You can’t keep a good man down, and Costa Rican environmental nonprofit ASCONA shows that the same is true for a good idea.

ASCONA, which in English stands for National and Environmental Community Service Association, originally was formed in 1972 and was the first NGO in the country. Over the next 20 years it grew to 12 branches and more than 5,000 members. Internal disputes brought down the organization in the 90s. But it was revived in June 2006 when Ifigenia Garita Canet, current president and director, re-founded the group to promote sustainable development — or “desarrollo sin destrucción” — on the biodiversity-rich Osa Peninsula.

Canet said bringing back a well-known name with existing connections was easier than forming a new group. The reincarnated ASCONA hopes to stand out by getting Costa Ricans interested in backing conservation efforts in their community. A Tico-run organization with locals participating helps create ownership.

Workers from ASCONA and community volunteers sort recyclables from trash during a beach cleanup near Puerto Jimenez in early June.

“It’s us protecting what we have,” Canet said.

The new ASCONA has three main goals.

* Environmental Education: Holding programs in primary schools about the importance of preserving the environment.

*Advice to Landowners: Offering other options to Ticos who are thinking of selling their land to developers. For example, ASCONA would help them develop their property as an ecotourism project. Or it might help to establish a nature reserve where scientists could do research.

* Legal Defense Fund. Providing legal assistance when residents face land seizures or when they do decide to sell their land. Legal contracts are difficult to navigate as is, and many rural landowners haven’t had much education. This goal is one of the most ambitious, and it requires a lot of money and resources.

Balancing environment interests with economic interests can be a difficult issue. There’s currently a marina targeted near Puerto Jimenez in a biologically sensitive area of the Golfo Dulce. Locals, rightly so, see projects like this as work. But Canet pointed out that these construction jobs are often short-term, and too much development could, in the long term, undermine the draw of Osa.

“We save natural resources, people will come; if we destroy them, people won’t come,” she said.

The new ASCONA is small, with only three employees who receive help from family members, friends, and members. Membership stands at 36; it costs $10 a year, and members often pledge to chip in any way they can.

ASCONA’s hope is to grow, but not to the scale it was at before. “There are Costa Rican associations in San José, Heredia, in Limon, in other provinces,” Canet said, “so I think it’s better to get really strong here, and do it here.”

For more information about ASCONA, visit www.asconacr.org or e-mail lanuevaascona@gmail.com.

Kent most recently left his post as an English teacher in Puerto Jimenez, Costa Rica and is currently traveling. To see what he’s up to, check out his blog or follow him on Twitter.

A view of Ecuador's most famous volcano, Cotopaxi

My organization, Asylum Access, does our work in our local offices in Ecuador, Thailand, and Tanzania, although we are headquartered in the States. When I talked to people in the U.S. about our work, the first thing I had to do in every conversation was disabuse them of the notion that our goal was to resettle refugees in the U.S. As a result, I was a little unprepared to talk to Ecuadorians about Asylum Access, because, in fact, we ARE trying to help refugees settle in Ecuador.

There is a lot more going on in a conversation like that — and it raises a lot more questions for me personally.  Mostly, It makes me ask myself: what am I doing here? And what does it mean to be a foreign volunteer?

One time, my roommate and I were taking a taxi to meet up with some friends.

“So, what do you do in Quito?” asked our taxi driver.

“We’re volunteering for an international organization,” replied my roommate. “It’s called Asylum Access.”

“Oh, bueno, bueno,” said the taxi driver. “And what does your organization do?”

“We provide legal aid and legal services to refugees,” I offered helpfully, proud that I could explain our work in Spanish.

“Oh,” said the taxi driver, clearly perplexed. “What kind of legal help are you giving them?”

“Well, we help them get legal residence so that they can work and put their children in school,” my roommate replied.

“Oh. Well. But you know, there aren’t very many jobs here, even for Ecuadorians. I hope you aren’t helping Cubans — we don’t want the Cubans here. They take jobs and Ecuadorian women.”

My roommate, an attorney who was at that time working with a number of Cuban clients, merely said, “Oh.”

We got out of the taxi, and I got to thinking.

Would the taxi driver have been more sympathetic if I had explained that there is a huge difference between a refugee and an economic migrant? Refugees are people who leave home not to seek a better life—but because they HAVE to. By definition, a refugee is someone who cannot return home without risking their freedom or even their life. And refugees are protected by international conventions that say as soon as they cross a border they are entitled to their basic human rights.

