Cacao Tour

As the population increased little by little, the Integral Development Association was formed in 1989 as a community-based non-profit organization. It was backed by the government and would allocate economic resources to implement projects according to the needs of the community, annually. The association has managed, implemented, and served as a mediator to complete large communal projects such as the sports plaza, basketball court, library, international donations, and many more. They also function as a rural tourism operator, as well as the legal representative for all the comities based in the community. Between the years 1990-2010, the community grew, dedicating themselves to the diverse work in the industries of ranching, agriculture, reforestation, and African palm production for its oil. However these projects were not generating sufficient employment and they pay was very low. Due to this, in 2006 the University of Costa Rica became interested in supporting the community to provide them training programs on topics such as business planning, promoting familiar entrepreneurship, local production, community networking, and the protection of wildlife, just to name a few. All of this resulted in sustainable development and was a process drawn out over various years, breaking the social model, and planting the seed of resilience on a local level until a new consciousness was created. The community came to understand that rural tourism could be a viable opportunity to follow, such that the resources of nature and culture are readily available. The Integral Development Association of Rancho Quemado adopted the rural tourism initiative to create complete economic independence for families, as well as sustainable development through more trainings and donations as a result of presenting projects to strengthen family businesses. With each reservation made through the Integral Development Association of Rancho Quemado, collaboration towards the families in the community is made which complements their income, as well as supports communal projects of infrastructure to continue improvement. This has been the break-even point the population required to  get ahead through many challenges that we face while “living in the heart of Osa.”