At Titi Conservation Alliance, we are thankful to live in one of the only places on Earth where one can watch the playful titi (squirrel) monkeys bounding through the trees.  What a treat!

We are also endlessly thankful that this community, in which the titis call home, is also home to many caring citizens and businesses.  We give our thanks to our fantastic Member businesses that support us each and every month.

With their support, Titi Conservation Alliance is able to pay for 100% of our administrative costs.  This means that all other outside donations are directly funding our project areas in environmental education, habitat reforestation, and sustainable development.  This is something that is immensely important to us, as it assures that we are continually staying true to our Mission and purpose – to save the endangered titi monkey by promoting sustainable development and conserving the biodiversity of Costa Rica’s Central Pacific Region.

And this brings us back to our original reason for “Thanks” this holiday season – the adorable titi monkeys.

As the smallest and most playful primate in Costa Rica; it would be hard not to love these amazing creatures.  And with that love comes much respect; for they are limited in their habitat range, and yet have managed to maintain a small number of survivors (roughly 2,500 of all subspecies), despite threats from severe habitat loss and fragmentation.

It is our mission not only to help them maintain their small numbers, but to help them increase those numbers and remove them from the dangerous list of endangered species.  How lucky we are that we are in a position to help!

If you would like to be involved in these efforts, please contact us at any time.  There are so many things for which we give thanks this holiday season, and to be living in such a bio-diverse and beautiful environment is certainly on the top of the list.  Let’s continue to work together to keep it that way! Please contact us at any time (info@monotiti.org; www.monotiti.org; 2777-2306). We are here for the titis; and for the community.

Thank you!

A Special Note:  As 2009 comes to a close, Titi Conservation Alliance will transition into new Management.  I, Ingrid Kuegeman, current Director of the Alliance, have made the very difficult decision to pursue personal professional goals that require me to move back to the United States.  It has been an immense pleasure working with Titi Conservation Alliance, and I plan to continue my support of all the important work for conservation in this area long after my move back to the States.  I now welcome with warm regards, Marina Ocampo, new Director for Titi Conservation Alliance.  Marina comes to us with over 30 years of environmental sustainability experience, as well as the attitude, passion, and energy for continuing the Mission of Titi Conservation Alliance.  Please visit our website, www.monotiti.org, for a full account of Marina’s depth of experience.  Welcome to the community, Marina!

So what exactly does that mean we do on a daily basis?

I’m glad you asked.

In short, it means that our daily work is dynamic and varied, to say the least.  To give you a small taste of it all, here are some of the highlights of our work over the last month:

On Saturday, September 12, we held our 2^nd Annual Membership Reforestation Day.  With this activity, many Members and their employees, family, and friends, joined us for a fun day of planting trees along the Rio Naranjo Biological Corridor.  Hundreds of trees were planted, and our Members received a hands-on look at the important corridor they help make a reality.

With our Environmental Education Program, we have been teaching weekly environmental lessons with 4^th and 5^th grade students at Paquita School and Repulica de Corea.  Throughout the year, we reach students at eight local schools with these weekly lessons, rotating schools each trimester.   We are also working this month with North Central College from Illinois, providing visiting university students with presentations on Costa Rican ecology, conservation, and eco-tourism; as well as providing hands-on opportunities for the students to work in our Biological Corridor.

In other program focuses, we worked with Member business, Arenas Del Mar, to provide over 1 million colones worth of greatly needed donated materials to Paquita School.  We continue to work with the Chamber of Commerce towards improvements for Manuel Antonio National Park; we continue to welcome new Member businesses to our Titi Team; and to promote and implement the hotel donation program Common Cents with local businesses.

And believe it or not, I’m only beginning to scratch the surface of our project areas.  But I fear boredom will ensue if I continue on this way; and so, instead, I shall end with this thought – Through our work, we are dedicated to the betterment of our community through conservation and education efforts; both for the endangered titi monkeys and for our fellow community members and businesses.

But we cannot do this alone.  We value our Members greatly, and always welcome new participants to our work.

We are here for your comments, suggestions, ideas, feedback, and/or questions.  Please contact us at any time (info@monotiti.org; www.monotiti.org; 2777-2306). We are here for the titis; and for the community. Many thanks, Ingrid Kuegeman.

Mirrored after the wonderful “We Share” program started by Hotel Parador, Titi Conservation Alliance has developed a new donation program called Common Cents that brings a fantastic opportunity to all local hotels to give something back to the community.

What is it?

Common Cents provides an opportunity to contribute more support for local organizations like Titi Conservation Alliance, while also educating and informing customers of responsible business practices.

It is a program set up so that hotels act as the conduit for the donation, without costing them a penny.

How does it work?

• Hotels automatically add $1 (or any amount of their choice) for each nights’ stay to customers’ final bill, explaining that the addition is being donated to a local community organization(s).
• By placing information cards in each guest room, (which Titi Conservation Alliance gladly provides at a small cost), hotels quickly and easily explain what the organization does, and why their business supports the cause.
• If a customer does not want to have the addition added to their bill, it is easily removed at their request.

How hotel owners can implement this program

There are three basic elements to implementation:

1. Marketing within your hotel
2. Training your employees
3. Back-office programming

Titi Conservation Alliance will provide hotel owners with everything needed to carry out each of these steps. This is a program that can be easily started, communicated to customers, and is hugely beneficial to hotels, as well as the community as a whole.

Spread the word and help support local organizations…Contact Titi Conservation Alliance TODAY to discuss implementing the Common Cents program in your hotel.

Phone 2777-2306  or email at info@monotiti.org