"A PRODUCTIVE ALTERNATIVE FOR A NEW BEGINNING:

THE ORGANIC BANANA"

By Javier Bogantes of the Fundación Güilombé

Bananas have been a desired fruit since pre-colonial and during post-colonial periods. Both colonizers and colonized became interested in this tasty and nutritious fruit. For the indigenous populations of the tropical regions, it became an essential source of nutrition, both for them and for their animals; they cultivated it in their gardens in the midst of forests and they celebrated it in their fiestas processed as fermented "chicha". Colonizers and neo-colonizers were always interested in the commerce of this fruit; they brought and took diverse varieties from far away places. Bananas were understood as a business that reached the most aberrant and absurd situation in the enormous plantations established at the end of the last century by diverse North American companies.

The banana monocultures were established in several countries of Latin America in regions inhabited by indigenous communities. Continuing with the policies of extermination employed against the indigenous communities of North America, the banana neocolonialists confronted these cultures. Supported by the governments of the time, they violated all the possible forms of tranquility of these peoples, finally forcing them to flee from their land.

When the monocultures were established, the biodiversity and natural wealth of these regions disappeared. The enormous extensions of plantations became sources of contamination and social conflict. If it is true that the establishment of these production systems implied a considerable influx of currency and the creation of jobs, it is not possible to measure the environmental and social costs that the invasion of transnational banana companies caused these banana producing countries.

What can be affirmed is that when one walks through any of these regions of Ecuador, Colombia or Costa Rica, one finds a poor and depressing environment, social and environmental deterioration, in those places where these monocultures have been established. In regions such as Apartado or Uraba in Colombia, Bocas de Toro in Panama, or in Valle de la Estrella in Costa Rica, one senses this depressed environment.

When one looks with a conscience or with common sense, it is not necessary to carry out too many scientific studies to verify something that is evident: that the attack of agrotoxins which must be applied to these extensions of monocultures is unsustainable. The effects on the watersheds and the deterioration of the soils allow us to understand the disastrous alteration of the ecosystems where these companies have established themselves.

The knowledge of the behavior of Nature as a system, where all the diverse ecosystems are integrated permits us to deduce that these sources of contamination, these great banana plantations, can be affecting the surrounding ecosystems, among which the most affected are the aquatic ecosystems.

In order to verify this, sometimes it is only necessary to converse with children, who tend to tell us stories of dead fish in the streams, shrimp that disappeared or strange odors in some of the pools where they can no longer bathe.

 

The Earth: a living and sacred being

Organic farming has become a fad. Within a short time politicians and opportunists began to use the discourse, without understanding its implications and principles. A false organic world is worse than a conventional one, because the problem of the corruption of these saving concepts is that all hope is lost regarding the possibility of changing our relationship with Nature.

It is not exaggerated to say that organic farming is indispensable in order to achieve planetary sustainability. This is not only a technical agricultural system, but rather, it implies a transformation of the values that have prevailed regarding the relations among humans, and between these and Nature. In principle, it is necessary to change the attitude which considers that all other beings are there to be used at one’s will to satisfy one’s needs and greed. In this sense, we can comprehend the respect for the biodiversity of species and of cultures. It is necessary to reach a clear comprehension of the indigenous cosmological thoughts, based on the fundamental principle that the earth is a living and sacred being. This principle, in its technical application, will lead us to implement methods to avoid erosion, desertification and the sterility of the soil caused by over exploitation. If this change in attitude regarding the relation of human to the earth would extend to diverse labor and economic interrelations, it would be very possible to achieve not only a transformation in agriculture, but also one in urban settings, in all the aspects of infrastructure, and in the exploitation of mining resources.

Another principle related to the transformation of this anthropocentric conception, is that of fraternity. A change in attitude, to relate to Nature and the rest of living beings in a respectful and selfish fashion, can apply to intergenerational relationships, those between genders, and with all people we relate to. For this reason is has been stated that it is of little use if organic farming is applied as an innovative technique, but with a conventional mentality. It would be, to paraphrase Erich Fromm, a correct means in the hands of incorrect persons.

