Tag: finca milagros

Porous dams in the river slows down the water and allows for infiltration

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Porous dams in the river

I asked one of the people working for us to start a new project today. It’s a series of porous dams in the river that runs through the finca. The river is mostly dry. When it rains, it has a good amount of water, although it runs through swiftly and is gone. The dams will help slow down the water so it can infiltrate into the ground.

This will bring moisture into the ground which will help the vegetation along the river, it and it will provide water for longer for the animals in the area. Until about twenty years ago, there was a spring near the river, not too far from our current houses. These dams may help bring that spring back, especially in combination with more trees and improved soil. (The spring likely went dry because of grazing and deforestation.)

The top series of photos are from the river from a couple of years ago and I assume it looks similar now. The two photos below show dams from a similar project in the area (not my photos).

Dam construction and spacing

We have two small rivers meeting on our land. I checked the distances and elevation differences on Google Earth. The longer section is about 280 meters with 25 meter elevation difference. The shorter is about 70 meters with 8 meter elevation difference. That’s a slope of 5-7 degrees. This is straight line, and the river meanders a bit, so the actual slope will be a little less.

I suspect low dams about 5 meters apart may be ideal. Maybe 3-4 meters where it’s steeper, and 5-6 meters apart where it’s less steep. The distances are just a very rough guidelines, and it’s important to follow the terrain and make use of what’s already there. For instance, there may be large boulders we can use as part of the dams.

The dams should be low so they are less likely to be damaged from strong flows during heavy rain. We will use larger stones as anchors and smaller stones to fill in between the larger ones. The dams should be slightly lower in the middle to center the water flow in the channel.

There is no need to make the dams perfect. They can be rustic as long as they are stable. The purpose is just to slow the flow of the water.

It’s best to start at the downhill side of the river since the water flow is stronger there.

The dams should be inspected after the first heavy rains to see how they hold up.

Reservoirs?

In time, we can also create one or more natural reservoirs next the river, and channel some of the river water into these. We would use simple natural filtration, and a small channel or pipe to bring the water into the reservoirs. It’s also important to channel any overflow back into the river (or into a second reservoir).

This water can be used for watering plants, for the houses, as a swimming pool, and so on. They will also allow more water to infiltrate into the ground and recharge the groundwater.

If several are located uphill from and in the vicinity of the now-dry natural spring, they may also, in the best case, help bring the spring back. I will ask the previous owners to show us where the spring used to be. It will help us plan where to focus the regeneration work and where to locate the reservoirs.

Natural disasters: Often a design problem with design solutions

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Many of the current natural disasters in the world – wildfires, flooding, drought, dry rivers, and so on – are design problems.

They come from how we have designed our civilization and how we change ecosystems. Climate change is just one aspect of this, although it gets most of the attention.

It’s simple. Healthy ecosystems prevent or reduces the scale of almost all natural disasters. For instance, they are hydrated so they prevent or reduces the scale of wildfires and droughts, and they feed springs, creeks, rivers, and the ground water. Healthy mangroves reduces the impacts of hurricanes and typhoons. Food production that’s diverse, in layers, and uses ground cover is much better able to thrive in droughts, hot weather, and a changing climate.

At Finca Milagros, we are very aware of this and actively work on creating and encouraging a healthier ecosystem. We create terraces which slows down the water and helps it soak into the ground. We improve the soil through compost and mulch which helps water soak into the ground and reduces evaporation. We will slow down the water in the mostly dry creek/river with porous stone dams. We are planting a large number of diverse native and climate-appropriate trees which helps the water soak into the ground. We are planting in layers which creates shade and cools the area through evapotranspiration. In all of these ways, we are creating a more healthy ecosystem, and that – in turn – reduces the risk of wildfires, drought, flooding, and more.

These design solutions can be used at any scale, including at community and regional levels.

A FEW MORE NOTES

As usual, there is a lot more to say about this.

When I say “design problem” I mean that they are often caused by poor design and they have design solutions.

Even earthquakes are a design problem. They are not caused by human activity, but how we design our communities and houses obviously can prevent a disastrous outcome when they first happen. Preventing poverty is a big part of this since it’s typically those with the least resources who are impacted the most.

I don’t know why reporters and experts in the media rarely mention this. They seem to have a fixation on climate change which is important but just a small part of the bigger picture. If I was a reporter, I would include this as much as I can and put it in the foreground whenever possible.

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Barichara plant database – for regeneration, reforestation, and food forests

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I have developed a Barichara plant database. As of now, it has 259 plant entries. Of these, 139 are native and the rest are suitable for a food forest in the area. Each plant has 212 fields with information used by the front-end interface.

There are three main ways to find plants: A simple search and the two discover and design sections. Each of those sections has subsections with several plant lists and filters. There is also a details page for each plant.

I made this database specifically for reforestation and food forests in the Barichara area, at about 1000 to 15000 meters above sea level in a dry tropical forest in the Andes.

