Real Chat with Edgar E. Campbell Carr

[00:00:00]Listen to me, we're is here again at We Caribe. What happened?

[00:00:05]So, we are here today and I have a very special person with us. We have an elder of the Walaba community. He is also a politician, which is also very good.

[00:00:16]This conversation will get juicy real fast. And he's also a friend, a mentor, someone who is coming from the industry of teaching and education. No one else that our own Mr. Edgar Campbell. Mr. Edgar, thank you for being here with us, sir.

[00:00:35]>> You're welcome. And you know you don't have to call me two time.

[00:00:40]This is over one.

[00:00:42]And I'm just ready.

[00:00:43]>> All right.

[00:00:44]>> I'm ready because I feel like we have a lot of message for our people. And not only message for our people, message for for others which grow and live with us.

[00:00:53]And I think it's time that we can send out a message so that they can understand us, understand who we are, what we're looking for, and understand also that they and us are one at the end of the day.

[00:01:12]>> And I love it. I tell you it was going to say it was going to get juicy. We jump right into it. We're going to find out who is they that him talking about.

[00:01:19]Mr. Edgar, let's start from the beginning. And we don't want long with the thing like what that but we have to know.

[00:01:25]You are very much respected. Here in Costa Rica, we call you profe. Profe mean professor, professor, right? So, could you tell us a little bit, let the people know about your background as a retired educator, sir?

[00:01:39]>> Well, I I born in Limon. My parents was here from Walaba. My father.

[00:01:46]And I remember when I was growing up, I used to go and come. And he told me that he didn't want me in the farm. So, he sent me to school.

[00:01:54]So, we had a confusion in the family. The grandmother wanted me was to be a lawyer.

[00:02:01]The aunt wanted me was to be a doctor.

[00:02:04]I wanted was to be engineer and I know I end up being a teacher.

[00:02:08]>> [laughter] >> I work with this in the system for 42 years.

[00:02:12]And I think I give the best of my my knowledge to the children that I try to prepare.

[00:02:22]I give them the best I have.

[00:02:24]And I'm still giving the best I have because I think that when you give them the right and proper preparation you have men and women for a better tomorrow.

[00:02:36]>> Wonderful. I love it. And you know, teaching is something that we revere as one of those careers that are very respectable in the community amongst just as much as doctors, uh teachers, nurses because we know that education was the key. You mentioned something important, Mr. Edgar. You said your father was from Walaba. I want to clear that up. I want to clear that up because for those of you around the world and for those of you from Costa Rica who know Walaba, Puerto Viejo uh we know that we have original founding families and we have those families that are old time ancestral family from Walaba. And I would like for people to know who your parents was in the Walaba tribe, please and thanks.

[00:03:15]>> My parents was the the Montecue family.

[00:03:19]Uh my grandfather which was David Montecue also Alex Alejandro Montecue He was a teacher here in this community.

[00:03:31]And my father, Mr. David Montecue well known as Alejandro Lewis He was one of those outstanding members of the community who works to develop this community with other families.

[00:03:46]These ancestors family from the community. So I don't come in front right there so know.

[00:03:53]I come in from a way back there.

[00:03:55]>> Yes, sir.

[00:03:56]>> And when I say way back there, I mean to say we coming with that thing that the ancestors put for us.

[00:04:04]Because sometimes when the people them hear we talking how how we remembering things, then we don't know what we remember. But it's that thing what we have in the genes, in the in our cells.

[00:04:15]That yesterday thing it wake up every two day. So that we can be who we are and who we want to be for tomorrow. And that is what I trying to to aim to share with my community and especially with the children of the community.

[00:04:33]>> Yes.

[00:04:33]>> Because if we can work on the mind of our kids and teach them our culture, and our culture is not only cooking rice and beans and dancing calypso.

[00:04:45]>> Tell them.

[00:04:45]>> We have stronger thing than that.

[00:04:47]>> Absolutely.

[00:04:49]>> Because when you talk about philosophy when you talk about medicine when you talk about that ancestral ties that we have in the community we still live in that here in Walaba.

[00:05:04]>> Yes.

[00:05:05]>> And the most important thing our parents said something to us.

[00:05:11]Go to school because I want you to be a little bit better than us.

[00:05:15]What what them never tell us say that keeping near to the land that give the ancestral people the power that them have. Be near to that land, it make you stronger and bolder men and women for your community.

[00:05:31]>> Absolutely. And this is the type of strength this is why I love speaking to my elders. Now, the reason why it was so important for me to to make ascension and an essential focus on the family name and the family history and ancestry is because of the topic that we will be going into the whole topic of, you know, the tribal rights that we have. But, I like to use this program, everybody, to make una know what happen, like what happening right now.

