¡Buenas tardes! Today was our first day wearing business casual in the heat and the bus was late (we were told 9 only for it to arrive at 9:10)!! Although I had a rough start to the day, it was overall very educational and intriguing. We got to visit two companies and learn about how they operate, Kyndryl (an IT company) and Dos Pinos (a dairy cooperative). They are both very different in the areas they operate in, which gave me a wider perspective on different business models.
When visiting Kyndryl we came onto this beautiful campus, home of many other well-known brands (Amazon, IBM, etc.). Before this visit, I had never even heard of the name Kyndryl and the only background information I found is that they are an IT company that spun-off of IBM. We went through a presentation, which taught me about the company, and we then did a tour of the building. Kyndryl is more of an international brand, operating within 60+ countries and working with international brands such as Japan Airlines, Grupo Romero, United Arab Bank, and more. However, they are more of an American company than a Costa Rican one, as although they diversified, they still focus on Canada and US the most. They try to be sustainable, as they recognize their impact with how much electricity they use and water used from AI usage. They also pride themselves on their volunteer work with planting over 300,000 trees (hoping to achieve net zero greenhouse by 2040) and offering 1 paid day off to volunteer. After the visit, we ended things off we with DOUBLE lunch!!! They had given us a sandwich and a juice box but we were also going to eat right after that. Our host families had provided us lunch for the day, so we enjoyed it while sitting in the plaza. It was a great break in between our site visits to get some time to recuperate.
After lunch we hopped on the freezing bus again, the temperature the bus is kept at is like a freezer 🥶. We made our way to Dos Pinos, a dairy cooperative founded in 1947 by 25 dairy farmers. I have heard the name mentioned multiple times, as it seems to be an essential business in Costa Rica, however I had little knowledge about it. We went on a bus tour and then a walking tour where we got to see the production and packaging of their products. It was honestly so satisfying seeing the packaging part, the workers were so fast! We learned that now 1,900 farms participate in the cooperative and they have 2,300 workers at the plant (wow!). They also do way more than just dairy products, such as feedstock, bakery products, meat, and juices. The company genuinely cares about being sustainable and making a positive impact on Ticos. For example, they have their mascot Lula the cow teach kids about nutrition and health. They also repurpose recyclable materials to make desks and roofs and recycle their waste water.
I feel as though the Dos Pinos model is more valuable for Costa Rica, with farmers, workers, children, and consumers benefitting, not just a corporation. On the contrary, Kyndryl benefits international clients and the corporation itself. Dos Pinos is known to be the biggest brand and the most important in the economy. They also provide jobs and benefit the people of Costa Rica with educating children and reusing their recyclables for desks in schools. The companies we went to today do not directly correlate with ecotourism, however if I had to stretch and find ways it does, their sustainability practices correlate to Costa Rica’s commitment to sustainable tourism. Dos Pinos actually received the Ecological Blue Flag, which recognized their commitment to sustainability. Although Kyndryl did not earn any fancy award, they have efforts where they try to add to the environment and ensure that their company is sustainable. Also, both companies hire Costa Ricans, which goes into the business model of ecotourism (though Dos Pinos seems to hire more locally).
After these trips, we then visited the Oxigeno Mall. We only stayed for about an hour in the mall, but it was a fun experience seeing the mall and how it tries to create a space for people to come together. People weren’t just shopping, they were hanging out and socializing. It was a nice contrast to the corporate settings we had spent the day in, and honestly felt like a more casual, local side of Costa Rica. Overall, today was an educational yet fun day. ¡Hasta luego mae!
