My First Impressions of Tarrazu

Hi Everyone, This is Alexandra from Tarrazu Costa Rica. I knew before coming to Tarrazu that it was going to be an adventure of a life time; I was just not sure how great of one it was going to be. It is truly amazing, everything from our rustic hotel that only has hot water in the morning to all the truly wonderful people that live in San Marcos where we are staying. The people that live in San Marcos are so friendly and have such heart and soul. There are few places left in this world that has more soul then the people of San Marcos.

Everyone on the team comes from very diverse back grounds, it is so amazing. By day three we are all so comfortable with each other and work together as if we had been doing it for a long time. Everyone just jumps in and does what ever needs to be done. We have starting working on the coffee farms; it is so amazing to be in the thick of it just slipping and sliding away mud that you forget you working. The first day in the field I worked with Jason from Starbucks, it was kind of surreal working with him knowing this is his livelyhood. It was great seeing it from his point, and getting to meet the famers as well. Ingrid is our photographer; she is a freelance photographer and a student in real life. Ingrid is capturing the hearts of the people that live here with her lens.

I feel so grateful that I have been given this opportunity to meet such caring and wonderful people; everyone on the team adds their own special touch that makes the teams what it is. I will be writing more about each and every one of them.

We have Jason and Chris from Starbucks, and then our contest winners are Debra, Kimball, Charlie, Ingrid, Harmony, Christine and Lewis. I feel such a strong connection with each and every one of them already. Our Earthwatch team is Natalia and Sebastian, they are a blast to work with. Almost everyone on the team can speck Spanish but a few of us, me being on of them. We should have pictures posted hopefully soon, having trouble uploading them onto the blog.

Bye for now,
Alexandra


Alexandra and Nati.Our "taxi."
Jason just had to get dirty.
The team in front of Coope Dota.

A date with William

It was like something out of a movie on Telenova. The farmer, William, riding his horse on a steep muddy hill, gazing into the distance. Actually, gazing at us, a bunch of Americans working at his coffee farm on a mountain in Costa Rica. This could have been one of the many times Chris, one of our Starbucks compadres, says: How many times are you going to see something like that? The answer since we arrived in Costa Rica on Monday has always been the same: once. It´s a rhetorical question, Chris helpfully explained.

Besides the friendly farmer on the horse, who later hosted us at his house for, surprise, coffee, today was a big day because we worked on a farm in the morning and another farm in the afternoon. Take it from a lazy American--working on a farm is real work. It wasn´t clear that we would get there, though, first thing in the morning, as the cars that shepherded us up the mountain had to contend with mud roads with not much room to spare. Journey played on the radio as the car slid up the mountain: Don´t stop believing, mes amigos!

We saw a lot of coffee fruit today, and I saw a lot of dirt, taking dozens of soil samples from near coffee plants. We even had lunch in the field. We power counted and measured through six transects. Even though that doesn´t mean anything to most people, believe me, it´s a feat of epic proportions.

I was going to get through this without mentioning the rain. It rained.

Lewis
The steep incline... what a ride.
William NaranjoTrudging up to the farm.Chris, left to right, Kimball, and Lewis at the Naranjo house.Carmen Naranjo, William's daughter.

Dinner with the locals

Hi all, it is Chris from Seattle here. After a few near-death days, I am back on the scene and running at 100 percent. As it turns out the view from standing is much better then the view of from the bed! Costa Rican hotels only have typical ceilings...

Costa Rica is beautiful beyond words and the people are extremely friendly. For the second evening we were invited to Nati's house for dinner, which is the picture that you see here. It was an amazing experience and Nati and her family were very accommodating. Her mom did the cooking, and her brother, father did the serving and entertaining. Needless to say, the food was incredible!

Dinner consisted of a citrusy salad with fresh pineapple and hearts of palm, a very fragrant rice, a delicious stew of beef and green beans all topped off with a tall, cool glass of fresh-squeezed lemonade! Fried plantains followed for dessert accompanied by a very traditional drink called "aqua dulce", a sweet, warm beverage made from boiled sugar cane.

We even were able to meet the pets which consisted of 6 members, a small dauchenshound which would lay at your feet, belly exposed for attention and a large retriever who could actually peel a banana! The other four remained unseen, although I am sure they had equally as impressive personalities.

It was an great evening with good conversation and delicious food! This is la pura vida (the good life) and was a great way to kick off this adventure.

More adventures await! Adios!


Nati, at the head of the table.
Nati's mom, left to right, father, and Jose.
Nati's mom piles food on Chris' plate.

