Kan Tan Project, Costa Rica

Kan Tan Educational Finca, Costa Rica

Ecological Development in Indigenous Territory
Kan Tan Educational Finca is a private ecological development “finca” located within the indigenous territory of Boruca-Térraba in the southern region of Costa Rica.
New and traditional methods are being developed within the Finca as a model for restoring cultural values of the indigenous peoples of Costa Rica and demonstrating that productive activities can be carried out without compromising the environment.
This model will allow indigenous peoples to replicate the projects carried out within the “finca” and integrate into the national economy in a more effective way.

The Indigenous Territory of Boruca

The Boruca (or Brunka) is one of the eight indigenous groups of Costa Rica. They live in the Boruca - Térraba Indigenous territory, with a population of approximately 2,500. Unique to the Brunka are their singular handicrafts and crafts, the Fiesta de los Diablitos (‘Little Devils Festival’) and their belief in mythological god Tatica Kuasran and his son Sancrawa. The Reserve is located 250 km of San José, at the foothill of the Brunqueña Mountain Range.

Costa Rica

The Republic of Costa Rica lies on the Central American isthmus, bordered by Nicaragua to the north and Panama to the south. There is a population of around 4.2 million in Costa Rica; with indigenous people representing approximately only 1.5 percent the population. There are 8 main indigenous groups, with 5 of these groups living in the south of Costa Rica (the Ngobes, Borucas (Brunkas), Teribes, Cabecares and Bribris). In 1977 the Costa Rican government created a system of indigenous territories which gave the native populations the right to live in self governing communities.

The Kan Tan Educational Farm

The Kan Tan Educational Finca (Farm) or Project, meaning Site of the Stone in Brunka, owes its name to the many stones that had been taken there from the río Térraba to mark ancestral graves. The Kan Tan Project wants to preserve these burial sites, which have been plundered by “huaqueros” (grave robbers). Located in 130 hectares of mainly primary forest, it is considered a sacred site due to its cemeteries and to some of the local legends that originated there.

The Project Coordinators make every effort to ensure a truly ecological development, where weakened or almost extinct traditions are faithfully revived. Their indigenous culture and ecological development project include protecting and preserving the art of building ranchos pajizos (thatched), traditional medicine and indigenous spirituality, reviving and strengthening the indigenous culture.

Initiatives such as reforestation activities, permaculture (permanent or sustainable agriculture) and traditional farming, environmentally friendly technologies (for example, solar panels) are being entirely financed by own resources, the support of friends and the work of volunteers. The dream of the project coordinators is to be able to reproduce this model in any other farm where there is land, water and a desire to preserve Nature and the indigenous culture. Further details on specific goals and project activities on the following page.

Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteers are needed throughout 2008 for 4-5 week periods to work in the finca and in the community on the following activities:

Redoing the roof of a palm Rancho
Planting organic crops
Solar water heater
Tilapia breeder
Trail and Garden maintenance
Vanilla plantation
Organic Fertilisers
Non Formal Education with the Ecological Group of Children of Boruca

Volunteers will be living with host families in the village of Boruca, where you will receive 3 meals a day and a clean private room. As a volunteer, you will also take part in the local activities of the family that you are living with. With regards to the project work, there is a bilingual engineer who will be there throughout the programme, who will be available for training, guidance and any support needed.

2008 Dates

25 May-25 June (3 places left)

25 June-25 July (3 places left)

25 July-25 August (2 places left)

25 August-25 September (4 places available)

December 2008-January 2009 (4 places available)

(October to November not available, as rainy season)

4 places available per project date.

We are flexible with dates, so please email: Victoria.McNeil@workingabroad.com with specific dates, durations etc.

Detailed information on work:

Redoing the roof of a palm Rancho

This activity consists of removing the actual roof of the Kitchen at Kan Tan, because the palm leaves have a lifespan of 4-5 years and it needs to be redone before the rainy season begins. After removing the present roof, new leaves need to be placed to replace the old ones that were removed. The redoing of the roof will require volunteers to spend time on the roof of the rancho removing leaves, working on the transportation of the leaves and finally to place the new leaves on the roof.

Planting Organic Crops

This year Kan Tan will allocate an area of about 100-200 square meters for planting organic crops. The work will require volunteers to condition the terrain, construct a small channel for irrigation and finally in the month of April, the organic crops will be planted. Afterwards, work is required on the maintenance of the organic crops which have products such as: corn, yucca, plantain, bananas, greens and other products that will enable Kan Tan to be a self-sustainable place.

