No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeChangemakersThis week in the Peace Corps: A volunteer's time in Talamanca

This week in the Peace Corps: A volunteer’s time in Talamanca

It’s interesting when people ask me what’s it like living in an indigenous community.

I get the sense that they’re expecting me to compare it with the rest of Costa Rica. Of my 24-month stay in Costa Rica, 21 of those have been spent in Talamanca in a rural indigenous Bribri community. It’s my second home and what I know best in Costa Rica.

Yet it’s perceived as this counter-culture; different, foreign.

While each community may represent a unique experience due to internal dynamics and occidental influences, in two words, my experience has been “Bua’ë Bua’ë.”

That’s Bribri equivalent of pura vida.

(Photo courtesy of Peace Corps Costa Rica)

I live in a family-oriented neighborhood that is named after the family who populates it. there is an ingrained belief of collaboration and support in their work and community. A poignant example is a form of work called mano vuelta.

Whether it’s family or neighbors, you’ll link up in groups to work each other’s farms in whatever task is deemed necessary for whose land they’re working. The next day, they work a different member’s farm, and so on and so forth. There’s always coffee.

Banana, cacao and plantain are the three main cash crops. However, corn and beans, cassava and other tubers, squash, pumpkin, and many a fruit tree are abundant. There are pigs and chickens in the patio, perhaps some cows grazing in the pasture.

Basically, the community and families practice sustainable permaculture before the word was invented. I believe, in large part due to their connection with the earth, their land, and respecting their roots.

(Photo courtesy of Peace Corps Costa Rica)

There is a display of pride and humility when sharing with family and foreigners alike. Everyone has always been incredibly open to sharing their culture with me.

They taught me the language, took me to the farm, made traditional food, and even indulged in my surely annoying requests to make chocolate and any sort of natural plant or fruit derivative. But they always did it, con mucho gusto y mucho amor… y, siempre con café.

To me, my community, the Bribri people, they’re as Tico as Tico can be. Because now and forever, when I think of Costa Rica, I’ll think of Talamanca and my wonderful experience with amazing people.

At the very core, I have learned from my community the essence of being Costa Rican: Living harmoniously with the nature and people around you.

It’s important to recognize and respect the divide of the sub-cultures throughout this little, yet diverse country. But I also think it’s important to embrace and celebrate it, all of it, for being quintessentially Costa Rican.


The Peace Corps photo series in The Tico Times Costa Rica Changemakers section is sponsored by the Costa Rica USA Foundation for Cooperation (CRUSA), a proud financial supporter of Peace Corps Volunteer projects nationwide. Learn more here. To donate to support the Peace Corps Costa Rica, visit the official donation page. Volunteers’ last names and community names are withheld from these publications, per Peace Corps policy.

Connect with the Peace Corps Costa Rica on FacebookInstagram or Twitter.

Brought to you by the Costa Rica USA Foundation (CRUSA). Courtesy of CRUSA

Trending Now

What are Diatoms and how are they used in Costa Rica?

A key ally in natural pest control is now available in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica Police Uncover Second Cyanide-Laced Mining Operation in Crucitas

The environmental crisis in Crucitas persists. Police discovered and dismantled an artisanal mining material processing plant in a wooded area of Tatú Hill in Crucitas,...

Costa Rica Rescues Endangered Amphibians and Turtles in Store Bust

The Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ), through its Specialized Section Against Environmental Crimes, carried out an operation at a store in Vázquez de Coronado, San...

Starbucks Expands in Guanacaste with New Store Opening in Tamarindo

Starbucks continues to strengthen its presence in Costa Rica with the opening of its second store in the province of Guanacaste, specifically in Tamarindo....

US Visa Cost Increase for Travelers and Workers Under New Law

United States President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill into law on July 4, introducing a new surcharge for most non-immigrant US...

Caral Citadel in Peru Opens After 3,800 Years

A 3,800-year-old citadel belonging to the Caral civilization—one of the oldest in the world—opened its doors to the public this Saturday after eight years...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica