Although we live in the jungle, our village centre is only 5 km in a straight line from the Caribbean coast, and 11 km by road to the nearest beaches in Puerto Viejo. This provides a very nice balance for our lives. As for living in the jungle, it's an incredible ecosystem with which to interact on a daily basis. The calls of an amazing assortment of birds is a constant reminder of the nature that surrounds. Noise from the occasional motorcycle or vehicle is very minimal and distant. For many of us, feelings of gratitude for the environment we live in is a common occurrence.
Establishing a fruit forest was the first priority of the pioneers of our community, back in 2018. Although there were some older fruit trees on the land when we purchased the initial parcel, the vast majority of our hundreds of fruit trees were planted by us. Our ten different varieties of bananas only take a year or two to produce and we generally have an abundance. Our lemon trees, crossbred with oranges, are basically wild and produce prolifically. Bariba trees only need about two years to bear fruit; guayabana and jackfruit take about three. Our small variety of coconut palms, called pipas locally, take six years before they begin to produce — and they started doing so recently, which is a really good thing considering the amount some of us consume. We have numerous other types of trees, some producing and others still not old enough. The variety of fruit we harvest is still fairly minimal, yet we regularly harvest fruit that can't be found in any market — types most people don't know exist.
A variety of root vegetables grow well here; some such as yuca are ridiculously easy. The same can be said for the leafy vegetables we regularly add to our salads. Although the emphasis from the beginning was on fruit trees, we are experimenting more with vegetable types of plants. Generally speaking, the traditional vegetables of western culture don't grow well in the tropics, due to insects, an overabundance of rain, and at times too much sun. We're experimenting with a porous greenhouse and other strategies, and we are always interested in trying to grow new varieties. Foreigners and locals from this area regularly share or sell seeds, cuttings, and small potted fruits and vegetables.
Permaculture is a natural, relatively common-sense manner of growing food. Its core philosophy is to integrate human cultivation with the natural surroundings: plants, animals, and terrain. We never cut down indigenous trees unnecessarily, and in fact leave as many as possible when the young fruit trees are most vulnerable and need adequate shade. Much of our communal fruit forest is near the creek that runs through our valley and we've dug canals to drain the wettest areas. We still need to dig more as we continue to expand the growing area. Complementing communal efforts, community members also cultivate areas on their own individual lots — an exciting and creative endeavour for some of us, and likely where most of the food grown here in the future will come from.