Monte Sky: Natural Reserve – Human Development
Monte Sky feels fully identified by the close rural community and supports the organization of its habitants, by fighting next to its leaders for life solutions and proper housing and employment. We have developed a news bulletin, “Purisil, the town and its surroundings,” and a radio program to raise social and environmental awareness, "ECOLOGICAL VIEWPOINT" that was on the air for 11 years in Radio Monumental, every Saturday for half an hour. We irradiated love and care for natural resources and every form of life.
Monte Sky is devoted to the preservation of natural resources and the raising of awareness among students and workers about how healthy they will feel after visiting us. ...
About You
Contact Information
Title
Mr
First name
Rafael Enrique
Last name
Montero
Your job title
Owner Manager
Name of your organization
Monte Sky: Natural Reserve – Human Development
Organization type
Organization Type
Annual budget/currency
-
Mailing address
Telephone number
-
Postal/Zip Code
-
Country
Costa Rica
Email address
Monte Sky, Purisil de Orosi, Paraíso, Cartago. Costa Rica
Alternative email address
-
Your idea
This will be the address used to plot your entry on the map.
Street Address
Monte Sky, Purisil de Orosi
City
Paraíso
State/Province
Cartago
Postal/Zip Code
-
Country
Costa Rica
Geotourism Challenge Addressed by Entrant
quality of tourist experience and educational benefit to tourists , quality of benefit to residents for the destination , quality of stewardship of the destination.
Organization size
Small (1 to 100 employees)
Indicate sector in which you principally work
Conservation/Preservation organization
Year innovation began
1988
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Indicate sector in which you principally work
History, Living culture, Nature, Indigenous people, Adventure, Education, General tourism, Other.
Name Your Project
Monte Sky: Natural Reserve – Human Development
Describe Your Idea
Monte Sky feels fully identified by the close rural community and supports the organization of its habitants, by fighting next to its leaders for life solutions and proper housing and employment. We have developed a news bulletin, “Purisil, the town and its surroundings,” and a radio program to raise social and environmental awareness, "ECOLOGICAL VIEWPOINT" that was on the air for 11 years in Radio Monumental, every Saturday for half an hour. We irradiated love and care for natural resources and every form of life.
Monte Sky is devoted to the preservation of natural resources and the raising of awareness among students and workers about how healthy they will feel after visiting us. ...
IDB/Fomin
Si perteneces a un pais de Latinoamerica y el Caribe tienes la oportunidad de presentar tu iniciativa para acceder a fondos para innovaciones en turismo sostenible del BID/FOMIN (para mayor informacion leer la seccion sobre la oportunidad BID/FOMIN en la pagina principal del Desafio).
Deseo postularme.
Si perteneces a un pais de Latinoamerica y el Caribe tienes la oportunidad de presentar tu iniciativa para acceder a fondos para innovaciones en turismo sostenible del BID/FOMIN (para mayor informacion leer la seccion sobre la oportunidad BID/FOMIN en la pagina principal del Desafio).
Consumidores (viajeros), Mayoristas, Agentes detallistas, Operadores de Turismo, Prestatarios de servicios turísticos, Prestatarios de servicios no turísticos (proveedores), Grupos comunitarios autóctonos, Atractivos naturales y culturales.
Indica cuales de estas tematicas cubre tu innovacion (elige todas aquellas opciones que apliquen)
Planificación y Gestión de destinos, Innovación y diversificación en el desarrollo de productos turísticos, Estrategias y herramientas innovadoras para la promoción y puesta en mercado de destinos y productos en turismo sostenible y geoturismo..
Innovation
What is the goal of your innovation? Please describe in one sentence the kind of impact, change, or reform your approach is intended to achieve.
Visiting a forest is healthy and improves human development in that visitors gain awareness about the preservation of natural resources.
Please write an overview of your project. Include how your approach supports or embodies geotourism or destination stewardship. This text will appear when people scroll over the icon for your entry on the map located on the competition homepage.
Monte Sky feels fully identified by the close rural community and supports the organization of its habitants, by fighting next to its leaders for life solutions and proper housing and employment. We have developed a news bulletin, “Purisil, the town and its surroundings,” and a radio program to raise social and environmental awareness, "ECOLOGICAL VIEWPOINT" that was on the air for 11 years in Radio Monumental, every Saturday for half an hour. We irradiated love and care for natural resources and every form of life.
Monte Sky is devoted to the preservation of natural resources and the raising of awareness among students and workers about how healthy they will feel after visiting us. Our work makes visitors happy and thankful for having the chance to take up a different activity that fills them with a positive energy which can only be obtained in a natural rainforest.
