Health Clinics

Rios Tropicales has participated in the construction of two health clinics in remote, rural areas that serve over 400 and 200 residents, respectively.

From 1994 through 1996, we participated in the construction of a health clinic in the small town of Santa Marta, in the central mountainous region of Costa Rica. We contributed financially to ensure the success of the clinic, using funds from Rios Tropicales, as well as contributions from guests that were made aware of the situation.

The center caters to the needs of nearly four hundred nearby residents, providing them with healthcare much closer to their community than previously available. Now residents are able to have access to quality healthcare right in town, rather than having to travel several hours to the town of Turrialba.

This improved use of preventative care and has helped to reduce the number of complications associated with delayed care in rural areas.
• We helped to build a second medical center in the small and remote area of San Isidro de Dota that serves approximately 200 residents.

Community Collaboration to Protect Wildlife
Since Rios Tropicales began, over twenty-two years ago, we have made a conscious effort to protect wildlife in all of the destinations that we visit. We are very pleased to report that our numerous programs in the area have produced measurable results for the surrounding environments. Illegal hunting and fishing were common practices in the area surrounding the Pacuare River before we purchased land in 1989 along its banks.

Upon purchasing the land, we opened up dialogue with our new neighbors, both the indigenous Cabecar Indians and locals alike. We began educating them on the dangers and repercussions of this illegal behavior, and how it would affect their livelihood in the long term. We enlisted their help to aid us in protecting the land by having them take a proactive role in confronting poachers, letting them know that what they were doing was both harmful and illegal.

In the early 1990’s, there were several beautiful species of wildlife that were noticeably absent due to illegal hunting and fishing practices. We are now seeing the return of several indigenous species, such as howler monkeys, white-faced monkeys, ocelots, and many other cat species. Rarely seen at all in Central America, the endangered jaguar has once again made its presence known in the Pacuare Basin.

Local Guides Earn Higher Wages, Experience Broader Opportunities, and Facilitate Community Outreach 95% Local Costa Rican Staff
We not only use 95% local guides and all staff for Rios operations across Costa Rica, we have worked hard to develop a world-class river guide training program for Costa Ricans that draws from international industry standards of excellence. Rios Tropicales was the first rafting company to hire guides from the nearby town of Turrialba in 1985, the closest town to both the Rio Reventazon and the Rio Pacuare. Turrialba now is home to more than two hundred raft guides, many of who work for us. Shortly after hiring and training the first two local guides from Turrialba, we began to hire and train locals from the tiny community of El Tigre and indigenous Cabecar Indians for hiking and river tours. On every one of our many expeditions that we offer, we employ local guides who offer a wealth of knowledge of the area and its environs.

Role Models for Their Communities
These guides have a unique opportunity to not only make a significantly greater living, but also importantly serve as role models for other members of their families and communities, especially youth. Occupational opportunities are often limited to agricultural positions, much of it subsistence farming, in many of these rural areas. These guides now show others that there are many positions available within the ecotourism industry. By actively taking part in the everyday practices of the company, they have learned, and are now able to teach others, the importance of sustainable business practices, not only within their country, but abroad as well. Many of our guides have moved on to other jobs in the educational tourism industry, and are now working all over the world, in areas such as New Zealand, California, and the Himalayas.

Creating Ecopreneurs: Rios Facilitates Staff Entrepreneurial Opportunities
Rios takes it a step further and directly facilitates the establishment of complementary geo-tourism companies owned solely by Rios’ former top guides, now turned “ecopreneurs”. It would have been easy for Rios to simply hire guides to run more Rios “outposts”, but because of the founders’ beliefs in entrepreneurial ownership & mentoring, instead Rios helped their best guides start their own businesses. Rios collaborates with each to best serve guests with countrywide geotourism opportunities now.

Local Collaboration Creates Economic Benefits
The nature of our business being in remote adventure areas has led us to engage local participation as a rule, rather than as an exception.

We operate a three and four day sea kayak trip in the Curu Biological Reserve on the Pacific coast and hire locals with their boats for support. This provides consistent additional income and cultural exposure during the touring months.

In the Santa Maria de Dota area where we offer three to five day hikes through dense rainforest, we have been operating trips for over 15 years. What started as a camping and hiking tour has evolved, due to local community request and engagement, into home stays with families and regular participation in local service projects, such as building a medical center and an elementary school in San Isidro de Dota. Families now receive regular income from lodging and meals during guest visits in the summer touring season.

Private Label Organic Coffee Market Created
The local community members have changed their lifestyle as a result of the impact of sustainable ecotourism, and have formed coops and operate many organic farms for various crops. Thanks to the visits of a Canadian college through annual eco-tours, the community of Santa Maria de Dota now has an exclusive market for their own organic coffee as a private label brand with Algonquin College. A few of the community family members have actually traveled to Canada as exchange students from Costa Rica, as a result of their exposure to the Canadian school group through Rios’ sponsored eco-tourism.