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Indigenous Foods
Food grown, prepared, and shared the way our people have always done it.
Food in Bribri and Cabécar culture is inseparable from the land it comes from and the worldview that shapes how it is grown, prepared, and shared. These experiences take you into that relationship directly — visiting a traditional family farm, preparing and sharing a meal made from ingredients harvested the same morning, and tasting Blo, a ceremonial fermented drink that has been part of community life for generations.
Traditional Indigenous Cooking Experience
Details
Location: Se Siwá Eco Lodge
Duration: Approx. 4 hrs
Group Size: 1-10
Cost: Vegetarian 80,000 Colones or Meat 100,000 Colones (for 1-4 people) + 10,000 Colones for each additional person
Before this experience begins, a member of our family walks into the mountain to harvest many of the foods we will prepare together — a tradition that connects each meal to the land it comes from. Together we will learn about traditional cooking methods, as well as how to make plates from leaves, all while explaining the Bribri & Cabécar cosmovision and the links between food and nature. Once we are finished we will share the meal together. Option for the meal to be vegetarian or with meat (pork). The meal will include local products such as roots, leaves from the jungle, palm hearts, local rice, beans, local pork or chicken.
Indigenous Chicha Tasting
Details
Location: Se Siwá Eco Lodge
Duration: Approx. 2 hrs
Language: Delivered in Spanish, translated into English (if needed)
Group Size: 1-10
Cost: 63,000 Colones (1 person) + 10,000 Colones per additional person
The Bribri & Cabécar people have many traditional drinks. One of our most sacred drinks is the Blo (chicha), which is a probiotic drink similar to kombucha. It is a drink made from corn and the mushroom that grows on the corn. There are several types of chicha with varying uses. The drink is fermented and is intended for ceremonial use alongside other medicines like cacao. In this workshop you will learn about the basic preparation of the chicha, taste it, and learn the basics of the philosophical roots of its use culturally.
Traditional Farm Visit
Details
Location: Family farm near Shiroles
Duration: Approx. 2.5 hrs (departing from & returning to the Lodge)
Language: Delivered in Spanish, translated into English (if needed)
Group Size: 1-10
Cost: 70,000 Colones (1-6 people) + transportation (if needed). 10,000 per additional person.
In this experience you will have the opportunity to visit a traditional Bribri/Cabécar family farm where traditional products are grown. You will meet a master producer, learn about indigenous systems of farm management, learn about the different spaces of production, and the link between land, food and respect for nature. Typical foods we will see include: corn, beans, vegetables, various traditional roots, bananas and tropical tropical fruits.
*Prices are listed in Colones, Costa Rican national currency. For payment we accept cash in Colones or US Dollars, SINPE, Wise or Paypal.
*Reservations must be made at least 24 hours in advance.