The beginning
Would you like a cleaner town? That is the question we asked ourselves when we formed CATUCOCO (Camara de Turismo y Comercio de Playas del Coco). We started in mid-2002 with as many as 30 people who wanted to earn La Bandera Azul Ecológica (The Blue Flag Program), a prize given to clean beaches that leads to a healthier, safer environment as well as more positive recognition for commercial purposes. In our first year we won an Honorable Mention.
Our main focus has been on the trash and how to manage its collection and disposal. We permanently employ a worker who cleans in the center and in other problem areas as we become aware of them and a pickup that hauls the trash to the landfill.Over the years we have decided to redirect our focus away from the Blue Flag Program that was unable to give us the support that we needed in order to accomplish its goals. However we have maintained our interest in the cleanliness of the beach and waters of Coco and are looking for solutions in the local community and government. Perhaps in the future we will be able to reintegrate into the Blue Flag Program.
We collect monthly donations from a small but dedicated group. This helps pay for the worker and trash collection, however we generally operate in the red in regard to monthly collections.Our map of Coco received great support in its first year such that our second map is larger with more spaces available for advertising. The funds from the map in addition to paying for its invention, publication and distribution, pay for long-term projects of CATUCOCO.
- Environmental education--CATUCOCO produced as coloring book using its logo, Coquito, as an educational device. The book has been offered to the Ministry of Education and to the Blue Flag Program without results, however it was enthusiastically received in some educational institutions in Coco and Liberia.
- Beautification project--CATUCOCO is not the first to notice that the center of Coco needed some attention but we have accomplished recognition and have been allocated funds to begin the improvement of the area known locally as La Cuchilla which is the triangular area containing the Post Office, Police Station, and Port Captain’s office in front of the plaza on the main street of Coco.