LIVING IN PEACE WITH NATURE
Celebrate the Osa - Earth Day Festival 2008

Dear Friends:

On behalf of the Osa Peninsula Earth Day 2008 Committee, we would like to personally invite you to be a part of our celebration honoring the Earth. On Sunday, April 20, 2008, the 4th Annual Osa Peninsula Earth Day Festival is again expected to attract hundreds of participants from communities throughout the Peninsula, providing an opportunity to network and celebrate together the abundance of Nature.
In 2004, the Osa joined with other communities around the world kicking off a festival in downtown Puerto Jimenez with a great showing of community support and involvement. For the past four years, we have continued to build on this success by offering a free event which celebrates the environment and reflects the growing diversity of our community. The Festival hosts numerous environmental exhibits with a wide variety of interactive educational opportunities for children and adults, as well as exciting and diverse live entertainment, musical line-ups, contests and speakers all in a family-fun atmosphere. The theme for this year is Living in Peace with Nature, presenting a variety of practical applications for ecological stewardship.
The Osa Earth Day Festival maintains free admission and when possible, free transportation to draw the largest cross-section from rural communities so that we can celebrate this internationally recognized event in the most inclusive manner. Our Festival’s success depends on financial support from businesses and organizations such as yours.
Enclosed is an overview of the sponsorship levels for the Osa Earth Day Festival 2008, which includes details of the sponsorship benefits. Please note that these benefits include potential print, radio, and television exposure as well as on-site visibility. By sponsoring the Osa Earth Day Festival, you have an opportunity to support the environment and garner positive publicity for your company locally, and exponentially throughout Costa Rica and the world.
Please see the attached opportunities for sponsorship, We appreciate your time and consideration and hope that you will partner with us as we work to protect the environment here on the Osa Peninsula, a place whose biological diversity has significance around the globe well as right here at home.

Sincerely,

Tricia Stapleton, Tao Watts
chirripohomegrown@gmail.com taoaqui@racsa.co.cr

Women of the Osa
event co-chairpersons
LIVING IN PEACE WITH NATURE
Earth Day 2008
COME JOIN US!

The Osa Peninsula Earth Day Celebration is a private-
public coalition working to raise public awareness and education about
conservation and environmental stewardship on the Osa Peninsula.
This coming year marks the 4th year of this ongoing initiative.

Here’s How You Can Help

BE A FINANCIAL SPONSOR

As a Sponsor, your organization will receive special recognition in a number of ways:
• Jaguar Sponsor $2,500
• Tapir Sponsor $1,000
• Monkey Sponsor $ 500
• Turtle Sponsor $ 100
• Macaw $ 50

BECOME AN EXIBITOR

Exhibitor package, including one 10′ x 10′ exhibit space
Exhibition Booth Fee: $25

PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT
• Your financial support at any level is needed and appreciated.
• Consider contributing professional expertise and other “in-kind” services.
• Participate as a speaker, performer, or presenter

VOLUNTEER!
• Join the growing partnership
Public outreach success lies in the cooperation and hands-on
involvement of many partners. Volunteer efforts represent a
value exceeding 10 times direct expenditures in our event.

Name___________________________________________

Organization _____________________________________

Phone___________________________________________

Fax_____________________________________________

E-mail ___________________________________________

Please return this form along with a check for a tax deductible donation to:
Friends of the Osa
c/o Conservation International
1919 M St NW Suite 600
Washington DC 20036
Earmarked: WOMEN OF THE OSA EARTHDAY 2008
Or within Costa Rica:
Make a direct deposit to the WOO account
at Banco Nacional de Costa Rica:
100-02-094-600210-6
Ascociacion Women of the Osa
Or send your check to
Women of the Osa
Apdo #1
Puerto Jimenez
Peninsula de Osa
Costa Rica 60702

• For more information, check out our Website
http://www.womenoftheosa.org.

Your early commitment ensures success. While contributions are
welcome at any time, deadline for full recognition as a 2008 Earth Day sponsor is February 29, 2008.

If you would like to be a presenter on the main stage or the side stage, please choose from the categories below or create a new one in keeping with the event theme Living in Peace with Nature.

