The Tico farming life is definitely the lifestyle I want to live. Being surrounded with so much nature and biodiversity was really rejuvenating. The whole philosophy of Life Monteverde is so amazing, and you can tell the people apart of it are really passionate about the work they do. The workers are dedicated to the preservation of the earth and educating others on it.
Life Monteverde is within two economic industries, tourism and coffee farming. On a typical day, a farmer would make compost, tend to the animals, harvest the crops; as well as hold some information sessions and tours. A huge issue the company faces today is that not many young members of society are interesting in the coffee farming lifestyle within Monteverde because they could make so much more money in the modern business world. It is clear that the workers do it because it is truly what makes them happy, and after visiting I can completely understand their reasoning.
I love their unique aspect to tourism of making it extremely education focused. I feel like I truly learned a lot about the coffee industry and sustainable farming practices. For example, who knew throwing your fruit scraps on the ground can plants grow? A challenge Life Monteverde faces every day is making their practices more sustainable. However, they also have to produce enough crop to make a living so not all of their practices were environmentally friendly. The farmers are constantly looking for new ideas and ways to use less of synthetic materials and energy. The farm barely used any computers or phones within their business system, which I loved. It really allowed me to not be distracted and appreciate the resources the Earth gives us. All of their equipment and machinery is very energy conscious, my favorite being the man powered bicycle grinder for all of the animal’s food.
Life Monteverde was an amazing place to visit, filled with genuine people doing incredible work for our Earth. It made me excited about the idea of simple things to help the environment, like gardening and compost. It is safe to say I will most definitely be back to the farm. We all know I need to hug their baby goats again soon!