EARTH Alumni: The many paths to success
EARTH graduates work in a broad variety of fields and professions and alumni Francine Ramírez, Manfred Kopper and Óscar Hernández are no except exception. Though they have took separate professional paths, they all found success while staying committed to environmental sustainability and improving the lives of the people around them.
Francine Ramírez (’09, Costa Rica).
Angelika Berndt to ED&F Man
Francine Ramírez (’09, Costa Rica) entered the coffee industry after working on an organic farm. Now, she’s an engineer for the Volcafé coffee company and works with a region of 1,800 producers in Tarrazú, Zona de los Santos, Costa Rica.
“I have eight field inspectors to help me educate and train farmers in order to reach the yields, quality and sustainability standards necessary to earn the Rainforest Alliance certification. Once they achieve certification through our program, they can earn a premium price for their coffee in return for implementing good agricultural practices,” explains Ramírez.
For more information about Volcafé, click here.
Manfred Kopper (’07, Costa Rica) was featured on the March issue of EGO Magazine as one of their “Young Success” stories. During the interview, Manfred recalls his first entrepreneurial venture at EARTH (a pre-chopped onions business), his work with local women in nearby communities and how he dealt with the 2008 economic crisis as a new graduate. Kopper is currently the Environmental Coordinator of the Asociación Empresarial para el Desarrollo (Entrepreneurial Association for Development) in Costa Rica.
Manfred Kopper (’07, Costa Rica) for EGO magazine.
“What I do is look worldwide and find the right tools to apply them in my country”. Read the full interview (available only in Spanish) by clicking this link.
Costa Rica indie.com recently interviewed EARTH graduate Óscar Hernández (’96, Costa Rica) who went on to earn an MBA in Administration of Environmental Resources and took fashion design courses, which eventually lead him to design his own line of bags under his new brand, Toribio.
Torbio’s logo is made from Oscar’s fathers initials (THF) and is also the cattle brand his family has used for their livestock since 1950.
Óscar says, “Toribio products are designed and crafted by hand in Costa Rica, with traditional sladdery techniques and careful research into plant-based dyes, water based colorants and high-quality zippers. Our work is not over until we’re completely happy with it.”
Browse Toribio products on social media.
