Peninsula College Administrators visit Costa Rica
Jennifer Tulloch
Issue date: 1/31/08 Section: News
Costa Rica, a country in Central America, served as the location of Senior Vice President of Instruction Bill Eaton's latest visit. Along with Peninsula College President Tom Keegan and PC Counselor and Advisor Maria Pena, Eaton went to Costa Rica to discuss the future of Peninsula College's tropical ecology course. "The goals of the ecology course are to establish some grant writing, supply the community with a relatively large student driven work force and to document and research the many different species that exist in the surrounding jungles," said Eaton.
Costa Rica has been slow to develop economically, but a group of women calling themselves Asociacion de las Mujeres de Boca Tapada are working to continue developing the economy. The group consists mostly of single mothers working in a northern village called Boca Tapada and is the equivalent of a non-profit organization in America. One of the ways the group is trying to develop the economy is by starting a business of raising and selling iguanas as pets. A single six-inch iguana can sell for 1,500 colons ($300 U.S.), which will bring in a sizable income for the families there.
Another way that these women are looking to develop the economy is by starting an Internet café that will bring more tourists to the area and create many different job opportunities for the people. Not only will the café provide jobs for the people, but it will also provide Internet connections for the primary and secondary schools that are in the area. Another reason for starting the café is to be able to turn the economy from an export economy to an import economy.
For the last 30 years, 70% of the rain forest has been logged, leaving very little habitat for several endangered species, including the green macaw. Several wildlife organizations are trying to stop the extraction of the rain forest trees, but people still remove them illegally. As the trees are cut, they are being replaced by large amounts of undesirable bamboo.
Costa Rica has been slow to develop economically, but a group of women calling themselves Asociacion de las Mujeres de Boca Tapada are working to continue developing the economy. The group consists mostly of single mothers working in a northern village called Boca Tapada and is the equivalent of a non-profit organization in America. One of the ways the group is trying to develop the economy is by starting a business of raising and selling iguanas as pets. A single six-inch iguana can sell for 1,500 colons ($300 U.S.), which will bring in a sizable income for the families there.
Another way that these women are looking to develop the economy is by starting an Internet café that will bring more tourists to the area and create many different job opportunities for the people. Not only will the café provide jobs for the people, but it will also provide Internet connections for the primary and secondary schools that are in the area. Another reason for starting the café is to be able to turn the economy from an export economy to an import economy.
For the last 30 years, 70% of the rain forest has been logged, leaving very little habitat for several endangered species, including the green macaw. Several wildlife organizations are trying to stop the extraction of the rain forest trees, but people still remove them illegally. As the trees are cut, they are being replaced by large amounts of undesirable bamboo.
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