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Tropisphere - Working for the Community
Tropisphere has four owners, but five partners, the fifth being our community - the southern Nicoya Peninsula. The government in Costa Rica, while progressive
in many ways, doesn't have the funds it needs to provide adequate schooling, health care, and environmental protection for the country. At Tropisphere, we
believe it's the obligation of businesses and individuals to make up the difference, and we're putting our money behind our beliefs. We donate 10% of all our
gross sales commissions to the local community, and we don't just hand out cash. We are donating our time as well, working actively in our communities to make
them the paradise we want to live in.
The owners of Tropisphere are especially grateful to the Costa Rican people for allowing us to move to one of the greatest countries in the world - one of the few
without an army, and one of the most beautiful places on earth. We are 100% in support of President Arias' goal of making Costa Rica known worldwide as the country
of Peace and the Environment, and we are deeply committed to this goal. All of the owners of Tropisphere have children, Costa Rican citizens who were born here. We
are thankful to Costa Rica and are working hard to pay back the people of our area for this gift.
The following is a list of projects that Tropisphere has donated its time and money to. We have more money to give, and are constantly looking for projects and
people to support in our area. We prefer to support projects that provide broad help to the people and environment of Costa Rica. If you know of a worthy cause, please contact us.
Projects and Donations
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Wildlife Sanctuary and Reforestation Support
Tropisphere is the largest donor to Rainsong Wildlife Sanctuary. Tropisphere has given over $4000
to make possible the creation of the sanctuary. Rainsong has several projects: reforestation of rare and endangered hardwood trees, creation of a community
wildlife sanctuary spanning the southern Nicoya peninsula, wildlife and forestry education for local schools, a wild animal hospital, and ultimately a program
to reintroduce animal species that have become extinct in the area such as Scarlet and Great Green Macaws, Spider Monkeys, Sloths, Giant Anteaters, and Tapirs.
In the past year, over 100 student volunteers from all over the earth have stayed at Rainsong and participated in helping our area's conservation efforts.
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Rainsong Wildlife Sanctuary also has a program to breed and release pacas and jungle turtles. These two species are primary food sources for large predators such
as Jaguars and Pumas. Pacas, called tepesquintles in Spanish, are hunted extensively (and illegally) for their meat. Unlike rats, these large, cute rodents breed
very slowly. With this species disappearing, large predators turn to other species such as the jungle turtles for food. The Paca shown on the left with volunteer
Jaime Juantara from Los Angeles, was purchased for Rainsong by Tropisphere from an illegal breeder in the area who is raising them for food. She has been given a
new life, and her offspring will be released into the jungle. For further information, contact Email Geoff.
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"Guardians of the Environment" Camp
150 children were awarded participation in the "Ecological Marino Costera Camp" organized by the Cabo Blanco Reserve. These children, all between 7 and 12 years old, spent a whole day and night full of marvelous activities and adventures in the San Miguel Station of the Cabo Blanco Reserve. Tropisphere was the major financial sponsor of this program.
Teresa Cerdas, biologist of the Cabo Blanco Reserve, has achieved a huge success within 2006 with her educational environment program. The students showed an enormous interest in her program. About 400 children from 15 different schools of the Cóbano district participated in August in the "Protection of the Ecological Coast Marine System" contest where they presented pictures, stories and collages. Out of this contest 150 children were selected to participate in the camp. According to Teresa, "It is very important to strengthen environmental values from an early age." This is a strategy to promote short and long term initiatives creating conciousness and sensitivity for future decisions of the locals to keep their environment and the natural resources in a positive balance. The children were thrilled, saying: "We had so much fun and the best part of the day was diving with the guard of the Nature Reserve", "I learned a lot, I used a microscope for the first time in my life to investigate the ocean", "I met many children and made many new friends."
At this moment a book about the environment is being written to be distributed to all the schools in our district. The work of the children's contest will be exhibited during this year at the Cabo Blanco Reserve. We are looking forward to Teresa's new project for the year 2007 and Tropisphere, of course, will be supporting the Environmental Education Program of the Nature Reserve. If you are interested in this project or you would like to support this project please do not hesitate to contact us: Email Andrea.
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School Presentations/Education
One of Tropisphere's owners, Geoff McCabe, has been active in local schools, working with Rainsong to give presentations to schoolkids about the local wildlife.
We stress three important topics: 1. What wildlife exists in the area now, 2. Animals that have become extinct because of humans, 3. Common practices that are
illegal and damaging, such as keeping wild birds as pets, or digging up turtle eggs for food. Some locals even still have pets such as deer or monkeys.
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School Repairs
When Tropisphere discovered that the local school in Delicias was in a state of embarassingly bad disrepair, Tropisphere owner Rico Reolon volunteered to put on a
new roof and redo much of the electrical wiring. We discovered that Costa Rica's supposedly great educational system didn't pay a
penny for its schools, and they were forced to have monthly fundraisers just to pay water and electric bills. Students pay for their own materials, and teachers
are highly underpaid. Tropisphere is now working with local construction company Lacon, and hardware store owner Raffa to create a plan to repair and supply all of the area's public schools. Currently, Tropisphere is in the process of restoring the school in San Isidro.
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Community Health
In Santa Teresa, the community asked for donations to build a health center for the locals, where a doctor could visit on a weekly basis to help care for the sick.
