At Finca Cántaros, we have aligned our programs with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by prioritizing gender since our inception. Recognizing and addressing gender dynamics in environmental programs, policies, and practices fosters resilient and equitable societies and contributes to the overall success of sustainable development efforts.
Check out the explainer video, and read more our programs below, to learn how we are supporting the women in our community.
Our “Mujeres Comprometidas con la Tierra” (Women Committed to the Earth) program is our longest running and most successful environmental education initiative. This program offers a safe space for women to connect, learn, have fun, and take action through restoration, biodiversity, and environmental art-focused projects. Women who participate learn about their important role in conservation, and engage in hands-on stewardship activities such as forest restoration. In this space, women develop leadership skills, becoming more confident in all they do. The new skills build their commitment to conservation and help them overcome gender barriers.
We aim to get to know the women in the community and understand their goals, strengths, challenges, and lived experiences, in order to collaboratively develop the program activities and curriculum with them. We want to encourage more women to ask themselves: who are my female environmental heroes, both here in Costa Rica and beyond? And we want them to see environmental heroes in themselves.
The Women Committed to the Earth at Finca Cántaros run a tree nursery we named “Bellota” in honour of the acorns (which is bellota in Spanish) we first planted. As part of our tree nursery and forest restoration efforts, we run a “biofactory” where we produce bioproducts like vermicompost and other organic composts. We sell these products to help generate income to support our activities! Check out the “Contact Us” page for more details about what you can buy! Our products have official seal of the Biosphere Reserve, which conducted an evaluation of our operations to ensure environmental sustainability.
Our “Lideresas por la Naturaleza” (Women Leaders for Nature) program, run in July and August 2022, evolved out of the Women Committed to the Earth program, and aimed to offer women in the community an opportunity to dive even deeper into themes of biodiversity and conservation, through the lens of forest restoration and birds. It was a great opportunity for us to dig deeper and more intensively with a dedicated group of participants, several of who have now become staff members of the organization.
