Nuboso de Monteverde, was established by commu-
nity leaders to operate SER and use its profits to im-
prove local education and encourage the develop-
ment of local ecotourism services (F. Valverde, pers.
comm.). Management of SER was returned in 1995 to
the high school, which negotiated a five-year lease
that began in 1997 with MINAE, the successor to
MIRENEM (L. Saenz, pers. comm.).
10.6. The Monteverde InstituteThe MVI complements other conservation organiza-
tions in the Monteverde Zone. Founded in 1986, MVI
provides courses in tropical ecology, conservation,
agroecology, and Spanish language instruction for
high school and undergraduate college students and
teachers and other adults from the United States. The
proceeds from those courses fund culturally enrich-
ing activities for the Monteverde community and
focus on education and sustainable development
(MVI 1996b).
10.6.1. Origins and Development
According to John Trostle, one of MVFs founders, its
roots lie in biology classes at the Monteverde Friend's
School from the 1960s, a growing "love of nature"
among Quaker families who welcomed the presence
of biological researchers, and the visits of graduate
tropical biology courses run by OTS (Trostle 1990).
Several Monteverde researchers wished to bring under-
graduate courses to the cloud forest. Twenty-eight
residents of Monteverde, almost all of whom were
originally from North America, served as founders
of the nonprofit "Asociacion Instituto de Monte-
verde." The original aims of MVI were to "a) promote
education, culture, and scientific investigation in the
areas of biology and agriculture; and b) organize
musical and dramatic presentations, as well as con-
gresses, symposia, conferences, courses, and talks, on
cultural, educational, or scientific themes" (MVI 1986,
p. 2). In 1990, MVI broadened its focus to highlight
sustainable development and developed a mission
statement:The Monteverde Institute is a non-profit asso-
ciation dedicated to peace, justice, knowledge,
and the vision of a sustainable future. It provides
and coordinates programs that promote the ap-
preciation of diversity and community, spiritu-
ality and the well-being of living things. These
opportunities are designed for people from
abroad and Costa Rica, and for residents of the
Monteverde community and surrounding areas
(MVI 1993a, p. 1).The first University of California Education Abroad
Program (UCEAP) in Monteverde in 1987 developed
a format that is used for courses of 8-10 weeks that
receive college credit in the United States. The cen-
tral focus of the program is tropical biology, which
introduces students to tropical diversity and ecology
through lectures by faculty and resident or visiting
researchers, and field projects. Conservation issues
are essential components of the courses (F. Joyce, pers.
comm.). These programs also include components on
agroecology, taught by local biologists and farmers.
Students are introduced to farming, land-use prac-
tices, sustainable agriculture, conservation practices,
and ecotourism (Council on International Educational
Exchange 1993). Spanish language and local culture
are taught by local native Spanish-speaking instruc-families. An independent study project is based on
fieldwork; each student makes an oral presentation
in a session open to the community and leaves a copy
of his or her paper at MVI.
The "long courses" are modified to an abbreviated
form for "short courses" (10—14 days) that MVI ar-
ranges for North American colleges, universities,
high schools, and conservation organizations. These
courses, which generally enroll about twice as many
students as the long courses, provide over half of
MVFs income (MVI Annual Report 1995). In keeping
with MVFs focus on sustainable development, a long
course, "Sustainable Futures," was launched in 1995
for students in landscape architecture and planning.
They planned and designed projects for institutions
in the area, including MCL, MVI, the dairy plant, and
the Monteverde Greenways Project (Enlace Verde;
L. Schneekloth and B. Shibley, pers. comm; see Scrim-
shaw et al., "Conservation Easements," pp. 381-382).
In 1997, MVI started an international development
seminar, Sustainability: Social and Environmental
Consciousness in Costa Rica (MVI Annual Report
1997). By 1998, MVI had run 45 long and 113 short
courses (MVI Annual Report 1996,1997; L. Wirtanen,
pers. comm.). Student enrollments show a generally
increasing trend (Table 10.1). All courses directly and
indirectly provide employment for local people, in-
cluding biologists, teachers, MVI staff, taxi drivers,
cooks, and guides. In 1998, MVI employed a staff of
fifteen local residents (L. Wirtanen, pers. comm.).
As MVI expanded, a house near the dairy plant was
purchased for offices and a library. The latter was
named to honor Quaker residents John and Doris
Campbell. The new (in 1997) headquarters of the MVI
was designed, built, and landscaped to embody prin-
ciples of sustainable development through "maximum
use of passive solar lighting, cisterning water, storm
drainage systems, and materials choice" (MVI Annual369 Conservation in the Monteverde Zonetors, and homestays are provided by local Costa Rican