Field trip to the self-sufficient village Longo Mai
With Kulturstudier in San Isidro, we have two subjects: Spanish and sustainability. A very important, and if you ask me, essential, part of the sustainability programme, are the field trips we get to have.
Not only do we travel to new places; we also get to experience and see with our own eyes the different themes we learn about in school. This is great for getting a better understanding of how the environment around us really works, how different people are working towards a more sustainable world, and what we can do to improve our own ways of living. This week we went to Longo Mai, a small self-sufficient village, where we visited several farmers with exiting projects.
One of the projects that really amazed me was Wade's diverse farm. Wade and his family have everything you can think of; herbs, fruits, vegetables, animals and even fish! They produce and build everything themselves, the house, the fish dam and a turbine for electricity. They even built their own fridge! We all learned a lot from Wade and his many projects, but most importantly we learned about critical thinking and asking ourselves “Do I really need this?”.
In Longo Mai we also visited two herb farms where they produce medicines, soap, mosquito repellent, tea and so much more. It was very interesting learning about the different herbs and to see the process from leaves to oils and essences.
The third day we visited an organic coffee farm, where we got to harvest coffee beans, rinse them and prepare them for drying. When they have dried, they will be roasted, and we can bring our very own hand-picked coffee home for Christmas!
We spent 1 hour harvesting coffee, and managed to fill one basket in total. In reality, one field worker is able fill 1 basket every 20 minutes!
And as the grand finale, we visited a chocolate plantation, in which we got to harvest chocolate fruits, peel them, roast them, and turn them into homemade chocolate. And believe me when I tell you it is the best chocolate I’ve ever had!
Not only did we visit farms during our stay; we also lived in different local homes where we got to be a part of a local family for a week, practice Spanish and try new dishes from the Costa Rican cuisine.
Before going to Longo Mai, I was excited to see all the different projects, and really experience a farmer’s life on sustainable small-scale farm; and the visit did not disappoint! The visit to the village has given a whole new perspective to the sustainability course. It has been one the highlights in my stay so far. Thank you for having me, beautiful Longo Mai.
