Prepared for “Rural Livelihoods” with Walt Kuentzel

Our class was tasked with researching five products that are grown, processed, or manufactured on the Osa Peninsula as an introduction to a few staples of the local economy. I have chosen to explore palm oil, pineapples, cacao, gold, and bananas.

Palm Oil

Pineapples

Pineapple plant

Source: https://www.chfusa.com/blog/pineapple-production-in-costa-rica/#:~:text=The%20answer%20is%20the%20climate,that%20receive%20the%20most%20rainfall

The pineapple industry in Costa Rica is dominated by Dole and Del Monte Produce, two US Corporations, with large-scale production gaining major traction in the 1980s (Brown, Flint, and LaMay¹). These plants are typically grown in monocultures on plantations for export to the US. Large-scale mono-crop operations use a high concentration of pesticides that cause widespread environmental harm. PINDECO, subsidiary of Del Monte, proposed the Palma Sur Plantation project adjacent to the Terraba-Sierpe wetlands on the Northern Osa Peninsula (Tico Times²) as the chemicals travel downstream from plantations. Besides the herbicides and pesticides used in producing pineapples, and refrigeration during transport, they do not typically undergo further processing.

Alternatively to these mainstream monocultures, smaller farms and ecolodges defer to more sustainable permaculture practices, such as the Finca Exotica ecolodge³, which offers pineapple as a part of the plethora of fruits and plants grown in the garden. These are available to ecolodge guests and sold locally.

1. https://jpia.princeton.edu/news/politics-pineapple-examining-inequitable-impacts-southern-costa-ricas-pineapple-industry ↩︎
2. https://ticotimes.net/2019/12/20/costa-ricas-environment-ministry-puts-halt-to-pineapple-farm-that-could-have-damanged-terraba-sierpe-national-wetlands ↩︎
3. https://fincaexotica.com/farm-and-organic-garden/ ↩︎

Cacao

From fresh cacao pod, to fermented and dried cocoa beans, to final product, these images show the various steps of making chocolate.

Source: https://www.osatourism.com/osa-peninsula-chocolate/

As one of Costa Rica’s most prolific agricultural products, cacao can be found on farms throughout the country and on the Osa Peninsula. Many steps are involved in adding value to the cacao as it is transformed into chocolate. This begins with the fermentation, drying, roasting, and grinding of cocoa beans. Grounds are mixed with other ingredients like sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, and emulsifiers, then tempered to create rich chocolate found at many places throughout Costa Rica. Farms like Rancho Raices, Osa Cacao Chocolates, and our very own Finca Kobo all offer tours on the Osa Peninsula that showcase the chocolate making process, adding further value by turning this process into a tourist attraction.

Costa Rica exports both cocoa beans and chocolate, with cocoa bean exports valued at $1.31M USD in 2021 and chocolate exports valued at $11.1M USD in 2021. The cacao bean is also considered highly sacred by the Chorotega people and has been used as a currency until 1930. With many antioxidants and health benefits, raw cacao has been considered a food of the gods.

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6749277/#:~:text=Cocoa%20beans%20are%20main%20ingredient,)%2C%20conching%2C%20and%20tempering
• https://www.osatourism.com/osa-peninsula-chocolate/
• https://theculturetrip.com/central-america/costa-rica/articles/a-brief-history-of-costa-ricas-chocolate#:~:text=The%20cacao%20bean%20(from%20which,indigenous%20people%20of%20Costa%20Rica.

Gold

Left: Two of the largest gold nuggets ever discovered in Costa Rica, found on the Osa Peninsula. Right: A tour guide pans for gold in Dos Brazos de Rio Tigre.

Source: https://www.twoweeksincostarica.com/gold-mining-tour-osa/

The quest for gold has a rich colonial history in Latin America, and Costa Rica is no exception, although gold fever struck much later in Costa Rica than in surrounding parts of the world. On the Osa, gold mining took off in the 1930’s what is now Corcovado National Park. Artisan miners would come in droves to rivers and sift through sand and gravel to extract precious metals until the park was protected in 1975. Although illegal, some miners still sneak into the park to quest for gold. This creates tension between these miners who depend on the gold for their livelihoods and the conservation priorities held by the Park.

In a more sanctioned manner, select tours take visitors panning for gold in places like Dos Brazos de Rio Tigre, a traditional mining area. These demonstrations give tourists a taste of the strenuous work of searching for gold while adding more value to the local economy.

Sources:

• https://thecostaricanews.com/gold-osa-peninsula-blessing-damnation/
• https://www.twoweeksincostarica.com/gold-mining-tour-osa/
• https://www.corcovadoeltigre.com/en/gold-mining-history

Bananas

Freshly picked bananas are transported to a packaging facility via pulley system

Source: https://www.idhsustainabletrade.com/news/living-wage-discussions-with-banana-producers-in-costa-rica/

Bananas are a centerpiece of Costa Rica’s agricultural history, facing challenges such as diseases and labor rights issues. They are grown on bushes, harvested by the bundle, making the fruit readily available for distribution. As one of the most widely consumed fruits globally, demand has remained consistently high for many years. The United Fruit Company, which once dominated Costa Rica’s economy, prioritized banana production until 1943 when climatic conditions became unsuitable. A prolonged struggle over the Osa region followed this downturn until the establishment of Corcovado National Park in 1975. Since then, banana farming on the Osa has operated on a smaller scale. Notably, Osa Verde embraces a sustainable approach cultivating the Gros Michel variety via alternative farming practices that use less chemical inputs.

Sources:

• https://growjungles.com/united-fruit-company-in-costa-rica/
• https://www.idhsustainabletrade.com/news/living-wage-discussions-with-banana-producers-in-costa-rica/
• https://osa-arboretum.org/interpretative_panel/osa-verde-farm/