Pulseandola bonito – Working with Love

AUTHOR: Dagmar Reinhard

Caro and Gabi arrived 13 years ago from the Central Valley (Cartago) where, after their academic studies, they managed their greengrocery store. Looking for a new life, providence led them to Uvita, where their purpose was to break free from the eternal vicious circle of materialism: to give your time in exchange for money. Instead, they decided to keep their time and produce their stuff themselves.

With their house rental in Cartago, they financed their first years in their new location and exchanged their pick-up for a piece of land in Uvita.

So they taught themselves (neither papa Google nor the internet was available in those days) how to build a septic tank, a "rancha" - their first roof, a rainwater tank, an oven, etc. They paid a neighbor who had construction experience to instruct them.

They investigated with the workers in the area while they shared a beer. Gabi says that no money in the world would have been enough to pay for the works.

Gabi also has a great aptitude for crafts that she used to sell at the Feria (since 2009) on Saturdays at the “Cancha Sintetica” of Uvita. They observed that this marketplace offered good opportunities for the sale of organic products. They built a firewood dehydrator for fruits and coconut to prepare flour.

They made good sales. Likewise, they had already acquired extensive knowledge in manufacturing furniture and construction and offered their services as handy-women. For years both took Tai-Chi classes with a teacher. Caro eventually graduated and today teaches regular Tai-Chi and Kung-Fu classes at the Uvita “Plaza de Deportes”.

Meanwhile, Gabi, a musician/singer, and songwriter started playing with Beta and Trey's group from the former Tucán hotel, Calle Tierra, and Uvita's best-known band, Los Geckos. During 2020, both artisans had to reinvent themselves, and one way to do this was to run Helpca, an online marketplace that distributes local products.

Asking the handy-women about their plans for the future, they answered in unison: "We live from day to day, happy to be able to sustain ourselves outside the" system, "always working with love."