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| My favorite "mask" |
After Las Alturas we went straight to Boruca, an indigenous territory where the Brunka live. It’s probably the wealthiest indigenous group in Costa Rica. They have really promoted tourism and make a lot of crafts, the selling of which comprises a big portion of their income. Unlike many of the communities we visited there was public transportation directly into the center of the town if you could call it that. We never got to see where the most isolated houses were but the road system seemed decent. There was also running water, electricity, an EBAIS, a small indoor soccer field and two bars. I was surprised to see a TV and videogames in the living room of my homestay. The homestay itself was a bit awkward because most of us seemed to be kicking the kids out of their bedrooms and we had limited interaction with the family because were kept occupied by group activities and ate with everyone else on the program. An interesting discovery was realizing that the little salamanders that ran up and down the walls make quite loud noises.
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| Naturally tie-dyed |
In addition to conducting interviews with the residents of Boruca we got to do lots of fun little projects like tie dye shirts using their natural dyes and paint balsa wood masks. The dyes worked impressively if you left it in long enough and had a newish shirt (the yellow is turmeric). They use them to dye the fibers they use to make the bags they sell. They also sell masks which you can find all over Costa Rica. Originally they were used for a traditional celebration and appear like devils but now many are merely decorative. The carving is incredibly detailed and the colors are striking. I ended up buying one for myself. A lot of the masks are jaguars, which have spiritual significance to them. We all got to paint a mini jaguar mask.
After Las Alturas we went straight to Boruca, an indigenous territory where the Brunka live. It’s probably the wealthiest indigenous group in Costa Rica. They have really promoted tourism and make a lot of crafts, the selling of which comprises a big portion of their income. Unlike many of the communities we visited there was public transportation directly into the center of the town if you could call it that. We never got to see where the most isolated houses were but the road system seemed decent. There was also running water, electricity, an EBAIS, a small indoor soccer field and two bars. I was surprised to see a TV and videogames in the living room of my homestay. The homestay itself was a bit awkward because most of us seemed to be kicking the kids out of their bedrooms and we had limited interaction with the family because were kept occupied by group activities and ate with everyone else on the program. An interesting discovery was realizing that the little salamanders that ran up and down the walls make quite loud noises.
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