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Community Resilience: Diverse Economies, Community Supported Agriculture, and Resource Sharing on the Osa Peninsula

Puerto Jiménez, Osa Peninsula, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Project Description

This report presents findings from a mixed-methods, participatory research project conducted on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. In partnership with the Los Higuerones Cooperativa and other collaborators in the ReGenerOsa network, we examined how rural communities harness local assets to build resilience amid the long-term pressures of extractive development, ecological change, and uneven economic opportunity due to globalization. Using a postdevelopment lens and multi-capital frameworks (including the Eight Capitals Framework and a diverse economies approach), we documented forms of value and exchange (e.g. social, cultural, experiential, living capital) that are often underrecognized in conventional, market-centered accounts of “development,” yet are central to community wellbeing on the Osa. To explore these questions, we used surveys, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, participatory asset mapping, and geographic information systems (GIS). We administered Spanish and English Qualtrics surveys at recurring Los Higuerones events: Mercado Verde (Saturday farmers/artisans market) and the Holi Cena (Wednesday night community dinner), collecting responses across four iterations of each event. We also conducted and transcribed eight semi-structured interviews with participants in Mercado Verde and Manos Cambiadas (a community labor-exchange volunteer program), and analyzed transcripts in Dedoose using codings schemes based on (1) socio-ecological indicators and (2) the Eight Capitals. To broaden the analysis beyond Puerto Jiménez, we facilitated participatory asset mapping and “Portrait of Gifts” activities in Puerto Jiménez, Matapalo, and Rancho Quemado, then integrated community-identified assets with GPS point collection and GIS mapping to visualize sustainability-related initiatives and their geographic distribution.

Year
2025-2026
Project Status
Past Project
Client Organization
RegenerOsa Collective
Students Involved

Amanda Arendt (SD)  
Emma Haney (BEC)  
Shreya Mishra (EPP) 
Laurel Petrides (ESM)  
Samantha Wheelis (EJ)  
Jenny Zhang (BEC,SD) 

SEAS Faculty Advisor
Nathaniel Geiger
Final Report
Final Report

I'M READY TO APPLYI WANT TO LEARN MORE

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(734) 764-6453
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