[00:05:59]When we talk about legacy, the Montague family coming from a legacy of education as well. Your and father or your grandfather was an educator. So, that is very important because from our ancestors, them them go ahead and them put in and put in that kind of work into us. You also mentioned that it was very important for him to send you to school so that you could get education that they didn't have. Talk to us about that, Mr. Edgar, because that's very important.

[00:06:30]>> When you grow up in a community where your mother tongue is English, you read Royal Reader, Tropical Reader, you study with Longman's Arithmetic.

[00:06:45]And when you go to Spanish school, no, you have to learn to talk Spanish, you know.

[00:06:50]And I can't forget when we were at Spanish school, we have help you talk the Spanish.

[00:06:56]>> Mhm.

[00:06:58]>> But, we try we best and we had good teachers because we had a lot a group of teachers come out of the way from area and come and teach we. And after our people start being teachers, and them give us the best because our teachers our teachers and I want to emphasize on that, our teachers was not good teachers. They were excellent teachers because they they do not only teach us to read and write.

[00:07:28]>> Right.

[00:07:29]>> They teach us to live between one another and always have an helping hand and an helping attitude for the other because we understand that we're not an individual, we're part of a community.

[00:07:44]>> Mhm.

[00:07:45]>> And that is where our strength lies.

[00:07:47]And even though sometime we have a little disruption between one another, we cannot forget that we are a community.

[00:07:55]>> Mhm.

[00:07:56]>> When I go and study I went to the Lemon High School.

[00:08:04]I had great professors there.

[00:08:06]I went to the Technological and I start studying industrial engineering.

[00:08:13]And after I get myself a little involved in things as as playing man and I go get married.

[00:08:22]All right, that was all right. And after that now I came home and I began to take care of kids and things like that.

[00:08:28]And I I start working at the Lemon High School.

[00:08:32]And Mr. Vincent Parks introduced me to the National University to the School of Education.

[00:08:42]And I I get a license in that school.

[00:08:46]And it take me as a teacher to be a representative in the teacher union, president of the teacher union for a good while.

[00:08:56]Being a representative to Education International representing the the Costa Rican and Latin American teachers.

[00:09:04]Um being vice president of the the National Football and Association, the UNAFUT.

[00:09:13]Being the vice president now of the Cooperative National Cooperative Council.

[00:09:20]And I think that all these steps that we had been doing in our life is not a something that fall from the sky. It's something that we had been building through the communion connection.

[00:09:33]Through being acquainted with sports like the football, like the basketball, and the kids that pass through over arms and give us a purpose to work a little harder for our communities.

[00:09:49]>> And you know, it's very important because, you know, everyone if you know if you know listening to Mr. Edgar very carefully as as I am, it it often revered right back to legacy when him speak about the youth, when him speak about passing on the knowledge and making sure that we doing things thinking about the youth them. And and I touch on that topic a lot with legacy because I would take this opportunity right here so we can even happen to explain something as I learned it when I was growing up the way how it was taught to me.

[00:10:19]We are from a tribal community, yes. And we have fam- we're fortunate to have a few families that are the founding or original or originating families of of this community. And for what I overstand, each family have a legacy that them leave. Based on what their great great grandparents used to do, move on to them grandparents, parents, so on and so forth. So, I was taught like for example no in your family, education was one of them. And no farming was also one of them for many of our families. So, I was very much um concerned to take this opportunity for people to overstand that when I keep talking about legacy of each family, I'm talking about what that family derived from and what they made sure they passed on from generation to generation as auto-sustainability, whether that be spiritual, uh financial, or otherwise.

[00:11:21]Right?

[00:11:22]>> One thing that is very important in this and it remind me the concept of community.

[00:11:28]When I was growing, I was not my mother and my father and my grandparents child.

[00:11:36]I was a child of the community.

[00:11:40]So, I could go to Miss Meows and play with her children.

[00:11:47]And I will have breakfast there.

[00:11:50]I go over by Donia Maximina house. I play with her children.

[00:11:54]And I have a dinner or supper.

[00:11:59]And I go over by the next place and I get a lot. And I go over and I look at my aunt television by the China man.

[00:12:06]And all of us grew together.

[00:12:09]And like I said, in in our good language, the Spaniard, the Indian, the Chinese.

[00:12:15]All of we grew together like brother.

[00:12:17]And everybody talk English.

[00:12:19]And nobody don't look at one another with that difference. And them respect where each and everyone coming from.

[00:12:27]When we go to school, we play ball together.

[00:12:30]Sometimes we catch a fight. We catch a fight in the morning and we open the union drinking cola or drinking fresco.

[00:12:36]Nothing do happen.

[00:12:37]That concept of community is what I lived.

