As Costa Ricans we have long had the great pleasure of hosting people from around the world that visit us for work, for travel or just to catch up as friends. We are brought up as a hospitable people, trying to make anyone and everyone feel welcome in our country and our home. Every single “tico” is a spokesperson for our nation.
This interaction allows us to truly understand how other people perceive our country and we’ve found that what they truly love is the natural, truthful experiences they have while they are here.
They don’t really talk about their awesome hotel rooms or the malls they visited, but they will talk your ear off about the people they met, the places they saw and about how their world view was changed by being here for a couple of days.
We realized part of those amazing experiences were provided by local artisans and business owners, our guests even remembered their names!
It is absolutely no wonder that souvenir shopping is huge industry, people want to take back a memory of their amazing time here. They want to take back a bag of delicious coffee or a picture book or t-shirts that say “Pura Vida!” and have a little piece of Costa Rica with them back home. They are probably getting these gifts and personal keepsakes at the airport on their way back or on a touristy stop on their way to or from a tour and they are missing out from finding incredible products made locally by passionate Costa Ricans that want to truly represent their country and culture through the artisanal products they make.
Local Keeps was born out of a passion to show off what makes us truly Costa Rican: our people!
Local Keeps curates the best artisanal products that represent what makes Costa Rica great.
We look for locally made, sustainably sourced goods that have our values embedded in them. Our products are made in an environmentally conscious manner and hope to teach people other values such traditions, emotional awareness, our cultural roots and preserving our rich traditions and resources. They are, if we might say so, keepsakes that truly mirror the experience of being in Costa Rica.
That is why we call our products “Keeps” and our artisans “Makers”, because these people make beautiful products that protect or “keep” their experiences and our nation’s values and express what our small nation wants the world to know about us.
Through Local Keeps you can get the full Costa Rican experience wherever you are!
You can snack Costa Rican flavors, drink that delicious coffee and tea you had on your trip, use locally sourced, sustainably made beauty, health and skin care products, get your hands on beautiful clothes and accessories, kitchen and cooking supplies, books, stuff for your kids and much, much more.
Our mission at Local Keeps is that you take a little of its country with you and leave a whole lot of support to help its artisans and small companies, it’s dreamers, keep growing. While Local Keeps was founded in Costa Rica and its first market is dedicated to Costa Rican products, we intend to bring this philosophy to other countries around the world so that travelers can support Makers of every country and have more truthful experiences around the world.