An element of great importance is, likewise, the concept of system, the understanding of the web that unites us in Nature, and the links that join the ecosystems. The understanding of these links strengthens our responsibility as actors in a system where everything is subtly related. It is in this sense that the application of a philosophy of the organic should not in any way promote a isolating process.

 

"The models "of resistance"

Traditional agriculture comprehends the interrelations between the autochthonous cultures and Nature, among. The cultivation techniques, nutrition, cosmo-vision and beliefs. Magical knowledge is that which guides the activities of human beings with agriculture, hunting and health in many regions of the planet. This knowledge comes from the interaction with, and the profound observation of Nature.

Traditional agriculture practiced by indigenous cultures, undoubtedly maintained sustainable styles of production and life ways until they were subjugated and forced to flee, assuming then life ways of resistance. They had to, in many cases, flee to the mountains which were not apt for agriculture, and renounce farming when confronted by enormous difficulties.

That economy and agriculture of resistance continues to be practiced in many regions of Latin America. In Costa Rica, the indigenous cultures and some peasant and Afro-Caribbean communities continue applying these models of resistance. In the indigenous case, particularly among the Bribris, one should not forget two fundamental aspects: the first is that at the turn of the century they were forced to leave the valleys and retreat into the mountains. Even though later on they recovered their land when the banana companies pulled out, the degradation of the ecosystems was enormous. The process of recovery was exemplary, but still the Valley of Talamanca is extremely altered.

The other aspect is that this population, and all the indigenous populations in general, live in demarcated territories, which with a growing population, are no longer sufficient. From an ecological point of view, and in relation to traditional cultivation techniques, problems begin to arise. For example, the traditional practice of slash and burn works well when land can be left to recover up to seven years, depending on the specific conditions. Currently, there are families with many children and very little land who cannot wait so long to finish the cycle of leaving the land to rest. This begins to have deleterious effects such as erosion, sedimentation of rivers and a diminished soil fertility.

In such situations, organic farming can offer valuable possibilities, from a technical agricultural point of view, as well as from an economic and political perspective, because the perspective which the conventional system immediately offers is the package of agrotoxic inputs to counteract these problems. Likewise, plantation agriculture is proposed and conventional commerce, in which the farmers remain dependent on technicians, sellers of poison, and intermediaries. This has already occurred in Talamanca with plantains; in some regions these dangerous solutions have already been introduced.

Organic farming offers more integral solutions, from which the priority is the recovery of soils by means of terraces against erosion, live barriers, the use of legumes, green manure, diversification of crops and the use of fertilizers produced in the communities, as well as other techniques.

 

A successful and risky experience

Under the conditions presented in this article, the Fundacion Guilombe initiated a process of agroecological recovery of banana plantations. This process has been of great interest, because it has consisted in the practical integration of traditional systems along with diverse techniques of organic farming; we have also tried to achieve a model of commercialization that does not repeat the pitfalls of a market where those who most profit are the intermediaries. For this reason, we have created, along with several other persons of the community, the company called Ucanehu. It is a socialist entity in which the partners seek, above all, the greatest income for the producers and justice in the relations of exchange.

Organic bananas are a product about which much is said lately. There is great interest on the part of consumers, and of course, on the part of producers. But this also implies a risk, by the fact that this system of production under forest cover cannot have an intense density of banana plants. It is also important for this system to maintain a great diversity of crops and have a management of soils that prevents the loss of nutrients. These principles become endangered when the success of the business begins to tempt avoiding conditions that are a priority in order to achieve a sustainable production and life. Developmentalist criteria in this system could seriously endanger what is expected, that it is a productive process which is profitable for the producers, while maintaining the forest cover, and protecting the aquifers and the fertility of soils. The possibility of entering a market that has always been dominated by the great entrepreneurs and transnational companies has also been considered of vital importance.

