Day 3: Zubi

Today was our first full day in Yorkin, and Bernarda, one of the founders of our host organization, Stibrawpa, came and talked with us about why the organization is essential for the community. The three important goals of the organization are to protect the forest, to preserve Bribri culture, and to improve the economic standing of the community. This is vital, because Bribri culture, and the forest that people here depend on, are two things that were being lost in the community.

 

When Bernarda was born, everyone in Yorkin spoke Bribri. However, in the 1980s, a school was founded in this community, which was good in some ways, but came with a lot of problems. The teachers were from the city, not the community, so they didn’t speak Bribri. The government valued teaching Spanish much more than they valued indigenous culture, so if the students spoke Bribri in school, the teachers would hit them or pull on their ear. The students became scared to speak Bribri, and so they stopped learning it, and soon, none of the children in the community could speak Bribri. The culture was being lost.

 

In addition, many Bribri people during the time were working on banana plantations, where they used lots of chemicals, and the workers would breathe them in, and get horrible diseases such as lung cancer. Furthermore, Bribri children were not allowed to eat Bribri food at school, and so they began to get health conditions that they weren’t getting before, such as diabetes. The life expectancy was quickly dropping, many people dying by the age of fifty because of these various health conditions.

 

Thus, the goals of Stibrawpa are essential. Preserving the forest, for the Bribri people, is like preserving their way of life. Bernarda described the forest as a supermarket, a pharmacy, and a water source, all in one. So, a main mission of Stibrawpa is conservation efforts, and eliminating the banana plantations that use harmful chemicals. Instead, members of Stibrawpa produce organic coffee, chocolate, and bananas, which are much healthier to produce. Stibrawpa also sells arts and crafts made in Yorkin in the city. Another important effort of Stibrawpa is hosting groups like us. Bernarda realized that there is a form of tourism that is actually good for the community, that embraces Bribri culture rather than trying to erase it. The money the community gets from hosting groups helps them a lot with other efforts. The children now get to learn Bribri in school, and the life expectancy has now again risen.

 

After learning about Stibrawpa, it was a relaxing day. There’s some pictures below of us at the river, and of me and my host brothers, Dylan (13), and Wagner (17).