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When the United
States abandoned its obligations to the Organization of American
States to divert dollars to the war in Iraq, the OAS closed out
its Tourism Sector, terminating economic support for La Ruta del
Café, which sought to develop coffee tourism in six Central
American countries.
Egret, without
outside economic support, continued to work directly with the
communities of Los Santos in Costa Rica, as the “template” site
in the OAS Ruta del Café project.
Working directly
with community leaders, especially Coopedota (the coffee
cooperative of Dota County), Egret’s team has refined a concept
for a coffee plantation resort and tour company that will bring
tourism’s benefits to Los Santos on a scale that works for the
community.
Egret’s tourism
engineering has enabled the resort to become an economic tool
for a region that is dominated by coffee production in an era of
unstable coffee prices. The resort will become a significant
employer in Los Santos, eventually filling all posts (to top
management) with people from the valley.
The resort is
designed to be ecologically friendly, using methane produced
from coffee byproducts for both lodge fuel and vehicle fuel. In
the resort, visitors will stay in cabins nestled among coffee
bushes with courtyards full of abundant bird life.
Tours will showcase
all phases of growing, harvesting, processing, roasting, and
preparing Tarrazú coffee, one of the finest coffees of the
world. Visitors will be able to participate in coffee harvest
and will treasure their opportunity to “taste” coffee in the way
that international coffee tasters employ when evaluating top
quality coffees. |