Organic bananas should be managed with criteria that are even more strict than those employed with organic coffee and other products, specially because of the sensitivity of the tropical ecosystems, the great precipitation that in many cases surpasses 4000 millimeters a year, and the special conditions of the tropical soils which easily tend to lose fertility. Moreover, it is important that what has occurred with the certification of coffee does not occur with bananas. With coffee, the certification only sees what occurs on the farm, but does not regulate the contamination of the rivers caused by the processing plants. In this sense, great care should be taken with the use of fortuitous products, such as houselines or other implements used in the process.

 

From utopia to practice

We have passed from utopia to practice. There are now many producers, technicians, entrepreneurs, professionals, magicians and musicians that participate in this process. The actions expand and it is just a matter of time, for people to recognize the grave consequences the use of agrotoxins promoted by the Green Revolution has had on the health of humanity and the planet. Today, the same ones who filled their pockets producing agrochemicals, invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the new Biotechnological Revolution; it is also said that the problems of feeding the world will be solved, and that the efficiency of the fight against pests will increase. In this way Shell, Ciba-Geigy and Sandoz are preparing to become the owners of the germplasm of the countries of the South. They have established themselves in several of these countries and take advantage of institutions and diverse research organizations that sell or simply hand the genetic heritage of our countries and of humanity over to them. In 1987, Henk Hobbelink, a Dutch agronomist of GRAIN (Genetic Resources Action International), who has studied the matter and fought to counteract this new and enormous business of the transnational companies, told us: "The most preoccupying thing is that these companies have the opportunity to combine their leadership in plant production with their dominant position in the production of pesticides. The future of agricultural development in the South is threatened."

Organic farming is not a technique; it forms part of the vital field of humanity, agriculture, but also in the art of what is possible. With this policy, and together with the environmental, indigenous and alternative movements, important struggles are defined against the patenting of germplasm, for justice in commerce, for the revitalization of soils, for biodiversity as the heritage of humanity without it belonging to transnational companies or private enterprise. It is with intercultural communication, with agricultural practices, and with the comprehension of being able to see what is seen, as Moreliano Augusto expressed, that this agriculture of today and tomorrow will expand and correct the errors committed against Mother Earth.

 

THE RECOLLECTIONS OF MORELIANO AUGUSTO

Moreliano Augusto tells that bananas are a solar fruit. that the plant harvests the light of the sun and moon like no other plant. For this reason its fruit are yellow like the rays of sun and sweet like the honey of "chiquiz ". Moreliano Augusto is a man of 80 years, indigenous Bribri, who lives in the Tain¡ Reserve, in the mountains that are behind a plantation of 3,500 hectares of the Standard Fruit Company, in the Valley of la Estrella.

He recalls how before, the indigenous people only consumed the primitive banana called "golden fingers". And in the midst of the interrelations, the conflicts and recovery of lands that the United Fruit Company abandoned after the pest outbreaks, floods and diseases sent forth by the US Cares, or spiritual doctors, the variety called Gros Michel planted by the company is what remained. These plantations were almost exterminated by Panama disease. Gros Michel was replaced by Cavendish, but was attacked by a disease called Yellow Sigatoka. Since then, the banana companies have used great quantities of poisons to maintain their plantations.

Moreliano Augusto never understood the practices of the banana companies in those regions of Talamanca. He recalls how he saw hundreds of thousands of trees cut down with chain-saws and axes. How they deviated the course of rivers, how he sensed the arrival of poisons and smelled the beginning of contamination.

The evil of the sikua, or White Man, was warned by his fathers and grandfathers. At first he was forbidden from going down to the plantations. With time he came nearer in order to learn, and today he tells us how he saw the evil of the sikua expand through the land, the rivers, the subterranean waters, and even through the blood of men. The poison he smelled without knowing what it was when he crossed the devastated fields when he went to fish in the sea, today has expanded (according to the Bribri cosmovision, which is not far from the modern conceptions of the flow of systems) through all the entrails of the earth.