[00:12:41]And it give me the opportunity to take that concept to school.

[00:12:46]Because when I start working as a teacher, I remember that I had a lot of my friend children in school.

[00:13:02]And I remember that when them come with them children to school and them want me to teach them, they said to me, "I bring this child to you.

[00:13:13]And you know I want you to take care of him."

[00:13:15]And when that parents come and tell you them want you to take care of him, that mean you want you to take care of that person, you know. You're not joking business.

[00:13:23]Because they're looking for you to give him the best.

[00:13:26]>> Mhm.

[00:13:26]So, as a teacher, I try to give them the best and I try to understand with them and reason with them, let them understand >> Mhm.

[00:13:35]>> that they they the limitation that them have is the sky.

[00:13:45]>> Mhm.

[00:13:46]>> That when they thinking on anything and them dreaming don't dream to pick down one star out of the sky. Shoot up at all the star them and you will bring down all of those that you want. You must have a purpose in life. And I try to teach my kids them that.

[00:14:01]Work for a purpose.

[00:14:03]>> Mhm.

[00:14:03]>> And now what we have to do now is work with our kids and with our elders and with our people to let them understand that we are one and we have to work for the purpose.

[00:14:12]The purpose because we have to regain the respect in the community. And not only the respect, we have to understand that our attitude have to be changed. We can't keep up with this thing just only rebellion and road and talking up the place and not doing nothing. We have to organize and focus on what we need and what we want and find a strategy the way that we can conquer all these things that we need. Because >> [laughter] >> And this you know what?

[00:14:53]We have to leave something for the pickney them.

[00:14:55]>> Mhm.

[00:14:56]>> Excuse me. When I say the pickney them have him sit me I mean if you say for you want a for me want and the next one want too.

[00:15:03]>> Mhm. And you know it's funny I say that because it it it ties right into legacy.

[00:15:08]This that Mr. Edgar talking about what we have to leave for the children them.

[00:15:12]What him talking about the unity. All we grew up with all type of different ethnicity and as long as the community is getting what them need and we respect each other's space. This is part of the legacy as well. Part of the legacy that have been left behind and has been forgotten. Mr. Edgar, let's just jump right into it. We're going to talk about our Afro community. Let's talk about our Afro community. And I'm And I'm not talking about only Wallaba.

[00:15:38]Like I go and get juicy, no.

[00:15:40]We're going We're We're not talking just Wallaba. We're not talking just Cahuita or Manzanillo. We're talking Costa Rica as a whole. But let's start with the Caribbean side of Costa Rica. We're talking Limón right now. You ran for deputy, which would be a congressman for those people who from states and foreign in in in run for Congress now. And the strategy for that, Mr. Edgar, we always talk. And the strategy was not necessarily always looking to win. Sometimes, if you win is good, but sometimes getting your foot in the door so that you can make space for others to come in through the door and through the window and hold space on the table where decisions being made. That is very important. So, you are an elder in the in the in the Council of Elders for our tribal community. You're also You ran for congressman. You're also the president of a corporation and president in many other spaces. Tell us what you think about the movement for Afro-Costa Rican uh population here in Costa Rica.

[00:16:43]You talked about what we need. Please go right to it, Mr. Edgar. What we need.

[00:16:47]You talk about stop the chatting chatting and not getting no results.

[00:16:51]Right to the meat, Mr. Edgar. What we need and what we chatting about that need to change. Because I tired of the meeting meeting and I can't see no results.

[00:17:00]>> I I think it's a matter of attitude.

[00:17:02]>> All right.

[00:17:03]>> A matter of attitude. And I think the next thing is a matter of of of self-belief.

[00:17:09]Self-reliance.

[00:17:11]A matter of a security.

[00:17:14]>> Mhm.

[00:17:15]>> You have to be sure of who you is. and you have to be sure of what you want.

[00:17:20]As a teacher, as a professor for many years, I can say that our people is prepared.

[00:17:30]And we have very well prepared people in our communities.

[00:17:33]>> Mhm.

[00:17:35]>> But we have people that think with all our preparation that they are not capable enough. So, we have to start believing in ourselves.

[00:17:44]When I was uh contacted to run in politics in this last campaign, I questioned myself because at this time of life, I'm not a boy.

[00:17:58]I'm a elder.

[00:18:01]And when I spoke with the family and with my friends, they say it's an opportunity.

[00:18:07]And I was not I was not in the best position for winning.

[00:18:12]But I was in the position to open a door for others.

[00:18:17]And I I take it boldly and I run.

[00:18:20]>> Mhm.

[00:18:21]>> What I can tell you is was a extraordinary experience.

[00:18:25]>> Mhm.

