PROJECT: GUAYABI RESERVE

Guayabí Reserve is located near Guayabí a small village in the central district of Corredores, Puntarenas, Costa Rica. The reserve consists of nearly 250 acres (100ha) with altitudes ranging from 250 to 400 meters above sea level. 50% of it was purchased in 1983 and the other half during the following years. Around 75 acres (30 ha) of the land were pastures and plots dedicated to artisanal agriculture, the rest of it was primary tropical rain forest. Since 1986 it has been dedicated mostly to conservation and restoration of the forest and now 233 acres (93 ha) are under this regimen, and 2.5 acres (1 ha) is dedicated to organic crops and green houses with seedlings for reforestation of other projects of the GAIAculture Foundation.

This conservation area has a wide variety of flora and fauna, and the terrain is mostly lime stone, creating amazing cave systems and subterranean waterways with very important ecosystems. The fauna includes species like sloths, pacas, agoutis, capuchin monkeys, kinkajus, tyras, tamanduas, armadillos and some other that are in danger of extinction such as the squirrel or “titi” monkey (Saimiri oerstedii), ocelots, and other threatened species. There is a wide variety of birds like tanagers, toucans, trogons, hummingbirds, among others. The herpetofauna is also very representative and there is a huge diversity in insects. Due to the caverns present in the property there is a wide variety of bats, some also endangered. In 2007 a team of bat experts (Grupo Espeleologico Anthros) made a study and published the results.

Flora includes a great diversity of orchids, heliconias, bromeliads, palms. Among trees there is ceiba, (Ceiba pentandra), amarillon ( ), mayo (Vochysia guatemalensis), baco ( ), manu ( ), and some that are endangered due to its timber value such as ron ron ( ), and cristobal ( ), and many of them are hard to find in other areas outside of the reserve.
The reserve itself is administered by FONAFIFO, one of the Costa Rican ministries which regulates natural resources and provides oversight of reforestation and reserve areas.

Project History

It was hard to begin this conservation project because of the people’s mentality from past days. The project was considered crazy by most as the farmers were still cutting the trees down or even burning the forest to be converted into pastures or agriculture areas. They believed that all wildlife was causing damages or it could exploited as food or trapped and sold. As time passed by, and as a result of the bad economic situation, most of the people started to be more aware of the importance of conservation and they started to fight hunting done by other people coming from the city almost every day.

Very proudly we can say that now the hunting activity in the area has been almost completely eradicated. The farmers are also reforesting and allowing natural regeneration of the forest along rivers and springs. The problem now is the lack of subsistence opportunities for the farmers and the lack of training and economic help given by the government. As a result many farmers have opted to sell their lands and the money obtained is not enough to survive for very long.

Because of this critic situation and trying to find out solutions by talking to friends interested on finding solutions to the problems, we decided to create the GAIAculture Foundation. The idea is to teach people not only from the area but also people interested in working in an environmental friendly way, respecting nature and obtaining incomes for a better life quality.

Besides talking to people about the advantages of working in a nature friendly system we have reforested some areas by collecting seeds from native trees of the area and growing them at the greenhouses we have built at the farm. We give these trees to those interested in reforesting other farms.

This project has been very successful and there is a good demand for trees. Nevertheless because the work is done as a non-profit Foundation it is difficult to satisfy the demand.

Project Projection

Our goal is to continue developing projects together with the people in different fields including environmental education, raising animals and having crops without damaging the environment, recycling, avoiding pollution of water, and all the wide variety of objectives for which the GAIAculture Foundation was created, and in this way assist and improve our ways of living with the planet that is also our life.

Albis Mora Salas
President-The GAIAculture Foundation
President- Community Development Projects of Bajo los Indios and Guayabi