The chimuri (banana in the Bribri language) is currently an essential source of nutrition for the indigenous and peasant communities. It is an important food for the diet of pigs. The Gros Michel banana was maintained in the agroecological systems of the indigenous cultures. Under the shade of trees and among the cacao plants, the Panama disease was controlled, with a traditional management that clearly understands the way of harvesting the light of the sun and moon, of which Moreliano tells.

Two totally different systems were established in a specific geographical region, but they never converged: the monoculture, promoted by the values that have lead us to the socio-environmental planetary crisis (expansion, competitiveness, and production), and a traditional indigenous system of production, characterized by a sustainable style of production and life, and based on values of respect for Nature and other living beings.

 

A DEEP GAZE

Moreliano Augusto simplifies discourse by gazing, gazing deeply at the soil of his farm. After asking me if I saw what he saw, again he asked me, as if speaking to the trees, "How is it possible that the sikuas still do not recognize that the soil is alive, and like all living beings, it can cry or be happy?" This world vision is the framework in which we have tried to work with the production of organic bananas, experimenting with the web of Nature.

 

 

"THE CERTIFICATION OF ORGANIC PRODUCTS"

By Cileke Comanne and Javier Bogantesof the Fundación Güilombé.

Certification emerged in order to guarantee the consumer the quality of an organic product. With the growing distance between consumer and producer, the certification of organic products was taken up by certifying agencies, principally European and North American.

In order to guarantee the quality of organic products to consumers, seals were invented. These seals are a guarantee that a certifier gives a product, certifying that not only has the product been inspected, but that it also complies with the regulations and norms of organic production of the respective agency.

It is the seal of the agency which if recognized by the consumer, and it is the trust placed by the consumer in this seal that permits buying products without qualms. The regulations that guide organic production try to control the compliance with ecological techniques. The aspects that are regulated go from production in the farm, to processes of industrialization, transport, labelling and others.

With this situation that seeks to guarantee organic products to consumers, several certifying agencies emerged, particularly in Europe and in the United States. While some of these are non-profit organizations, the majority are profitable businesses, that often charge onerous sums in order to certify products of producers in the South, regardless of whether they are large or small.

It is important to mention the function of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), which has sought the coordination between producers, commercial firms and certifying agencies. This international organization has also taken on the challenge of promoting organic agriculture worldwide. To achieve consensus regarding the norms and regulations, these have been discussed in diverse assemblies which deal with organic farming in ecological, technical and social terms. With this aim, norms have been defined which include a system of accreditation for the certifying agencies and establish the guidelines of productive processes.

 

Exporting to Europe: the approval of the EU

Different European governments have established norms that must be kept so that a product may be sold as organic. In the last years, norms have been emmited in Costa Rica and Argentina; in Mexico, Peru and Brazil norms are also being defined. Since 1991, the European Economic Community (EEC) has established norms for organic production. In these norms it is established that the definition of a product as ecological or biological is synonymous with organic. This definition is of great importance in order to avoid ambiguous situations, since different seals at times manipulate these concepts without complying with all the required conditions, in order to profit with the alternative markets.

Any imported product to the European Union must be certified by a certifying agency approved by the Community. Another important aspect is that the European Community has set a time limit for the countries of origin of organic products to establish their own norms, duly approved by the powers in charge.

At this time, there are only three ways to export organic products to Europe: obtain a certification from a certifying agency approved by the Economic Community; obtain a certification which is approved by a certifying agency approved by the CEE (today EU); or to obtain a certification from a non-European agency, but approved by the EU. In Latin America there exists only one of these, which is the Agencert of Argentina, a certifying agency directly ratified by the EU.

 

The small producer and certification

The certifying agencies are businesses. Even though some are not for profit, the majority compete for markets and clients in order to remain in a field where competition has increased tremendously. Some times, the buyers have their preferences for the certification of a particular agency; the consequence of this is that the producers must pay several certifying agencies if they want to sell to several countries or several buyers.

The certification of an agency is extremely costly. The producer must cover the costs of air travel, room and board and salaries of inspectors, which range from 250 to 400 dollars a day. The internal costs of the agency must also be paid. And this must be paid every year, since the certification lasts only one year.

