Engaging to render the countryside liveable

Monday, June 22, 2009

“We women are the first ones to rise and last ones to go to bed. In that regard I am a true campesina”, comments Juliana Espinoza. Juliana is a co-founder of the Costa Rican organisation of countrywomen that “ Passage” has been cooperating with for over ten years. She is an unweary woman with a fighting spirit, that does not acquiesce in the existing situation, but gets engaged to render the countryside more liveable.

“I myself received five years of education before having been forced to work for a living, as my family were poor. When I married my husband, we occupied a plot of land in northern Costa Rica to make a living from. We undertook this action along with other families in a strive for having the terrain be registered in our names. And over the years we have won this battle, partly thanks to a land reform law. Together, my husband and I own 14 hectares of land, half of which is registered in his name and half in mine. We are still living on it today, along with our six children and our grand-children.”

Rights to land
“Ever since 1978 I have been active within several organisations. In the beginning I participated in mixed organisations, including members of both genders. But realising that women within the latter appeared not to be taken seriously, I devoted myself to found a separate one for countrywomen. This national organisation is named the “ Coordinadora de Mujeras Campesinas” (CMC). It is very important to us that women be offered the opportunity to escape from their subordinate position. The local view is that women belong in the home, should care for their children and perform household tasks. In Costa Rica, women do have rights to land, but are often afraid to exercise them. Men believe that they are in charge and that women are under their supervision.”

Change takes time and effort
“Still striving to have our occupied land legalised, I discovered with my own eyes that women are by no means any less than men. And it is this viewpoint that CMC tries to promote. It does not mean to force this consideration up to anybody, but aims to offer women the chance to develop themselves and to make a concrete contribution to the family income. This takes time and requires a fighting attitude.

At first, my husband used to be a real macho as well. But gradually things have changed. Nowadays he helps me out a lot, also with household tasks. He knows how to cook, cleans the house, irons, and does the laundry. Realising that I was not merely wandering the streets but actually undertaking useful activities when I was gone, changed his attitude. He joined me a few times to CMC meetings and noticed how we are dedicating ourselves towards the improvement of the quality of life of rural women, and by that means, of that of the entire family. When we started our projects, I had even less time left to make the home. It took my husband a while to get used to this, and so did my children. But when I am at home, we are spending quality time together. My husband is proud of me and our family is getting on well. We own livestock, grow some crops biologically, and thanks to the CMC chicken project, we dispose of eggs for our own use as well as some for sale.

My dream is for my children to be able to make a good living here in Costa Rica, and not migrate to the U.S. or to Spain. For them to continue sowing and reaping from the earth that we have cultivated for so many years. This dream is shared by many other women and CMC hopes to make it come true by contributing to the development of Costa Rica.”