Our visit to Jauri Tropical Farm was so phenomenal that it seems nearly impossible to put into words. I gained so much from my experience there.
When I saw the farm on our trip itinerary, I was excited because the land where I live in Bethune, SC was actually once a small farm. My great grandfather ran the farm many years before I was born and provided food for our family and the local community. Today there are still remnants of the farm on the property. There were lots of stories that I heard, but getting to experience a farm in living color like we did during this visit, bought all of the stories to life and even created new mind blowing knowledge for me. We learned that pineapples take 14-16 months to be ready to harvest and they are not considered fruits but flowers. Fun fact: The spikes we see on pineapples were once purple flowers.
We had the opportunity to try so many new and exciting foods and learned about the diets of Costa Ricans. I am a certified FOODIE, so this was my zone. My favorite item we sampled was the juice of the Moringa fruit due to it's many benefits ranging from blood pressure control to helping cleanse the liver.
While on the farm, I made several connections back to my life in SC, but one that sticks out is the work I’ve done with the Plant a Row Garden at the Anne Springs Close Greenway. The PAR Garden is one of my volunteer sites and my first task there was to turn the compost that would be used as fertilizer. Here on the farm, our guide showed us their compost and explained their process. The two processes were similar but varied in a few ways. One example is that they turn the pile twice a day whereas we only turn once a day. Considering that we are composting for a garden and they are composting for an entire farm, the differences are to be expected. At any rate, connecting these experiences helped me to understand the importance of composting on a deeper level.
Overall, I learned that there is such a rich variety of vegetation in Costa Rica and their process of producing food is much healthier for themselves and the environment.
- Miguel Caldwell
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