After visiting the women of La Grecia, we hit the road to head to the GARBO community where our home stays would take place. On the way we stopped at a tourist spot to have lunch. Lunch consisted of peanut butter and guava jelly sandwiches, bananas, and cookies. When we finished our lunch we explored the area and had the chance to see a waterfall. We then gathered back together and loaded up the buses to finish the trip to GARBO. When we got there we met with some of the community members to learn about the community itself. After we talked about the co-op, we split off into what would be our families for the next two days. We received what we would need for our stays, loaded up the buses, and drove up to our houses.
The community came together in 2003 because of the international drop in the price of coffee. When they first started the co-op, the focus was on three main areas with the main goal being to export coffee. These main areas included credit, ecotourism, and coffee. They started with 38 members and now have 81. In the community, about 24 farmers focus mainly on coffee production. 38% of the community members are women. These women have taken special courses in food preparation for ecotourism purposes. Through their ecotourism they can receive up to 30 people. This same group of women are also during artisan work which includes hand made jewelry. The community is also known as the “Guardians of the Forest.”
Photo Credit Ariel Watson
For Heather, Emily, Hailey, and myself, when we got to our house we instantly were offered coffee. We accepted and it was some of the best coffee we ever had. Our host mom, Cristina, then had us wash our hands and help prepare dinner. The dinner for our family included tortillas, eggs, and of course gallo pinto. At first we were nervous, but it was a great way for us to submerge ourselves into this new culture we’ve been leaning about for weeks.