When there is a better coordination among agencies, or if the agencies have established agreements among themselves, it could be that the agency might give a second certification, after having approved the first certification. This, of course, is less costly, but unfortunately the majority of the agencies still do not have this type of agreement. While only products for export need to be certified, and the internal markets still do not require certification, we could ask ourselves what will happen when it is obligatory, both for international, as well as national markets.

Currently, the organic producers depend on the certifying agencies. They must pay if they wish to export. They also depend on the demands of the exporters and buyers of the products. Some certifying agencies are not for profit, and some can be more organic than others, in the sense of following the principles of justice upheld in the organic philosophy. However, many are in it for the money.

Dependence has never been positive for any producer, and it is even worse for small producers who embark on the dream of exporting in order to try to improve their economic condition. There are important experiences in Latin America of small producers who have united in order to have access to international markets, particularly in the case of coffee, sesame, cocoa and bananas.

Nevertheless, we should ask ourselves if in these new alternative markets, the same injustices of conventional markets are being repeated? Who takes the best slice? It is also true that diverse organizations have organized to work with Fair Trade seals, but it seems that the process of globalization, the mega-markets and extreme utilitarianism are also affecting the good intentions of fair trade or just markets.

 

The need for American Latin agencies

The most effective way to lower costs of the certification of organic products is to create agencies in the Latin American countries. These national agencies can reduce, in good measure, the costs of operation and charge salaries according to the rates of each country. The best way to create these agencies could be to seek the support and approval of known agencies who might be willing to aid in permitting the access to the mentioned markets.

Another advantage of certifying with national agencies is that the inspectors and certifying agencies are familiar with the crops and the environments they must certify. This would avoid situations, such as the well known case of foreign inspectors asking where the coffee was in a coffee plantation. In order to maintain the quality of an organic product, it is fundamental to know the particular characteristics of the diverse ecosystems. It is very difficult for a person who only is familiar with crops of a temperate climate to inspect crops of the tropics effectively.

The other typical aspect of organic export products from tropical or subtropical zones in Latin America is that the majority are in the hands of organizations of small farmers. The certification of groups of producers, that generally unite more than 200 families, requires a particular system of certification. It is impossible for an inspector to visit 100 percent of the farmers, as some agencies demand. In those cases, the internal controls, the social control and a good administration are fundamental.

The problem consists in how to obtain the international recognition of the consumers. One way is for a recognized agency to support the agency and establish a system of joint certification, giving continually more responsibility to the national agency. During a period of time, the products could carry the seal of both agencies involved, so that the buyers of the products wold begin to recognize and trust the seal. The difficult thing is to find agencies that are willing to support this process.

As many of the agencies are private enterprises, they are not very interested in the quick establishment of national agencies for the international markets. In Europe we can name at least two agencies we know of that by their philosophy and internal organization do have this ideal: KRAV, of Sweden and the Soil Association, of England.

 

Proposals and principles

In 1992, together with the Department of Agrarian Science of the National University, the Fundación Güilombé carried out the first course in Costa Rica on inspection and certification of organic products. A commission emerged from that course that achieved a permanent presence in the Department of Vegetable Health of the Ministry of Agriculture, among whose duties it was to develop a proposal of organic norms for Costa Rica. This proposal was later taken up by a commission formed by the Government in 1995. Unfortunately, serious changes were made to the original proposal.

Given that the problems regarding certification in the Mesoameri-can region are similar, and that several initiatives to solve them exist, Fundación Güilombé carried out a workshop in April of 1997, along with the support of the Humanist Institute of Holland (HIVOS) and of IFOAM, where 26 organizations participated. These came from the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Central America and Colombia. The majority of these organizations are ones who in their countries promote and work for organic farming and certification, as well as the commercialization of organic products.

In that workshop there were several very interesting results. Proposals were made such as the redefinition of the principles of organic farming. A joint declaration was made with the proposal to create norms that are more in accord with the productive, environmental and social realities of the region. An action strategy for the creation of national certification agencies was also defined.

