All Entries in the "Bananas & Plantains (platanos)" Category

Is Costa Rica a Third World, Second World or Developed Country?

There is a multi-million-dollar mega-mall in Escazú, west of San José, which sports outlets of some of the world’s most exclusive stores. But, according to the State of the Nation report in November, at least 16,000 Costa Rican homes are “without basic services,” such as electricity and running water.

A constant feature of this disparity in the makeup of Costa Rica is that, while certain areas of the country are surging ahead, there are many areas in which the country is not keeping up or is, indeed, falling behind.

The Ancient and Mysterious Stone Spheres of Costa Rica

In the 1930’s, the United Fruit Company (now Chiquita Brands International) was excavating the fertile, yet remote, farmlands of Costa Rica, near the Diquis Valley on the Pacific Ocean coast. United Fruit is the major importer of bananas and they became interested in this region of Costa Rica because of a blight that had killed [...]

EARTH University – Carbon Neutral, Sustainable and Bananas Over Paper

EARTH University in Costa Rica opened in 1990 as a private, non-profit international institution dedicated to education, research and the generation of value through production, transformation and commercialization activities centered around agricultural sciences and the rational management of natural resources.
Officially named Universidad E.A.R.T.H. (Escuela de Agricultura de la Region Tropical Humeda), EARTH University’s 990 acre [...]

Why is Costa Rica Smiling?

This Central American country tops the Happy Planet Index.
A child growing up in the Costa Rican countryside is surrounded by some of the most beautiful and biodiverse landscapes in the world. The government of this tiny Central American country aims to keep it that way. But preserving this land of tropical rainforests isn’t Costa Rica’s [...]

UK Grocer in Banana Fairtrade Price War … Donates Profits to Costa Rica Workers

A grocer in north London, England is taking a stand against the UK’s biggest supermarkets which are waging a price war on bananas that threatens to do lasting damage to plantation workers in developing countries like Costa Rica.