Corporate Alliance - Global Vision International

4 day Educational Program in Costa Rica

This is a once in a lifetime experience for most and this is only the second day of our tour.

Tim Brooks, WFM Team Member, Midwest, 2007

Overview

In 2005, Whole Foods Market founded the Whole Planet Foundation with a mission is to create economic partnerships with the poor in those developing world communities that supply our stores with product. The Supplier Alliance for Microcredit is an alliance of natural food companies that supports this mission and has pledged over $1 million to support microlending projects in Costa Rica and Indonesia. The Whole Foods Market Team Member Volunteer Program connects partners to communities and helps to create prosperity.

This four day education program is designed to offer Supplier Alliance for Microcredit (SAM) partners the chance to see firsthand the impact your investment in microlending is having on individuals in Limon Province, (one of the poorer regions in Costa Rica), and provide a chance to learn about and engage with communities and their environment. In Costa Rica you will:

  • Meet some of the individual borrowers who have started or expanded small home-based businesses as a result of your contribution.
  • Meet the Grameen expert who is leading the microlending project in Limon Province, attend a borrower meeting and visit the micro-businesses supported, in part, by your investment.
  • meet WFM Whole Trade Guarantee supplier EARTH University and learn about the University, their trading relationship with WFM, the WFM intern program, see the banana plantation, recycling plant and integrated farm
  • meet Supplier Alliance for Microcredit partner New Chapter, and learn the principles of biodynamics, composting and natural extracts from medicinal plants
  • see and engage with sustainable development initiatives


The group will arrive on Sunday in San José and head straight to EARTH University, located close to the town of Guacimo in the Limon province and a 2.5 hour minibus ride from San José on the eastern side of the country. The following day, participants will visit the Whole Planet Foundation microfinancing site, learn from Grameen Trust staff, attend a borrowers meeting, and see the microenterprises the borrowers have developed, in part, as a result of Supplier Alliance for Microcredit support.

The following day, we will visit New Chapter’s Costa Rican farm, Luna Nueva, a 200-acre biodynamic ginger and turmeric farm close to Arenal Volcano. Here they will enjoy a rainforest walk, learn about New Chapter’s native medicinal plants, sustainable agriculture and biodynamic farming practices. Opportunities to enjoy the nearby hot springs and canopy tours are also available. The abundant wildlife in the area also makes for fantastic viewing, including monkeys, birdlife such as toucans, coatis, anteaters or even the elusive cat such as the ocelot, puma or jaguar!

The program offers participants the opportunity to experience the highlights of the SAM Team Member Volunteer Program in a condensed time frame, and understand how the program assists Costa Rican families to improve their own standard of living, via microfinancing, sustainable community development initiatives, and the conservation of Costa Rican natural resources.

For those Executives who will be participating on the program, please click here for the online Booking System
If you are not part of a group who is a member of the Suppliers Alliance for Microcredit, but would like to apply for a GVI trip, click here