Costa Rica rural community support fund

Over the past months, the Community Support Fund has continued to empower and connect the communities of Bahía Drake through initiatives focused on identity, well-being, entrepreneurship, and environmental care.

The group “Founders of Drake”, which brings together participants from Los Ángeles, Ganadito, and Progreso, has carried out three activities where older adults share stories, paint, create crafts, and celebrate their cultural heritage. Four of the participants are among the original founders of Drake, giving the group a special historical significance. They also received a talk from the regional director of CONAPAM (National Council for Older Adults) on the prevention of mistreatment. The sessions, attended by around fifteen people each, were supported by three coordinators and donations from local businesses that provided refreshments and small prizes.

In the initiative “Weaving Dreams”, UNED held two community meetings to introduce the Emprendex program, which is currently training twenty-five local entrepreneurs in areas such as accounting, marketing, and sustainability. The eight-month course is taught weekly at the Progreso School, with Fundación Corcovado supporting by providing lodging for the instructor. In addition, coordination has begun for the restoration of the five stone spheres located in Progreso. A virtual meeting with a conservator from the Department of Cultural Heritage set the groundwork for the National Museum’s upcoming visit in February to clean the spheres and install protective roofing and drainage where needed.

The program also supported a spay-and-neuter campaign in Los Planes, where thirty-one pets were sterilized over two days, contributing to animal welfare and responsible population management. In collaboration with the ADI of Drake, progress was made on community signage: twenty signs were installed in Agujitas, while additional signs provided by CNE are being distributed among local communities. In total, seventy-two signs will soon be in place along the coastal area as part of the Tsunami Ready program.

Finally, a beach cleanup at Playa Ganado brought together twenty local volunteers who collected around forty-five bags of waste, helping protect a key natural area and strengthening community engagement in environmental stewardship.

The Community Support Fund continues to demonstrate how collective action, cultural pride, and local leadership can create lasting, positive change for the people of Bahía Drake.