There are weekends that stay with you. This was one of them.
A few days ago, a small group of us made our way to Finca Alma Vieja, deep in the Brörán Indigenous Territory of Térraba, for two days of forest fire prevention training led by Costa Rica Fire Department. From Kido, we had the joy of coordinating the visit, and what unfolded was far more than a training. It was a real exchange between people who care about the same land, just from different angles.
Four firefighters traveled down to spend Saturday and Sunday with us. They brought their knowledge, their tools, and a generosity that you could feel from the first handshake. Members of the Consejo de Mayores joined us throughout, listening, asking questions, and sharing their own understanding of the territory, the dry season, and how fire has shifted over the years. We had talks, hands-on practice, and controlled exercises out in the field. The kind of learning that sticks because you do it with your hands and feet, not just your head.
In the photo, the Costa Rica Fire Department stands alongside Pablo Sibas Sibas, a Brörán Indigenous leader, and his son Jorge Sibas, who is also a leader at Alma Vieja.
And every bit of it was free for the territory. That part matters.
That same day, we saw that the Costa Rica Fire Department was simultaneously running a similar training in Matambú alongside United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other partners. That made us genuinely happy. It told us this isn’t a one-off favor, it’s a real, ongoing commitment to walk alongside indigenous communities as wildfires become a bigger threat across the country. Knowing that more territories are receiving this kind of support is the best news we could have hoped for.
A heartfelt thank you to Don Héctor Chaves, Director of the Costa Rica Fire Department, and his team. The four firefighters who came down to Térraba taught with patience, met everyone where they were, and treated the territory with the respect it deserves. That kind of presence isn’t something you can put on a slide deck. You either bring it or you don’t, and they did.
To the Brörán community and the Consejo de Mayores, thank you for opening Alma Vieja, for the conversations, the coffee, the trust. We left with more than we arrived with.
At Kido we’ll keep showing up. Connecting communities with the institutions and knowledge that protect what matters is the kind of work we want our name attached to. This was a beautiful start, and there’s more ahead.
Muchas gracias, Bomberos de Costa Rica.