Maybe the taxi driver would have warmed a little more to our work. Maybe he would have had sympathy for our Cuban clients, several of whom had been jailed simply because the government suspected they MIGHT commit a crime, and not because they actually did. Maybe I could have tugged on his heart strings with tales of women and children who were abused and violated as they tried to escape war zones, who are now able to find safety in Ecuador.

Or maybe, from the taxi driver’s perspective, I would be just a foreigner who had the audacity to try and tell him how his country should be run. Just because I believe in the right of refugees to establish themselves in their first country of refuge doesn’t mean I have the right to impose that view on anyone. And, let’s be honest, I understand the instinct to safeguard precious jobs: I graduated from college during the worst recession since the Great Depression. I know that high unemployment creates fear, protectionism, and favoritism. And I sympathize. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to pack up and leave.

Really what I learned from that conversation is to pick my battles and to choose my words carefully. As a volunteer for an international organization, I needed to realize that not everyone is going to appreciate what I do all the time. And as for the people who I couldn’t convince that refugee legal aid is important, well, I needed to be able to co-exist with them and let go of my need to evangelize. Because, after all, I AM a guest in their country.

Being a foreign volunteer for an organization that has a measurable impact on local society is different than being a traveler or an expat. It means constantly asking yourself, “What AM I doing here? And why?” The answer is different depending on where you’re working, on what, and for whom —and the answer might change over the course of a volunteer experience. But the important thing is that the answer is always in the best interests of the community, and that it is worth dedicating yourself to. Thankfully I can say that I believe refugee rights ARE worth dedicating myself to — even I can’t get everyone to agree with me.

For more on Ecuador, check out posts by La Vida Idealist bloggers Dan Malin and Lauren Foukes.

Concurrently in Guadalajara, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) hosted an invite only international conference titled “Agricultural Biotechnology in Developing Countries.” Among the movement to protect native crops, many view the FAO as an operating arm of big agriculture, in this case genetically engineered seed companies.  Now that the European market is closed to genetically engineered seeds, the Latin American market is the most attractive area for expansion.

The theme of the “Transgénicos? No, Gracias.” conference was how to protect diversity: diversity of seeds, crop planting, and culture. Scientists, anthropologists and campesinos stressed how important diversity is to our collective survival, particularly in a time of increasing contamination and climatic change.

Mesoamerica (Mexico extending to the northern portion of Central America) is the genetic home to maíz where corn varieties have been evolving for thousands of years. Many consider the prospect of genetically engineered corn a threat that extends to most aspects of life.  Every year, genetically engineered corn erases thousands of years of native corn evolution.  And that means the potential loss of many types of corn: there is blue corn, black corn, white corn, yellow corn, sweet corn, and the list goes on.  There are, in fact, between 55-60 species of corn in Mexico and it serves as the basis of food, medicine, artisan projects, and more.

Transgenetic corn was first discovered in Oaxaca in 2001 and they believed the contamination came from US food aid, but it remains undetermined.  Two other sources of contamination are families based in the US sending genetically engineered seeds to Mexico and the government providing genetically engineered seeds without proper labeling. These seeds are difficult to control, identify, and contain. The looming question is, “How do you preserve this rich cultural and food diversity in the face of such an elusive opponent?”

Growing genetically modified corn was illegal in Mexico up until last year, 2009.  Now there are “experimental fields” in Sonora, Sinaloa, Chihuaha, Tamaulipas, and Jalisco.  During pollination, cross contamination is extremely high, especially with corn. Many in Mexico are understandably concerned that the experiments cannot be contained.

“Sin Maíz, No Hay Pais.”  Without corn, there is no country. Here is a short video clip of a public hearing against Monsanto held in Guadalajara.

The movement to protect genetic and cultural diversity here in Mexico is impressive and moving.  Michael Pollan writes in Omnivore’s Dilemma that many people in the US have lost cultural connections to food. I originally wrote this article for writer April Davila, who is trying to live a month without consuming Monsanto related products and is finding it very challenging to access information about the origin of food, seeds, and clothes. It is often difficult to access information about where our food comes from and what it contains.  If we had deeper cultural connections to food, perhaps we would be more motivated to understand it and protect it.