Our program is a pioneer in relaxation, motivation and unstressing techniques. The tree hug, the inner silencing, the tension-liberating scream cooperate to make us be aware of how important these visits can be. Visitors feel relaxed and healed after walking among very old trees and more than 200 various bird species.
Explain in detail why your approach is innovative
Because it involves different groups, motivates them and works so that they can be better citizens, caring about the forest and everything in it and admiring the power present in water, trees, and animals. We create a synergy between them and the human beings.
The forest is a catalyst and canalizes the positive energy from the participants of Monte Sky several programs and also from the people from the nearby rural town. Many of such programs are carried out together with the indigenous people who teach much better how to learn from and protect the natural resources.
Monte Sky has succeeded in giving a solution to more than 30 housing problems rural habitants had, thanks to its radio program and the news bulletin. We have also socially improved the town of Purisil; even though actions must continue it has achieved social and ecological awareness to continue along welfare and cooperation paths.
We take into account Costa Rican history, its ancestors, democracy, and peace, which must prevail in this world, inviting participants to know each other better and communicate, thus improving the achievement of solutions by way of an improvement in human relationships.
Impact
Describe the degree of success you have had to date. How do you measure, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the impact on sustainability or enhancement of local culture, environment, heritage, or aesthetics? How has it transformed or contributed to the power of place or demonstrated the sustainability of tourism? How does your approach minimize negative impacts?
More than 8,000 young students in groups have visited Monte Sky. Also 2,000 workers in groups have visited us, too, not exceeding 50 people per group. They take a positive picture by visiting the forest and realizing they can live together and cooperate beside the pure waters of the area. The lunch they can eat is bought from ladies from the rural community of Purisil and the town’s young guides also cooperate in the management of the different groups. No more than 50 people are allowed per day, so that neither the paths nor the forest suffer. The garbage is taken away to recycling centers and the organic waste is used in the garden and the planted trees. We have planted more than 3,000 trees in areas that were previously wild fields and today the whole reserve is a natural reserve.
In what ways are local residents actively involved in your work, including participation and community input? How has the community responded to or benefited from your approach?
Since our arrival we have actively participated together with the Purisil habitants organizing peaceful discussions to improve the rural water pipes, the housing situation and species preservation. We have also had active dialogues with groups that care for natural areas, such as the TAPANTI NATIONAL PARK FRIENDS ASSOCIATION, and Monte Sky Friends, where young volunteers cooperate with the protection of the land and give motivating seminars. We have distributed to the community a bulletin with information and 30 housing solutions have been given to the habitants of Purisil and Orosi.
How does your program promote traveler enthusiasm, satisfaction, and engagement with the locale?
Many times the young visitors chat and become involved with the guides or assistants in Monte Sky. There are many young people who work at enterprises and we explain to everybody that ours is an area with a huge production of water, most of which goes to the Great Metropolitan Area, which is an important action in order for visitors to understand a bit better why it is important to look after our forests.
The food is provided by the women from the community, which places them closer to the visitors.
Purisil means “pure water” in the indigenous language.
Describe how your work helps travelers and local residents better understand the value of the area's cultural and natural heritage, and educates them on local environmental issues.
Arriving to Monte Sky implies going through a cultural and historic heritage, such as the Orosi Colonial Church, founded in 1743, where we make a stop. We also give information about Costa Rican history all along the visit, and also about the scenic beauties, such as the waterfalls, pure and crystal watered rivers, which they can drink. We always plant trees and we will continue to do so as much as we can, and as long as we continue to have areas to do so. This part of the program is motivating and visitors never forget it. Years later they even come to visit the tree they have planted.
Monte Sky has become a conserving and preserving friend of the forest, and the community knows it, since this is a place completely dedicated to look after the natural resources.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
How is your initiative currently financed? If available, provide information on your finances and organization that could help others. Please list: Annual budget, annual revenue generated, size of part-time, full-time and volunteer staff.
Thanks to the family’s cooperation. We have not achieved a financial equilibrium point yet, after 22 years of forest preservation. We have invested a limited $ 18,000. The approximate income is $ 10,000.
We have 2 full-time and 5 part-time employees, and a group of volunteers and biologists who cooperate with the student programs.
I believe that with new marketing strategies and an integral improvement of the program we could co-finance it.
Is your initiative financially and organizationally sustainable? If not, what is required to make it so? Is there a potential demand for your innovation?
Today it barely achieves an equilibrium point. We are not financially sustainable yet. We need it to be known through promotion programs that believe in what we do. We also need to be known in students’ institutions and companies willing to collaborate with financing to help preserve the forests. We should invest in full-color leaflets and commercial publicity so that people learn about our efforts and what we daily do, but this is expensive and we currently lack the money to do so.
What are the main barriers you encounter in managing, implementing, or replicating your innovation? What barriers keep your program from having greater impact?