We synthesize the principles that were agreed upon, with the aim that the spirit that dominated the workshop may serve as an inspiration to continue these processes and struggles to achieve sustainable lifestyles and forms of production

The soil is a living and scared being.

A holistic focus is necessary for the understanding of the relationships between humans and Nature.

Respect and comprehension of biological and cultural diversities is required.

Environmental ethics inspired in the sense of belonging and in the interdependence of the living community are important.

Sustainable lifestyles and forms of production are sought.

Social justice between generations and genders are also sought.

Respect for human rights: laws and conventions regarding labor relations are indispensable.

Equality in the relations of exchange among those who participate in organic farming: producers, certifiers, buyers, technicians and others, is needed.

 

 

NEW SOCIAL FUND RENDERS FRUITS:

QUALITY OF LIFE FOR THE BANANA PLAN-TATION ZONES"

By Omar Salazar Alvarado of the Social Fund of the Costa Rican Fund for Microprojects (FOMIC)

The Social Fund of the Costa Rican Banana Plantation Sector (FOSBAS) is an economic organism that has been functioning since January, 1995, offering credits and donations in support of productive, social and ecological initiatives of social groups and grass roots organizations related to the banana industry and its consequences. During 1995, the Fund worked only in the Atlantic Zone of the country (from Sarapiqui to Sixaola), but since January of 1996, it expanded into the Southern Zone of the country, with a presence from Palmar Sur to Rio Claro.

FOSBAS emerged as a result of the efforts of NGOs, Unions, and communal organizations, who entered in the impact zones of the banana industry, wrote up an agreement of institutional collaboration between the Costa Rican Fund for Microprojects (FOMIC) and the Swiss Cooperation Agency, Helvetas.

The economic funds came from the sales of bananas of the small Costa Rican producers to European (Swiss and German) markets, by the mediation carried out by Gebana, a Swiss organization that promotes and commercializes the Fair banana. Gebana hands over part of the profits for the financing of small projects.

The beneficiary population of FOSBAS is made up of the salaried men and women banana plantation workers and ex-workers, small farmers and landless peasants, women, youth groups, indigenous groups and migrant banana workers. But likewise, those benefitted were grass roots organizations (Unions, peasant organizations, cooperatives, women’s associations, Churches, cultural, ecological and indigenous organizations) and organizations of promotion and popular education that work in these zones.

Support is directed to those activities that are executed by new groups, social organizations and NGOs. These projects tend to alleviate or resolve social problems derived from the banana industry, and that considerably affect the human populations that are directly or indirectly inserted in the banana industry. Financing is divided in two parts:

1) Credits directed to productive projects of grass roots organizations, be they of rural or urban areas linked to the banana sector (with an adequate interest rate). The maximum ceiling to be approved for a project during 1996 was of 350,000 colones. The following activities were given first priority: traditional agriculture for internal or external markets, agroindustry, commercialization, small scale commerce and services, microbusinesses related to tourism, crafts, natural medicine, reforestation and protection of watersheds at a low cost and with community management, communal or family reforestation by way of forest tree nurseries of native species, small scale animal husbandry by communities or families, the use of alternative technology, the invention and production of substitutes for agrochemicals, and the validation of alternative instruments for production.

2) Donations for projects of a social character in such areas as health, informal education, organization, human rights, ecology and environmental protection, culture, support of community infrastructure and communication. The approximate amount donated per project is 150,000 colones. Results in two years of work

During the period of 1995-1996, the FOSBAS program has financed a total of 121 projects, of which 112 are social projects and 9 are productive projects.

The amount financed by FOSBAS for this period was a total of 11,657,501 colones in donations (social projects) and 2,880,000 colones in credits (productive projects), which reveals the social vocation of the project.

By county of incidence, we find that the support has been concentrated in those places where there is a greater presence of the banana industry in the zone. Pococi is the exception; it is one of the counties with the greatest banana production where the Fund has had particular difficulty in entering, maybe for not having emissaries, maybe for an inadequate promotion, or maybe because this sector is where there has been the greatest demobilization of the banana workers movement because of the proliferation of the Solidarista Associations.

