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SPIROGYRA BUTTERFLY GARDEN AND FARM PROJECT

• CONSERVATION OF ONE OF THE LAST LITTLE FORESTS EXISTING IN THE MIDST OF THIS CRAMMED CITY OF SAN JOSE LOCATED IN THE RIVER TORRES BASIN

• CONSERVATION OF PRIMARY RAIN FOREST

Why to raise butterflies in captivity in Costa Rica?

To answer this question first let me introduce our project to you GlobalAdvocacy.com. visitors:

Spirogyra is a butterfly farm located within walking distance of San Jose, Costa Rica's capital, with a 350 m2 butterflies exhibition garden.

When we established Spirogyra we proposed ourselves to establish a garden-park where to breed and develop butterflies in captivity and increase the natural butterfly population of the area. Here they will find a natural habitat in a biological adequate medium and at the same time we offer to visitors a vital space, an ecological corner, a place to relax, shady and with abundant vegetation which invites to enjoy; a garden-park where to learn, contemplate and photograph butterflies located in a natural habitat to them. Let us say that its design invites in a pleasant and humble way, to give value to our Costarrican great biodiversity and biological wealth. Although a small country in it's geographical size, Costa Rica is big because of the variety of it’s biological system.

Our farm is located in San Jose, the capitol city of Costa Rica and one of our goals is to protect and beautify what may be one of the last little forests existing in the midst of this crammed city. Recently we opened a self guided trail “The Contemplation Path” that goes through the part of the 1,7 acres farm inside the Torres River basin, so that people can walk and observe on their own, the richness of this little forest gallery.

We have a very strong interest in butterflies as educational tools and through responsible breeding, we provide a model for sustainable development. Our educational facility and 3.800 square foot exhibition-garden hosts a number of school groups from all over the country and visitors from all over the world.

Although we are licensed breeders and exporters of approximately 20 species of butterfly pupa, we are also agents for at least 20 independent breeders from various regions of the country that live in different rural communities on the fringe of the natural rain forest, where there is much pressure on undisturbed areas to be cleared for lumber and traditional farming. Some of these, are women breeders groups which have been specially trained by our biologist.

Our goal with these groups is to provide training and a means to market independently grown pupae, thus providing an alternative means of using ecologically valuable land as a source of income while maintaining a minimum impact on the ecosystem.

Our breeding and exportation project

The project heart is the production of butterflies in captivity. Its objectives are:

• To incorporate groups of women and men who live in buffering fringe areas of the rain forest, in a non-traditional productive project development in order to keep them away from traditional activities such as raising cattle, lumbering, traditional agriculture and others, which cause serious damage to the environment.
• To become a new source of income for the families of the women and men involved in it.
• Educate the population regarding the use and conservation on natural resources.
  It has been designed to function under an integrated focus together with the commercialization of chrysalides, and managed by different organizations located on different ecological level, all around the country, which accounts for a great variety of butterfly species that, can be produced and commercialized.
  
  As of now, the groups included in this project are:

• ASOMUCAN: Caño Negro women association
• BUEVA ESPERANZA; Upala
• APRODUMA San Carlos
• MARIPOSAS HERMOSAS Guacimo
• Plus 15 INDEPENDENT BREEDERS and their families like:: Edgar Abarca family, Donald Arce family, Marvin Otarola family, Ricardo Bermudez family, etc

Other interesting facts

• The size of the groups varies from four to fifteen members each.
• Education level among this women and men is mainly that of having completed elementary school (47.4%), followed by those who haven't finished elementary school (23.7%).
• The communities where the butterfly farms are located offer few chances for employment of these women and men, being housekeeping, agricultural labor, raising cattle and lumbering their main occupation. The scarce alternatives for paid employment cause, in some cases, migrations to other zones of the country, where women and men are hired in activities like banana packaging plants, construction.