[00:18:26]>> I was backed by the indigenous people of this community, >> Mhm.

[00:18:32]>> by the the the over Creole people, over Spaniard, >> Mhm.

[00:18:38]>> and over black people.

[00:18:41]>> Mhm.

[00:18:41]>> And I going to tell you something that there was raining like was a day of blessing.

[00:18:46]And I see some of our elders. I want to say elders are talking about people who come out in a wheelchair, who come out with the the the the the crutches, and come out and vote.

[00:18:59]And that is a message.

[00:19:00]>> Mhm.

[00:19:01]>> And that message is that we need to change. Our our people have a dream, as Martin Luther King said.

[00:19:11]And I am trying to work in that path with all our people.

[00:19:17]And I'm trying to open the door.

[00:19:19]Winning and that means sitting in the Congress.

[00:19:23]Winning is have the boldness to participate, understanding where you are and what and who you represent.

[00:19:32]>> Mhm.

[00:19:33]>> Winning mean that you can go and open A door, B door, C door.

[00:19:42]Participation is a key.

[00:19:46]Is a key.

[00:19:48]And is a key not only to open a politician's door, is to open the door of life of our community.

[00:19:55]Where all our people with all our preparation in the different fields can be in position.

[00:20:04]>> And Mr. Edgar, you know, it it I believe everything that you said and I agree.

[00:20:10]I would speak for the for for for the people who write in all the time to me and even for my own experiences.

[00:20:17]It's important that with all of this that we're doing we can we're able to take youth with us to start teaching them the way so that when the elders need to move on to assessing, move on to guiding, move on to giving advice, you have those who are younger preparing coming up. If the elders do not want to give room, what are the young ones to do? These people that you say we have prepared people in our communities, people who have the will and have the way and have the smarts to do it, maybe even have the time and the understanding.

[00:20:49]What can we do to to to to to convince these elders to make a way so that these young'uns can come on in and start learning and take on some of the responsibility?

[00:21:02]>> Well, we have to move strategically in the community. I think it's a matter of planning, planning and preparing, inviting >> Mhm.

[00:21:12]>> Put the kids to do with us what we used to do in those days behind when we used to go to the beach and we used to cook the crabs and we sit down and eat the crabs and the elders around and we were talking and chatting about this and that. That was a way to transmit >> Mhm.

[00:21:33]>> the knowledge.

[00:21:34]>> Mhm.

[00:21:34]>> Now we have to fight against technology.

[00:21:37]>> Mhm.

[00:21:38]>> But we have to find a strategy that we put technology to fight with us and for us, not against us.

[00:21:45]And the other thing that I think is important for us is as I say probably as a teacher, I always have a way open and a door open for the younger generation because they are the ones who have to take over things.

[00:22:00]And I believe in my youth.

[00:22:05]I believe in them.

[00:22:07]>> Mhm.

[00:22:09]>> And when I say I believe in them is because I I've been preparing them for many years.

[00:22:14]I believe in them and we have to open the door. The strategy is open the door and let our kids participate and what we must do is just draw aside as the council of elders and let them understand that they must be advised.

[00:22:33]Sometimes they have the proper knowledge to make a decision.

[00:22:37]But the elders we had passed, we're reading already.

[00:22:44]So, by the look of the cloud, we can tell them if the day will be rainy or not.

[00:22:50]>> Mhm. Very important information for us and you know, it moves us right into this segment with um talking about the the the the topic of the tribal um the rights that we have.

[00:23:03]We know that is something new to our country. Not a new law that we have, not a new right that we have. We've just now had the opportunity to smarten up and learning how to use this right of the the the ILO 169 to apply it for our tribal communities.

[00:23:22]We know right now we have seven tribal communities according to the decree and I believe three more that when certain groups got together, they wanted to consider. Let's go with the seven that are on the decree, the executive decree that the president did a couple of years ago, I believe in 2022. And that's going to be we have Walaba, we have Manzanillo, we have Cahuita. Correct me if I'm wrong. We have Limón, we have Matina, we have Guácimo.

[00:23:53]One more.

[00:23:54]>> And Sekerris.

[00:23:54]>> And Sekerris.

[00:23:55]>> And Colorado.

[00:23:56]>> All right. Them are the three is what them they are after. Them say them want to six hour at Tortuguero and Barra del Colorado. All right. All right. So, let's take the mean as our tribal tone them.

[00:24:08]Um we know that the the the constitutional Supreme Court of this country last year gave a order and it recognized these tribal communities and recognized the tribal community as of Talamanca. I would like to know from you, sir. There is a homework at hand that the municipality of Talamanca is supposed to develop a tool to consult with the Afro tribal people of the Talamanca area, which would be us here in Walaba, our brothers and sisters in Manzanillo and Cahuita, right? Let's Let's just say that for right now.

