Cafe Britt

Today, in the morning, we visited Cafe Britt, one of the largest commercial producers in the country. Some of the sights included how coffee was grown, picked, processed, and packed. Lunch at Cafe Britt was wonderful.

We returned to San Jose for class in the afternoon.

Coffee Links

We had a lot of questions today about sustainability and coffee. As you recall, we said we'd post some links to get you started. You should research other sites for your post. Here are some starts:

Fair Trade (Global Exchange)
Transfair
Upcoming Miami University Coffee Conference
Organic Trade Association- Coffee
Sustainable Coffee Farming

Coffee and Survival Spanish

Coffee is one of the industries that we focus on during our Costa Rican trip. As you can see our bus ride to Naranja to visit the premier coffee grower in the country is very comfortable given the condition of the roads. Coffee plants are everywhere and students were able to talk with Daisy Rodriquez, the owner of Del Cafe Tal, about the entire production process of the golden bean that is shipped all over the world.












Drying racks for the harvest and students listening and asking questions about coffee production. Harvest season is January - February depending on the weather.

Our class in the afternoon consisted of "Survival Spanish."

CINDE

I know you all were glad to get the chance to change your money today. I hope you noticed that the rate of 512 per dollar was WAY better than the 454 per dollar at the airport. Did you notice that they were selling dollars at 525. Not much of spread is it?

The visit to CINDE was superb. They do a great job of dispelling the "banana republic" myth and explaining why CR is such an attractive place for multi-nationals and small businesses alike. Please check out their website for more useful information. You asked some very good questions. I hope this helped change our framing of their economy.

Grading Scheme

Hey folks, here is the grading scheme we discussed today:

Grading for BUS 399

Class Participation
Veritas Class Participation 5%
Field Trip Participation 5%
"Good Citizenship" 5%

Blog Posts of Experience 20%
Min of Once Per Week
Pictures AND Text
"What I Learned/Found Interesting"

For the three industries coffee, bananas and tourism:
Blog Posts for the three CR Industries
5% for each Posts and Report, for each Industry (Total 15%)
Min of 4 Posts Describing your Experience with the Industry, while in Costa Rica. Emphasize Research on Coffee in Week 1, Tourism in Week 2, and Bananas in Week 3.
Posts should be personal reflections, but should reference the following guideposts:
Overview of Industry (World and Costa Rica) and Sustainability Issues with Industry

Team Final Paper & Presentation of your recommendations (10%)
Select a company and industry in the US of your choice (must be approved by May 23).
Provide an overview of the industry.
What are the sustainability issues in the industry?
What recommendations would you make concerning these issues?

Final exam (tent. June 11) and Mid term (tent. May 29) (20% each)

May 18, 2008

All arrived as scheduled in San Jose on Saturday. We were picked up at the airport and taken to Veritas University where the students met their host families.

Sunday involved orienting the students to San Jose.

Welcome To The FSB Costa Rica 2008 Faculty Blog

To our students: Please make sure your blog is listed to the right.