By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Authorities of the Ministry of Housing announced the special project of the building of 196 houses for the indigenous territory of Tayni in the province of Limón*, which were requested by the community.

"These are houses that respect both, the environment and identity of the community of this region," said Irene Campos, Minister of Housing. "The houses retain the basic essence of the architecture, which implies a house is raised above the ground to protect them from flooding, and large eaves to protect them from rain and sun."

According to the Ministry, the request of the indigenous community was to build wooden houses over columns or piles that raise the level of the house with respect to the ground to protect people from floods that are common in the area.

The houses were built in the territories of Alto Cuen, Alto Jabuy, Arrocero, Bella Vista, Boca Cuen, Calvery, Cerere, Cuchey, Gavilan, Isla Cuen, Jabuy, Kunabri, Moi, Nimari and Suruy, all of these in the province of Limón.

In some houses, solar panels were installed for the generation of electrical energy.

Most of the houses were built in mountain sites where there is no access by car.

This type of house adapted to the needs of indigenous people has also been build in other territories such as Abrojos Montezuma, Talamanca Bribri and Bajo Chirripó, in the province of Limón.

The houses were distributed according to the parameters of the Association of Indigenous Development. Because according to indigenous law, the association manages all the lands and is in charge of choosing the families that will live in those houses.

According to the Ministry, the next special housing project for the indigenous community will be built in the territories of Rey Curré and Salitre, in the southern part of the country.

Related to solar panels installed on indigenous communities houses, as A.M. Costa Rica reported on November 16th, 2018,  in Talamanca* were installed 85 solar panel systems that begins the execution of the ‘Solar Imagine Light’ project in Costa Rica.


The panels were donated by the German non-profit organization “Love for Life” in coordination with the Integral Development Association of the Talamanca Cabécar Indigenous Territory, government and the Costa Rican Electricity Institute.

The 85 solar panel systems arrived in the country by sea, were moved overland to Talamanca and then taken to the individual communities by helicopter.

A group of Ecuadorian experts – trained by “Love for Life” - trained  local technicians from different communities in the installation and maintenance of the solar systems.

The systems were installed in Bajo Piedra Meza, Tsipirí, Monteverde, Batubata, Guayabal, Muleribata and San José Cabécar de Talamanca Cabécar.

In this first phase, these systems will be enabled in 80 homes, 4 schools and one community center.

This sustainable development project is based on a "bottom-up" approach, combining the use of smart renewable technologies and intensive local capacity development programs together with a counterpart model and intense community involvement.

This model has been implemented by the organization in indigenous peoples of the Amazon in Ecuador, Peru and Colombia.

Rosemary Álvarez, coordinator of Love for Life, stated "the objective is to cover the 20 indigenous communities in the area without access to energy with advanced systems and components of the highest quality, which will allow them to improve the living conditions of the Cabécar people who live in the communities of Talamanca, through sustainable access to clean, safe and independent solar energy."

Since communities live in such remote, almost inaccessible places, this project allows them to connect basic electrical appliances, recharge batteries and cell phones and have access to light without having to use candles and spend so much on batteries for their bulbs.

Juan Alfaro, Vice Minister of the Presidency, confirmed that the government's help made the project possible. "The government facilitated the introduction of the equipment to the country, allowed the entry of the Ecuadorian experts for the training processes and the provided air transfer of the equipment to the indigenous communities in coordination with the Costa Rican Electricity Institute."

The Electric Institute is developing its program of installing solar panels in regions of the country that do not have access to electricity. According to the institute, it has installed about 4,800 solar systems, with indigenous populations benefiting the most, the institution reported.



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Have you visited an indigenous community in Costa Rica? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com

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