Resetting Our Goals

Development is an interesting concept for Costa Rica as it's caught between having it and not. Latin American countries are mostly classified as underdeveloped or developing, probably due to their status as imperialistic opportunities and as colonies long ago, when other countries came to 'develop' them. Central America was one, large province filled with economic promise for the United States and Europe. It was exploited, its people assimilated, and even today poverty is widespread. Costa Rica has been fortunate to be the Central American country with the best economy, although that makes the other Central American countries dislike them slightly. Development is seen here as strengthening the economy and bringing globalization, and this came to Costa Rica via coffee, cocoa, banana, pineapple, and other cash crops. Today, Costa Rica still has those economic boosters, which bring 'development' (so, perhaps, infrastructure, a middle class, a healthy economy...) but are all reliant on the unsustainable overconsumption of other nations. Latin American countries experience heightened environmental degradation and social injustices as the suppliers of raw materials, and this is on top of the slow social gain. Is development as the developed world sees it beneficial, sustainable, or promoting equality? No.

In Costa Rica, coffee farming is common. In Monteverde, there are many coffee farmers, such as my friend Doña Hermida. As time goes on though, demand rises and industries of wealthy nations want to make it cheap. This means that those small farmers can't compete or are bought out by large, industrial plantations where labor is hard and pay is minimal. Doña Hermida is able to sell her coffee locally to tourists and places that host tourists, so she does alright, making direct profit for the whole coffee system. Plus it's organic- she uses no pesticides (although she makes a hot pepper/citronella spray for some insect control), no chemical fertilizers (she uses compost and manure), the coffee is grown in the shade as it's supposed to be naturally, allowing her farm to have forest and support wildlife, and the waste from the system is used cyclicly to be environmentally friendly (the coffee shells are composted or burned as fuel to heat the coffee-drying house). This situation is ideal compared to the industrial ones that plant in the sun (causing deforestation therefore erosion, etc), use pesticides and herbicides and fungicides and fertilizers, dump the coffee waste in the rivers, and so on. On those farms, the farmers make around $1200 a year, with most of the money going to the middle men and the inputs. The 'development' of the system perpetuates social inequality and environmental degradation. Doña Hermida makes at most $20,000 per year, because she sells directly and can manage the entire farm. Development/industrialization/globalization has brought the opposite of prosperity to many people.

Remember now that the driver of this system is overconsumption. In the United States, people don't think twice about buying a cup of coffee. For them it's an affordable luxury, and they have no idea what goes into the process of creating that coffee- and the price doesn't reflect it. We need to reset our goals so that we don't consume so much, stopping industrialization that replaces the livelihoods of those in Latin American countries. Developing is not providing a future, at least not a sustainable one.

Doña Hermida's sustainable coffee farm

Coffee flowers

The coffee farm incorporates many other plants, such as those banana trees, citrus trees, bushes, and ground cover such as wild tomatoes, chayote, and herbs.