Day 4: Global/Local Business Day!

Today we went to visit two local businesses – a coffee plantation and a dairy farm. We woke up at about 6:20 (an hour early because Roy mixed his times up!). We started waking people up at 7:30 by playing the cup song on their doors. After breakfast, we walked to the coffee plantation from our hostel. Memo, our amazing tour guide, first showed us some parts of the city we’re staying in and we kept walking up a steep trail until we saw the Aquiares coffee plantation. There were countless coffee plants on both sides while we hiked and we tried some raw coffee beans which were surprisingly sweet. Memo led us to a scenic point with a breathtaking view. Our group spent a while appreciating the view and looking at the beautiful tree we took group pictures at.

After we left the scenic point, Memo led us to a tour around the coffee plant where large machines roast and sort the coffee beans that were all handpicked. During the tour of the factory, we learned some interesting facts about how Costa Rica produces their coffee and how it differs from even other countries in Central America.

Our next stop was was the dairy farm, Finca La Florita, where our tour guide, Karla, gave us an incredible tour around the farm and set up fun activities for us to participate in. Our amazing volunteers, David and Elizabeth, milked a cow all by themselves.

The milk is used to produce cheese and Yesenia and Chloe volunteered to go through the process of turning fresh milk into cheese. We all ate the delicious, fresh cheese and continued to learn more about the production at the farm. We also learned that the waste produced by the cows is used to produce fertilizer and fuel.

Later that night, we reflected on how large foreign businesses affected small local businesses and we passed the torch to the next Liders del Dia, Edgar G. and Grace!