[00:24:45]What do you have to say about the process that's being done and what can you tell the people about the topic?

[00:24:54]>> This is a very important topic because for the first time they I to consult us about how we should be consulted.

[00:25:05]>> Correct.

[00:25:07]>> And in this way they give us a great opportunity to create an instrument with our participation.

[00:25:17]It depends on us as a community the quality of instrument that we're going to build.

[00:25:26]And I insist >> [snorts] >> we have the knowledge, we have the talent, we have the people that can go in a making sketch of that a proposal that we want to present.

[00:25:44]>> Mhm.

[00:25:44]>> What is important that we we work pretty fast on it >> Mhm.

[00:25:48]>> because if we do not work on it >> Mhm.

[00:25:49]>> others will work on it for us.

[00:25:51]>> Exactly.

[00:25:52]>> And it would be not in our favor.

[00:25:54]>> Mhm.

[00:25:55]>> And the next thing that I think is very important this say 169 I've been in the environment for a good while and we just making use of it.

[00:26:07]Just making use of it.

[00:26:11]And I think that what we must do is make sure that this document that we want them to prepare or what the municipality I want to prepare be what we need.

[00:26:21]>> Exactly.

[00:26:22]>> And not only what we need that we can handle ourselves within it to make sure that our rights >> are protected.

[00:26:31]>> is being respected >> Mhm.

[00:26:34]>> accepted. No, yeah, respected and accepted.

[00:26:38]>> Yes, sir.

[00:26:40]>> So, when we do that we will be advancing but I want to reiterate again if we do not do what we have to do, others will be doing for us like they're they've been doing for the last times in history.

[00:27:01]And we have a way we have a possibility now to bend history in our favor.

[00:27:07]And I think what we have to do is do just what we have to do. Bend it in our favor.

[00:27:11]>> Now, for make sure that people they more understand everybody when Mr. Edgar talking about what after do what we have to do, let's be clear.

[00:27:20]These instruments to consult with the with the with the Afro-Costa Rican tribal population of these areas uh is something that the tribal community Afro community must do.

[00:27:32]It's not the municipality going to do it for us. It's not the government have to do it for us. So, when Mr. Edwards Edgar say we have to get up and do what we have to do, let's use this opportunity to tell the people of Wolaba what it is that we have to do and also transcend to the other brothers and sisters in the other tribal towns what they may look at or have looking forward to that they can expect. We have a series of assemblies that the municipality has put together with our help and our consent. And there's four of them. We have the dates already. And in these series of assemblies, the Afro-tribal community will be making their decisions about this instrument. This instrument needs to include children, you know, young people, elders, people with disabilities, etc. etc. so that the people can have an idea of what we're doing. What say you, Mr. Edgar, that the people can really overstand the importance of why they must show up to these assemblies and we'll soon give them the dates.

[00:28:38]>> This is solving an historical problem and by participation, not by imposition, by participation.

[00:28:49]Many time we have been sitting on the sideline and saying but I mean them don't tell me and them don't them don't pay me no mind. This time them is we are begging one another to participate.

[00:29:01]You can't stay up on the sideline and think say you can lick a wound wrong.

[00:29:06]You have to be in the game.

[00:29:08]>> Mhm.

[00:29:09]>> You can sit on on the stadium of the bullpen and fight the cow. You have to go in at the pen.

[00:29:17]>> Mhm.

[00:29:18]>> And this time now I begging everybody to go in at the pen because we know when we going to go fight the cow.

[00:29:23]>> Lord, please look at them and tell them to stop.

[00:29:25]>> we going to go fight the cow, you know what we going to go do?

[00:29:28]We going to make him in a beef steak and eat him, too.

[00:29:31]>> All right.

[00:29:32]>> But only we only can do that with a what attitude.

[00:29:36]Going and demanding not what we want, what we need as a community.

[00:29:41]>> Mhm.

[00:29:42]>> But we have to be demanding. And you only can demand when you participate.

[00:29:46]>> Exactly.

[00:29:47]>> If you don't participate, you don't even have the rights to criticize no one.

[00:29:53]>> Exactly.

[00:29:54]>> Because that we can't do good, you know.

[00:29:55]Criticize no help.

[00:29:58]But when the time we have to come for put we shoulder, everybody a shift the shoulder. You know what so.

[00:30:03]>> Mhm. I thank you for telling them that.

[00:30:05]And with that, I will tell you know this. Municipality gave me some days.

[00:30:10]Let's hope that these days will work.

[00:30:11]I'm talking about May 26th for the informative assembly. Because it's very important. One of the things that the ILO points out in our rights is that this consultation must be informative.

