Innovation

Finca Rosa uses zero agrochemicals, pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides on the farm plants. Instead, they use compost from the worm beds and compost from the hotel as natural enemies to prevent fungus and pests, which can damage coffee plants. At Finca Rosa Blanca, sustainability has been the main focus since the initial construction. A few of the sustainable aspects of the hotel are:

• Solar panels that heat the water of the hotel
• An underground electrical system that is safe for wildlife and coffee farm workers
• The hotel’s own coffee grown on premises to offer to guests
• Recycled coffee pulp is used as fertilizer
• Copper/Silver Ionization system that cleans the swimming pool
• All toilets in the hotel use only 1 gallon of water
• Recycled materials are reused productively such as compost piles
• Donation of funds that help the youth of the community
• All of the employees live locally so hotel helps local community maintain a low poverty level
• Education programs that teach guests and locals how to be sustainable
• A worm based compost to recycle food waste
• A greenhouse that grows vegetables to be used in the hotel with soil that comes from worm compost piles

Inspiration

In 1985, the Finca Rosa Blanca project began, with a few important aspirations in mind; to leave the least possible environmental mark of its existence and to be as sustainable as a small business could be. Since they began, Finca Rosa Blanca focused on recycling and regenerating, social consciousness, and education for other small businesses and people alike.

The Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee Plantation Resort is also attempting to show other businesses that sustainability can be a part of a high-end business by adding aspects of the environment, education, training, community growth, and innovative structural designs.

Overall impact

Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee Plantation and Inn, was the first official sustainable hotel in Costa Rica, and has evolved in the last 20 years to become the number one member of the well known Sustainable Tourism Certification program and the only hotel that has received a 100% score. The CST is known as the strictest and most difficult program in the world for checking the accuracy of the level of sustainability of resorts and hotels.

Business benefit

Finca Rosa Blanca donates money to local schools to build recycling areas and gardens. They also include sustainability education and special educational projects. The hotel also sponsors the local children’s Food Bank, which donates food that is prepared by volunteers and consumed by below poverty level children and elderly in the area. There is a nutritionist who cooks a daily meal for the Food Bank and the chef of the hotel has trained the kitchen staff in maintaining a sustainable kitchen.

Social and environmental benefit

Finca Rosa Blanca holds seminars by environment specialists for their staff, the teachers, and students, to teach them about the need for recycling and other positive sustainability habits. Finca Rosa has set up community health Fairs, environmental fairs, recycling programs in the local parks, Annual Street and river cleaning organizations, art competitions using recycled utensils in the local schools, and planting trees in the community.

Finca Rosa Blanca is working with the Earth Equilibrium Foundation’s project “Building for the Future.” The hotel is working with the Escuela Juan Mora Fernández, the middle school in Santa Barbara de Heredia, where some the children in the community and many of the hotel employees’ children partake in special classes. Finca Rosa has bought books for the library and constructed a recycling center that the children run in addition to many art projects to teach recycling and good environmental habits.

Interview

Janina Zumbado, Department RRHH