Bribri

The Bribri are a small indigenous tribe, around 10,000 members, living in the Talamanca canton inside of the Limón Province in Costa Rica. They speak the Bribri language. There are varying estimates of the population of the tribe. According to a census by the Ministerio de Salud, there are 11,500 Bribri living within service range of the Hone Creek Clinic alone. They are a voting majority in the Puerto Viejo de Talamanca area. Other estimates of tribal population range much higher, reaching 35,000 in Costa Rica.

History

The Bribri were the original people of the Talamanca region, living in the mountains and Caribbean coastal areas of Costa Rica and northern Panama. The majority live without electricity or running water. They subsist on agriculture.

Most Bribri are isolated and have their own language. This has allowed them to maintain a indigenous culture untouched by western civilization. Their isolation has also caused them to have poor education and health care, not to mention the lowest income per capita in the country.

El Puente [http://www.elpuente-thebridge.org/] is a non-profit organization working with the Bribri people, offering educational assistance, food, and micro-loans. Their goal is to help families and individuals become self-sufficient. El Puente also offers educational working volunteer opportunities, including documentation and preservation of an extensive medicinal plant garden, working with the curandero as he uses indigenous healing methods, assisting in an ongoing job development program, development of Guadua Bamboo as a reforestation alternative both inside and outside of the indigenous reserve.

The Tropical Adventures Foundation [http://www.tropicaladventures.com/] works inside the reservation. They provide training to help the Bribri create sustainable income for their communities, while striving to help the tribe preserve their language and culture. Tropical Adventures welcomes volunteers and provides opportunities including: Teaching English, Recycling and Environmental Education, Medicinal Plant Project, Organic Farming, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Chocolate Factory, Public Relations & Marketing, Retirement Home Assistance, Painting, Building & General Maintenance, Elementary School Projects, Trail Maintenance.

Culture

The Bribri People live in the mountains and islands of southern Caribbean and northern Panama on the Talamanca reservation. Agriculture is the main activity of the Bribri. They are also building materials, medicine, and commercial trading. The Bribri are isolated, and have developed an extensive bartering system. One small tribe of the Bribri, the Kekoldi, only has about 200 people. They partake in the unique practice of iguana farming. Iguanas are important to the forest because the Bribri can feed on them when ever they want to, so the Kekoldi tribe has devised a way to replenish the iguana population. The farm has been operating for 11 years and has about 2,000 iguanas and 2,000,000 eggs. The iguanas stay on the farm until five years of age at which time they are released into the wild. The Bribri have their own language. They have maintained their own culture.

References

External links

* [http://inil.ucr.ac.cr/materiales.php A Bribri course with audio files: Jara Murillo, Carla con Alí García Segura. 2008. Materiales y Ejercicios para el Curso de Bribri I, Universidad de Costa Rica.]