Association de Mujeres de Morales: Mujeras Luchadoras
The Women’s Association of Morales, located between Punta Morales and Costa de Pájaros, started working for us in July 2019. The president of the association, Yorleni Villegas Molina, and rotating team members from her village, care for tree nursery (vivero) and gardens.
Yorleni and her team excel at sprouting every seed they get in their hands, many of those coming from the food our team consumes. Working an average of 36 hours per week, the women have sprouted hundreds of saplings in the past season, to offset our carbon emissions, grow food, and to reforest our shipyard land.
During their first year, young trees are sensitive to burning sun and water deprivation and therefore require caretaking during Costa Rica’s dry months. After only six months of working with Yorleni and her team, a visible change has taken place at the yard: dozens of young trees, some already up to 3m (9ft) high, are adding additional shade and beauty to our eco- shipyard. Our vivero is home to over 18 species of fruit trees, and over 1,800 trees have been planted in the name of Ceiba and AstilleroVerde.
Having dedicated gardeners allows us to cook many meals from vegetables and fruit grown in our gardens. Next to reducing food costs, it also saves carbon emissions which would have otherwise been created through transportation of the groceries. We are looking forward to continuing to provide meaningful work and income to the Women’s Association of Morales and can’t wait to see the shipyard flourish even more in the upcoming months and years.
Yorleni Villegas Molina is an impressive gardener. It seems that everything she touches springs to life. It is a joy to see her care for the gardens at AstilleroVerde, and tend to the fruit-tree vivero, or nursery. Yorleni generously shares her wisdom with the ladies that join her each week.
“The most important aspect of AstilleroVerde is that it is the only company that is giving work to the community at the moment. Also, the people learn a lot from me and I learn a lot from the foreigners who work here. I like gardening because it’s something that I have done since I was a child. My parents taught me so that we, and the animals, can enjoy the food that we produce.”
