“We do not feel that our gesture in coming here was a striking blow against war or that, in itself, will it have any great effect toward bringing universal peace among men. But every wave on the ocean has its beginning in a tiny ripple somewhere, and perhaps our action will be that ripple which starts others to thinking and acting so that eventually the wave of public opinion will attain the desired end.”
—Arthur Rockwell, Founding member of the Monteverde community
Monteverde was first settled by 11 Quaker families from Alabama who decided to leave the United States and settle in Costa Rica in the early 1950’s. They did so because of strong beliefs against the military system in the US and because Costa Rica had chosen to abolish its army. They later wrote:
“And so it was that with green forests, green pastures, and green crops growing the year round, we named our new found land Monteverde (Green Mountain).”
The Costa Rican farmers in the area lent their support and expertise to the Quaker settlers as they set up their canvas tents and went about homesteading.
The green pastures were ideal for grazing cattle; and as the Quakers had been dairy farmers in the United States, they began dairy farming and cheese production. Their original canvas tents gave way to timber houses, which were built communally in “house-raising bees” for the setting of the foundations and raising the heavy frames. Early cheese production at the newly established Monteverde Dairy was about 10 kg per day; today, Monteverde’s cheese factory produces over 1000 kg of cheese daily, which is in great demand throughout the country.
Because the Quakers needed a place in which to educate their children, they founded Monteverde Friends School soon after their arrival, and it has operated ever since. The first settlers wrote:
“We believe we should try to create an atmosphere for our children in which real values, as we see them, are given first place. As part of this, a school is maintained in which we try to help our children grow strong spiritually and mentally.”
Today, the school mostly serves non-Quaker Costa Rican children who live in the zone.
For more information, please visit the Monteverde Friends Meeting’s website or our page on Quaker Education.
For more information on peacework in Costa Rica, you can visit the websites of the San Jose Peace and Justice Center, the Friends Peace Center, and the University for Peace.