[00:30:25]It must be previous consulted before they do whatever project in our communities, and the majority of our people must thus give their opinion, decision, and approval. So, the 26th of May is when municipality said them coming will have a to do an informative assembly. Know them said the 2nd of June is when them going do another assembly.

[00:30:47]This is for formation, information, but more formation in the development of this tool. And then again on the 9th for another formation assembly. And then on the 16th of June, we finish with the last assembly where we going confirm and read up everything that everyone proposed, read the last proposal, and hopefully vote fight with approval. Again, I say the approval is for the Afro-Tribal Costa Rican community of Talamanca, in this case Walaba.

[00:31:22]I really am concerned that the tribal Afro-Costa Rican people of Walaba show up to this these meetings.

[00:31:31]>> What I can say is an open invitation for you and I to participate.

[00:31:38]>> Mhm.

[00:31:39]>> This decision is we are taking, you know.

[00:31:41]>> Mhm.

[00:31:42]>> You know, them must take it for we.

[00:31:43]>> Mhm.

[00:31:44]>> We have to take it. We have to make it.

[00:31:47]So, we have to put which road out of the wheel.

[00:31:49]And the next thing which is very important, very, very, very important, talk to your neighbor.

[00:31:59]Talk to your brother.

[00:32:00]>> Spread the word.

[00:32:01]>> Talk to your sister. Talk to your granny.

[00:32:04]And if your great grandfather is there, talk to him, too. You can bring him out.

[00:32:07]Make him come out there.

[00:32:08]Because you know what?

[00:32:11]We need everybody's opinion about that. And the next thing I would like to say before I finish this segment, we are a community of fighters.

[00:32:28]We always fighting to survive.

[00:32:31]We always fighting to come ahead.

[00:32:33]We always fighting to grow.

[00:32:36]But we can't fight against one another.

[00:32:38]Because we fight against one another, we're going to lose us.

[00:32:40]>> Mhm.

[00:32:41]>> So, I advise everyone that regardless of the differences that we have which is normal in humanity >> Mhm.

[00:32:51]>> let's come together on this issue which affect each and every one of us >> Mhm.

[00:32:57]>> because it's time of building.

[00:33:00]>> Mhm.

[00:33:01]>> And it we're building because we we we are in a new era.

[00:33:05]>> Mhm.

[00:33:06]>> And we have to build.

[00:33:07]That's why you and me, we are good.

[00:33:10]But we have to build for them that we are coming.

[00:33:12]>> Mhm.

[00:33:13]>> Make them the pastor of the church where me and you are pastor.

[00:33:16]>> Exactly.

[00:33:17]>> So I start to the world man that we used to say first time before him go away and left with take your time and work fast.

[00:33:26]>> Ay ay ay, that is the one you give me all the time and I love it. May I go write it for that t-shirt and wear up and down the place. Listen to me, Mr. Edgar, that is a very important topic and I want for the people to really overstand because you have a lot of talking, a lot of writing, and all kind of thing going on in this topic of the tribal rights. But for us here in Wolaba, you as an elder who is there at the assemblies and is part of this whole movement for our town and our jurisdiction, we do not refuse anyone that want to learn about the topic, that want to help within the topic, or want to be part of the topic. Rights is something that is for the Afro-Costa Rican community, but yet anything that affects us affects the community as a whole. And in our community, we have a vast difference of different ethnicities. I mean, we're so blessed and fortunate. We have people from Canada living here. We have German people living here. We have from Czechoslovakia. I meet people from Panama, Africa, United States, all over.

[00:34:29]And plenty of them make this them home.

[00:34:31]Some of them buy land and some of them is here so 30 years and way back all of 40 years. I want them to know Mr. Edgar that is not our intention as Afro-Tribal Community that when we win, we fight.

[00:34:46]We not going to take anything that we haven't make no trouble for the community. We want to embrace everyone.

[00:34:52]So, we asking for all of them to come out and overstand what going on.

[00:34:58]>> I just want to remind each and every one in my community Walaba which is your own and mine's also.

[00:35:08]Whenever it rains sometime and the the water the little drops the light pass through it we see it many colors. [snorts] All the colors of the rainbow.

[00:35:26]And I want you remember this concept with the colors of the rainbow.

[00:35:31]If you take out one of those colors it stop being rainbow.

[00:35:37]Walaba is like the rainbow with you and me.

[00:35:43]Those children of yours that born here yesterday I can't tell them they don't belong to East West Natal so it because they are from Walaba.

[00:35:53]And they believe it more than you and me.

[00:35:57]And it's important that you understand that we are one community.

[00:36:02]We are not dividing anything here. We are fighting for our rights to strengthen our community.

