Today we visited Life Monteverde, where we learned about the life of a Tico farmer. We got a glimpse into their daily life and practices, and got to learn the reasoning behind their methods. (We also got to climb a really cool tree with some fantastic photo ops- make sure to visit so they don’t ever cut this gem down 🙏). We learned that everything they do when it comes to plants is intentional, from type to number to location.
Their life is not an easy one. They spend hours on the farm working every day in heat that had me fighting for my life after walking in it for less than two hours. However, they really enjoy what they do, and seeing the plants grow and flourish brings them great joy.
We also discussed a lot of ways to incorporate engineering into farming. One big one that we talked about was water, as it could be unreliable to count on rain to provide a consistent level of water. To counter this issue, they implemented a system that consistently waters the plants at the desired level. We also brainstormed ways to be able to reliably irrigate crops farther out that are not easily located near a water source.
In the future, I hope to get involved with sustainability initiatives and promote those practices to other people. Therefore, if I were the child of a Tico farmer I would likely do the same. I would remain ingrained in the farm life through sustainability rather than laboring, because that labor-intensive lifestyle is not for me.