- On the 200th anniversary of the Annexation, an educational program in hotel infrastructure maintenance and an entrepreneurship directory of Guanacaste will benefit hundreds of inhabitants in the province.
A group of 10 students and dozens of entrepreneurs are participating in two new initiatives to boost employability and support entrepreneurship in Guanacaste, as part of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Annexation of the Partido de Nicoya.
The projects seek to develop skills so that more inhabitants of the province can get quality jobs, as well as generate greater visibility for Guanacaste entrepreneurship in areas such as food, tourism, art, services and manufacturing.
The first is a new educational program in Room Maintenance for Temporary Accommodation, facilitated by Reserva Conchal – FIFCO’s hospitality division – at its facilities. The six-month course will enable participants to develop skills in civil construction, masonry, plumbing and air conditioning, so that they can work as hotel repair technicians. The pilot scheme started in June this year with 10 students from the community.
This is the first time that this program has been offered in Guanacaste, thanks to the alliance between the National Learning Institute (INA) and Reserva Conchal located in Cabo Velas, Santa Cruz.
For the past 10 years, the resort’s hotels and restaurants have served as a training and practice center for more than 350 students of dual education programs, in areas such as kitchen assistance, food and beverage. In 2024, there are 32 active students under this modality.
At the same time, Reserva Conchal is working on the elaboration of an entrepreneurship directory for Guanacaste. The catalog will allow residents and visitors to find in one place information about suppliers of all kinds of products and services in the province. The purpose of this project is to give greater visibility to the talent of Guanacaste entrepreneurs and to boost local economy.
“On this special date, we are excited to join in the celebration of a province that for 200 years has contributed and continues to contribute so much to Costa Rica. Our operation in Guanacaste gives us the privilege of working day by day alongside talented local entrepreneurs, so we are proud to contribute to making their offer more and more known, under the spirit of our philosophy of expansive sustainability, we support local production and sustainable development of communities, “said Maria Pia Robles, FIFCO’s Director of Corporate Relations.
Among the enterprises in the directory is Nora Ortega’s Herencias Guanacastecas. She prepares tortillas with the traditional Guanacaste “al aire” technique, which she learned from her mother and grandmother. She also produces rosquillas, tanelas, empanaditas and pan dulce. With this undertaking, Ortega generates income for her household and keeps the traditions of her province alive.
This July 25, she and other small business owners who will participate in the entrepreneurship directory will exhibit and sell their products at the Playa Conchal Club. There, Doña Nora will give a workshop on how to make traditional tortillas and rosquillas from Guanacaste.
According to the National Survey of Household Microenterprises in the Chorotega Region there are around 33,200 micro and small family enterprises in the service (51%), industry (19%), agriculture (17%) and commerce (13%) sectors.
Guanacaste residents who wish to participate in the guide can send information about their ventures to the following email address: [email protected]. The catalog will be made available to the public in the coming months.
Reserva Conchal is FIFCO’s hospitality division. Located on the Nicoya Peninsula, the resort and its hotels, The Westin Reserva Conchal and W Costa Rica, employ 1,250 inhabitants of the province of Guanacaste and work in partnership with dozens of local suppliers. The operation of the resort is guided by a robust sustainability strategy that prioritizes the conservation of biodiversity and the development of projects to generate opportunities and a positive impact on the quality of life of surrounding communities.
