Traveling to Source: Costa Rica
May 14, 2008
I have 25 years of work in the coffee
industry under my belt, but this was my first trip to a coffee growing
region. I think it’s great that Portland Roasting provides
opportunities for their employees to travel to source and glad it was my
turn to go!
We
first chose to partner with the Vargas family in a Farm Friendly Direct
project because of the consistent quality of their coffee and their
commitment to a higher standard of living for their workers. There are 70
houses on the farm provided by the Vargas family for the families of
long-time workers. Labor is actually difficult to retain in this region
because of the proximity to San Jose and the increased availability of
jobs in the city. Though there are schools in the regions the kids can be
bussed to, the family chose to furnish a school for the kids to keep them
on the farm and closer to their families. The family donates the
facilities and services, while the Ministry of Education provides the
teachers who adhere to the standard curriculum in the country. Overall,
education is a priority for the government and is probably the best system
in Central America (they don’t have an army either!).
Portland
Roasting’s participation here began with supporting a computer lab
at the school, predominantly used by students of middle-school age. The
computers were initially donated by a group of coffee roasters but then we
stepped up and solely paid for a computer teachers’ salary for
several years. In the fall we were able to secure Internet access at the
school (yea!) and for Christmas this past year we donated an additional
computer in lieu of printing greeting cards.
When speaking with Maria, the head teacher, and Patricia, the principal, through a translator we were able to pinpoint their needs for the future. First we will work on getting the kids instruction on utilizing the internet for educational purposes and then set up a pen pal program with students of similar age here in Portland. Portland Public Schools maintain several Spanish immersion programs. My goal is to assist in deepening the language skills of the Portland students and connect the Costa Rican students to the community who consumes so much of their product.
Our next step is getting English classes via Internet to the students. We are collaborating with Portland State University on this venture.
Also… being a soccer fan, I have a side dream to find some supplies for the schools’ soccer team. With Nike and Adidas in this town, it seems like I can come up with something!
The experience of meeting the kids and teachers was just incredible.
They were amazed when I showed them the photos of their school on our
website. They showed me some of the projects they had done in a previous
computer class and talked about their favorite things to do: one loved
soccer, another dance, another’s favorite thing to do was eat the
food served at school. I made sure to convey to them of how important
their families are to us (all of us who consume their great coffee) and
how much we appreciate their parents’ hard work. The school is in
such a beautiful, natural setting; the kids seemed calm and genuinely
happy, not like the average city kid. I am so pleased that we can help in
providing a progressive education for them (they are the only school in
their rural area with internet access) and allow them learn in such a safe
and pristine place so close to their homes.
Check the La Hilda page for updates on this project, watch video from my trip and by all means order some Costa Rican La Hilda Coffee and try it out!
We
first chose to partner with the Vargas family in a Farm Friendly Direct
project because of the consistent quality of their coffee and their
commitment to a higher standard of living for their workers. There are 70
houses on the farm provided by the Vargas family for the families of
long-time workers. Labor is actually difficult to retain in this region
because of the proximity to San Jose and the increased availability of
jobs in the city. Though there are schools in the regions the kids can be
bussed to, the family chose to furnish a school for the kids to keep them
on the farm and closer to their families. The family donates the
facilities and services, while the Ministry of Education provides the
teachers who adhere to the standard curriculum in the country. Overall,
education is a priority for the government and is probably the best system
in Central America (they don’t have an army either!). Portland
Roasting’s participation here began with supporting a computer lab
at the school, predominantly used by students of middle-school age. The
computers were initially donated by a group of coffee roasters but then we
stepped up and solely paid for a computer teachers’ salary for
several years. In the fall we were able to secure Internet access at the
school (yea!) and for Christmas this past year we donated an additional
computer in lieu of printing greeting cards. When speaking with Maria, the head teacher, and Patricia, the principal, through a translator we were able to pinpoint their needs for the future. First we will work on getting the kids instruction on utilizing the internet for educational purposes and then set up a pen pal program with students of similar age here in Portland. Portland Public Schools maintain several Spanish immersion programs. My goal is to assist in deepening the language skills of the Portland students and connect the Costa Rican students to the community who consumes so much of their product.
Our next step is getting English classes via Internet to the students. We are collaborating with Portland State University on this venture.
Also… being a soccer fan, I have a side dream to find some supplies for the schools’ soccer team. With Nike and Adidas in this town, it seems like I can come up with something!
The experience of meeting the kids and teachers was just incredible.
They were amazed when I showed them the photos of their school on our
website. They showed me some of the projects they had done in a previous
computer class and talked about their favorite things to do: one loved
soccer, another dance, another’s favorite thing to do was eat the
food served at school. I made sure to convey to them of how important
their families are to us (all of us who consume their great coffee) and
how much we appreciate their parents’ hard work. The school is in
such a beautiful, natural setting; the kids seemed calm and genuinely
happy, not like the average city kid. I am so pleased that we can help in
providing a progressive education for them (they are the only school in
their rural area with internet access) and allow them learn in such a safe
and pristine place so close to their homes. Check the La Hilda page for updates on this project, watch video from my trip and by all means order some Costa Rican La Hilda Coffee and try it out!
