Association ANAI is a small non-profit organisation that was formed in 1978 to pursue what has since become known as sustainable development in Costa Rica's Talamanca region. The staff include agronomists, foresters, biologists, economists and educators. With the exception of the three founders, the staff and the Board of Directors are all Costa Ricans. Before the phrase "sustainable development" came into fashion, ANAI was successfully pioneering strategies to help the people in Talamanca become more economically self-reliant, while preserving the area's extraordinary rain forests and other natural wonders.