Mural created by Turrialba artist represents the 50 years of CATIE 

• Large-sized painting is a depiction of a giant watershed, encompassing details about CATIE's work.

August 9, 2023. Gale Garnett, President of the Board of Directors of CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center), and Turrialba artist Carolina Araya, unveiled a commemorative mural on Tuesday, August 9, to celebrate the institution's 50 years. 

The inauguration was also attended by the Director General, Muhammad Ibrahim, and Carla Barnett, Secretary-General of CARICOM (Caribbean Community), who was visiting the campus. Additionally, participants from the Leather Reuse Program, an association between CATIE and Southwest Airlines, and their global sustainability initiative "Repurpose with Purpose" (RwR), as well as collaborators and the general public, were present. 

Artist Carolina Araya mentioned that the mural was created with great affection. "It was quite an effort as the weather played a crucial role, but I'm very happy that it turned out well." 

The mural is a representation of a giant watershed, containing details about CATIE's work. "The mural carries a piece of many people. Throughout this time, I met individuals who approached me and suggested beautiful things about the institution's impact, and I incorporated those suggestions," said Carolina.   

The mural aimed to reflect that CATIE is an international institution with influence from all member countries, depicted through the flags.  

Gale Garnett, President of CATIE's board of directors, mentioned that the artwork provides a strong connection within the framework of the institution's 50th anniversary. She commented that it was easy to observe the commitment to indigenous peoples, to Central America, and even to more distant countries like Jamaica. 

"For me, it's a representation of our commitment; that what we do stems from love for the institution. Everything that has happened and everything we've been doing for the past 50 years, like trying to bridge the gaps in our people's needs, has the main ingredient of love for the institution," expressed Garnett.   

The Director General, Muhammad Ibrahim, thanked the Turrialba artist for her work. "The mural also shows our responsibility to continue working to maintain inclusive green development, educating based on research, educating based on love, and educating to ensure that the future of our regions is united."  

Eliécer Vargas, Academic Coordinator of the Sustainable Tourism program and coordinator of the leather workshop, mentioned that when they were renovating the current workshop building, formerly known as the gymnasium, the management suggested creating the mural. For that reason, they decided to approach a local artist to visually capture CATIE's various fields of action over the past 50 years.  

"We wanted it to be a woman because the leather reuse program and the partner company Southwest Airlines have a strong interest in supporting women entrepreneurs, and her participation in the project made sense. We are very pleased with the quality of this artwork," noted Vargas.