A UVM blog Rural Livelihoods of Costa Rica

Bananas:

Bananas in the Osa Peninsula come in multiple varieties including sweet yellow and green ones for cooking. Bananas are typically grown in plantations and need fertile soil with a moist but well drained soil to thrive, the bananas themselves usually grow in clumps of 8-12. The Bananas are harvested unripe before being ripened with ethylene gas and sold to local stores as well as exported out of the country through companies such as Del Monte. Costa Rica exports millions of pounds of bananas every year this way, many of which make their way to the US and are found in grocery stores here.

Cosmetics:

There are multiple brands that make and sell cosmetics out of the Osa Peninsula such as Osa Natural. Some products made are shampoo and conditioner, soap, creams, moisturizers, and many more. The ingredients of these products includes produce from the Osa such as coconut, cacao, lemon grass, Vanilla, and more. Products like this are sold online and in farmers markets but mostly is sold and used in many of the Spas on the Osa.

Chocolate

Chocolate is made in various locations on the Osa Peninsula. The harvesting and making of chocolate is not as simple as just eating it. The cacao has to be harvested and then fermented and dried which takes time and effort but helps to improve the quality of the chocolate. The cacao plant also has many threats such as disease, draught, and pests that all have to be monitored so that the beans and plant can be healthy and ready to be made into chocolate. The chocolate after being dried and fermented is processed into chocolate and is sold in local stores in town as well as online and shipped all of the Costa Rica and the world.

Vanilla

Vanilla is a woody vine that is in the Orchid family. The plant has white flowers and produces dark pods as its fruits that are what we know as vanilla. Vanilla plants take multiple months to reach maturity and form fruit after pollination. The pods are harvested after they reach maturity and a dark brown color, after being in the hot sun of the day the pods are wrapped in blankets at night to bring out their aroma. Much of this vanilla is processed into extract, this process involves curing the pods before adding them to a mixture of alcohol and water. Vanilla is very expensive and this is due to the fact that the plant can take up to three years before it first fruits, this along with many threats to the Vanilla plant leads to the increased price.

Palm Oil

Palm oil is used in many different food products such as fast food, chocolate, cereal, toothpaste and many more products. It is sold to companies that use it in these products and most of it is exported out of Costa Rica to manufacturing plants. Palm is grown in large plantations as a mono-crop and is a leading cause of deforestation as large plots of jungle and forest are clear cut in order to create room for palm trees. This decreases biodiversity and takes up room that could be used as habitat or to grow food for the local or global community. Palms can grow in a diverse habitat but most plantation owners do not let this happen as it is harder to harvest. Palm plantations are highly productive but also highly damaging to the ecosystems and are increasingly putting native plants and animals under threat.