{"id":202586,"date":"2025-04-24T11:27:19","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T11:27:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/adventure\/meet-costa-ricas-indigenous-terraba-community\/"},"modified":"2025-04-24T11:27:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T11:27:19","slug":"meet-costa-ricas-indigenous-terraba-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=202586","title":{"rendered":"Meet Costa Rica\u2019s indigenous Terraba community"},"content":{"rendered":"


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This year, we\u2019re adding more global indigenous experiences to our trips \u2013 making room for meaningful encounters that are good for you and the communities you visit.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of our new experiences for 2023 features on our Best of Costa Rica trip<\/a>, where you\u2019ll have the opportunity to spend time with a Terraba community \u2013 one of Costa Rica<\/a>\u2019s eight indigenous groups \u2013 who have lived off the land for more than 500 years. There are around 6000 Terraba people living in Central America<\/a>, with the largest population in Panama and a smaller pocket (around 2000) found throughout Costa Rica\u2019s Puntarenas province.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We caught up with Eulalia Villanueva, a 70-year-old Terraba matriarch, to learn more. She grew up within the\u00a0traditional Terraba community Intrepid now supports and visits, leaving to work in the capital San Jose for\u00a0six years before returning to her roots, getting married and raising four sons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Times are changing\u00a0<\/h2>\n

According to Eulalia, Terraba women have always played a vital role within their communities. As well as taking care of domestic duties \u2013 peeling rice, grinding corn, collecting firewood, washing laundry in the river and raising families \u2013 girls and women have also been known to work in the fields alongside their male counterparts. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to do it from a young age, about 13 or 14 years old,\u201d she recalls. \u201cBut life is very different now. Young women have more opportunities. That\u2019s very good \u2013 if they manage to take advantage of it. I think it\u2019s important that women are trained so that they can learn and change and have a different life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Eulalia serves up a traditional Terraba meal\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In matriarchal Terraba communities, women are revered for their key role in educating the younger generations about their history, ancestral lands and heritage. \u201cThis is a place where we carry forward culture,\u201d says Eulalia.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s a reason this practice is so highly regarded. Due to decades of deforestation on Terraba lands by commercial and non-indigenous enterprises, compounded by lack of governmental support, Terraba people\u2019s\u00a0primary means of taking care of themselves \u2013 agriculture \u2013 has been compromised,\u00a0and their way of life threatened. By 2010, less than 1% of Terraba people in Costa Rica could speak their native language.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For Eulalia, the fight for equality isn\u2019t just about gender, but recognition for indigenous people as a whole. \u201cWe are people, men and women, equal to everyone else\u2019 she says. \u201cIt is important that institutions care about indigenous territories, provide us with training for girls, adolescents and adults so that we can have entrepreneurship and work. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSeveral local organisations, such as the INA (National Learning Institute) have reached out and been of great help to me and my family. The INA offers training and scholarships \u2013 and\u00a0if we have a project that we want to develop, they provide us with resources.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

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Costa Rica\u2019s flora and fauna is a huge part of what makes the country so special\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tourism\u2019s role\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Indigenous people the world over are often on the frontline when it comes to safeguarding the planet\u2019s precious forests, wildlife and waterways. The Terraba have fought to protect and restore the natural resources that some businesses wish to exploit. In 2018 a hydroelectric dam project was shelved in response to protests and UN-backed legal action. Had it gone ahead, the dam would have flooded swathes of Terraba-owned land \u2013 displacing over 1500 people and devastating an entire community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Costa Rica, where abundant wildlife and natural beauty are a huge part of what attracts visitors, sustainable tourism has a powerful role to play \u2013 and can help educate and inform the wider world about the threats these ecosystems and ancient cultures face. Eulalia agrees. \u201cOne of the main attractions here is nature. Here, travellers can breathe fresh air and relax. They can explore\u00a0our farm and spot\u00a0wild\u00a0animals in the surrounding trees. Before, there was a lot of deforestation and water problems \u2013 but thanks to various volunteering projects, trees have been replanted and our streams have a good volume of water.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

So how can travellers ensure they\u2019re doing right by communities such as the Terraba? For Eulalia, it\u2019s important that the relationship is one of mutual kindness and respect. \u201cWhen [travellers] feel good and enjoy their stay, that\u2019s what it\u2019s all about. In the same way, we appreciate their respect for nature and our culture.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

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Natural dyes and coloured textiles used in Terraba culture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Eulalia\u2019s hometown, Intrepid travellers take part in a traditional mask-carving workshop and share a meal with their hosts. They may also get the chance to learn about age-old textile dyeing techniques, or cacao-making processes. But, she stresses, it\u2019s not all for show.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are many people who impress with fictitious \u2018cultural\u2019 displays, but in our case what we offer is real. From our art and crafts to our traditionally-made chocolate \u2013 we do not lie. If we offer something to travellers, it is because it\u2019s a genuine part of our culture.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

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Looking to the future\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Progress doesn\u2019t come overnight. There\u2019s still a way to go before Eulalia and her fellow Terraba\u00a0feel like equals in Costa Rican society \u2013 but the future is looking bright.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Eulalia didn\u2019t have the opportunity to grow up speaking the native language of her ancestors. But her grandchildren do. And as younger generations of Terraba gain more opportunities to broaden their education and expand their horizons, many of them eventually return home to give something back to their community.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur teachers, for example \u2013 they are from our community. They went away for their studies and returned to help pass on\u00a0our culture, language and traditions. For us as parents and grandparents this is a source of great pride, because it means that our youth will have a different life.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n

Learn more about Terraba culture and <\/strong>experience the best of Costa Rica<\/strong><\/a> on our 8-day small group adventure.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year, we\u2019re adding more global indigenous experiences to our trips \u2013 making room for meaningful encounters that are good for you and the communities you visit.\u00a0 One of our new experiences for 2023 features on our Best of Costa Rica trip, where you\u2019ll have the opportunity to spend time with a Terraba community \u2013 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":202587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11760],"tags":[6876,23569,20049,5156,77682,77683],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-202586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adventure","tag-community","tag-costa","tag-indigenous","tag-meet","tag-ricas","tag-terraba"],"yoast_head":"\nMeet Costa Rica\u2019s indigenous Terraba community - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=202586\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Meet Costa Rica\u2019s indigenous Terraba community - 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