The South-South project brought together experts from Adventure Recreation Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development to share knowledge and collaborate on best practices. 

The Connection With The Kingdom of Bhutan

To qualify for the South-South Program, the El Tigre community in Costa Rica had to have a partner in either Benin or Bhutan, in order to meet the reciprocity and international collaboration guiding principles of the PSC. (Read more about the South-South Project.)  It turns out, the Kingdom of Bhutan wanted to develop sustainable adventure-based tourism, specifically white water rafting, in its country.  Costa Rica has a very successful adventure tourism industry that has been operating since the early 1980s, and the country's leader in sustainable adventure tourism is Rios Tropicales.  On the reciprocal side, Bhutan has  considerable experience in sustainable community development. Bhutan is sharing its lessons learned from its own successful sustainable tourism communities for the benefit of the El Tigre community in Costa Rica. Thanks to the leadership of Rios Tropicales, El Tigre was able to find and apply for a PSC grant with the Bhutanese partner of a nascent Bhutanese Outfitters Association.

Training Whitewater Rafting Guides in Bhutan

Two senior guides and head instructors from Rios Tropicales, a leading adventure company in Costa Rica, traveled to Bhutan to train river guides from the ground up.

Says Walter Monge, senior guide and trainer from Rios Tropicales:

"To travel to Bhutan it was an incredible opportunity that Rios Tropicales gave us, me and Johnny Calderón.  We found a place that had a very incredible potential to be one of the white water rafting destinations around the world.

When I started with the plan to go to Bhutan, I had no idea exactly of what I will find there… but once there  I find people exactly the same as the rafting community in Costa Rica: they had passion, love for water, for rivers and they probably didn’t have the same experience that we do, but they want to.   That’s the principal focus on our program - share with another river guides, talk the same language and share the same passions.

I didn’t have clear my expectations of what can I find over there… about the rivers, and the river guides. But once I show up over there I found exactly the same thing the same rafting community we have here in Costa Rica, they have there in Bhutan. They share love for river, they share our passion to run them, they want to paddle in nature and be in contact with it, I’m very surprised because we were talking the same language… we share the same passion, the same love for the water."

Bhutanese Experts Help Shape El Tigre Project

Bhutanese experts in sustainable rural tourism and development came to El Tigre, Costa Rica to assist in laying the groundwork for the entrepeneurial projects now in place in El Tigre.

Bhutan's concern with life quality and overall happiness of its people is a driving force in their decisions for the future of the country.  The Bhutanese shared that passion and knowledge with the people of El Tigre and the project director, Rafael Gallo.  This helped shape the path of the El Tigre project, prioritizing local involvement and local interests in the development of the various businesses within the community.