RCP BLOG

In February 2020, Markus Brown traveled to Indiana University to deliver a presentation titled “Documenting Community-Identified Cultural Heritage through Participatory Media in South Caribbean Costa Rica.”

Katie Beck, Erin Adamson and David Davila Gonzalez hosted a session called "Locals Speak! Participatory media and scholarship in a tourism zone" as part of the "Vidas Digitales" track, which describe the need for community-based participatory research and storytelling in the South Caribbean of Costa Rica. 

The Rich Coast Project Presents: ROJOVIOLETA

a participatory short fiction film about the connection between people and the environment in the South Caribbean of Costa Rica made with and for young people from Puerto Viejo, Limon, Costa Rica

Students from The Media School at Indiana University began a week of service learning with a story exchange using the methodology developed by Narrative 4, a nonprofit dedicated to "building a community of empathetic global citizens who improve the world through the exchange of personal narratives."
 

From September 2nd to 4th, 2017,  Hidden Garden Ethnobotanical Sanctuary inaugurated its new Bush Medicine Circle with the First Annual Afro-Botany Conference. In a traditional style, they celebrated with a gathering of elders, teachers, students, plant lovers and community members, sharing wisdom as well as food, music, dance and ceremony.

We worked with a group of 12 local kids from Puerto Viejo to develop a short fiction film about the connection between people and the environment in the South Caribbean of Costa Rica. A team of communications students from the University of Costa Rica offered workshops on storytelling, script development, casting and production. The kids then filmed this short film... COMING SOON

We spent the 2016-2017 year based in Puerto Viejo, continuing the growth of the South Caribe Roots Archive and working with students from Caribe Sur, San Jose and Indiana. We welcomed new volunteers, received 501(c)(3) nonprofit status, and produced three participatory media projects with local residents.

Ten local youth are in the process of making a movie with the help of Fer Segura and Dani Hernández, communications students who are rejoining the Rich Coast Project to complete their practicum at the University of Costa Rica.

On the second day of the 2017 Alternative Break Program in Puerto Viejo, half of the group of Indiana University Kelley School of Business students volunteered at the First Baptist Church, right in the center of town.

On Tuesday, March 14, 2017, students from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University visited the Hidden Garden Wellness Center to help construct an African Sacred Grove. 

The year is coming to an end, and we have so much to celebrate! 2016 brought tremendous transformation as we watched our programs grow in participation and community presence. We've rounded up the top stories from 2016 - check them out HERE.

The South Caribe Roots Archive will soon welcome a new form of documentation to its collections: podcasts. 

By Tori Ziege

"This is what journalism is all about: bridging race, class, age and ethnicity to tell true stories, connecting people across borders and most importantly—across the bubbles that limit our everyday conversation."

On Monday, November 21, 2016 a group of residents of south Caribbean Costa Rica will spend an afternoon sharing stories with students from the Media School at Indiana University in a "story exchange" facilitated by the Rich Coast project and following the innovative, empathy-building methodology developed by Narrative 4.