Photos
Food Forest
We are working intensively to cultivate a food forest teeming with fruit trees, shrubs, vines, root crops, vegetables, and more. This method allows us to grow a rich diversity of food in a relatively small space. Thanks to our unique microclimate, we are able to grow mangoes, cinnamon, cassava, yucca flowers (izotes), coffee, watermelons, pineapples, chayotes, and lemons, among many other crops—all interwoven into the symbiosis of the food forest.
In addition to our intensive food forest, we are establishing an extensive syntropic agroforestry system. This means we are reforesting a larger area with trees that provide vital resources and ecological services, such as food, timber, oils, firewood, shade, and oxygen. In this region, we can grow avocados, custard apples (anonas), citrus, breadfruit, cacao, and sapotes, alongside many others. We are also nurturing native trees, timber trees, highly flowering trees for pollinators, forage trees for our animals, and endangered species. As part of this agroforestry system, we are incorporating a silvopasture zone designed as a savanna with pastureland for our animals.
In addition to our intensive food forest, we are establishing an extensive syntropic agroforestry system. This means we are reforesting a larger area with trees that provide vital resources and ecological services, such as food, timber, oils, firewood, shade, and oxygen. In this region, we can grow avocados, custard apples (anonas), citrus, breadfruit, cacao, and sapotes, alongside many others. We are also nurturing native trees, timber trees, highly flowering trees for pollinators, forage trees for our animals, and endangered species. As part of this agroforestry system, we are incorporating a silvopasture zone designed as a savanna with pastureland for our animals.
Garden
We manage a bio-intensive garden where we harvest fresh fruits and vegetables. Each garden bed features diverse crops, planted with care in symbiotic companion pairings. We craft all the organic inputs used to build our soil, specifically biologically complete compost, biochar, and bocashi. We also brew our own foliar sprays and organic repellents to keep our plants thriving and healthy.
While this garden primarily feeds our family, it also serves as a demonstration model to teach others how to create, manage, and care for their own annual vegetable gardens.
Integrated into the garden, we also cultivate a wide array of flowers, culinary herbs, and medicinal plants. This polyculture design creates a beautiful tapestry of colors, flavors, and scents. We intentionally grow and nurture a vibrant mix of native flowers and pollinator plants to attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Pollination is a beautiful, vital process for plant reproduction and agriculture. Because of this, we plan to introduce both honeybee and native bee hives in the near future.
While this garden primarily feeds our family, it also serves as a demonstration model to teach others how to create, manage, and care for their own annual vegetable gardens.
Integrated into the garden, we also cultivate a wide array of flowers, culinary herbs, and medicinal plants. This polyculture design creates a beautiful tapestry of colors, flavors, and scents. We intentionally grow and nurture a vibrant mix of native flowers and pollinator plants to attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Pollination is a beautiful, vital process for plant reproduction and agriculture. Because of this, we plan to introduce both honeybee and native bee hives in the near future.
Animals
We have a few goats, chickens, turkeys, ducks, and one beautiful cat. Our animals provide us with gifts of milk, eggs, and meat. They also help manage the lush vegetation, turning it into rich compost for the soil. In the near future, we hope to raise bees and possibly introduce rabbits as well. We care for all our animals with love and respect, giving them the freedom to fulfill their role in the ecosystem and eat healthy plants in a natural environment.
Fungi
We are currently in the experimental phase of cultivating edible and medicinal mushrooms, specifically oyster (Pleurotus ostreatus) and reishi (Ganoderma lucidum). The grow bags we created were successful and produced a delicious harvest. Now, we are working to scale up this cultivation to grow mushrooms both for our own meals and to sell at the market. We are also tending to a rich diversity of fungi growing naturally across the land, primarily on fallen logs and organic matter in the soil.
Seed Collection
Little by little, we have been collecting and drying all kinds of seeds, focusing primarily on vegetables. Seeds are one of the most vital keys to agriculture. You can have a vast garden with plenty of compost, water, and every tool needed to cultivate, but without seeds, you cannot get very far. Seeds grant us the freedom and autonomy to grow what we love to eat, fostering a higher level of food sovereignty. Furthermore, they are a powerful way to preserve plant genetic diversity and propagate species that are facing extinction.
We are deeply committed to the preservation and propagation of heirloom and native seeds. At the community level, we actively participate in and host spaces to encourage seed exchanges. This is an ancestral practice; seeds are a sacred bond connecting us to our ancestors and farmers, passed down faithfully from generation to generation.
Let's protect the seeds!
We are deeply committed to the preservation and propagation of heirloom and native seeds. At the community level, we actively participate in and host spaces to encourage seed exchanges. This is an ancestral practice; seeds are a sacred bond connecting us to our ancestors and farmers, passed down faithfully from generation to generation.
Let's protect the seeds!
Nutritious Food
By growing a diverse range of organic food, we nourish ourselves with healthy produce that supports good digestion and human health. Fresh food grown completely chemical-free holds powerful medicinal properties. For example, our ginger and turmeric are two of the most potent anti-inflammatory plants in existence. Spinach, basil, and chaya leaves are packed with the essential vitamins and nutrients our bodies crave. Even our honey can be used naturally to soothe and heal wounds and burns.
Guided by this philosophy, we also champion sustainable gastronomy. This means carefully considering the origin of the ingredients used in cooking, understanding how they were grown, and knowing the journey they took to reach our plates.
Healthy food does not just offer exquisite flavors—it actively builds the health of the people who enjoy it. Simply put, the purpose of agriculture is not merely to produce food, but to cultivate the health and well-being of our entire community.
Guided by this philosophy, we also champion sustainable gastronomy. This means carefully considering the origin of the ingredients used in cooking, understanding how they were grown, and knowing the journey they took to reach our plates.
Healthy food does not just offer exquisite flavors—it actively builds the health of the people who enjoy it. Simply put, the purpose of agriculture is not merely to produce food, but to cultivate the health and well-being of our entire community.
Bioconstruction
Bioconstruction is a building system that uses natural, local materials with low environmental impact to create healthy homes in complete harmony with their surroundings. It aims to minimize energy consumption and avoid toxic industrial elements.
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_building)
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_building)
Agroecology
“Agroecology is a scientific discipline, a set of practices and a social movement. As a science, it studies how different components of the agroecosystem interact. As a set of practices, it seeks sustainable farming systems that optimize and stabilize yields. As a social movement, it pursues multifunctional roles for agriculture, promotes social justice, nurtures identity and culture, and strengthens the economic viability of rural areas. Family farmers are the people who hold the tools for practising Agroecology. They are the real keepers of the knowledge and wisdom needed for this agenda. Therefore, family farmers around the world are the keys elements for producing food in an agroecological way."
-Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
