Lessons from Don Gerardo--Not All that Shines is Gold (35 min)

What is really behind our cup of organic coffee? Don Gerardo, an organic coffee farmer in Costa Rica, invites his volunteers at his coffee farm to ask themselves the same question. Costa Rica has recently become well-known for... [ view full abstract ]

What is really behind our cup of organic coffee? Don Gerardo, an organic coffee farmer in Costa Rica, invites his volunteers at his coffee farm to ask themselves the same question. Costa Rica has recently become well-known for its green initiatives and has become one of the most sustainable countries in Latin America. As a group of ten, we traveled to the small community of Atenas where we immersed ourselves in the culture. Through a series of interviews to locals, our host families and our host organization, Su Espacio, we captured a non-Western perspective on the environment. In our presentation we will talk about the link between culture and environmentalism, the history, politics, and the economy of the region, as well as the challenges behind organic farming and certification. We wish to transport Don Gerardo’s lessons from his small farm in the Costa Rican mountains to the hills of our own campus; in a globalized world where our actions do not live in a vacuum we wish for our campus to adopt the same appreciation for nature that Don Gerardo has for his coffee farm.