As a brand that shares core values with the Maleku tribe, we created a platform to share their culture and bring it closer to the Costa Ricans’ homes through a platform that works as a beauty asset, ancestral knowledge spreader and cultural invitation for the people at the same time. The campaign not only did that, but also impregnated into Costa Ricans’ interests by educating about their culture through the most important TV and radio shows and interviews in different kinds of media, resulting in the embracement of an ancestral culture into Costa Rican pop culture.

Costa Rica is a small country, around 5 million people, but there are smallest groups within our borders, such as the indigenous tribes. The smallest of them all has been endangered for 10 years, the Maleku tribe (around 600 people). And nor the government or the people take action into preserving them, despite being threatened by farmers and miners.

These are hard times for the Malekus, parts of their culture are being prohibited by government entities, making it almost impossible to transmit the old traditions to the Maleku children and many of them are going to be lost in time. Because of this they have been obligated to change parts of their culture like gastronomy, because a lot of animals they use to consume are now preserved by the Government, making them improvise and adapt to the land where they have been for more that 4000 years.

Costa Rica is a country known for being natural, like the Malekus; respecting nature, like the Malekus; conscious on their use of resources, like the Malekus... And yet, having so much in common, they are still strangers to us despite having thousands of years living in Costa Rica. Even the Maleku say the people that visit them the most are from other countries... Costa Ricans, not so much. And in approximately 15 years maybe no one could be able to visit them because that is their countdown to extinction… Unless we take action.

The Maleku tribe has been endangered for more than 10 years in Costa Rica, they are the smallest indigenous tribe in the country and their culture is destined to disappear in about 15 years because Costa Ricans have no contact with them in their daily life.

Hiqui, a Maleku influencer, battles to keep their culture alive through her content in social media, showing their ancestral way of life. But more than being part of social media, she wants the Malekus to be part of Costa Ricans’ social culture.

As a brand that shares core values with the Maleku tribe, The Rainforest Lab and Hiqui created five make up products based on the Maleku’s ancestral techniques. Using Hiqui as the face of the campaign, validating the idea and making sure it didn’t feel as cultural appropriation, but instead as a platform for the Malekus to spread their culture.

How does a beauty brand make a whole country stop ignoring a disappearing culture? By inviting them to be a part of it. Turning ancient culture into Costa Rican pop culture. How? By creating a platform that works directly as a beauty asset, ancestral knowledge spreader and cultural invitation for the people at the same time.

We created five products with Hiqui in the same way which the Malekus traditions dictate, using annatto, turmeric, and cocoa. Including an invitation to visit, making it very clear that what the Malekus want is for everyone to get to know them and their ancestral way of living. And we made it, the Maleku culture was impregnated into Costa Rican culture in art, music, tattoos, literature and so much more that even the Costa Rican Government recognized them as Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The problem wasn’t simple, Costa Ricans didn't know much about the Maleku culture. The Solution? Even harder, because we had to bring closer to them a culture that was practically invisible in front of their eyes. And how did we make it attractive? By inviting Costa Ricans to be a part of it. We live in a world where FOMO (fear of missing out) is real, so we wanted to make sure not a single Costa Rican wanted to be left out the Maleku culture.

Not only bringing the Maleku culture to people’s homes, but also to people’s interests. Through entertainment, art, culture, food, clothing, and sneakers. By educating about the Maleku culture through the most important TV and radio shows and interview in different kinds of media, resulting in the embracement of an ancestral culture into Costa Rican pop culture.

The kick-off revolved around social media, telling Costa Ricans about the idea, informing them how we crafted five products respecting the Maleku ancestry, ingredients, and natural processes to create this make up line with Hiqui. Inviting them to have contact with their culture and get to know it first-hand buying our products or visiting them on their tribe.

Following that we went on a media tour on the main Costa Rican TV and radio shows with Hiqui, following the same storytelling centered in how the Maleku’s and our brand’s core values aligned perfectly in this ancestral make up line. Telling the natural way of life of the Malekus.

And Costa Ricans embraced it! Restaurants began making Maleku dishes, people began tattooing Maleku art, painting Maleku nails, making Maleku toys. Maleku legends began being read at kinder garden to kids, football celebration in match days.

• The Costa Rican Government declared the Malekus as Intangible Cultural Heritage

• 100% of profits to the Maleku Tafa Urijif Ranch

• The Rainforest Lab Production increased X3 in 2 months

• 1M impressions, representing 20% of Costa Ricans reached

• $25k collected for the Maleku community and counting

• WhatsApp direct contacts increased X5 asking for the products

• Social media followers grew by 42%

• Visits to the Malekus +380%

• Searches for Malekus on Google +800%

• Maleku art replicated in tattoos, nail designs, toys, sneakers, murals, t-shirts

• Maleku food replicated in Sikwa Restaurant, #47 Best Latin American Restaurant by The World's 50 Best

• Maleku traditions replicated in goals celebrations in football matches, music, books, and audiobooks