PRESENTER’S THEMES:

• Conserving and Protecting Land
• Green Construction
• Water
• Clean Energy
• Organic Gardening
• Conscious Consumption
• Waste and Recycling
• Wildlife Rescue
• Living in Paradise Ethical Guidelines
Thank you for supporting the Osa Peninsula’s Earth Day Festival!

“No caddies, just guides!�? was the motto this year for Women of the Osa’s annual Jungle Golf Tournament at Bosque del Cabo Hotel in Matapalo. Sunday, August 5th, would-be golfers, serious or otherwise, attempted the obstacle course that is the 9 hole playing field in the tropical garden, at La Palenque, in the midst of Bosque’s forest reserve. Golfers with experience, novices, and those who are obviously more comfortable on a surf board than holding a 9 iron, gathered for food, fun, and yes, even trophies, for WOO’s most fun fundraising event of the year. All you really needed was a good attitude and a good appetite for the picnic prepared by Bosque chef, Maureen McNamara.
This event was our most successful fundraising event to date! Local sponsors for individual holes boosted our revenues to an all-time high, and a turn out of over 50 golfers, despite the intermittent rain, made this the event of the rainy season!

Nico Fisher with the help of several other women from WOO has just completed the new edition of LIVING IN THE JUNGLE, a handbook for living consciously in harmony with Nature. The first edition came out 2 years ago and was well received, and all the copies snatched up.
Changes, updates, and additions have been made, and this new edition will be bi-lingual, thanks to translations by Marijke. We hope to have it available by early November. We will be posting segments from the book online periodically so you can get a sense of the content of this guide to living in Osa, or anywhere that you care about your environment. While the information is specific to the Osa community, it is also general enough to apply wherever you live.
To get a copy of this wonderful collection of wisdom and information, send us an email. We ask a donation of $10 plus shipping for each copy.

Hi All-

I have been meaning to write this letter for a while, and just have gotten a chance to sit down and do it. I wanted to write and sincerely thank Katie Hennessy for all of her years of service as a Women of the Osa Chairperson (or do we call it President?).
Katie worked so hard for years to help WOO make an impact and make a difference. And she succeeded! WOO has made great strides in the past couple of years and Katie was a big part of that success. We built the recycling center, boycotted Coca Cola (and tried to write a “green” ad campaign for them), held a couple of Cachi Bachis, published the first run of Living in the Jungle, attended local meetings, spoke at local gatherings about WOO and the work we were doing, tried to network with local groups, and hosted many fundraisers like the golf tournament, Earth Day, the car wash, and so on.
Katie was such a great leader for our group because she has a wonderful combination of compassion and motivation. She can move a group forward, through a meeting or through the planning of an event, with just the right amounts of encouragement, compassion and fun to make everyone feel ambitious and also harmonious. I was constantly impressed with Katie’s leadership style and energy.
It was a hard job some days, some times there was a lot of work to be done and there were not always lots of people volunteering to help. But, at all the events I was at, Katie was always one of the first ones there and one of the last ones to leave. Plus, Katie was a great supporter of WOO- she is the one of us that probably bought the most t-shirts for her family! And she, Mike and Brisa have always been so generous with WOO by doing things like sponsoring the Circle the Rock fishing tournament and giving the proceeds to WOO, as well as tireless work on the golf tournament every year- without Katie we would never get those foursomes organized so well, not to mention the super cute maps and rules she always comes up with!
I was also particularly impressed with the efforts Katie made to be inclusive of a wider membership base for WOO that would include more local Costa Rican women. This is an ongoing issue for WOO, but it was great that Katie tried so hard to extend the opportunity of joining to anyone that wanted to be part of the group.
I want to also wish Tao Watts good luck as she takes the helm of Chairperson for WOO. I know Tao will be a great in the position and look forward to it.
Thanks,
Take care,
Kim
Bosque del Cabo Rainforest Lodge

Dear Katie and all of the WOO women,
Good day! Thank you so much Kim for writing this letter. I Ditto it totally and wanted to add that it is so true what you said Kim about compassion and the ability to encourage people and her tasteful way about doing it. I definitely raise my glass to Katie and all of her devotion to WOO! Yahoo!!
Thank you Kim and all of the other officers for your time and energy also. We are all so busy but, it shows that we all care about WOO and the Osa.
I also wanted to add that I send my best to Tao in the future. We still have a lot in front of us but, now we have a good team and we all work well together. Thank you to all of you that have devoted your time and energy to so many projects here on the Osa. I think that we have definitely made a difference in the community and have moved forward with our goals. I hope you are all enjoying your weekend!
Peace inside!
Lana from the Luna