The truth is that for 1997, FOSBAS made an enormous effort to enter the zone, partially achieving its aim in the first semester, with the reception of six projects, this being the same number of projects supported in the last two years.

Two areas need to be analyzed with special care: the areas of ecology and communication, both of which are considered to be of high impact in the zone. The first, because it points to concrete and delicate problems in the banana plantation zones; the second, because it is considered a means with great impact for the development of organizational initiatives and for the dissemination of information regarding the problems of the Zone.

In 1997, we began a program of identification and promotion of grass roots organizations in such areas. This effort has had positive results already in the first semester of 1997.

The evolution of the Fund in two years reveals an increase in the placement of funds, both in the amounts (from 5.75 million in 1995 to 8.78 million in 1996), and in the number of projects approved which grew by 68.1 percent. Nevertheless, the potential of the Fund is not used in its totality. The financial movements in 1995 left an unused amount of 1.6 million colones, and in 1996 the amount left unused was of 1.5 million. However, it is important to note that in 1995, the total available amount was approximately 5.6 million colones, and in 1996, it was nearly 11.9 million colones.

It is interesting to analyze the biannual evolution of the Fund, in three areas of priority: the first being credit or production; the second is the social area of organization, one of the most solicited; and the third is the fight for justice, where we support a movement that fights for the rights of the inhabitants of the zones of incidence.

General conclusions:

·         FOSBAS has become a work tool for the organized inhabitants in the zones of impact of the banana industry in Costa Rica.

 

AREAS OF SUPPORT (AREAS TO BE FINANCED)

HEALTH. Education, information about eating habits, labor health, support to mobile and temporary health services, promotion of worker committees of occupational health, programs for the building of latrines, health clinic for sterilized workers, dissemination of information, education on the effects of pesticides, education and promotion of natural medicine, research of current problems of environmental health and labor health, campaign for the prevention of health problems.

INFORMAL EDUCATION. Seminars, workshops, talks, courses, etc. of basic education for direct beneficiaries, training of leaders, of instructors, of adults, technical training for productive projects, support to educational activities and training for the social and grass roots organizations.

ORGANIZATION. Promotion of the organization of each beneficiary sector, promotion of the capacity to defend the interests and empowerment of every beneficiary sector, institutional support for the consolidation of the organization of each beneficiary sector, partial support for the acquisition of equipment and work instruments of the organizations of each beneficiary sector, support to pay temporary technicians for specific activities programmed by the organizations.

HUMAN RIGHTS. Defense of violated human rights, promotion for the defense of rights, legal support, research into violations of these rights.

ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. Environmental education, support of education exchanges in the areas of ecology and organic farming, communal or family reforestation projects with the creation of forestry nurseries of native species, economic support of incidence in environmental struggles, audiovisual material about the environmental and ecological problems of the zone, legal advice to actions of protection, denunciations and popular mobilizations for the protection of the environment, support for environmental impact studies, support for lobbying in national and international ecological institutions.

CULTURE. Support for programs of cultural protection of ethnic minorities linked to the banana industry, cultural workshops for the workers of the banana sector, events for the reaffirmation of cultural identities of the beneficiary sectors, historical research and salvage of oral traditions among workers of the banana sector.

FIGHT FOR JUSTICE. Support for social struggles, support for struggles of revindication of the social organizations of the sector, support to the labor sector in the resolution of patron-worker conflicts, diagnosis of the problems affecting the social sectors that have something to do with the banana sector, travel support for lobbying efforts, support for legal efforts. Studies and dissemination of information regarding the problems affecting migrant banana workers, defense of the labor rights of migrant workers.

COMMUNICATION. Support for communication materials of organizations or groups, training of grass roots communicators, support to radio programs and grass roots newspapers.

SUPPORT FOR ORGANIZED COMMUNITY WORK. Partial support for community infrastructure I (construction of schools, school cafeterias, health centers, community centers), partial support for community infrastructure II (bridges, mini-aqueducts, streets, others of communal use, etc.).