Marco and Talitha along with daughters Deandra and Maya have started an agriculture project named Vida Raiz {life-root} to bring Shalom to Costa Rica and beyond.  Vida Raiz Farmworks will be starting a new phase of their agricultural project in Costa Rica, working with at risk young adults.  Costa Rica is an exotic tropical destination for many tourists, but poverty is a daily reality among the majority of its residents.  The high school graduation rate is only 40%, and only 5% of residents earn a college degree.  Many young adults lack the opportunity to earn a trade or skill, and turn to drugs and alcohol to deal with their poverty.  We want to help these young adults have a more successful future.

Vida Raiz {Life Root} Farmworks is a faith-based holistic community development project that works with young adults in the development of work skills, in a farm-like setting to teach sustainable agriculture, and promote character and leadership development through community outreach.  Young adults in Third World Countries can feel purposeless and even lost with no future if poverty is a part of their lives.  Our goal is to help them regain focus for their lives by providing a place to learn a trade and to gain spiritual purpose.

Over the past four years, our family has developed projects in California, Costa Rica and Ecuador, working side by side with less fortunate communities growing and giving away organic fruits and vegetables.  This tool acts as a bridge to create relationships which then allows us to encourage the development of life skills.  In the Summer of 2018, our family plans to move back to the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica.  This will be a permanent move that will allow long-term benefits.

“Give a Man a Fish, and You Feed Him for a Day.  Teach a Man To Fish, and You Feed Him for a Lifetime” – Chinese Proverb

Shalom