Thank you for your kind words. You made me cry
I think all of us have to be so proud of what we have accomplished. We started out with just a few women that had a vision, a passion and a love for where we live and together we have made great strides for the Osa. It wasn’t always easy, but we never gave up. Remember, a leader is only as good as the team and that is what makes the difference. We have such a special, passionate, hardworking, dedicated group of women in WOO. So, thanks to each one of YOU for making these past few years so meaningful and fun too! I especially want to thank Kim for all her work as Treasurer. That is not an easy job and she has a knack for always keeping things in order and organized and makes it look easy. She is now getting ready for her newest and one of the most difficult, but rewarding jobs - Mom I know that Kim will be wonderful in that position too! We have so much more to accomplish and I am proud to pass on the chair to Tao who will be and already is such a dedicated chairperson.
Lots of love,
Katie

“Ditto” everything that was said below…haha! To Katie and all
members of WOO: the way you manage to do everything that you do (and
still keep a smile on your face) is absolutely amazing and incredible.
Even at 23, I can hardly keep up! You are truly an inspiration to
me…and I thank you all!
Millay

TEJIENDO POR LA NATURALEZA
Durante la semana del 27 al 31 de agosto del 2007, 14 maravillosas mujeres de
Osa fueron capacitadas para elaborar bellos bolsos a partir de bolsas plásticas de
supermercado. Durante 40 horas de trabajo ellas aprendieron a desarrollar tres
de los cuatro tipos de bolsos que hoy día se producen.
El programa para la conservación de las Tortugas Marinas de Osa de la Asociación
WIDECAST con actividades en Playa Río Oro, Pejeperro y Carate; en alianza con
Mujeres de Osa (WOO), ASCONA, así como otros socios locales colaboraron para
traer tres profesoras y enseñar a este grupo de mujeres.
El taller se llevó a cabo en el salón comunal de Puerto Jiménez de 8:00 am a 4:00
pm, con la presencia de mujeres de playa Preciosa, Sándalo y Jiménez. Varias de
estas damas son personas jefas de hogar con un promedio grupal de 5 hijos y con
ingresos irregulares asociados a las temporadas de turismo.
Esta iniciativa es parte del Programa de alternativas Socio-económicas que lleva
a cabo WIDECAST en las playas donde ejecuta acciones de protección y
conservación de tortugas marinas. Talleres como estos y otros para la producción
de artesanías no solo llevan a mejorar la condición económica de las familias sino
que llevan ha atenuar el impacto del plástico sobre los ecosistemas y las especies
marinas.
Por otro lado, este taller es un complemento de las
acciones de control de comercio de productos y
subproductos de tortuga marina tales como los
huevos y el carey; porque promueve acciones de
uso indirecto de las tortugas marinas. Pero además
se ve acompañado por la iniciativa de certificación
de tiendas en hoteles y ventas de artesanía, de
manera que se estimula la no venta de productos
de tortuga marina y se promueve la compra de
estos productos alternativos.
WIDECAST ha establecido con este tres centros de
producción de bolsos con la técnica del crochet, el primero en playa Gandoca
con 19 mujeres, el segundo en Changuinola, Bocas del Toro, Panamá con 15
mujeres y ahora este en Osa. Los dos primeros están adscritos al proyecto
binacional que maneja la Asociación con recursos de NFWF.
Según el Estado de la Nación en su informe del 2003, Costa Rica importa 73,000
toneladas de plásticos de las cuales más del 50% terminan como plástico postconsumo.
Ahora sabemos que las bolsas plásticas es uno de los 12 artículos más
abundantes de la basura marina encontrada en la playa, esto según el Centro de
Conservación Marina (CMC).
Es claro que en Osa las bolsas
plásticas son un problema, pululan
en las calles, están a la vera del
camino y en las playas. Además, los
lugares de disposición están siempre
vulnerables a la escorrentía de las
quebradas, arrastrando estas cientos de bolsas con basura hasta el mar.
Uno de los resultados inmediatos del taller fue la recolecta de más de 6000