Tropisphere was the largest donor to the center, which is located next to the soccer field in Santa Teresa.
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Cobano School Computer Room
The Escuela Carmen Lyra, Cobano is aiming to get a computer room with 30 computers. Parents and school students alike, lead by their progressive school director Fernando Quesada, started a fund-raising campaign to construct the hall for the computers. The computers will be donated by a large IT company which runs an extensive program to provide equipment to public schools with the condition that secure and dry rooms are provided by the schools.
The latest fundraising campaign was also supported by Tropisphere, but there is still approx. $10,000 missing until the computers will be sent to Cňbano. Students are eager to have the computers on their desks and with that, access to the modern world. Many of the parents cannot provide a computer at home nor can they pay the for time at an internet cafčs.
The Escuela Carmen Lyra will be the first school in the area to provide this essential learning tool to their students, and Tropipshere also provides its support by doing Public Relations for this project. Other schools in the area have the same desire - if you want to support them, contact CONTACT ANDREA.
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Wildlife Art Contest
Tropisphere has been helping Rainsong Wildlife Sanctuary in its Rainforest Awareness Design Contest, with the schools in Cobano, Montezuma, Cabuya, and Delicias
participating. Tropisphere helped to provide prizes for over 100 contest entries. Winning students were sent on a field trip to Curu National Park.
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Excuela Futuro Verde
Andrea Drost, one of Tropisphere's owners, is leading the creation of a non-profit foundation to bring a new school from grades 1-12. This International school, to be based in Cobano, will serve the entire southern Nicoya Peninsula. Approx. 1/3 part of the Secondary school students will receive grants or scholarships.
The foundation for this school also wants to offer a meeting point and social center, open to all kids and teenagers of the entire area with a central facility for sports, workshops and courses of many kinds. Another aspect of this project would be to interact with public schools to improve the educational offerings in the region in order to prepare and motivate students to continue school after the obligatory sixth grade and thus encourage a higher educational level in the area by providing additional courses in the public schools.
In the coming years more than 1,000 students will be ready for secondary school. With a growing population of foreigners that are either having children or bringing children to the area, and a growing awareness among Costa Rican residents about the need for better education, a school that delivers high quality education is greatly needed, especially for high-school age kids.
For further information, email Andrea. For more information about Escuela Futuro Verde, click here: Escuela Futuro Verde.
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Montezuma School Repairs
June, 2007 - Materials were delivered just in time by our Tropisphere donation money to make this happen. There were 2 existing toilets which were accessed via the school kitchen, serving 53 kids! Our donation, along with others, made it possible for them to create a new access from the outside, close up that partition in the kitchen, establish new walls, new ceramic tile, new plumbing and new leach lines that no longer pollute the nearby beach. In addition, Tropisphere donated $500 to this school for new school supplies.
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San Isidro School Repairs
Late 2007 - Tropisphere made its largest donation of all time, and oversaw construction and repairs on the school in San Isidro, which is the small town on the road between Cobano and the beaches of Santa Teresa and Malpais. This $4000 helped build an entire new classroom. Tropisphere hopes to eventually rebuild all the schools on the southern Nicoya Peninsula.
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Future Projects
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Kids Saving the Rainforest
Tropisphere is working with Kids Saving the Rainforest, an organization in Manuel Antonio, to open a branch in the Montezuma or Malpais area. We are currently
looking for a qualified leader for the project, and are ready to donate the startup funds when someone is found. Kids Saving the Rainforest will build bridges for
monkeys to keep them off roads and high voltage wires, and will work to raise funds to shield electrical wires and transformers, and of course will also work on
education in local schools. Please CONTACT KRIS to help.
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Save the Sea Turtles
There are currently no programs to help prevent the extinction of sea turtles in the southern Nicoya Peninsula, and Tropisphere aims to change that. We have found
people with large parcels of land on both coasts, one in Montezuma and one in Playa Hermosa, who are interested in helping save the last of the turtles. The problem
of course is that uneducated people are still digging up the eggs for food. The owner of Hotel Casa Azul in Santa Teresa had a conversation with one of the turtle
egg poachers, and found out that he justified it by saying that since less than 1 in 1000 baby turtles survives to return to lay more eggs, he could take 999 eggs
without damage! Poaching turtle eggs is illegal, but MINAE, the Costa Rican government agency charged with protecting the law, doesn't have the resources to fight
the problem, so we believe that it's up to individuals and local businesses to help. We aim to start two centers, one on each side of the peninsula, and bring in
international student volunteers to help patrol the beaches and stop the egg stealers.
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Community Planning and Development
Working and making our living in real estate, all of us Tropisphere owners often feel a strong ambivalence about what is going on in the area. Development and environmental issues are often contradictionary, and loving the unique character of this area and their individualistic inhabitants, we fear that in a short period of time developers will dominate the area with their exchangeable Condo-projects and their customers who spend their holidays here, while supporting the area economically, but will not necessarily enrich the communities.
Therefore we are seeking to help to provide community plans, which will determine what the communities really want for their future development (for sure no 5 story buildings along our beach village roads nor several story apartment buildings in the hills!). These plans really cost a substantial amount of money, as a lot of legal work is involved, and a part of the donations out of our commissions is saved for this purpose. For further information contact email Andrea.
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