Finca Rosa Blanca

Environment:
Since 1985, when we began our project in Costa Rica we have always had one important goal in mind; to leave the minimum possible trace of our existence. We have always concentrated on an recycling and regeneration. Because of these efforts, we have been awarded the maximum five green leaves from the Costa Rican Tourist Board for our compliance with the CST (Certification for Sustainable Tourism), a new program to encourage Ecological and Sustainable Tourism in this country. We are proud that we have obtained the highest score of all participating hotels in Costa Rica.

Our recycling activities include a complete recycling of food waste to fertilizers by using two systems; Feeding and fertilizing our coffee plants and vegetable gardens directly. The composting of solid food wastes in drums which we invented for this purpose. They include organic waste products from the kitchen, ashes from the fireplace, earth from our property and sometimes calcium to neutralize the acids.

We also recycle all of our waste products that are non-organic; glass and bottles, plastics, cardboard, metal and newspapers and have a complete recycling zone for this purpose located below the horse stables.

Community:
Since the beginning of our adventure on this property, we have concentrated on an ambitious plan of social consciousness and education.

Five percent of the gross profit for the bar and restaurant sales at Finca Rosa Blanca go directly to projects for the local school in Barrio Jesus and to the Children’s Food Bank and two new recycling centres. This has allowed the hotel to help the community in critical and key areas of community development; the education and health of their youth. Through this practice we have built two classrooms for the educationally challenged, a new director’s office, a new library and books, a new roof for the whole school, a computer room with 12 computers and a network server, and established a recycling program and awareness at the school which is still being implemented with great success. Through our assistance, Jesús Elementary School has won the Bandera Azul (Blue Flag) in 2006 with the highest standing in the province. We are helping them to buy only organic produce for their meal service and are creating an organic garden for the school which the children will manage and harvest for their own use. We have sponsored classes in environmental education and built a butterfly garden with the children. Glenn and Teri Jampol, the owners and operators of Finca Rosa Blanca are chosen often in the community to be judges at the science fairs and have been honoured in a large ceremony by the town of Santa Barbara de Heredia for their work and generosity to the community.

We have canvassed the local purveyors and grocery stores to find food and supplies for the Children’s Food Bank and provided workshops in handicrafts such as rag rug making, candle making and artificial flower arrangements as well as embroidery and knitting for the single mothers to learn and produce in their homes. The hotel buys all of its throw rugs from the mothers and senior citizens at the local senior center who are producing them through the crafts workshops and also provides the materials to make the rugs. These same rugs are for sale in the hotel but guests are also encouraged to visit the Children’s Food Bank and senior center to learn about the organizations and to interact with the families being served while buying their rugs there. Finca Rosa Blanca paid for the road through the neighborhood and the bridge that crosses the river and we regularly donate money to the Red Cross, the Police Department (Guardia Rural), and other community needs. In the hotel, there is a bulletin board for the guests and employees describing current and future events in the community so they may participate in them and if needed, contribute to the work needed, either through donations or through hands-on involvement. The hotel has helped to implement a recycling center in Barrio Jesus and a community-wide recycling program with the cooperation of the municipality, the local Environmental Protection Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture and the local schools, scouts and senior citizen center. Other communities in the area are following suit with small recycling centers and school programs.

Additionally, we buy almost all of our supplies from local merchants, and our food supplies that are not produced on our grounds, are purchased from the local supermarket (Super Mercado Víquez). Five percent of all the gross profits from the bar and restaurant is used to help the local school and a children’s food bank which feeds single mothers and needy children before and after school. We have organized and paid for crafts instruction for the single mothers whose children eat at the food bank so that they can learn skills and crafts which can be produced in the home and sold to supplement their incomes. These handicrafts are used in the hotel in the form of rag rugs and candles. In the last several years we have built new classrooms for the Barrio Jesus School, a computer room with 12 computers and a high-speed network connection, a library, a director’s office a new roof, new desks and chairs for the classrooms and a butterfly garden and have initiated a recycling program for the kids who now use it as school policy.