Meeting New Friends and Doing New Things

Hello All! Charlie from Chicago here. Can't believe it is Day 3 in Costa Rica. The first couple of days have been filled with meeting the folks from all over the country who came on this adventure, as well as the good folks we are working with here in San Marcos de Tarrazu, Costa Rica.

For those back in Chicago, you will be proud to know I am eating the rice and beans! Hehehe!

Today we met the folks at Coope Tarrazu, the cooperative of coffee farmers we are working with. As a bonus we have been invited to join them in a meeting with the President of Costa Rica. How could we turn that down?

More importantly today we learned about the field work we will be doing. And yes....we will be working in the rain. It is truly the rainy season, as it rains every afternoon. I am really out of my comfort zone, and having the time of my life!

My goal is to be open to all the experiences here, well....except one. Yesterday we visited the InBio Parcque, a national park dedicated to learning about the biodiversity of Costa Rica. I passed on the opportunity to learn about the snakes. UGH!

During our presentations today, I realized how important the work we are doing is to these people. The farmers are depending on the field research to help them produce the best quality coffee. I don't want to disappoint.

Hello to all my family, friends and especially Mark. More from me later!

Charlie


Jason, left to right, Charlie, and Chris listen to presentations by the Earthwatch team.
Sebas talks about annual rainfall... notice where we're at.
Sipping coffee during our meeting at Coope Tarrazu.Green beans just after the pulping stage.

Thoughts at the "End" of Expedition #2

This is Devin, and on Sunday we successfully completed our expedition and all returned safely home—I know for many on Team #2, the experience was life-altering, and much too short. Like those before (and after) us, we shared full days of meaningful work, education, meals, and play--I will be “unpacking” this experience for a long time to come, but I thought I’d share a few of my thoughts:

Coffee: I have been passionate about coffee for many years, but now, even this week in the office when I poured a cup or pulled a shot of espresso, I was much more “aware” of the coffee; especially the people whose lives revolve around the planting, cultivating, harvesting and processing of this miracle. For a true coffee lover, there was something magical about wading through “forests” of coffee plants, handling the branches, cherries, and leaves, wondering if one of those beans might end up in my cup some day. (However, while experiencing this magic, watch out for the caterpillars that hang out under the leaves—they have a sting that hurts like crazy!)


People: there is nothing quite like a group of people coming together and working toward a common purpose, with a common passion. The relationships we made with farmers, with co-op staff, and each other within our large team representing Costa Rica, France, Canada, and the US may have been a few brief weeks, but they were deeply impacting. I walked away with a renewed passion for supporting with my lifestyle those business practices that positively impact the quality of a product, the state of the environment, and ultimately quality of life for PEOPLE.

Practice: spending time in the coffee fields, hiking through a wet rainforest (If you didn’t know, it rains a lot in a rainforest), or gazing across a green valley to the hills across the way, I found a lot of time to think—and I found myself thinking quite a bit on my personal impact on the world--I know I will continue to ask myself questions--how do my choices, my lifestyle, and my consumption impact the wonderful people and the beautiful ecosystem that I’ve encountered in a far-off place like Costa Rica, and in the thousands of places I haven’t yet visited? And even more importantly, what things can I do with my life that will positively impact and improve the world I live in, and the one I don't see every day?

These are just a small sample of the things I’m thinking today as I pout a bit in my cubicle, looking back at this amazing adventure. I’m truly thankful for this opportunity to spend two weeks with a great group of people in a wonderful place. I’m sure that any member of this team would be thrilled to sit down with you and share everything they experienced, and everything they learned.

Best Regards,

Devin

An Amazing Man

Hi! M.A. from Long Island, New York here, finally getting around to the blog. This trip is great! We're seeing and doing so many things! It's hard to believe it's almost time to go home.

Before we leave I'd like to tell you about Edelman Blanco, one of the farmers participating in this study. Edelman is young (28, I think), and tall, dark and handsome, but that's beside the point. He's one of the kindest and gentlest men I've ever met. He spent the day with the group as we worked on his farm, accompanied by his dog, Junior. Nati and I were working on coffee beans, and Edelman stayed with us for a while. He spoke to us of his farm, his dreams, his problems as a coffee farmer, his wife and daughter, and Junior.

As a younger man, Edelman spent five years living and working in New Jersey and learned to speak English fluently. When he had saved enough money, he returned to Costa Rica to fulfill his lifelong dream of owning a coffee farm. It's a small farm, so he must also work a part-time job to make ends meet, but he feels it's worth it. And he hopes to add to his farm someday, but it's not easy to earn a living plus save money.

