December 17, 2009 - 6:38am
Sharon Fallas and Nidia Montero won’t forget their study abroad experience in Canada.
The students, 24 and 21, are back working on their family coffee farms in Costa Rica after studying English-as-a-Second-Language for one semester at Vancouver Island University’s Nanaimo campus.
“It’s changed me forever,” said Fallas. “I’m more confident and speak much better English. I’ll never forget this once in a lifetime opportunity. It was amazing.”
Their visit to Nanaimo was part of a cross-cultural exchange arranged by VIU Tourism professor Dr. Dave Robinson, founder of the Heart of Gold Costa Rica research project which recently earned national acclaim.
The federal government, through the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada’s Latin America and the Caribbean Research Exchange Grants (LACREG), selected VIU’s Heart of Gold project as a showcase example of the international work they fund in South and Central America.
During the past five years, Robinson, his colleagues and more than 30 students from VIU and other post-secondary institutions have been working with Costa Rican research partners and the communities of Santa Maria de Dota and San Marcos to promote economic diversification through community owned agro-tourism initiatives.
To date, they have launched agro-tourism educational tours and home-stay accommodation on local organic coffee farms, and an eco-tourism network for local businesses. Thanks to a $10,000 grant from the Canadian Embassy in Costa Rica, the students have also started development of a series of guided, educational hiking trails linking 10 remote communities, from coffee farms in the hills to the Pacific Coast.
“In addition to the eco-tourism aspect, this research alliance has been instrumental in supporting farmers’ efforts to move their coffee production beyond the shortcomings of fair trade to a direct-trade model,” said Robinson.
“Coffee produced through the direct-trade approach is grown in the shade of the natural forest canopy, utilizes only organic fertilizers, and supports the farmer in conducting all value-added aspects of dry-roast coffee processing, thereby contributing to the environmental, social and economic health of coffee-producing communities.”
Two former student interns on the project have created an import business, selling the direct-trade coffee to Canadians and providing revenues to the farmers. Recently, the VIU Student Entrepreneurship Club also began importing the farmer’s direct trade coffee into Canada.
Since Robinson started Heart of Gold in 2004, he dreamed about bringing students from Costa Rica to study at VIU. “I wanted to make it truly cross-cultural,” he said.
BC government funding arranged through VIU’s International Education department ensured Robinson’s wish came true. Scholarships allowed a Costa Rican student to visit VIU in 2007, and paid the way for Fallas and Montero’s recent study-abroad experience.
“It’s unlikely these girls would have ever had the opportunity to study in Canada, so we’re very grateful for the financial support from the BC government and VIU’s Faculty of International Education,” said Robinson. “We’re also grateful for our Nanaimo home-stay families who supported the girls, and to former Heart of Gold students and VIU faculty who generously provided them with a monthly stipend during their stay.”
Robinson added that LACREG travel grants were critical in facilitating face-to-face meetings among members of the research alliance over the past five years. Partners in the project have included VIU, Earth University and Cartago University College, the Rain Forest Alliance of Costa Rica, the Earthwatch Institute and the communities of Santa Maria de Dota and San Marcos in the Los Santos region of Costa Rica.
“Support from LACREG enabled our student team members to deepen their cross-cultural understanding, to jointly identify future project objectives and to discuss research methods and strategies for knowledge sharing,” added Robinson.
VIU Tourism and Recreation student Gina Bethell is one of the 30-plus Canadian students who completed a three month internship in Costa Rica in the summer of 2009.
“Working on the Heart of Gold project has been a highlight of my educational experience at VIU,” said Bethell. “Living with the families on the coffee farms, working with them and learning Spanish all added up an amazing experience.”
For more information on VIU’s Study Abroad programs, visit www.viu.ca/studyabroad
Tags: In the Community
