite aspect of the Monteverde Institute precisely is that we are a multidisciplinary team, that we approach challenges in a more wholesome way, so instead of believing there is a single solution for everything, we understand that it is more an integration of different elements and understanding the different elements and how they contribute to each other where real solutions lie and where more resilient solutions lie. And also having this team of people allows us to do more collaborative work, not only inside the Monteverde Institute but also, in other organizations in the community and beyond.
I have to ask… what exactly IS citizen science, and how does that program impact the community?
Citizen Science is a way in which we can include people who are not necessarily from the scientific community in the scientific process, in creating data. And this, depending on the program can have different benefits. On the one hand, it's a way of educating people about science. It is also a way that people can contribute to science without being scientists.
So, doing activities like monitoring different things allows these people to contribute, and this is also beneficial because this way we can generate data for scientific research faster because we have all these people contributing to the scientific method.
The programs that we include, for example, include “Adopt a Stream”, which has been a good way of educating the community about what is happening in our streams. With some less complex methods of evaluating what is the situation of the streams, it educates the community, about what's happening with our streams, but it also helps us create data.
Also with bird population monitoring, it has been really good to generate data and to educate people about what's happening, so it’s a powerful tool to not only include people in this process but also to promote conservation.
I know that programs like these are meant to help the local community grow and thrive and to give them the tools to be successful and self-sufficient, as well as to spread awareness about the importance of sustainable practices and reforestation… but surely when you teach so many people and those people grow up and find their way in the world- the impact of this little institute must spread way beyond the borders of Monteverde, or even Costa Rica. Have any of the people from your programs moved on to bigger and better things that will have a global impact?
The Monteverde Institute believes in collaboration, so it’s not only the impact that we have as a little organization. It is also the impact we have for promoting collaboration which strengthens our work, it strengthens our mission, but also it is the fact that we get many students from other parts of the world and sustainability is not an issue only of Monteverde, it is a global issue.
So yes, a lot of our students go out and do further things but also some of the things that happen at the Institute get published, get to be well known, get to inspire people. We get inspired by the feedback that we get from things that are being published.
So yes, it has a much broader impact. That is one of the benefits of being in a place that has academic tourism. The impact that it has is not only what happens here on the ground, it is what happens once our students get back home.
How does that make you feel?
I am proud that we get to do something that has a positive impact on our planet. I am glad that we get to ask questions, try to find solutions, to work together as a group- as a collective- in trying to build a community whether it be Monteverde, the Bellbird Biologic Community or the academic community, or the people who visit us.
Creating a community that learns about the importance of sustainability and about the six ways in which we can promote it. This is really important because I want to have a planet where my kid can live in it in the future.
I’d like to thank you again for taking the time to share a little about this amazing non-profit organization with us, and for helping us to understand more about how our tourism dollars can affect the local population so that we can be conscious consumers and make sure that our time in Monteverde leaves a positive impact. My last question is this. If you had a chance to stand on a world stage and tell us what you think is the most important lesson for small communities to learn that will help them get the most from global tourism?
I think the most important thing that we have to understand is that collaboration, working together, building community, is really important, and that hopefully tourism can come in to strengthen the sense of community instead of driving us apart.
If we want truly resilient communities in any situation, we need to find ways in which we can collaborate, in which we can build an identity, in which -instead of thinking about competition- we think of ways in which we can build together, an area. Because there comes a time when we all need to ask for help, and hopefully we can all support each other.
I would like to thank Selena for taking the time to talk to me, and for helping me to understand the importance of these programs. I hope this is a theme that continues to grow and spread so that we, as a species, can become better and stronger… together.
In many instances, the Institute collaborates with another important part of the community, an organization known as Life Monteverde.
Located on the Canitas Farm, LIFE (Low Impact For Earth) Monteverde is an educational program dedicated to teaching sustainable farming practices that ensure the health and viability of Costa Rica’s rich soils and maintains the integrity of its farming community.
Born in 2008, the program organizes educational activities for both locals and visitors with the belief that if people understand the type of simple day-to-day habits that they can do to help the environment, then they will not only change their habits, but they will spread the word.
And that sustainability can spread and grow, just like the many types of flora that call Monteverde home. The programs are carried out on the farm which covers 42 acres of land in Monteverde and teaches people about coffee production, organic agriculture, conservation, and low-environmental-impact energy systems.
Life Monteverde, in turn, works in collaboration with Planeterra, a global organization that is doing amazing things to help grow the economies of dozens of small communities around the world.
When you dig a little deeper you find Planeterra.Org, another and much bigger non-profit that works around the world to help “support and uplift community tourism.” What does that mean? If you have ever heard the term “fair trade” you probably understand that in many of the poorer countries around the globe, communities are often exploited.
By that, we mean that the workers, producers, and artisans within the community may grow, create, and trade some amazing things, but they seldom get a fair price for those products. Because they desperately need the income, they will often accept ridiculously low wages paid to them by global corporations who then take their work and sell it to tourists at huge profit margins.
Planetarra works with communities like this to help them understand the power they have and the value of their time and skill. They protect them from exploitation and promote the type of economic growth that can take a small community in a third-world country and allow it to thrive and grow.
Perhaps that’s what makes Planeterra’s Business Model so effective. By partnering with people who live in these countries, who have history and family there, they ensure that these partners care about the growth of the community, and also understand where the problems lie and what needs to be done to improve the quality of life there.
Planeterra teaches these communities how to manage their businesses, invest in their economies, and ultimately can support themselves to such a degree that common problems like lack of education and healthcare can be addressed without reliance on outside help.
Programs like this also help to promote and preserve skills and traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. When Indigenous groups and minorities can support their families using traditional skills then those skills become valuable and the culture that goes along with them continues to be passed down. Otherwise, these minorities may find themselves having to move away from their ancestral homes to find work, and the culture declines.
The ultimate goal is to help these communities become self-sufficient and strong.
Planeterra works through local partners like Life Monteverde in over 78 different countries, including:
How amazing is that?
To donate to this amazing organization, or learn how you can come and study in paradise, click here.
Now that we understand the powerhouse that is helping Life Monteverde, it’s easier to understand how a community as small and rural as Monteverde has become the mountain metropolis that it is.
The more you learn about the Monteverde Institute, Life Monteverde and Planeterra.org, the more you realize how much the interconnectedness of the modern world affects other people and places. When we go on vacation, we tend to think about things we want to see and experience, but we, perhaps, don’t think about the socioeconomic factors that are going on behind the scenes.
Maybe now that we understand it a little better, we can all make an effort to seek out the small local businesses that make up those communities, and who depend on visitors like us to support their families… and to be aware of the work of organizations like these. And to offer them our support.
Besides, getting involved in programs like these, and interacting with small business owners, artisans, and farmers is just so much more interesting, isn’t it?
There are lots of ways you can interact with and impact local Monteverde businesses when you visit, and you can learn more about them by clicking this link.