La Gamba is a village in the Guaycará District of Golfito canton, which is part of Puntarenas Province of Costa Rica.
This village was developed in conjunction with different projects that were started and ended during the last 50 years in La Gamba; including the arrival of the United Fruit Company in the 1950s, the implementation of the Austrian Esquinas Rainforest Lodge.
Developmental projects were also started in collaboration with organizations from La Gamba, the Costa Rican government and the Austrians.
There is a microcredit organization located in the city, which help support two groups of women that produce handcrafted natural shampoos and local artisans.
Given a decline in the wood and banana industries in the region since the 1970s, most of the workers that chose to stay in the village converted themselves into farmers.
In the last few years, the cultivation of palm previously taken from Africa has expanded exponentially, providing an important source of revenue for some families and employment for others.
Others find employment in the construction of small bridges along the villages main road, and in neighboring cities such as Rio Claro.
In downtown La Gamba, there is a soda (small restaurant), a convenience store and the only public phone in the village.
All the participants are volunteers and change every few years, except for Jose Angel Montiel Franco, who works permanently organizing multiple activities and administrating the budget.
Between 2004 and 2009, Plan Nagua, a Canadian organism, and ASOPROBI have collaborated in order to send groups of interns that have contributed to the development of the community through different projects.