Solar water heater

A water heater and reservoir is going to be constructed for enabling the showers to have hot water throughout the day.

This work requires the design and implementation of the solar water heater, so experience on this area is a must for doing this work.

Tilapia Breeder

At present time, Kan Tan has a small pond for reproducing machaca which is a native fish from the region which has a very tasty meat and it is part of a project carried out to repopulate the local rivers with this species which has become almost extinct in the region.

Besides the machaca pond, another stage will be built to reproduce Tilapia, which is also a very tasty fish. The tilapia project is part of the self-sustainability that Kan Tan Educational Finca is aiming for. It requires lots of heavy work by the volunteers but it is an excellent opportunity to learn more about this species.

Trail and Garden Maintenance

Kan Tan Educational Finca has a series of trails and gardens, such as the medicinal plant garden which require maintenance during both seasons. In the dry season irrigation is needed as well as maintenance for the plants.

Vanilla Plantation

In April a second stage of the vanilla plantation will be carried out at Kan Tan. This is part of a pilot project carried out in Kan Tan to demonstrate that productive activities can be done in the forest. It is an innovative project carried out and if successful it will be replicated in other areas.

Organic Fertilisers

Volunteers will learn the process of creating organic fertilisers from natural wastes that are generated in the finca. They are complemented with a breeder for earthworms.

Non Formal Education with the Ecological Group of Children of Boruca

About 4-5 years ago, under the concept of Kan Tan as an educational place, a group of Indigenous Children was created. This group had the objective of learning about conservation/preservation of nature. These children are now leaders and are carrying out programmes in the community such as recycling and cleaning programmes. Volunteers that wish to teach children in a non formal way about conservation/preservation are welcome to participate once a week on this programme.

Costs

The cost for one month is £360, which includes all food and lodging with a host family, as well as guidance and escort of the bilingual engineer, materials, WorkingAbroad placement and back up. International flights, personal expenses, insurance and local travel to and from Boruca is at your own charge.

Requirements

Volunteers must be 18 yrs and older, be able to speak basic Spanish, have an interest in ecological and/or indigenous matters, an ability to adapt to different cultural settings, and be willing to carry out some hard manual work, and to learn from local people.

Programmes for groups - Kan Tan Project

We are also offering an opportunity for groups to participate in this project for short term periods all throughout the year. Groups can be comprised of between 8 to 30 people and the following different programmes can be offered:

A retreat to experience indigenous spirituality, practise traditional rituals and meditate communing with Nature;
Academic activities relating to International Law and Legislation on Indigenous peoples. Proposals submitted by Indigenous peoples to the United Nations and the Organization of American States. National and local situation of the Indigenous peoples, etc. In this field, our associated indigenous experts are working at national and international level;
Supporting reforestation activities, growing medicinal and edible plants, caring for the fish pond, opening and maintaining trails, caring for gardens, building ranchos, identifying and classifying the finca’s existing flora and fauna, etc;
Discovering cultural activities, such as: the realities of the indigenous peoples, traditional legends, handicrafts and crafts, traditional dishes and more. Getting to know local families and community groups;
Taking part in craft workshops, including mask-making, the carving of jícaros (bowls) and/or traditional weaving, and
Participating in other activities or festivals taking place, depending on when the visit takes place. For example, in December there’s the FIESTA DE LOS DIABLITOS (‘Little Devils Festival’).
For individuals - you can also join for 1-2 weeks where you can take part in the Fiesta de los Diablitos (from 30 December to 2 January) and also learn about making traditional dishes, and take part in local traditions with families from the village.

According to the groups’ needs, a tailored-made and varied programme can be organised, including some of the above-mentioned activities and other activities which might be of interest to the group(s). You can choose either to stay with a local family and work in the finca (farm) and the community, or to live in the finca while having contact with the community, visiting artisan groups and other organised community groups. Durations can vary from 1 week to 5 weeks or more. If you are a group and are interested to find out more, please email Victoria.McNeil@workingabroad.com

In the past, they have received several groups, ranging from an American University group studying Peace and Conflict Resolution who wanted to focus more on the Indigenous aspect of the community which related to their studies and who lived in the finca, to a group of Canadian friends who helped with building parts of a rancho and who lived in the village with 3 different families.