Objectives:
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Promote the improvement of the environment, society, culture, education, organization, and production among the members.
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Encourage a spirit of teamwork and participation among the members.
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Promote the conservation of natural resources, improve relationships, and use the technical and productive resources of the members to fulfill the goals.
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Guarantee the participation of women in production and administrative management in the different production units of the organization.
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Establish contacts and agreements to support sustainable development with government and non-governmental agencies in the country and abroad that support groups of organized farmers.
Description of the area where organization works:
APROSAMA is a grassroots organization based in San Marcos de Cutris, 31 miles (50 kilometers) north of Ciudad Quesada. APROSAMA’s 337 beneficiaries represent 14 communities located between the San Carlos and Tres Amigos Rivers, tributaries of the San Juan River: Santa Teresa, La Cajeta, San Jorge, Bella Vista, San Pedro, Los Almendros, Betania, Pueblo Nuevo, Cristo Centro, Colegio Tres Amigos, San Marcos de Cutris, and more recently, the counties of Upala, Guatuzo, and Los Chiles in the Huetar Norte region of Costa Rica.
Number of members:
The membership of APROSAMA is made up of 337 farmers, with 17 forming the general assembly of members and 8 in the board of directors. Volunteers:
Volunteers are welcome to work in activities such as the implementation of the Uni-CRESE’s “Family Farming for our Children” proposal that is carried out in the San Juan River watershed in Huetar Norte, Costa Rica. Projects:
- Waste Management to Prevent Contamination of the San Carlos and Tres Amigos Rivers, Tributaries of the San Juan River
Summary: APROSAMA works to reduce water polllution, one of the main problems in San Marcos de Cutris. A study carried out by the Technological Institute of Costa Rica (Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica) in San Carlos and APROSAMA, determined the levels of pollution of the two tributaries of the San Juan River, the San Carlos and Tres Amigos Rivers. The main source of pollution is fecal chloroform, derived from large amounts of untreated liquid and solid waste from cattle, dairy, and pig farms.
Principal accomplishments:
- APROSAMA’s projects include:
- Growing vegetables and citric fruits and selling them in farmers’ markets throughout the country.
- Breeding animals in optimal conditions.
- Environmental education in schools.
- Sustainable production.
- Multi-use areas that include organic production, biodigestors, mixed gardens, protected areas, and aquaculture.
- Tourism and cultural identity.
- Nurseries for butterflies, rodents, reptiles, and birds.
- APROSAMA is part of the Unión de Comunidades en Restauración Ecológica, Social y Económica (Union of Communities for Ecological, Social, and Economic Restoration - Uni-CRESE). Uni-CRESE is comprised of members from the communities of the Huetar Norte region in Costa Rica that are grouped in 48 grassroots organizations.
- As part of Uni-CRESE, APROSAMA promotes alliances with organizations and public agencies that include: Mesa Nacional Campesina, Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería, Programa de Agricultura Orgánica Nacional, Asociación para la Conservación y el Manejo de Áreas Forestales, Unión Nacional de Agricultores y Ganaderos de Nicaragua, Juventud Agro Ecologista de la Zona Norte, Instituto Nacional de Aprendizaje, Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Movimiento de Agricultura Orgánica Costarricense de la Región Huetar Norte, Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo.
- Developed the proposal “Family farming for our children,” a project of UNI-Crese from the perspective of the producers’ organizations. (See the “Publications” section below for the link to this proposal.)
- Promoted community management in the multi-use area, as stressed during the last evaluation, has strengthened sustainable cattlefarming, revived local craftsmaking, protected the environment, and encouraged the management of waste. The projects focused on meeting quantifiable goals but ignored qualitative factors such as the cultural models for organization, production, and the multiplier effect of learning in the communities. Leaving these factors out made it difficult to follow up on the work and affected the sustainability of the organization once the project had ended. It is therefore important in the future to strengthen and promote the active participation of the beneficiaries. (More details found below in the “Publications” section.)
Related links:
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www.radiosantaclara.org
Radio Santa Clara Web page with the “Abriendo el Surco” (“Breaking Ground”) program run by a group of farmers that airs on Sundays from 7 to 8 a.m. This program forms part of APROSAMA’s education and environmental management program. In Spanish.
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www.isvonline.com
Estudiantes Internacionales Voluntarios is a Web site with information on activities for volunteers in several countries, including Costa Rica. In English.
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www.costaricaruraltours.com
Vacations with farming families in Costa Rica. This Web site belongs to a group of organized farming families in the northern part of the country that offers rural tourism services as an alternative to traditional farming activities.
Publications:
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Abriendo el surco [“Hoeing the row”]. Cultural radio show for campesinos and grassroots agroecology organizations of the Northern Huetar Region of Costa Rica and southern Nicaragua. It airs on Sundays at 7 am on Radio Santa Clara – 550 AM.
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Organization chart outlining APROSAMA’s work and the persons responsible for the work areas. In Spanish.
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Study of biodiversity management. In Spanish.
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Study of the potential and limiting factors for the development of rural sustainable tourism for producers in the Huetar Norte region in Costa Rica. CHEVIN, M. y LAUVIE, A. Instituto Nacional Agronómico de Paris Grignon (INA-PG), Francia. 2002. In Spanish.
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Report on the environmental education project for sustainable management of the San Carlos and Tres Amigos Rivers watershed. Escuela de Ciencias y Letras del Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica, Sede Regional de San Carlos; el Proyecto Tres Amigos y el Centro de Investigación y Desarrollo en Agricultura Sostenible del Trópico Húmedo. In Spanish.
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Family farming for our children in the Huetar Norte region from the perspective of the producers’ organizations. Diagnóstico, visión y propuesta: Una contribución al desarrollo territorial rural. Unión de Comunidades en Restauración Ecológica, Social y Económica (Uni-CRESE), 2005. In Spanish.
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Socioeconomic and environmental study of the San Marcos de Cutris community. Informe del proyecto presentado ante el Seminario de Estudios Costarricenses, Ambiente y Sociedad, de la Escuela de Ciencias y Letras, del Instituto Tecnológico de Costa Rica. 1999. In Spanish.
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Community management as the focal point for future work. APROSAMA. In Spanish.
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Other documents such as the “Diagnóstico de la flora y fauna en peligro de extinction” can be obtained by writing to aprosama@costarricense.cr or unicrese@yahoo.es
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