If you would like to learn more about the movement to protect corn in Mexico, visit Red en Defensa del Maíz or Sin Maíz No Hay País.  For an English website, there is also the North American based organization Vía Campesina.

I am here in Guadalajara, co-directing an organization that is creating a documentary on water issues and teaching video workshops.  You can check out what we’re up to here, follow us on Facebook, and/or check us out on Twitter.

Some people look to be alone, others want a base and the rest want something in between. This is valuable information to self assess before setting off.

What attracted me to blueEnergy was I knew there were 15 (now 22) other volunteers in Bluefields. Here, my best friends are from Mexico, Argentina, Canada and the USA. On top of our local connections, my experience is truly international.

Not only do we learn how to work in a developing nation like Nicaragua, but we are exposed how to effectively communicate and collaborate with a myriad of nationalities. We also learn that Americans buy our cheesecake crusts premade while the French scoff at such an idea. Sometimes, it’s the small things we take away.

Take into consideration your time frame. Because you are so focused on what is new and different, shorter stints may be easier to handle alone. Longer programs that completely immerse the volunteer can be a bit tricky.

I encourage those making the leap of faith to make that jump, but beforehand ask yourself the important questions so you put yourself in a situation where you can thrive. All of us want something a little different, and it behooves the volunteer to be placed in an environment where the individual can succeed. Obviously, this is a win-win for the organization and the volunteer.

As for me, I’ll be waiting with the cream cheese… you bring the rest.

In any of the major living areas, you will discover that the constant stream of buses and trucks makes for a very smoggy experience.  Transportation aside, oil exploration, logging and road building are all contributing to the increased environmental concerns.  Given Ecuador’s incredible biodiversity (1,600 bird species, 6,000 species of butterflies and over 16,000 plant species, to name a few) it makes me sad to see pollution threatening the natural beauty of Ecuador.

So what are people doing about it?  I took it upon myself to compile this below list of some great organizations here that are dedicated to protecting the environment in Ecuador.  For those looking for volunteer opportunities in Ecuador, these orgs are a great place to start!

EcoCiencia – Promotes sustainable management of natural resources through conservation efforts.  Headquartered in Quito; projects in Esmeraldas province.

Zoobreviven Foundation – Committed to conserving biodiversity through reforestation, environmental education and economic development for local residents.  Headquartered in Quito; projects in the Choco region (northern Ecuador).

Fundacion Cabo San Francisco – Focused on flora and fauna conservation.  Headquartered in Quito.

Fundacion Ecologica Condorhuana – Promotes environmental education, sustainable use of natural resources and alternative land and resource development.  Headquartered in Loja.

Fundacion Brethren y Unida – Projects focus on sustainable farming efforts in rural Ecuador.  Headquartered in Quito; projects in Pedro Moncayo, Columbe, and Intag.

Nós do Morro was conceptualized in 1986 as a cultural movement which strove to harvest the artistic talent of young people in Vidigal. The idea was to produce art by and for the residents of the community. Earning a sponsorship from Petrobras in 2001, a new space with the capacity for 80 seats as well as a Cultural Center was built in the Almirante Tamandaré Municipal School located at the top of Vidigal. Originally, the company was exclusively for favela residents, opening its doors to the wider public in 2004.

As the show was about to begin, the audience took to the seats scattered around the periphery of the room. We were each given a piece of cardboard to use as fans when the room got too smoky or too hot. The lights dimmed, the music started, and I was blown away!

At the end of the show, the director was asked to give a speech. He said, “See, you don’t need a lot of money to put on a show; you just need creative people.” And that is exactly what he had. The actors were extremely well rehearsed, full of energy, and had such amazing stage presence. Later, when talking with the cast, I learned that six actors were involved in making the costumes; there weren’t many props.  But everyone in the company was so professional and having a great time. The audience too was filled with laughter.

Today, Nós do Morro is world renowned and has achieved significant public recognition. The company has been awarded several prizes from Shell, Coca-Cola, the City Government of Rio de Janeiro, the United Nations (an Honorable Mention), and the Municipal Secretary of Social Assistance of Rio. Their recognition is well deserved and many of their actors go on to significant roles in theater, on TV, and in films.

I, for one, am still reeling. Bravo!