Help Juan earn a Living Wage with Nature Guide Training!

We are raising money to support indigenous father of 4, Ngabe naturalist, Juan Miranda so he can garner a living wage as a Professional Certified Birdwatching, Wildlife and Nature Guide in the rich cultural territory of his ancestral homeland, the Conte-Burica Indigenous Territory in Costa Rica.

Juan is a father of 4, son, brother, uncle, and locally celebrated soccer player! He currently works as a gardener and day laborer for low subsistence wages which does not allow him to see his children as often as he would like! The cost of child support is more than he can earn in a month chopping grass with his machete, as is the labor of most Ngabe men who typically earn only about about $10/day (usually walking about 4 round trip hours on foot, often crossing treacherous rivers to reach their job site).

Juan is the son of Conte Burica Territory founders (founded in 1982) an area which supports a population of people living in extremely difficult subsistence conditions, yet in an area of growing ecotourism. A gem of cultural and natural wealth, preserved far from industrial development, the Ngabe are eager to welcome respectful visitors into their territory, those who can help boost the local economy by way of conservation and culture sharing.

The cost of everything is rising in Costa Rica, and we want to help Juan receive his education and certification which will make an impact in his life, the lives of his children, and in his community as a whole. Juan contributes to Sparkroot Wild as Ngabe cultural liaison and project vision coordinator. His goal is to create a tour business which allows him to invite visitors of nature and birdwatching tours to visit the rich natural and cultural heritage of his homeland, while also bringing in opportunity to lift up his community along with him through his local economy boosting business model!

We need to raise enough funds for him so he will be able to study without losing time working long hours in back-breaking labor for low wages - just so he can barely manage to support his kids! We need to raise not only his tuition costs, which includes six months of coursework, but also the costs of his field trips, a new computer for online learning, field trips and associated per diem travel costs.

Thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause that is a gift to more than just one man, but to a family and a strong but struggling community -- a contribution which truly is the opportunity to give generously toward the making of a more beautiful world!

More information about Sparkroot Wild!: We are 501(c)3, fiscally sponsored by non-profit Go Conscious Earth, who allows us to receive donations for tax purposes! We work with budding indigenous entreprenuers to protect and conserve avian habitat in vitally important wild lands of Costa Rica! The remote pueblo Vista Mar, and the indigenous Ngabe Conte-Burica Territory is a large contiguous tract of rainforest in Central America. We celebrate birds while guarding and growing their habitat, we promote protection of rare, endemic and vulnerable birds through avitourism, activist art and native fruit tree gardens. We are developing a Wild Bird Rescue and sanctuary gardens at our headquarters location, throughout the pueblo as a "bird town" and throughout a roaming set of birdwatching trails throughout the Ngabe Territory. Focusing on indigenous entrepreneurs helps alleviate poverty and cultivate long-term solutions to promote conservation within communities.

Visit us at www.sparkrootwild.org and at Sparkroot Wild on Instagram.