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On the Farm at Finca Luna Nueva

The Sacred Seed Sanctuary project brings together the wisdom of the ethnobotanists along with the shamans and abuelas to preserve this sacred knowledge for humanity. Steven Farrell, who runs the operations at Finca Luna Nueva, told me that it can take up to six years to establish a plant in the Sacred Seed garden. For many neo-tropical medicinals, there are no written records. To establish a plant from the jungle to the Sanctuary often involved studying it to determine its botany and how it ...

Biodiversity on a Fair Trade Coffee Farm in Costa Rica

On a recent visit to Monteverde, Costa Rica, I met Victor, a small coffee farmer and member of the  Coopesanta Elena. Made up of 75 small coffee producers, the cooperative members are committed to growing their crops in harmony with nature. Victor's farm is in fact teeming with biodiversity. From sloths hanging out in trees to a baby hummingbird nest in the middle of  a row of arabica coffee plants, the farm feels alive and in-sync with the larger ecosystem around it. Stingless honeybees c...

Worms – Nature’s Greatest Recyclers

Testing Out Our New Worm Factory The latest addition to our garden is this composting worm bin system by The Worm Factory. We purchased ours locally at Donna's Garden Gate and she even included the worms, free. The Worm Factory Worm Composter unit comes with a helpful guide that tells you how to set it up, some interesting facts on vermicomposting, the anatomy of worms and a troubleshooting section. It also includes all the bedding that you need to get started. This makes it an ideal unit fo...

Living Beyond Earth’s Budget & Happiness

Thanksgiving is a recognizable holiday to most Americans but can anyone remember the event that fell on September 25th of this year? September 25th was Earth Overshoot Day and marked the day when humanity begins living beyond its ecological means. According to the Global Footprint Network, collectively at the present time, humanity is using 1.4 planets worth of resources. Many people in western countries like the US  are using four to five planets worth of resources. Since we only have one...