Today we had a unique coffee visit to the Life Monteverde farm. We learned the reason why they continue to farm the land while most of the other farmers have decided to build hotels or other attractions on their land to support the touristy economy. We learned yesterday of the importance of balancing economic and environmental factors. Many of the farms in the area have become too focused on the economic gain from tourism and leave behind the environmental gain of growing food and educating people about their sustainable practices.  After realizing the importance of this the farm is now focusing on education rather than profit. 

The farm has about 1,500 to 2,000 students come each year to visit and learn about their practices. This is on top of the 17,000 tourists that visit each year and the companies that buy their products. This is what brings the farmers at Life Monteverde joy. The ability to educate all of these people and hope that they carry that knowledge into their daily lives. The tour guide specifically mentioned that sustainability goes beyond the property lines of their farm and he hopes that everyone learns from them and becomes more sustainable. 

One of the most interesting sustainable practices I learned from them is their homemade fertilizer and pesticide. Their fertilizer comes from a mix of charcoal, bacteria, animal and organic waste. This is all mixed into the soil in the fields to produce the right amount of vitamins and minerals required. Surprisingly this still isn’t enough and they do have to buy some synthetic fertilizer to help with the process. Their homemade pesticides are more complicated and includes a month of fermentation of a mixture of natural ingredients which include probiotics and bacteria. They continue to add other ingredients like molasses and water until they get a spray which they use on the coffee plants. I’m happy to see farmers putting a lot of effort into environmentally friendly technology/practices even if they cost more. 

If I were the son of one of these farmers I would want to study a subject related to sustainable agriculture. I think it is important  for the younger generation to see the need for this type of agriculture and the positive impact. I would either spend my career educating people about it or actually working on the farm. I already had a chance to plant a row of corn, so that is a good start!