San Francisco de Peñas Blancas

The San Francisco de Peñas Blancas school in San Ramón has been implementing the sustainable Finca Tierra Pometida program for eighteen years, training children aged kindergarten to sixth grade how to live in harmony with the natural world.

It’s part of a pioneering approach known as Education for Sustainable Development, and Costa Rica is at the cutting edge of the field. In ESD schools, all children are taught about the threat of climate change, the importance of biodiversity, and how to use natural resources sustainably.

At San Francisco de Peñas Blancas, Grand Circle Foundation donated a 5,000 square meter plot of land which was cleared to create space for a garden and a stable, transforming the land around the school into an organic farm.

Eulin Patricia Chacón Gamboa, Director

Eulin is Director of the San Francisco de Peñas Blancas School and of Finca Integral Orgánica Tierra Prometida. She is a professor at the National University of Costa Rica and the University of San José. Eulin has won several educational awards and was twice recognized as a distinguished educator.