I think what impressed me most was his love for his family. He's been married for 6 years, and must love his wife very much. Very few Costa Rican men wear wedding rings -- Edelman is one of them. He spoke lovingly of his three year old daughter, telling stories about her. And then there's Junior. The dog keeps Edelman company in the fields, in his truck and at home. I can imagine the two of them wandering through the tightly packed coffee trees, losing sight of each other but always knowing where the other one is.

And then I fell down and tumbled through three terraces on the mountainside, lost my glasses for a moment, bumped my head -- if only there were film of it. But that's not why I mention it. Edelman helped me out of the field, slowing making our way along a terrace to the road and them walked me slowly up the hill to where the cars were parked. He treated me kindly and gently, with the respect that he would show his -- mother.

That's my story of a most amazing man.

Downtime!!

Hola! Jaralyn from Omaha here...our trip is coming close to an end and I think all of us are thinking the end is coming way too fast. We're living in a somewhat surreal world right now and we're a little hesitant to find out what it will be like when we go back. So, that being said, we've learned to take things one day at a time and that being in "Tico Time." While I would like to wax poetic about what an amazing experience this has been (and it has been), that would best be done at a time when we haven't spent a long day in the field and are trying to find some R and R before our next outing...tonight to a restaurant called "The Skinny Cow."So, I will share some photos from our "downtime." What we do on our breaks, time-off, etc. A lot of bonding time, I guess you could say...

Photos from the field

[Photo] Nati and Jarilyn Finding the transect
[Photo] Coffee farms

Photos From the Field

Just a small sample of photos from our work in the field--

Kelli counting coffee cherries and leaves

Erinn, doing more counting...

Devin measuring distance to nearest shade trees

Steph, Ali, and Doug pausing for a quick photo op while evaluating ground composition and taking soil samples

Ali with soil samples from 15 coffee plants

Lisa measuring shade tree density

Carey tagging measured coffee plants

Manuel joined us while we worked on his farm

Lunch break!

Jean collecting insects from traps

Lisa, Dana, and Leonel (farmer) examining insect samples

Kelli and Erinn entering data from farm into GIS database


Dana and Ali preparing the soil samples

Day 9

Hi everyone! You guys really need to see this place, it's absolutely amazing! I've never met people so warm and welcoming....including our bartender last night! Coincidentally, I've also never met spiders so.... friendly, and I've learned to check my shoes before I put them on!
Today has been a little bit different from our regular schedule.... We actually didn't get rained on out in the field this morning! The farm we worked on was a little less steep and overlooked a bubbling brook from the mountainside. We also found the local "party log" on the way to the farm ;) It was so nice out we finished our three transects a little faster than normal. When we returned to the lab, we had a fantastic presentation from Peter, the Director of the Farmer Support Center for all of Latin America. The presentation was completely interactive and was so informative I feel like I could go out and grow coffee myself (which would be cool, except I can't even keep cacti alive.)
Anyway, we're having a great time... wish you were here!
Steph

Back to Earth

Hi Everyone! Kelli from the Starbucks Support Center here and I still can't believe we've already been here an entire week. In just that one week we have accomplished so much more than I could have ever imagined and seen more than I ever anticipated. In just the past three days we have seen a composting farm, a rain forest with a breathtaking waterfall, and brushed up on our Spanish skills ("Me gusta arroz y habas" "I like rice and beans") and Erinn and I might have had some time to brush up on our Karaoke...

Yesterday morning we drove up the winding hillside while taking in views of the town of San Marcos below. We spent the morning setting transects and recording data from the field. For our "fruta" break we ate fresh grapes, apples and kumquats then took a 20 minute walk down the hill to a fresh water resource within the farm. After a hot meal prepared by Nati's mom back at the lab, we were ready to head back out to see the Coope Tarrazu composting farm. On the way up the mountain we had a clear view all the way to the Pacific Ocean and down the mountainside to see the vacas (cows), coffee farms, and green hills for miles. Once at the composting farm, we were educated about the process of composting the leftover parts of the coffee cherries after the pulping process. Under a huge tarp tent, we saw up close the natural process of allowing worms to do the work of the composting. The fertilizer is then used in coffee farms and greenhouses around San Marcos and Coope Tarrazu. The farm has been owned and operated by Coope Tarrazu for four years and is a vital part of the coffee farming process as it provides natural plant food while recycling the parts of the coffee cherry. And as we learned a few days ago at the roasting and processing facility, other leftover parts of the coffee cherry are used for products such as ethanol.

