In harmony with nature while battling modernity...

Estar en harmonia con la naturaleza mientras combatir la modernidad...

Where to begin?! How do I explain to you my experience of living in the Caribbean in the mountains of Talamanca with the bribri – a pre-Columbian indigenous group struggling to maintain their culture, history, language, and history amidst a the modern world. The indigenous reserve of keköLdí (3500 hectares2), there are 250 bribri – 50 families. I lived with Gloria and Juanita and Duaro and Keswar. Gloria and Juanita are two single women in their 50s who never got married. Juanita takes care of her mother Catalina and aunt Eustasia. Gloria raised her niece Sobi and two nephews Duaro (18) and Keswar(16)…the case of alcoholism, abuse, infidelity is all too common among spouses.

21 years ago, 7 bribri families joined together to begin the Green Iguana Project with funds and resources from outside organizations in order to preserve the population of green iguana…in route to extinction. With slow progress at developing the iguana farm, some of the families gave up on hopes of gaining profit from the farm. The families of Gloria and Juanita have maintained the Iguana farm, and have released around 38,000 iguanas in Costa Rica, in reserves and mostly in the surrounding area, achieving the purpose of preserving the nearly extinct species iguana iguana. Tourists visit keköLdí to see the iguanas and receive tours or charlas about the iguanas, medicinal plants, bribri culture/history, birding, and more. And in this way, Gloria and Juanita tell their story and have enough to live day by day with their people.

A basic day for me with the bribri….
-Wake up around 6 AM and listen to the magnificent chorus of birds, dogs, chickens, etc.
-chat with Gloria in the kitchen while she prepared my breakfast
-eat breakfast-always a large spread of toast, cereal, fruit, and coffee
-feed the iguanas, scrub out the water containers, give them fresh water
-birdwatching
-chat with random tourists/foreigners who visit the iguanas
-help/watch Gloria and Juanita…with whatever they were doing
-lunch
-chat with Gloria and Juanita and learn about the bribri
-journal
-more birdwatching/exploring the mountain trails
-watch the news with Juanita
-supper
-hang out with Duaro and Keswar and learn about birds/revise my growing list of new bird species!
-read in the hammock

ALSO…
-tours in the morning/afternoon/night with my personal guide Keswar..birding in the forest/mountains/plantation/lookout
-making chocolate from cacao…the complete, natural process
-traveling in the mountains to other indigenous areas/towns with Gloria and Juanita
-taking in the sun on the beach (Manzanillo) with Gloria

My “job” was to feed and water the iguanas…my excuse to live with the people. And out of that reasoning, I had the incredible opportunity to live with the bribri through their daily lives and see the struggles and responsibilities they face as they are active participants in preserving the land, nature, language, culture, history, etc. I learned their stories, from their creation story to their traditions. I picked up a bit of the language, which was originally only spoken, not written. Nowadays, the language has been written and is still taught in some indigenous schools in the area. However, the children prefer to speak Spanish in the home, even the parents. So the children are losing the language and the significance. Honestly, sometimes I felt like I was at my Amish neighbor’s house, as the family conversed in their own tongue and would switch to Spanish here and there so I could understand. And the simplicity of daily life as well.

From my brothers, Duaro and Keswar, I observed the clash between living the indigenous life and fitting into the modern world of Puerto Viejo. The boys have iPods, a laptop, computer games, facebook…etc. Gloria and Juanita say that the boys understand the value of preserving the land in danger of deforestation and the animales/nature, but lack the complete picture of the value of the stories and language. Yes they know the stories and the language, but it is not their priority as they enjoy their youth.

What a privilege to live in keköLdí…I felt more at home in the mountains/forest with the bribri than in San Jose with a modern family! To live freely in communion with nature, what beauty that cannot be explained with words! To listen to the symphony of birds in my “backyard” and up into the mountains…toucans, hummingbirds, oropendulas, and so much more! To see wonders such as the mountains, tropical forest, ocean. To eat from the land…fruits and vegetables, to smell PURE air…and to simply BE amidst it all.

And who would have thought that Joanne would become a birder in Costa Rica…but I now have a respect for the avid birdwatchers that I know! Keswar especially took me under his wing  and was patient and willing to teach me and help me learn how to identify birds. In keköLdí, there are 325 species of birds; 240 are resident species. In Costa Rica, there are 893 species!! Of those, I managed to see 136.

This is a brief summary of my experience in keköLdí. Now I am back with my family in San José for the week to reflect with my peers on our individual experiences and to prepare for our journeys to either Cuba or Panama. On Sunday, I leave for Panama, to an indigenous island of “los Kuna” for one week of learning through being with the people yet again! I fly to Miami on December 14 for 2 days of group reflection. December 16 I face reverse culture (and climate) shock and get to see my beloved family, boyfriend, and friends and transition into life as you all know it. And while I am looking forward to seeing you all again, I have 16 days left to soak in…each day as it comes.

Blessings, Joanne