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EARTH Graduate
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Name: Aristides Rosales
Graduation Year: 1996
Home Country: Ecuador
Current Projects: EARTH developed his passion for dairy products and banana production. As a graduate, he has certified environmental management and social responsibility programs. Currently he works at LATU Sistemas, a certifying organization in Costa Rica where he is the Sub-Director for the Central AMerican market. | |
Growing Up
Arístides Rosales grew up close to the sugar plantation where his grandfather worked and has been interested in agriculture ever since. During his last year of high school, EARTH representatives spoke at his school about the University and he was immediately interested. “I was interested in natural resource management and had recently seen a documentary about Costa Rica. The focus of the University coincided with my interests and because of that I was really attracted to the institution.”
EARTH Experience
The experience at EARTH impacted him in everyway. “Having relationships with people from so many places makes you more open and tolerant of other ways of thinking. Reality is we are all different. I learned to have a better attitude in general and toward others.” With regards to his education, during his time at EARTH, he developed a passion for two areas: dairy products and banana production.
Arístides was a member of the group that developed EARTH yogurt for an entrepreneurial project. For his third year Internship, he returned to his native Ecuador to work in processing, production and commercialization of dairy products at the company that gave him his scholarship, Grupo Vilaseca. The following year, his he helped develop the dairy processing area in the food processing laboratory at EARTH for his graduation project.
Post Graduation
His interest in banana production came naturally through his courses and contact with professors. “While I was studying, I conducted research and made contacts that allowed me to work with Bandeco/Del Monte right out of college.” Working in bananas was a challenge but the support he received from the company was very helpful. “When I began working, it was a good time in the industry because the banana sector was facing new environmental challenges. The education I received allowed me to contribute in a positive way. There were many areas that needed improvements. My education at EARTH enabled me to reach different levels of the organization with the message the company wanted.” He established an environmental program in Bandeco that allowed for the development, implementation, auditing, follow-up, certification and continual improvement of their processes. During nine years in banana farm management, his responsibilities included overseeing employee relations. “At EARTH the social aspect is very strong, and I considered driving forward the company’s social commitment as part of my responsibilities.”
At Bandeco, Arístides was involved in the certification process of their environmental management and social responsibility policies. This experience opened the door for him to work with LATU Sistemas, a certifying body in Costa Rica where he has now been working for almost two years. “Now my work allows me to verify that companies are meeting these social and environmental commitments.” Three months ago, he was named Sub-director of the Central American market and Development Coordinator for Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Panama.
Final Thoughts
Arístides believes that his education in values and emphasis on professional ethics and social and environmental commitment have been paramount factors in his professional success. “Attending EARTH instilled in me the idea that I should always keep learning,” adding that he is about to begin a Master’s degree program in agribusiness management. “EARTH for me represents my personal and professional development, the reinforcement of values, working with a social and environmental commitment, and especially, the opportunity to continue growing.”
EARTH Student
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Name: Beatriz López Ruiz
Current Year: Fourth
Home Country: Mexico
Goals Post-Graduation: Initiating waste-management in Chiapas, Mexico | |
Beatriz López was born in El Bosque, in Chiapas, Mexico, an area known for its vast biological and cultural richness. A native speaker of Tzotzil, the Mayan language of her home community, Beatriz brings that cultural depth to EARTH University.
Growing up in Chiapas, Beatriz learned to work in the production of coffee and corn from her father, who is a farmer. She has maintained an interest in farm work, and in coming to EARTH, she hoped to improve her living conditions and become a professional.
Given the economic limitations facing her family, she had to abandon her secondary studies for one year, during which she worked as a volunteer in communities far from her town. “I traveled an hour and half in car and then walked two hours to reach a community to give preschool classes. Because they were very remote places, I developed more confidence and courage.” Thanks to this volunteer work, she was able to obtain a scholarship to complete high school.
Her road to EARTH began six months after finishing high school. “Since I arrived, I’ve felt really good, I was surprised with the solidarity shown to me, especially from my compatriots, who have provided me with their support.”
Beatriz recently completed her internship with American Flowers Shippers located in Chiriqui, Panama. There, she worked in the production and commercialization of ornamental plants, as well as in the development of community integration activities. “The community work that we carry out during our internships,” she affirmed, “is an important way to help us grow as human beings, while involving us in the real lives of many people and bringing positive changes to our society.”
In spite of the distance, this young woman explains that she feels connected to the hopes and aspirations of her home community in Mexico. As a result, she sees herself working in Chiapas, in agriculture: “I want to work in waste management, because in my town there are no initiatives of this type.”
EARTH Staff and Faculty
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Name: Irene Alvarado and husband, Brad Wood
Department: Entreprenurial Projects Professor
Home Country: Costa Rica
“At EARTH we learned to work with and respect our ecosystem. We discovered the real meaning of sustainability and community development and we have incorporated those practices in our everyday activities” | |
A 15 year history….
Looking out over the Caribbean coastal plain you will find “Traditional Farm.” This farm of 250 acres is owned by the Wood family and has a history to be told.
In the early 80’s Brad decided to join the Peace Corps and was sent to live and work in a small Guatemalan village for two years. There he discovered his passion for the traditions and people of Latin America. In the late 1980’s he convinced his father to diversify the family business into Costa Rica.
They started with the purchase of a 65 acre macadamia farm. Four years later Brad was on a plane heading to Costa Rica with his young daughter. He soon found a wife with the help of his daughter who kept beating up a small boy named Eduardo in her kindergarten class. Eduardo’s mother Irene, a professor at EARTH University, and Brad started dating soon after their first meeting. They married two years later in 1996. After the wedding everything started out smoothly. The kids were growing, they formed a new home, and the macadamia trees at the farm had a wonderful bloom which gave hope for a good harvest. Nothing had prepared them for what were the heaviest rains in the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica in more than a decade and after three weeks of pounding rain the trees had lost most of their flowers. Sitting on a rock, depressed and worried, the couple made a decision that changed their lives forever….. They decided not to reduce the number of workers. Instead they researched and developed better agricultural practices for the farm and surrounding environment, and decided to build a small scale processing plant in other to develop additional work opportunities for the local community.
Brad and Irene have since given the water from two of the natural springs on the farm to the community at no cost, and purchased a 125 acre farm and completely dedicated it to reforestation. Their contribution will help assure potable water for future generations in the area. The farm has also been registered as part of the national private reserve system.
The macadamia farm has been expanded from 65 to 125 acres. They have eliminated the use of almost all pesticides by using biological products, and the rejected macadamia kernels are used to produce biodiesel. The use of electricity has been reduced by the design of an almost perfect combustion oven to burn the macadamia shell in order to dry the nuts for processing, and a biodigestor has been installed in order to eliminate all electric ovens and stoves.
The latest addition has been the development of a sustainable agro-tourism project which was designed to rescue and teach Costa Rican traditions. Traditional Farm and the Wood family has been recognized by Tecnitur 2008 , Expotour 2009, Channel 7, and La Republica newspaper, as a model agro-ecoturism project due to their practices in environmental, social and economical responsibility.
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