Caminos de Liderazgo: Facilitating sustainable community development

Publication Date: 
Friday, November 21, 2014
Source: 
INOGO Boletín No. X
Photo Credit: 
RBA

 

In May 2014, the Caminos de Liderazgo project was launched in the ACOSA area and carried out with the participation of INOGO, CRUSA, the Costa Rican National Park System (SINAC), with RBA as the executing agency. Although 80% of the Osa Peninsula is under some form of legal environmental protection, many of the local human and social components of the area have often been overlooked, which has led to activities such as illegal logging, gold mining, and the hunting of protected species.

To this end, the Caminos de Liderazgo project is a unique opportunity to promote community sustainable development within the surrounding ACOSA areas. This model is structured so that it is both financially and operationally sustainable, and will demonstrate the benefits of sustainable tourism supply chains through the growth of employment within the region.

Sustainable tourism will be, depending on the season, either the primary or secondary source of income for many of the Caminos de Liderazgo entrepreneurs, and business networks throughout the supply chain will be strengthened to include many different goods and services, and possibly local agriculture in the near future. The outcome of this will serve as a new tourism destination called Caminos de Osa, “where 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity is found and 100% of the culture of those who protect it,” which will develop alongside the creation of three new trails that lead toward Corcovado National Park.

As the program develops, we will continue to provide updates on Caminos de Liderazgo via our newsletter. More detailed information on Caminos de Liderazgo is available online through INOGO partner RBA’s webpage, and is now available via a newsletter dedicated exclusively to Caminos-related workshops, events, and updates, including pictures, videos, and a blog.

For further information on Caminos de Liderazgo, please contact Daniel Villafranca Laporte at dvillafranca@grupo-rba.com