[00:36:08]It's true we are Afro-Costa Ricans and we want to unlock ourselves by the law but not leaving you out of the law. You is part of us. So at this time and as Velvet said we are just fighting to strengthen up our rights so that we as a community we can live in harmony. And what I'm trying to to do in part of the the political issue around is taking over over over over uh um problem over land problem to be revised because we need that of our government remember who this land belongs to yesterday and who we sold it to and that we stop all these conflict that we have.

[00:37:11]We want peace.

[00:37:13]And part of our job is to build that peace.

[00:37:19]And let me say it in my Creole.

[00:37:23]You are me. I me I you.

[00:37:26]>> Mhm. Mhm.

[00:37:27]>> So, you know what?

[00:37:28]Let's put hands together and get this thing going ahead.

[00:37:32]>> Mhm.

[00:37:32]>> Because you have a live here with me and me have a live here you.

[00:37:36]So, take it easy by we going ahead.

[00:37:39]>> We going ahead. We going ahead. And very important that to know realize Mr. Eda touch it and talk about the lands.

[00:37:45]There's many other projects around our area that could affect us directly or indirectly. But one of the biggest thing that we talking about is the land because the government in Costa Rica them not trying to take the land, them taking the land with all kind of excuse, you understand? With land, national park, Indian reservation, no respect to our brothers and sisters in the indigenous side of the of the community, but we have to stand strong because we have our rights that is even above the constitutional rights that allows us to protect what is our ancestral and traditional and cultural, you know, lands and and language and everything else. So, these are some of the topics why we're asking each and every one of you learn about the tribal Afro rights that we have. Learn about the tribal laws that we have for the communities. Learn about the tribal laws that we have for the country so that you can know what is going on in your tribal community as well. And now we're going to wrap up this segment with going into one of the wonderful project that Mr. Edgar has. And this project is dear to me to my heart because my grandfather, Imus Cocoman, the wealth of my family, the education of my mother and my uncle and my mom and my aunt and my thing, even myself, yeah, far away from the strength of my grandfather in the cocoa.

[00:39:07]So, we're going to leave this segment.

[00:39:08]Mr. Edgar, you are the president of the corporation for cocoa. It name a a Copet a Cocat a >> Copet Cacao >> Copet Cacao Afro, excuse me, Copet Cacao Afro. And it's been for some time.

[00:39:22]Please tell us how long has the company been around? You are the president. Tell us a little bit about the products and what we can expect, sir.

[00:39:31]>> [sighs] >> Being the child of a cocoa farmer in this country is a very extraordinary experience.

[00:39:47]We had been one of the richest community in this country when I was a boy until 1979 79 [snorts] 80 when we get affected by this fungus by the name of the Monilia.

[00:40:05]When we get affected we didn't know exactly what it was and how to handle this this disease.

[00:40:11]>> Mhm.

[00:40:12]>> And many of our people had to leave their places, run away to look job in in the Limón area, or some of them go away to the United States.

[00:40:24]And the land leave here, and some of it had been squatted.

[00:40:28]And they otherwise uh Well, some of us went away and go to school and work outside.

[00:40:37]So, when I was reaching time to retire, I asked myself, "What I going to do with what my parents left?"

[00:40:47]And I decided to come back home and go and work on the farm.

[00:40:55]In a couple weeks after I start working on the farm, they invited me to a meeting because they wanted to us to organize a Afro-descendant farmers, or children of Afro-descendant farmers, to recover the cacao industry.

[00:41:16]But, more than recovering the cacao industry, the idea was to do something that we could put a break on the not exactly selling off the land of our forefathers.

[00:41:31]Many of us was giving away the land, thinking that we were selling.

[00:41:37]So, with that recovery of the cacao industry, a group of us, many of us professionals, we have lawyers, doctors, engineers, business administrators, uh veterinarians, we decided to to work on the cacao and with some of our people who have a an emotional intelligency beyond those of us who go to the academy.

[00:42:10]So, we decided to make our little organization, so we start fixing up our farm. We start grafting over our farm.

[00:42:18]And we start doing uh what we call field schooling.

[00:42:25]Going from farm to farm and doing the job we have to do with our with our people.

[00:42:31]So, the time had been passing, so we start thinking on the organization which could back up us the right and proper way.

[00:42:41]So, we decide to to make a cooperative.

[00:42:45]>> Very good.

[00:42:48]No, you're good.

[00:42:49]>> So, when we make the cooperative, that was 10 years ago. This our program our own 12 years now.

[00:42:57]>> Mhm. By cooperative it mean cooperation.

[00:42:59]Corporation, no?

[00:43:00]>> Mhm.

[00:43:01]>> Uh-huh.

