volunteering

Casem Cooperative Monteverde

What, who and where…well …its a shop, a gallery, a workshop and a cooperative but primarily it is a group of talented, kind and welcoming women who hand make beautiful items inspired by their cloudforest home of Monteverde in Costa Rica.
Once a part of the St Elena Coffee Cooperative, Casem is now an independent organisation run by the energetic, and endlessly rescourceful Dona Nery. Ileana, Monica, Xinia, and Leidy work in the shop and workshop and behind the scenes are almost 100 other women and some men who contribute to the success of Casem.

Casem was formed as long ago as 1982 when a group of 6 women in Monteverde were meeting occasionally to spend time with each other, to talk, to discuss their problems and to share their joint enthusiasm for needlework and embroidery and painting
It since expanded and now involves 21 small communities in the Monteverde area...the aim of Casem is to provide work …paid work,… for members of these sometime very remote communities. Especially work that can fit around other household jobs, looking after children, animals and the home.
The work is important in many ways other than just making money. For these often very isolated women it has provided a group of friends and colleagues, a support system where conversation goes far beyond the problems of obtaining materials for their work. Self esteem is boosted through the achievement of fine work, appreciation for their environment is shared, and community and personal issues can be discussed.

My job initially was to understand the way Casem worked, the abilities and aspirations of the workers and to see what sort of contribution I could bring to this already successful cooperative. The products at Casem have a direct relevance to the rain forest, its fauna and flora and the main tourist attraction of Monteverde itself. The resplendent quetzal, monkeys, sloths, butterflies and flowers are embroidered on everything from bookmarks to beautiful jackets. Native seeds and dried flowers are made into jewellery and collage, and paintings and handmade cards depict the animals, birdsof the cloudforest.

Firstly I looked at the shop, and suggested different ways of displaying some of the goods and better use of the existing space. On the product side I was able to design some new products for them to add to their range and to revitalise some of the existing products to appeal to a wide range of tourists ..while staying in keeping with their ethos and skills.

The products I designed included bags, slippers, pot pourri holders, designs for cards, a new range of jewellery with a stand and ideas for how to make the beautiful gallery area work better and be more productive including a scheme to redesign the hanging system. I was also asked to design two new t shirt designs for the guides. Every year the guides of the famous Monteverde reserve are each given a t shirt handpainted by the Casem workers. These are highy prized and some of the guides have started to make their own private collection. I was so pleased to be asked to contribute!...I will add some links to this page about Monteverde in general, its very interesting Quaker origins and the amazing amount of tourist activities to enjoy in the area.

I will be making a page of the designs when these items are in production plus full details of my work there, so if you are interested to know more about my work with Casem and the cooperative in general please email me.

Initial sketches for slippers and t shirts these will be hand painted or embroidered with applique beads, ribbons or felt motifs.

Casem has volunteers from time to time who have done some excellent work for them ..the beautiful gallery is an example, and they always welcome more. One of their main problems is that they are isolated physically. They do have internet access and email and a web site but this is one area which I felt needs developing along with some training for them to source new materials for their products. At the moment it is a long 4 hour journey to San Jose to find materials.

Casem is well worth a visist if you are in Monteverde. I dont know how they manage to make such beautiful things alongside the cooking cleaning looking after children and animals.. Life is not so easy there...the roads are either mud or dust tracks depending on the season and the rain while I was there was relentless.

Costa Rica is a fantastic country ... so very much to do and see and above all a country of polite gentle and welcoming people rightly proud of their incredible "naturaleza" ... go if you have the opportunity... best months for Monteverde are April and May!