Community & Education

In the early 1990s, Lapa Rios set about building the Carbonera School next to the nature reserve. Since then, through the generous donations of our guests, the lodge has supported the education of elementary school children in this remote part of Costa Rica for two and a half decades, including some of our very own Lapa Rios staff members.

At the time of Carbonera’s creation, most local families were illiterate and unaccustomed to the idea of their children attending school. The majority lived off the food they raised, with farmers using slash and burn techniques, depleting the rainforest for their personal survival. Very few respected or understood the rich biodiversity of the region, and the opportunity that conservation offered.

Carbonera School was one of the first sustainable development initiatives in the community. Still today, the young students and community at large continue to benefit from both formal and environmental education. Local residents have become ever more aware that a forest left standing is more valuable than one cut down, and continue to learn about alternative lifestyles.

Guests are invited to visit Carbonera School during their stay at Lapa Rios.

Schools in the area such as Carbonera are remote and have limited resources. We work with the non-profit organization Earth Equilibrium to support them through two programs: “Building for the Future” and “Learning is Change”. The former works to improve basic infrastructure and provide essential classroom supplies such as pencils, paper, and even physical education equipment. The latter concentrates on education programs which teach the young students about the importance of environmental stewardship.

Both programs are fully funded by the generous donations of our guests. We believe that all education, whether formal or informal, basic or skilled, provides people with the necessary tools to make decisions that improve lives and respect the natural world.

Lapathon is an annual fundraising rainforest race organized by Lapa Rios. Run by Lapa Rios staff, guests and local residents, it’s a highlight of the year for the community. Read more about the race here.

At Lapa Rios, our in-house guides have a cumulative experience of almost 50 years. That’s a lot of knowledge worth sharing. In 2016, Danilo – our most practiced guide – pioneered the Lapa Rios Guide School. His objective was to train up new guides from the local area to have a reserve for the hotel, and to raise the overall standards of tour quality in the area, ending the days of “importing” guides to the Osa.

Since 2016, Danilo’s weekly classes have grown. They are attended by various Lapa Rios staff members of different hotel departments as well as local tourism students. The school’s reach is potentially great: by training the guides on our philosophy of nature conservation and sustainability, we hope to inspire a new generation of advocates for the preservation of the surrounding rainforest.