It’s still at a draft stage and the info and interface need to be refined and improved. If there is interest, I’ll make a Spanish language version.

If it is to be used outside of Barichara, the plant selection and plant info needs to be tailored to each location.

This plant database is made with Google Sheets (spreadsheet) and Google Apps (interface and programming). That means that the URL for the current version may change over time, although I will aim at keeping it at this URL for a while. The images are from Wikipedia and Wikimedia with sources listed.

I made it mostly for our own food forest and regeneration project on Finca Milagros. If others in the area find it useful, they are of course welcome to use it.

This is the first time I used AI as an assistant for a project like this. I started it in 2024 and worked on it for about a week, and then another couple of weeks in 2025. My life was too full to do more with it until this summer where I spent maybe three weeks to continue the work on the content and interface. There are many questions about the use of AI for these kinds of projects, including the use of natural resources and copyright questions. Still, I chose to use it for this project.

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Two ways to grow Maya Nut trees: win-win vs zero-sum

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We have a regeneration and food forest project in the Andes, and one of the trees I wish to grow – for biodiversity, food for animals and humans, and income – is the traditional Maya nut tree (Guáimaros as they are called locally).

Last November, I was lucky enough to find two sources of Maya nuts in our neighborhood, so we now have about 100 Maya nut trees growing – some in the ground and a few still in large growing bags. This is just the start, and I hope to plant a few hundred more trees over the coming years.

I have been in contact with someone advising people on growing Maya nut trees, and we were recommended to plant them four meters apart, in full sun, and remove nearby plants since they compete for resources (water, nutrients, sun, etc.).

I understand where those guidelines come from, and I know it’s meant well. At the same time, we are doing something quite different. We wish to work in a deeper partnership with nature, natural processes, and the local ecosystem.

WHAT WE ARE DOING

We are creating a food forest that’s as wildly diverse as possible. We create terraces, swales, and porous dams to slow down the rain water so it is absorbed by the ground. We work actively on building soil, which for now includes bringing in compost and soil materials. We use mulch to protect and build the soil, and retain moisture longer.

This plant diversity creates a more healthy and resilient ecosystem. It helps build soil, encourages healthy and diverse soil life (including microbes and fungal networks), create shade to retain moisture, reduce the chance of an explosion of one types of insects, supports the insect life and wildlife, and produces a variety of foods for us and wildlife, and so on.

This diversity means the Maya nut trees will be about 10-15 meters apart from each other, which is fine since we will rely on a wide diversity of food plants, not just Maya nut trees.

WIN-WIN VS ZERO-SUM FOOD GROWING

As I see it, what we were recommended reflect a zero-sum approach to food growing, and what we are doing reflect more of a win-win approach.

In zero-sum food growing, we see plants – and life in general – as primarily competing for resources, so what doesn’t produce food needs to go. We may use artificial fertilizers and pesticides, which destroys the soil and the web of life supporting all life. We may rely on just one or a few crops, which creates vulnerabilities. We create ecological deserts that lead to habitat loss and extinctions.

We are, in essence, gradually destroying the web of life we and all life depend on.

In a win-win orientation, we support the web of life that supports all life – including ourselves, what we eat, and all we love. We seek diversity since a diverse system is more resilient. We seek to build soil and create healthy soil, since soil is the foundation for all plant and animal life. We seek to make maximum use of rainwater by slowing it down, allowing it time to infiltrate, and retaining moisture.

We help regenerate the web of life which we all depend on.

WHY IS THE MAINSTREAM APPROACH STILL MAINSTREAM?

This mainstream zero-sum approach is relatively new. It has happened over just the last one to three generations. It’s a blip in human history.

The modern conventional approach seems successful on the surface. We have dramatically increased the world’s food production over the last few decades, which seems desirable.

And it comes at a high cost. It’s part of the unraveling of the web of life supporting us all. It’s extractive food growing that’s destructive to soil, ecosystems, and ourselves. We borrow against the future. It cannot last.

It comes from a zero-sum orientation, and what loses is not only the others – what we call weeds and pests, and wildlife – but eventually ourselves. We are all in it together.

So why do many still use this approach? Because it does produce a lot of food. It’s a profitable business for those selling machinery, pesticides, fertilizers, and so on. Our whole system is now set up to support it. It has become the norm. It’s what’s expected. It’s what farmers now know and understand. It’s what they learn and pass on.

HOW DO WE SHIFT OUT OF IT?

What does it take to shift out of it?

That’s obviously a big and complex question.

Some answers are: Knowledge and education. Pointing out who benefits and who loses from each system. (In our current mainstream food system, we eventually all lose.) Good examples of alternatives, including some that work at larger scales. Systems change to encourage win-win systems, which includes putting the real cost into the finances of food systems.

We are doing our small part by developing and living a more life-centered alternative.

