wfn.org | Indigenous people in Costa Rica work to regain land

[NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG]

March 12, 2001	News media contact: Linda Bloom·(212) 870-3803·New York
10-32-71B{123}

NEW YORK (UMNS) -- The challenge for indigenous people in Costa Rica is not
just regaining control of their land but also sustaining themselves and
their environment.

Esther Camac, a Methodist involved in Ixacavaa, a 3-year-old nonprofit
indigenous organization, discussed that challenge during a March 8 briefing
sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.

Like other countries, Costa Rica has laws protecting indigenous people. "We
have the laws, but we don't have control of the resources and we don't have
control of the territory," Camac said.

Ixacavaa is working with indigenous leaders on a plan to manage their
territory. Obstacles have included language differences, a lack of access to
information and government plans, and a lack of comprehension by the
government about the indigenous way of life. 

An example of those problems occurred two years ago, after the indigenous
community lost its crops to a flood. "The government's response was to
provide the community with some seeds and technical assistance so they could
sow the seeds," Camac explained. But the seeds were genetically modified and
required the use of chemical fertilizer, which differed from traditional
cultivation practices. "The result was we lost 80 percent of the harvest."

To help regain control of their territory, the indigenous people are taking
inventory of their resources, such as the total size of the land, amount of
forested land, amount of food produced locally and the potential for growing
more food. "We're learning that this is land that is very fertile and could
provide much," she said.

Food security is a top priority. The five-year goal is to have each family
grow enough food for itself and to teach the young to use traditional forms
of agriculture.

The Board of Global Ministries currently has a Global Justice Volunteer,
Mary Miller of Wisconsin, placed with Ixacavaa in Costa Rica.
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United Methodist News Service
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