| Monteverde, 1.440 meters or 4,660
feet, is one of the green gems of Costa Rica.
HISTORY
In 1948 when the United States passed a universal military
training act, four Alabama Quakers refused to register, were
arrested, and put into prison. One of the four, Marvin Rockwell,
recalled: "After we were released, we thought, maybe we ought
to leave the United States." That same year Costa Rica abolished
its national army, and the Quakers received a positive report
on the possibility of relocating there. In 1951 a group of seven
Quaker families moved to San
José and with an agent from the Guacimal Land Company,
began scouting various locations for settlement.
Finally, on a flight over the Continental Divide in northern
Puntarenas Province, the Quakers decided to move to the verdant
mountains near a small town named Santa Elena. With communal
funds, they purchased the property and named their new home,
Monteverde or Green Mountain. Rockwell explained how they distributed
their land:
When we came up here we bought a track of 3000 acres
and set aside about 1000 acres at the headwaters of our little
river here to be left permanently in forest to be a watershed
and then divided the balance into farms and the farms were deeded
to the individuals.
The Quakers supported themselves as farmers, an occupation
most were accustomed to in the United States. Because of the
distance between Monteverde and the nearby markets, the community
decided to enter the cheese market, because the product would
have a longer shelf life than milk or beef. This enterprise
was such a resounding success that it began to incorporate Costa
Rican farmers in the area, who began to sell their milk to the
plant.
Monteverde remains physically isolated. It takes two hours
from a turnoff on the Panamerican Highway to reach Monteverde.
The gravel road has a gentle incline for the entire route; it
overlooks mint green valleys and cattle pastures. Currently,
there is discussion whether to pave that road, the settlers
are debating the merits of increased tourism. In the thirty
years since founding, Monteverde has attracted a larger citizenship,
in part because of the founding of the Monteverde Biological
Preserve.
In the 1960s George Powell came to Monteverde to research
a unique species discovered in 1964. The male golden toad, colored
a brilliant orange, lives only in the Monteverde cloud forest.
Powell was so impressed by the Quaker's conservation of the
watershed that he sought means to protect more of the surrounding
forest. He contacted international conservation organizations,
such as the World Wildlife Fund, and Conservation International
and the Costa Rican Tropical Science Center. Funds were procured,
land purchased, and the preserve was formally leased to the
Tropical Science Center. Then, in 1972 the reserve was given
protected status by the government.
As a private organization, linked with the national research
facility, Monteverde enjoys an internationally acclaimed reputation
and the capacity to fund itself. Aspinall says that the preserve
receives all its operating expenses from the admission fee.
He also claims that Monteverde has been a model for conservationists
who see the autonomous structure of Monteverde as a financially
solvent means of protecting rainforest. Admission fees do not
finance land acquisition or improvements to the visitor's center.
These are funded by contributions and grants. Thus, the preserve
has grown from its original 4,000 acres to 50,000 acres in size.
Likewise, the number of tourists has skyrocketed. |
