PROJECT: BORUCA TRADITIONAL COTTON PRODUCTION

Supporting the Boruca women to rescue the ancient art of growing and processing natural cotton

Phase I - January to April 2018

As many cultures today, the Boruca of Costa Rica are facing the dying out of their traditional form of clothes and agriculture, cotton. There are very few women that still spin cotton to weave them into bags, skirts, and scarves, and there are even fewer families with thriving cotton plants. These cotton artworks were used to have more income in the household, but without the cotton plants, they are not able to make their wares. SoCagru, a women’s association in the Boruca community of the mountains of Costa Rica approached GeoParadise to request help. SoCagru had a group of women interested in recapturing the dying agriculture and art, but needed cotton plants.

Phase I of the cotton project was to have the Boruca women weave entrance bracelets from cotton for Tribal Gathering 2018. GeoParadise bought these bracelets at a higher than normal cost, to give the women incentive and seed money to start to be able to buy the plants.

In January 2018, 300 cotton plants were bought and a few were planted in each women’s yard, in small nurseries to help the plants to grow strong before they are transplanted into their farms. In Costa Rica the planting season for cotton is in April. So, in April of 2018, the women who had plants in their nurseries, transplanted them into their farms, and continue to care for them.

The next phase of the program is, once the trees are big enough to produce cotton (after 9 months), the women will harvest the cotton with the community, and SoCagru will start classes on how to dye, spin, and weave cotton for the younger kids, to continue the tradition.

This project goes in line with our goal of providing basic necessities to a disadvantaged community and is benefitting directly 15 women and their families and indirectly the whole community of Boruca providing a way for local craftsmen to purchase materials locally saving in travel costs to go to the cities.

Phase 2 - September to December 2018

The cotton has been harvested and the women's collective has begun to use their traditional methods to spin and dye the cotton.

Classes have started for locals and foreigners to teach about the process of traditional dyeing and weaving.

This project goes in line with our goal of providing basic necessities to a disadvantage community and is benefitting directly 15 women and their families and indirectly the whole community of Boruca providing a way for local craftsmen to purchase materials locally saving in travel costs to go to the cities

It also supports our goal of preserving arts and culture as they are now teaching the traditional weaving methods to others.

We at GeoParadise feel blessed to have been able to provide support to get this project off the ground but also to have the pleasure to know Lourdes Frasser Rojas and her family . Many of you who have attended Tribal Gathering over the years have likely had a chance to participate in some of the workshops , dance and lectures that the Boruca have hosted . The Borucas have been attending TG since 2013 and becoming more involved each year. Lourdes organizes the Tribal catering, and many other members also work along side us in security and site roles.

We are proud to have them all as part of our TG Family.

GeoParadise can only exist with the support of like-minded people like you.
Please, consider sending a donation, so we can continue doing the work we do with the indigenous peoples.

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