On Saturday, September 19, 2026, a team from BARCA, Brinkman’s Costa Rican forestry and agroforestry subsidiary, traveled to the Boruca Indigenous Territory in the Brunca region for a day of silvicultural training and cultural exchange.
The day brought together BARCA staff, including nursery lead Beatriz Mora and members of the forestry and operations teams, with leaders from the Comisión Kabru Rojc Boruca. The Comisión, organizers of the traditional Kabru Rojc (Diablitos) festivities held annually in Boruca, helps administer several of the territory's shared lands.
BARCA donated 988 native tree seedlings, grown at its nursery in Palmar Sur for planting across three community sites: the Sitio de la Nacida de los Kabru Rojc Boruca, the Sitio de la Quema del Xamán, and the Rancho Kabru Rojc Boruca. An additional donation is also planned for next spring for the Escuela de Bajo Veragua and the natural spring that provides drinking water to that community.
"Not only do BARCA and Boruca share the love of nature and the passion for reforestation, but we also discovered many more similarities, like interest in Cacao and the importance of family" - Betsy Barcus (General Director of BARCA)
Community leaders Carlos "Caliche" Gómez and Luís Diego Rojas, as well as other members of the Comisión Kabru Rojc Boruca, welcomed the BARCA team and offered to lead a tour of the Boruca Community Museum, along with a visit to a sacred waterfall accessible only with a Boruca guide. The BARCA team received the invitation with gratitude and appreciation for the opportunity to learn more about the community, its land, and its traditions.
Several BARCA team members were also joined by their children, adding a family dimension to the day’s exchange.
The BARCA staff provided a short training session on tree care and watering, with community members taking responsibility for maintaining the seedlings going forward. The day concluded with lunch prepared by a community member's family cacao farm and cultural tourism business, Cáu^shá^s, a small way for the visit to also contribute directly to the local economy.
This collaboration comes as BARCA continues to expand its agroforestry program across the Central and Southern Pacific regions of Costa Rica, including new cacao plantings planned in the coming year. The visit represents an early, hands-on step toward what BARCA hopes will become an ongoing and respectful relationship with Indigenous communities in the areas where it operates, while building on Brinkman's broader commitment to Indigenous relations across its operations.
