From Clearing Brush to Creating Change — Rosa’s Story

For years, Rosa Jiménez struggled to find steady work in her remote town of Talamanca. With two young daughters and a small piece of inherited land, her opportunities were limited to subsistence farming and seasonal labor — unpredictable, underpaid, and physically exhausting.

But everything changed when Fundación Horizontes began a reforestation and education program in her region.

“I never imagined I could earn a living helping the forest,” Rosa says, standing beside rows of native seedlings. Now I have a stable job, I’ve learned about biodiversity, and my daughters are proud of what I do.”

Rosa was among the first hires in a local nursery program funded through carbon offset donations. She was trained in:

• – Sustainable planting techniques
• – Forest maintenance and CO₂ tracking
• – Community leadership and ecological monitoring

Within two years, Rosa was promoted to a coordinator role, managing a team of 12 and mentoring other women in her village.

Her work has contributed to:

• – Planting over 8,000 native trees
• – Rehabilitating 12 hectares of degraded forest
• – Reducing erosion around two key rivers
• – Building a safe corridor for local jaguars and toucans

“It’s not just a job,” she says. “It’s my way of fighting for my daughters’ future, and for this land that feeds us all.”

Today, Rosa’s team is part of a larger network of over 120 rural workers supported by Horizontes. Each of them plays a role in Costa Rica’s climate resilience — one tree, one trail, and one life at a time.