Doing More With Less

May 4th, 2014 

Today Life Monteverde was simply fantastic. Life Monte Verde is a fully self-sustainable coffee farm, and they make doing look so simple. Upon arrival we got to try some of their coffee and look around. Of course, I went straight to the goats and it just fueled my drive (mild obsession?) about owning one when I can. There was also a bunch of chickens, 3 pigs (one of which is pregnant) and a calf. Our guide, Geremo, told us that they have goats instead of cows because they take up less space, can eat a variety of foods (which is also a challenge because they want to eat everything), they consume less water compared to cows, and produce less methane. The milk they get from the goats is sent to the cheese factory and it is also healthier/ easier to digest for you.

Then I picked up a tree, a very young still had the roots wrapped in plastic, but still a tree. We were told we were going to plant them in between fields to help with the reforestation efforts as well as having the trees double as a wind break to help protect the crops and produce shade. This was my favorite part. I think it may even be my favorite part of the trip so far, aside from visiting the schools. We learned that planting those 3 trees (per person) “made up” for the large carbon footprint we made by flying down to Costa Rica from the United States. We needed to plant 1.5 trees to cover one way so it worked out perfectly. This just made me feel so warm and fuzzy to know we actually did something that is going to help the planet for years to come. After we got to relax by a Guava tree that had a bunch of swings tied to the branches. When we walked back we stopped at the pigpen and he showed us this plastic tank that looked similar to a big balloon. We were informed that tank was full of methane gas. You guessed it- from the pigs. Their waste was filtered into a tube full of water then the eventually once there was no oxygen the methane gas was trapped. They used this gas to burn/cook. He said that a family could store enough gas to cook 3 meals a day with only 3 pigs. I was surprised to see that they went that far to reuse as much as possible. The gas is bad for the ozone so what they can’t use they burn instead of just releasing it because CO2 is not quite as bad for the air.

Seeing all of the things they did and used to help protect and promote the environment was so eye opening. I recycled at home but it just made me feel like there were so many other things I could do. I’ve just been thinking about ways to increase my own sustainable living habits. I know my brother has rain barrels used to water his plants, and I wish I had the space for compost pile to use as fertilizer but those things will have to wait until I have my own yard and home. The older I get the more important things like recycling are becoming to me; I just need to find the correct outlet. Seeing this farm was pretty grounding as a lot of this trip has been for me because things are just simpler here, you can do more with less it seems like.

Really, if you think about it throwing paper in plastic in the trash is no harder or more importantly easier than throwing it in a recycling bin. I just don’t understand why people don’t recycle or care about the world that they are leaving for their future children and grand children. I will absolutely promote recycling in my class room and tie it into lesson for students to learn why it is important, easy ways to make a difference around school and their house, as well as how their families can get involved at home if they wish (and I really hope they do). I think it would be very educational and fun to set up an ant hill when learning about soil, and talk about how they help with mixing it up and moving clay from deep in the ground to the surface. I know my mind is going to go back to this trip, time and time again, especially when I’m talking or teaching about sustainability. I feel so lucky to be a (very small) apart of their efforts here and to be able to bring back these ideas and feelings of inspiration to the United States.