What is A Rocha?
A Rocha Costa Rica
A Rocha Costa Rica is a Christian non-profit organization located in Santa Rosa de Santo Domingo, Heredia, Costa Rica. Its main purpose is to promote social justice, hospitality, and sustainability, serving as a space where people can gather, share, and build meaningful connections with their natural and social environment.
Some key aspects of their work:
Ecological Justice – We take part in the restoration of degraded habitats, reforestation of vulnerable areas, and conservation of local species, working in collaboration with communities and local authorities.
Support for Migrants and Refugees – Providing comprehensive assistance and safe spaces for their integration.
Creative Educational Opportunities – Especially with children, offering academic reinforcement, workshops, courses, and activities that foster human development, coexistence, and peace.
Community Organization – Strengthening the local social fabric, networking with other organizations and churches, both locally and internationally, to promote justice, solidarity, and care for creation.
A Rocha Costa Rica fosters spaces where people can gather, share, and live sustainably, reflecting the Christian commitment to creation and social justice.
A Christian conservation organization
A Rocha Costa Rica is part of a global family of A Rocha organizations spanning more than 20 countries, with a 40-year history of caring for creation.
Our name means “the rock” in Portuguese (our first initiative was a field study center in Portugal).
Our global vision is to see a world where nature flourishes as people live equitably and sustainably.
A Rocha stands out as a visible expression of God’s love for all creation. In fact, we are the only Christian organization within the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an alliance of more than 1,000 conservation organizations.
How does A Rocha work?
A Rocha’s projects are typically cross-cultural and share a community emphasis, with a focus on science and research, practical conservation, and environmental education, carried out through residential field study centers, place-based projects, and broader advocacy.
What is the vision?
A Rocha works for a world transformed by the love of Christ, where Christians from every nation:
– Recognize that following Christ requires us to care for all of His creation;
– Seek to live sustainably both in community and personally;
– Work with all people to protect and restore natural habitats and their wildlife.
Our mission is simple yet powerful: to be good neighbors.
Neighbors are both human and non-human. Neighbors share streets, and also a watershed.
So, being good neighbors requires caring for people and caring for place—our urban environment, the river that nourishes it, as well as the mountain springs.
Being good neighbors calls for attention to the young and the elderly, to long-time residents and to those just passing through.
Being good neighbors means conserving, cleaning, restoring, and recovering life and relationships broken by neglect, conflict, and indifference.
This is what A Rocha Costa Rica is all about.
The five core commitments of A Rocha
In every country where we work, A Rocha identifies with five distinctive commitments:
Christian – Underlying everything we do is our biblical faith in the living God, who made the world, loves it, and entrusts it to human society’s care.
Conservation – We carry out research for the conservation and restoration of the natural world and run environmental education programs for people of all ages.
Community – Through our commitment to God, to one another, and to creation as a whole, we seek to develop good relationships both within the A Rocha family and in our local communities.
Cross-cultural – We draw on the ideas and skills of people from diverse cultures, both locally and from around the world.
Collaboration – We work in partnership with a wide variety of organizations and individuals who share our concern for a sustainable world.
How is A Rocha different?
A Rocha has been working in nature conservation since 1983. One of our distinctives in the environmental world is our steadfastness in hope. We are not naïve. We do not refuse to face the facts or attempt to live in an alternative reality. But we choose to act today as if tomorrow were still to come. We live in a world loved by its Creator God, who is committed to its redemption, doing what obedience and worship require of us: caring for all that He has made.
Get our e-mail updates
We would love to keep you updated by email with new videos and inspiring stories from around the world, as well as opportunities to get involved and make a difference.