[00:43:02]>> So, when we think about the name, we think about Copecacao Afro, which mean cooperative mhm of >> cocoa >> Afro descendants cacao, something like that.

[00:43:17]>> Nice.

[00:43:18]>> So, that's the way. But, when we start thinking on building our uh our logo our our brand, it took us around 4 weeks.

[00:43:35]We were like in a roughness because everybody want A, B, C, and D. So, we had also come to some agreement.

[00:43:43]>> Mhm.

[00:43:44]>> So, that is where we have this this this E 5 colors >> Mhm.

[00:43:52]>> what demonstrate the uh the multiculturality and the pluri-ethnicity of our community.

[00:44:00]>> That's right.

[00:44:01]>> Because in our organization we have indigenous people.

[00:44:04]We have Spaniard.

[00:44:05]>> Mhm.

[00:44:06]>> We have a >> Afro >> Afro, and we have others.

[00:44:09]>> Uh-huh.

[00:44:10]>> But, this is what we it represent. And the most important thing for us is that we demonstrate to ourselves >> Mhm.

[00:44:17]>> that we can do things >> Mhm.

[00:44:20]>> and we can impact in the community.

[00:44:23]>> No question. Sorry to cut you. When you say the the the the corporation itself, is it black-owned?

[00:44:31]Would you say it's Afro-owned?

[00:44:32]>> Yes.

[00:44:32]>> All right. I want to make sure they don't know that because I already say as a Pan-African sister, I love that what we're doing can extend to unite even other ethnicities to learn our thing and to help us to develop our thing, but it's very important that across the world and even in Costa Rica on a know what is Afro-owned. And this corporation is Afro-owned not only by Mr. Edgar, but some of his partners.

[00:44:56]It's very important that you don't know that. Mr. Edgar, tell us about quickly the the other products that you have because I don't want to go out at the time and them don't know. We have the chocolate.

[00:45:06]>> [laughter] >> No, it's like you have forgotten our blend because you beat around the bush and I want to get to the juicy one that I really really love. I can't get enough of it.

[00:45:14]>> What we decided was to do is add value to the to the production of our farm.

[00:45:18]So, we we produce chocolate bars >> Mhm.

[00:45:22]>> of different flavor. We have uh black pepper orange We have a salt and um salt >> with caramel?

[00:45:36]>> You have caramel, uh >> Mhm.

[00:45:38]>> And we have 70% chocolate. We have chocolate pure chocolate 100. We have 80%. We have keto chocolate.

[00:45:45]We have a cocoa butter.

[00:45:48]And otherwise we had been working in another field. We're making wine now, but not out of cacao. We're making wine out of sorrel.

[00:45:59]>> That is the one that I want to know. All right.

[00:46:03]After wrap up because we're time finishing up but please we have wine.

[00:46:10]>> It make with love. And you know with love, ancestral love because all of our our old people were was here and we're coming and whether we over there them the whole of them just combine into this and make this.

[00:46:29]And I want to tell you what I want to talk about but I I don't know how to say it in English but I'm going to say it in Spanish.

[00:47:23]>> Yes man, everything is AI I don't know already. Look, I'm so sorry said it time gone because there's so much knowledge we could have get from this from this elder, from this master, from this teacher, from this professor. But right here so and we Caribe we're trying to do something new. We need to have one channel where we can get the information to the people them by way of the people them. So don't worry right here we Caribe in Costa Rica Limon. We want to say Mr. Edgar thank you for visiting us. It won't be the last time, correct?

[00:47:55]>> You know that I'm I'm I'm so far from you as a phone card >> [laughter] >> and you know I'm always willing because your grandmother >> Miss Evylene >> Miss Evylene >> Rest in peace granny.

[00:48:08]>> Miss Inez >> Lord a mercy.

[00:48:10]>> All of them the lady when I was growing up and when you used to see them pass you see you look like highly honor for them. [laughter] Pretty woman and all of the people who I grow around.

[00:48:21]>> Yes.

[00:48:22]>> So that is what I >> You are in control kid.

[00:48:25]>> And Mr. Dudley >> Mhm.

[00:48:28]>> your grandfather he had been for us here in this community.

[00:48:31]>> Yes.

[00:48:32]>> Not only a mentor is that person who reflectively he give you the best advice. He always have >> Thank you.

[00:48:42]>> So he is always present in what Cope Cabana is doing because he remind us what made us rich yesterday and can make us rich tomorrow.

[00:48:53]>> And this is exactly why here at We Caribbean we want to honor men like Mr. Edgar while them living not when them pass away. While them living you're doing a wonderful job sir and I always make sure that we work together in whatever is best for the community. So don't worry ready job less. Blessed love from We Caribbean.