Monte Sky is the result of a patient and perseverant work. When we arrived, 22 years ago, people believed our project was crazy for wanting to preserve the forest and not build roads, nor allow for electricity and other elements of modern life we considered unnecessary. Today, things have changed and more and more people want to know the forest and relax in this place. Sometimes, there are still people who cannot understand what we do, such as furtive hunters and flora and fauna thieves who dare trespass on our lands. Our biggest problems are bird thieves, who mainly steal singing birds, such as the goldfinch. We have preserved such birds and they are very expensive in some places. Their hunting is illegal and we lack 24-hour caretakers or guardians and criminals take advantage of this.
I believe our experience in Monte Sky can be replicated in several places in Costa Rica and other places of the world. We are willing to cooperate with other projects since we firmly believe in the forests’ capacity to rescue people from addictions such as alcohol and drugs, groups with which we have worked many times.
What is your plan to expand or further develop your approach? Please indicate where/how you would like to grow or enhance your innovation, or have others do so.
Be known through Internet promotion, etc. We can always improve things with the experience we have. We can work with groups of students, as well as with health care groups, to combat stress, for example, since wandering around the forest is very relaxing. We can also work with groups of alcohol and drug addicts. However, we should improve our facilities and the paths so that we can draw the attention of tourist agents committed to environmental care.
The Story
What is the origin of your innovation? Tell the Changemakers and media communities what prompted you to start this initiative.
My grandfather used to tell me: “NATURE IS WORTH MORE THAN MONEY” and I have never forgotten that phrase. My father managed cooperatives and my mother was in love with Costa Rican forests. Both of them have motivated us to conserve and preserve our land, to care about the water and thousands of birds who fly in the air and the animals that also freely move along Monte Sky natural reserve. We are neighbors to the Tapanti National Park and the area where birds and animals move along is very big. We intend to educate students and workers who climb up the forest.
From the beginning we knew preservation and conservation were the main objectives, this is why we do not build roads along the lot, but just paths that take the visitors along different areas and an ecological motel that can host 20 people. We also try to reproduce our ancestors’ lives, with no electricity in order to maintain the place as natural as possible. The materials used in the remodeling of the motel were carried by helpful strong men and indigenous people from Bajo Cohen, who have also helped us in the discovery of beautiful waterfalls, natural viewpoints, and volcanoes.
Our parents have always transmitted us their philosophy to educate people climb up forests and natural parks to become healthy and joyful, willing to communicate with others and do exercise to stay in shape.
Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers' marketing material.
I studied Law, though I did not finish my studies. I have been manager of a printing house. I founded the Paraiseña Chamber of Tourism and was its first president. I founded the “ECOLOGICAL VIEWPOINT” radio program and was its director for eleven years. I edited the bulletin “Purisil, the town and its surroundings,” a news bulletin that raises environmental awareness. We published several articles related to responsible ecotourism, the forest, education and health, which have been replicated by other media. We have also given lectures on the importance of forest preservation at schools, universities and city halls.
Describe some unique tourist experiences that your approach provides. Be specific; give illustrative examples.
Ethical and moral values are involved in the management of tourists, as well as the need to preserve democratic values and Costa Rican history. Exercising a stronger leadership in the different fields of life -work, neighborhood, and community- is also at stake. The program is developed considering the various standpoints the visitors have about communication among the groups and we work with motivators to achieve harmony and innovation in the field work. Every natural path has positive thoughts that make the participants deeply think about health, success, leadership. They are short but appealing, such as “THE FIRST STEP IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE,” “Climb your own inner forest,” “If there is something worrying you, do not fear to start over again; you don’t need to change your life… just your attitude.” The forest preserves more than 85% of the primary forest area and is only 52 km away from the capital city, San José.
What types of partnerships or professional development would be most beneficial in spreading your innovation?
We wish to develop an international program with young students, 16 to 26 years old, from schools and colleges coming to Costa Rica to learn about different natural destinations, national parks, volcanoes, rivers, beaches and camp out, horse riding, mountain biking, meeting young rural leaders, and visiting agroecological farms. They can also participate in community activities like painting schools, teaching English, French, Italian, or at least exchange their knowledge with Costa Rican young people, which can be very interesting. We have already worked with groups, but need more promotion.
 | 162 weeks agoClara Montero said: Es muy importante para nosotros en Monte Sky: Reserva Natural-Desarrollo Humano, recibir tu comentario y saber que efectivamente junto ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 162 weeks agoClara Montero submitted this idea. |
| 162 weeks agoRafael Gallo said: Billy este bosque que tanto te ha costado proteger todos estos anios es de los bosques mas lindos que conosco , me acuerdo cuando ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