Every day has been full of new experiences and each day I can't believe how lucky I am to be here. The beauty of the landscapes never cease to amaze me but more than that, the kindness of the famers and especially the Earthwatch team of Nati and Sebas is amazing. Over the past week we've learned that the cornerstones of CAFE Practices have trickled down into the communities around Coope Tarrazu in the way of environmental consciousness, improved quality of coffee, and community involvement. Only one week left to go and I hope to be able to take in as much as I can in the short time we have until we're back in the U.S. Hope you're all doing well! Pura Vida y Hasta Luego!

First Day in the Field!

Hi Everyone! This is Ali from Chicago. We started bright and early today with a 6am breakfast for our first day in the coffee fields. The day began a little rainy but as the morning wore on, the sun came out and we were able to take in the amazing scenery that surrounded us. We were very surprised to see how big the trees were and how dense the farms were. A few of us got lost in the coffee and needed some help finding the way but we eventually found our way. One of things we focused on today was coffee bean abundance on one of the farms. First, we sectioned off a 10 meter by 10 meter area and chose 20 trees in the area to survey beans. With a lot of slipping and sliding up and down the rows of coffee trees, we managed to successfully finish our surveys! We were very muddy, dirty and some of us a little bruised from taking some nice falls in the field but we felt good about our first morning.

Another part of the survey has to do with biodiversity, looking at arthropod popluations. So after lunch, Devin, Dayna and I volunteered to go out to help set up the insect traps. We headed out to one of the farms to set up traps in three different spots. We set up three different kinds of traps and will go back tomorrow to see what we have caught.

Tonight we area heading out to San Marcos to celebrate our first day with a nice dinner and a visit to a local karaoke bar. Everyone on the team is a little tired from today but we are excited for a chance to go out and have some team bonding. Tomorrow should be another fun day in the field!

Cheers,
Ali

Day 3, part 2

This is Devin again--it is only our third day, and we´ve already experienced so much--too much to put into a single post! Some of my favorite items on our trip thus far--yesterday Jean set the standard for us by boldly sampling some local beetle larve (apparently it tasted like peanut); this morning I kept the group waiting at breakfast by getting myself artfully locked and trapped in my own hotel room; and this afternoon we were adopted by possibly the homeliest puppy I have ever seen, which evoked great affection from (most of) the team. We received an excellent orientation to the research we will be conducting with Nati, Lisa, and Sebas starting tomorrow, we have been served incredibly large, delicious meals, and we are getting to know each other better, laughing a lot along the way.

On a more serious note, last night we had dinner at Natalia´s family´s coffee farm, where I talked to Nati´s father Jorge all about his farm, and the process of planting coffee. Sometimes I fool myself, thinking that I know some things about coffee--but spending just a few moments with a bona fide coffee farmer, hearing him talk with great passion and pride about planting and cultivating their crop, I realize that I am just at the beginning of an amazing learning journey!

Day 3

Hello everyone my name is Dana Salerno. Originally I am from Colordao now I reside in Omaha, NE for school. So far this has been an exciting trip. After traveling up a winding mountain road dodging crazy drivers, large "dogs", and skilled bikers we arrived safely to our new home. San Marcos has been a very welcoming town and the Earthwatch team has taken us in as part of the family. Following an afternoon of an informative overview of the field project we were welcomed to dinner at Natalia's family's home for a wonderful dinner we settled in for our first night. Today's agenda was filled with a visit to the farmers' cooperative and an introduction into the sustainabilty project that we are soon to be involved. So far this trip has proven to meet all expectations, and the impact that we will all have will stay with us for the rest of our lives.

We're Here!

(After some technical difficulties with the computer...) We're here! This is Devin, Erinn, and Kelli giving an update from our first day. From the minute we descended from the clouds, we were welcomed by the lush green landscape and red clay roofs below us. After flights from all over the US and Canada, we all arrived safely in San Jose and converged at the Hotel Bougainvia for a fantastic welcome dinner on our first night. After dinner we went around the table and shared our expectations for the next two weeks--As a team we expressed the common desire to develop relationships with farmers and their families; to see how coffee is cultivated and learn about sustainable practices; to discover the culture and ecology of Costa Rica; to develop a strong relationship as a team; and to have a little fun in the process.

Our team includes:

Carey from Washington
Steph from Ontario
Jean from Ohio
Mary Alice (M.A.) from New York
Jaralyn from Nebraska
Ali from Illinois
Dana from Nebraska
Doug from Indiana
Erinn from Washington
Kelli from Washington
Devin from Washington

The Earthwatch staff:

Sebas from Costa Rica
Nati from Costa Rica
Lisa from Tacoma
Fabian from Paris

Looking forward to sharing more!