Aprodisa Recycling and Special Education Center

by Audrey Neidlinger and Terry Mills

The Aprodisa Recycling Center in Atenas, Costa Rica has been operating
for 19 years.  As if providing extensive recycling facilities to the
outlying community was not enough, they also have been providing
valuable assistance to people with disabilities. Their program favors
the employment of  people with disabilities and provides them with
fulfilling work for a monthly compensation.

Their Mission Statement is :
To take the national policies regarding special education together
with family, community and business inclusion, to ensure that all
actions developed are properly planned for the achievement of the
objectives which promote the maximum life skills development and
interests of people with disabilities in the Canton of Atenas.

The Center employs about 60 people and provides each employee with two
meals and a snack daily in addition to practical skills training. They
are involved in the Center’s  recycling project which rescues raw
materials for companies such as Kimberly Clark (paper), the National
Brewery (aluminum and plastic) and Vicesa (glass) as well as the
plastic recycling project of making and selling clothes pins, a
valuable necessity in Costa Rica.

Another project in which the participants engage is their vegetable
nursery project. They are involved in growing and selling local
vegetable and herb plants that are in high demand in the area such as:
sweet peppers, tomatoes, celery and cilantro. They have just begun
this project and are happy with their results. They are looking to
expand this venture.

Aprodisa teaches life skills such as cooking and home economics as
well as industrial arts. In the classroom/kitchen, cooking classes are
given.  They also have an area for making piñatas and repairing
miscellaneous items for resale.  These items include everything from
household and office electronics to broken vases. The project is
valuable to the participants and the community alike because it helps
the participants to become more self sufficient and at the same time
provides several needed services for the community.

Unfortunately we may be loosing this valuable asset to all of Costa
Rica.  This Center is being forced to relocate in 3 months due to new
zoning laws and they need financial assistance to do so. They are
accepting donations for this move. Their Bank account is with Banco
Nacional and the account number is 100-1-0210002867-9.  They also need
volunteers to help out with various projects, they can be reached at
2446-8088 or aprodisacr@gmail.com Adrian Herrera is the administrator
and Rosa Maria Jimenez is the assistant administrator.

This Center does so many good things for so many people in Costa Rica.
Let’s help them to stay in business and continue in their efforts.