Hey there, Vayablog followers, this is June checking in from the eco-farm in Costa Rica. I’m staying here for a week to volunteer, but you can visit the farm as a guest as well! Yesterday I took a bus through the cloud forests from San José, Costa Rica to Siquirres, a very small city. The farm is about 30 minutes away into the mountains through really bumpy unpaved roads. There are a ton of animal sounds everywhere from all sorts of birds, to insects, to howler monkeys, to geckos (they chirp!).

It turns out that this is an upstart farm, which is really exciting! Right now, the family that lives there produces enough milk, eggs, and herbs for themselves and their guests to eat. They produce some vegetables but want to start harvesting at a production scale so they can be self-sustainable and provide produce for a Thai restaurant in Puerto Viejo. Everything is organic, and Rick, the guy who runs operations, wants to design the entire place using permaculture principles. His passion for the earth, love for animals, and belief in natural systems really shows through as he explains the way things work around the farm and in nature like a walking encyclopedia. Well, more like a walking version of Bill Mollison’s Permaculture – A Designer’s Manual.

Today I saw the chickens, horses, and goats. We fed the chickens and worked on the herb garden that they are planning to grow in the front yard. We also hiked to a waterfall that was on the property, where I went cliff jumping down a 25-foot high ledge! The waters were crystal clear, and the entire area is great because it’s completely unspoiled by pollution or tourism yet so beautiful and completely livable at the same time. Like a secret. Vivian, from the local family that lives on the farm, made us a delicious Costa Rican lunch and breakfast, and we cooked dinner together at night. Her family is so nice, and everyone is really Zen out here, it seems. The negativity and cynicism that plague people who live in cities just melt away as you acclimate to a slower pace and enjoy just being with nature.