Kat: Learning about rural development

My name is Kat Conedera and I am a student at Penn State University.  I am double majoring in English and Community, Environment, and Development.  I am also pursuing a minor in Sustainability Leadership.  Once I graduate, I hope to work with small rural communities to strengthen their economies and social services.  I am interested in how humans interact with their environment and how those interactions affect the wellbeing of the planet.  Coastal sustainability is a passion of mine, and I hope to learn more about how our lifestyles affect the ocean.  However, my studies have focused mainly on rural development, so I hope to use that expertise in my own career.

My focus within my development degree is on community and economic development.  In other words, I have mainly studied communities in the United States and am knowledgeable about economic development practices within domestic communities.  I am therefore very excited to travel to Costa Rica so that I can build a stronger understanding of rural life outside of the US.  It is important for community development practitioners to understand the dynamics of other cultures, and understanding international development is a goal of mine.  I myself grew up in a rural town in Western Pennsylvania and have always been interested in the unique social dynamics created by rural communities.  I look forward to comparing my own community to that of Pacayitas in order to understand how rural communities are similar and different across the globe.  This is my first experience traveling to a rural part of Central America and the first time I have traveled to Costa Rica.

One specific aspect of rural life that interests me is community interaction and local government involvement.  In my community, everybody knows everybody else.  Because of that, I have always viewed my community as close-knit.  However, in communities that have less social ties, there is often a decreased level of interaction and well-being.  In fact, many rural areas have very little government involvement leading to vacancies in in positions that would otherwise positively impact the community.  Rural America is currently going through a transition, with many economic opportunities such as manufacturing plants leaving the area.  Because of this, these areas are facing higher levels of poverty and unemployment.  I would like to investigate the ways people in rural Costa Rica interact and how that connects to local government involvement.

Specifically, I will be researching rural development movements in rural Costa Rica as well as the culture of interaction between community members.  Additionally, I will learn about local government structures and how different positions positively or negatively affect development.  Using this information, I will compare communities with different levels of involvement to understand how certain development activities foster or stunt community engagement.  A necessary aspect of this is understanding how communities quantify well-being.  I look forward to discussing community involvement with my host family to understand how they believe their actions and social interactions positively contribute to their community.