bolsas por parte de las escuelas del lugar, y gracias a una competencia
organizada por ASCONA la escuela del Bambú recolectó la mayor cantidad,
haciéndose acreedor de la fiesta del día del Niño.
Esta iniciativa tiene como proyección que el grupo de tejedoras de Osa reciclará
y reutilizará un promedio de 12000 bolsas plásticas de supermercado en tamaño
estándar por mes, para una esperanza de producción de 12 bolsos mensuales por
tejedora. Esto además de representar un ingreso estimado para el grupo de
$2700 o un ingreso estimado de $180/tejedora/mes.
Para mantener esta relación ambiental-socio/económica, se ha realizado un
proceso de mercadeo nacional e internacional de los bolsos, de manera que hoy
día se les puede encontrar en tiendas como Lapa Ríos, Jagua o Bosque del Cabo;
pero también en la tienda del National MarineLife Center en Boston, Estados
Unidos o Sea Turtle Inc. en South Padre Island, Texas, entre otros.
Obviamente el personal de WIDECAST en Osa y en el resto del país, busca colocar
estos bolsos en otros lugares de la zona, el país y fuera de este. Para ello es
necesario que los interesados escriban a dchacon@widecast.org.
Este proyecto comenzó en Noviembre del 2006 gracias al apoyo de Disney
Foundation que permitió capacitar a seis mujeres centroamericanas: 3
costarricenses, dos panameñas y una nicaragüense. Hoy día, ya operan centros
de producción en Costa Rica y Panamá, y ya se realizó el primer taller de
capacitación en la comunidad del Astillero en San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.
Además, el proyecto recibió un impulso de Internacional Humane Society, para
actividades en Costa Rica.
Otra organización que ha aportado especialmente el tiempo que Didiher Chacón
invierte en el desarrollo del proyecto es Whitley Fund for Nature, premio
entregado por la Princesa Ann de Inglaterra.
Como verá el proyecto busca crear un impacto en la región no solo asociado a
proyectos que ya protegen las tortugas marinas y sus ecosistemas críticos, sino
resolver la amenaza de los plásticos por la ingestión incidental y dar una
alternativa a las comunidades, particularmente a las mujeres.
“Tejiendo por la naturaleza�? es el
título que recientemente la Lic.
Jessica Chavarria de Fundación
Amigos de las Isla del Coco dio a
nuestro proyecto bajo convenio con la
cadena de supermercardos
AutoMercado quienes son los primeros
en aceptar la colocación de
recolectores en sus puntos de venta.
Planes futuros:
Seguir vendiendo y mejorando la calidad de la producción, lo que nos lleva
a invitar a más hoteles y tiendas a comprar estos bolsos.
Continuar con la exportación para abrir mercados en Estados Unidos y
Europa.
Desarrollar más convenios para recolectar la mayor cantidad de bolsas
posibles en todo el país, especialmente en sociedad con las escuelas, las
grandes cadenas de supermercados y hoteles de las zonas costeras.
Antes de diciembre del 2007, abrir un nuevo centro de producción en la
comunidad de Peladas cerca de Nósara, donde se desarrollan actividades
de nuestro Programa del Pacífico Norte.
Promover una dualidad especial certificando las tiendas “libres de
productos de tortuga marina�? y vendiendo bolsos elaborados con bolsas
plásticas de supermercado.
Desarrollar la producción de una línea de cosméticos del bosque lluvioso
por parte de las mujeres locales y la elaboración de artículos con papel
reciclado bajo nuestra marca “Thread�?.
Para más información puede bajar el catálogo de productos de WIDECAST en:
http://www.anaicr.org/Catalogo/catalogo.html
También puede cooperar vendiendo nuestros productos, recolectando bolsas
plásticas y haciéndolas llegar a nosotros o inscribiendo su tienda en el programa
de certificación.
Agradecimientos:
Es importante agradecer a Mujeres de Osa (WOO), ASCONA, Restaurant La Carolina, Cabinas
Marcelina, Café de la Onda, Restaurant y Cabinas Las Palmas, Soda Los Colectivos, Asociación de
Desarrollo Integral de Puerto Jiménez, Restaurant Juanitas, Luna Lodge, Lapa Ríos Lodge,
Crocodile Bay Lodge. Especialmente agradecer a Lana, Tao, Millay, Ifigenia, Adrián y Todd por su
paciencia, apoyo y cooperación.