To the fincas I go....

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Tomorrow morning I head to nearby El Roble to visit the finca of the locally famous owner Paco Trejos. This is the finca that produces the brand of coffee called Don Ramon, which can be found in any grocery store in the region. I will interview around 10 migrant Panamanian women who have worked during the coffee harvest and remained on the finca.

While I am excited to begin the interviews that are the crux of this study, I am fearful that maybe I'm going to miss some aspect of the experience of women in these fincas that is important to their health and the health of their infants. Tomorrow is my chance to make sure that I am asking the right questions.

I spent the day preparing questions for the supervisors at El Roble, and stumbled upon newsletters and online videos for the local organization Finca Sana, with whom I have worked to coordinate these finca visits. Associated with the International Organization for Migration and Costa Rica's national health system, Finca Sana ("Healthy Plantation") organizes efforts to improve the working conditions and migrant worker health in the coffee plantations of Coto Brus. They work with community leaders from the Costa Rican Ngobe population as cultural advisors and teachers for health education and other skill-learning workshops given to migrant families working in the fincas.

The organization also works to change the perspective of the coffee plantation owners so that they might no longer view Ngobe migrant workers as primitive peoples who don't require the same living standards as the rest of us.

I am hoping that my results can also help Finca Sana tailor their efforts to improve maternal & infant health on the coffee plantations. Below I've posted links to the YouTube promotional videos for Finca Sana:

Part I: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1YOuccUTyE&feature=related

Part II: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmiQg2Akj_s&feature=related