New Mayor of Turubarres - Hope for the Future!

A few weeks ago we attended the inauguration of the new mayor of Turubarres county: Alcalde Ingeniero Bolivar Monge Granados of the center-right political party Partido de Liberacion Nacional (PLN). The ceremony took place in the church of San Pablo, and all of the newly elected members of the Municipal government attended, presenting a number of inspiring speeches to the townspeople. Most notable of the speakers The President of the Municipality, Victor Mora, is a long-time friend of AmaTierra, and many of you may know him as the famous tour guide of Carara National Park. Over the past year that he has been President of the Municipality, we have worked with him to begin strengthening environmental action in Turubarres. Under his guidance, the municipality now collects trash around town with a truck once every 2 weeks, and we continue to pursue dialogue with them on how to incorporate a recycling program into the municipal waste management system. This has been a battle that the AmaTierra Foundation continues to fight, and we are hopeful that the new mayor will help support our efforts in establishing a sustainable long-term solution to waste management and recycling in Turubarres.

Last week, the new mayor (Bolivar Monge Granados), the President of the Municipality (Victor Mora), the First Vice Mayor, and the Second Vice Mayor (many of you know him as Beto, one of the drivers for AmaTierra) all joined us for dinner on the balcony, where we were able to discuss ideas for the recycling project. They were all on board to support a group of local women who aim to take on recycling as a private business with municipal support, creating a recycling center just outside of San Pablo, and committing to sorting the recycled trash from the central park. While this project moves forward, the AmaTierra Foundation has offered to support the women's salaries for the first three months while they get things up and running. From there, the recycling program will be up and running, with the municipality taking on the role as benefactor until the recycling itself can generate a sustainable income.

We are grateful for the reinvigorated support of the municipality, and look forward to helping this group of motivated women make recycling a realistic and sustainable project for Turubarres county and its residents.

Marietta Pucillo's Yoga Retreat at AmaTierra

Harley-riding Marietta Pucillo and her Milwaukee-based yoga students came to AmaTierra for an action- and adventure-packed 5-night yoga retreat, February 5-10, 2011. We were so amazed by their go-get 'em attitude, with daily double sessions of strenuous yoga taught by Marietta and Paige, plus excursions to the Adventure Park and Playa Jaco for the zip line canopy tour and kick-butt surf lessons. They were loving the food each night at dinner, and with good reason - this group had a jam-packed itinerary of yoga and Costa Rican adventure at its best, sure to work up a serious appetite!


Tara took one of Marietta's evening classes and came back saying "that was the gnarliest class I've ever taken!" Marietta's famous arm balances, martial arts-inspired vinyasas and extra-challenging binds were incredible, bringing the essence of "pretzel" back into the yoga experience. On Super Bowl Sunday, the football-loving yogis payed a visit to San Pablo's Coco Bongo bar to watch and celebrate the Green Bay victory, and from what we heard, it was a great party. Thanks for all of your energy, guys. We can't wait to have you back next time!

AmaTierra Foundation Donates School Supplies & Uniforms

We are so grateful for AmaTierra Foundation donors who have been so generous with their donations in the past, and especially so far in 2011. With the new school year beginning this week, many kids in our local county of Turubarres faced the reality that they would not be able to attend school this year, since their families could not afford school supplies and the required uniforms. Learning this, we saw it as an opportunity for the AmaTierra Foundation to put your donations to work, helping make a difference in the lives of 9 school children from low-income families.

Using funds we collected this year, we were able to buy 9 sets of school uniforms, shoes & socks, backpacks, notebooks, pencils, erasers, glue, colored

pencils, geometry sets and more so that the kids could start class on time the very next day. When we delivered the goodies to Cesar, Kimberly and Daniel, Ashley and Axel, Winston and Steve, they were all smiles, trying on their new shoes and proudly wearing their new backpacks. Their mothers expressed sincere gratitude with hugs, and we were filled with appreciation that we were able to contribute these things and make an impact in the lives of children and their families in our local Turubarres community.

This would not have been possible without your generous donations - thank you for helping to make a difference! We are always ac

cepting donations to the AmaTierra Foundation. If you would like to donate, please contact us at amatierra@gmail.com. You can learn more about the AmaTierra Foundation by visiting http://www.amatierra.com/amatierrafoundation.html.

Silke Schroeder's Yoga Retreat at AmaTierra

From July 29 through February 5, AmaTierra played host to Silke Schroeder's 7-night yoga retreat, with a full house of guests learning from her expert knowledge and experience. Silke is an expert in Sanskrit, the Upanishads, and Vedic science, and all of us at AmaTierra learned so much throughout the week with her instructional and practical workshops. We held a new moon ceremony, and Silke explained that in Vedic Astrology the 3 stars that were prominent for this new moon, in the constellation of Capricorn, are the stars that vibrate the sound of OM.

The group studied and practiced yoga and meditation twice daily for 7 days, felt renewed and invigorated. We bid them farewell as they return to brave the cold of Minnesota (others from Colorado and Ontario Canada), after a warm week of sunshine and gentle valley breezes here in Costa Rica. Pablo's cooking classes are becoming famous, this week featuring his sesame ginger dressing, a special raw foods dessert with raisins, nuts and coconut, and Pita sandwiches with goat cheese. We plan to make Pablo's cooking classes a weekly event; please ask about them if you come to AmaTierra.

Gracias, Silke, for a wonderful week!