I have a university degree in economics, but my studies did not touch upon the etymology of that word—derived from the Greek oikonomia meaning “management of the household.” My studies set me to master Microsoft Excel, to calculate complex regression analysis, and prepared me for a job in finance. They did not, though, prepare me for what to do with so many bananas.
The third principle of permaculture is fair share. This implies an open source ethic with regard to knowledge and information. It is with that in mind that our team at Porvenir Design is has put together this guide for sourcing plants, seeds, soil amendments, consultants in all fields, and much more. It is a guide that has been compiled over our four years in operation as a permaculture design firm based in Costa Rica. It has been put together with the help of many colleagues and deserves to be a free resources for everyone working in Costa Rica on building soil, improving water cycles and growing food.
Luego de organizar y participar en nuestro primer taller de agricultura sintrópica en el 2019, nuestro equipo en Porvenir Design sabía que necesitaba encontrar al cliente adecuado para implementar un sistema a una escala mayor y aprender más acerca de estos conceptos. Finca Luna Nueva nos presentó esta oportunidad pues buscaban expandir sus plantaciones de cacao y recientemente habíamos empezado a administrar por completo su finca.
After organizing and attending our first syntropic farming workshop in 2019, our team at Porvenir Design knew that we were looking for just the right client to implement a larger scale system to learn more about these ideas. Finca Luna Nueva presented that opportunity as they were seeking to expand their existing cacao orchards and we had recently taken over full administration of their farm.
This article is about Holistic Management and decision making as a tool and how we use it in our business, Porvenir Design.
“Hi, I found your website researching vanilla. I want to know if you think my property would be good for growing vanilla to sell. I don’t need to get rich, I just need for it to cover the property expenses. I’m located near Quepos. Please let me know if you can help me set up my vanilla farm? Thank you!”
What to make of a client inquiry such as this? In some ways it is quite a simple question: can we help them set up this farm enterprise? There is a problem, though.
Ten years ago I had the opportunity to join a land-based project (Rancho Mastatal Sustainable Education Center in Costa Rica) already eight years into operation. Upon my arrival I found a site that had focused on infrastructure and program building through its early development. This was an important leverage point in building a financial base as an education center, but it meant that some aspects of the campus were still in their infancy, such as the agricultural and food preservation systems. I arrived during a shift in focus to the latter systems, which enabled me to participate simultaneously in different phases of site establishment.
Brave Earth or Tierra Valiente is a young shareholder based community located on a 35 hectare property in the La Fortuna area of Costa Rica. The project was founded in 2016 by a large group of friends who were connected through their activism and the larger healing arts and medicinal plant communities.
The project is squarely in the early experimental phase of development.
Mentorship may be one of the biggest opportunities for growth in our fledgling permaculture movement. There is interest in professional careers as permaculture designers, but the field lacks quality mentoring opportunities. By these I mean mentoring in a specific field, by a professional who has years of experience, with the goal of developing a specific skill set and livelihood.
I live in a visually stunning part of the world. The landscape here is a tropical blend of rugged hillsides and steep valleys, ridges extending haphazardly into dense jungle, white sand beaches pock marked by rocky outcroppings, and bizarre flora and fauna adapted to this chaotic climate. There are no cool months; heat pervades everything. Humidity, however oppressive at times, ranges significantly in its intensity. The ebb and flow of water throughout the year dictates nearly everything
