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The community outreach team is creating a plan for San Miguel, a small town located at the entrance of the Kalu Yala valley. Future Kalu Yala residents will be passing in and out of San Miguel so we need to be culturally aware of their traditions and customs. Despite cultural barriers, our future goal is to create a trusting relationship by teaching them about our values while learning about their lifestyle. The San Miguel citizens could be a vital part in building this innovative community.

Scott Romsa, one of the founding partners of Kalu Yala, has a small base in San Miguel, which we will use as our information outlet. Scott will be spending more time in the village establishing a relationship with the locals to help them understand our purpose. We will host social events, Q&A sessions, and print flyers or fact sheets. We want to make the San Miguel citizens to feel comfortable and confident in our project.

We are brainstorming ways to raise awareness of Kalu Yala’s financial and non-financial benefits. We want to appeal to all demographics of the town. Following are some of our ideas, please let us know if you have any suggestions!

Community engagement ideas:

• Matanza (cow roast) and salchicha barbeques- big parties at the local bars will support small businesses and a way to show our thanks for their cooperation in settling the land contracts.
• Children’s activities or sports camps: We want to find the most respectable local children and offer them jobs as counselors.
• Workshops:  artisan, sustainability, organic farming, health and nutrition, food production, gardening
• English classes
• Farmers markets with local produce

Financial benefits for San Miguel residents:

• Micro Business employment opportunities for the tourism department: craft shops, traditional cuisine, canopy tours, horseback riding, tour guides, teachers and many more.
• Internet
• Electricity
• Drainage system

Non-Financial benefits for San Miguel residents:

• Sustainable appreciation
• Building relationships between Panamanian and Americans
• Children exposed to English

We have to be aware of financial/non-financial risks as well:

• Be careful of over exposing our culture, because it could deteriorate theirs culturally and economically.

We are almost ready to launch this community outreach program and continue developing strong relationships in San Miguel.