Edible tree leaves – an often overlooked source of food

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In this episode of the Food Forest Podcast, Eric Toensmeier talks about perennials, and the value of edible leaves from trees. Here is the full episode: Food Forest Podcast: Eric Toensmeier – The Power of Perennials

AT FINCA MILAGROS

Moringa leaves
Chaya / Tree Spinach

What trees have edible leaves on Finca Milagros? I am just aware of a few: Chaya (Tree spinach), Moringa, and Maya nut (Guáimaro). Above is a picture of Moringa and Chaya leaves from Milagros. The Maya nut trees are still too young for harvesting.

I am sure many other trees have leaves that can be used medicinally, but I am thinking of the ones that can easily be included in a meal.

I want to find more, so I asked ChatGPT 5 for info about trees with edible leaves from different climate zones, and then specifically for Finca Milagros in a dry tropical forest zone. See below.

TREES WITH EDIBLE LEAVES

Tropical / Dry Tropical

  • Moringa (Moringa oleifera) – Árbol de la vida
    Superfood tree; fast-growing, drought-hardy; leaves very high in protein, vitamins, minerals; eaten fresh, cooked, or as powder.
  • Maya nut (Brosimum alicastrum) – Guáimaro, Ramón
    Native to the Americas; staple food tree; leaves edible (especially for forage, also for humans), nuts highly nutritious.
  • Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) – Tree spinach, Chaya
    Hardy shrub/tree; leaves rich in protein, iron, calcium; must be cooked to remove toxins.
  • Nacedero (Trichanthera gigantea) – Nacedero, Oreja de ratón
    Colombian native; often used as forage; young leaves edible, mild flavor, also medicinal.
  • Baobab (Adansonia digitata) – Baobab, Pan de mono
    Iconic African tree; leaves rich in calcium and iron, eaten as greens or dried powder.
  • Katuk (Sauropus androgynus) – Katuk
    Popular leafy vegetable in SE Asia; high in protein; eaten raw or cooked; thrives in tropical food forests.
  • Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and relatives) – Cayena
    Ornamental but edible; young leaves tangy, used in salads or cooked.
  • Mulberry (Morus alba / Morus nigra) – Mora
    Fruit tree; young leaves edible cooked, also used for teas; good drought tolerance.

Temperate

  • Mulberry (Morus alba / Morus nigra) – Mora
    Same as tropical; highly versatile tree with edible leaves, fruit, and forage uses.
  • Linden (Tilia cordata / platyphyllos) – Basswood, Tilo
    Young leaves edible raw (mild, lettuce-like); also famous for calming teas from flowers and leaves.
  • Beech (Fagus sylvatica) – Haya
    Very young spring leaves edible raw or cooked; slightly tangy flavor.
  • Oak (Quercus robur and other Quercus spp.) – Roble
    Very young leaves edible in small amounts; more survival food than regular diet.
  • Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis, Celtis australis) – Almez
    Young leaves edible, mild; fruit also edible.
  • Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) – Ginkgo
    Young leaves used in teas (mostly medicinal, for circulation and memory).

Boreal / Cold Temperate

  • Birch (Betula pendula / pubescens) – Abedul
    Very young leaves edible raw or brewed as tea; mild, slightly bitter.
  • Alder (Alnus glutinosa) – Aliso
    Young leaves edible in small amounts; mainly survival food.
  • Aspen (Populus tremula) – Álamo temblón
    Very young spring leaves edible; mild bitterness.
  • Willow (Salix spp.) – Sauce
    Young leaves edible in moderation; bark and leaves used as tea for pain relief (natural aspirin).

Arid / Semi-Arid

  • Moringa (Moringa oleifera) – Árbol de la vida
    Same as tropical; excellent drought-resistant leaf crop.
  • Baobab (Adansonia digitata) – Baobab, Pan de mono
    Same as tropical; highly drought-resistant.
  • Mesquite (Prosopis spp.) – Algarrobo
    Young leaves edible sparingly; more important for nutritious pods.
  • Acacia (Acacia spp., e.g. Acacia tortilis)
    Some species have edible young leaves (often cooked); commonly used as fodder.
  • Jujube (Ziziphus mauritiana) – Azufaifo
    Fruit tree; young leaves edible sparingly; mostly valued for fruits.

Subtropical / Mediterranean

  • Mulberry (Morus alba / nigra) – Mora
    Same as tropical/temperate; very adaptable.
  • Bay laurel (Laurus nobilis) – Laurel
    Leaves used dried as flavoring herb, medicinal teas.
  • Olive (Olea europaea) – Olivo
    Leaves used for teas and extracts; medicinal (antioxidant, lowers blood pressure).
  • Carob (Ceratonia siliqua) – Algarrobo europeo
    Young leaves edible in moderation; tree mostly valued for pods.
  • Fig (Ficus carica) – Higuera
    Very young leaves edible when cooked; sometimes used in traditional recipes.
  • Citrus (Citrus spp.) – Cítricos
    Leaves used for aromatic teas, flavoring.

From this whole list, the best everyday edible-leaf trees (nutritious, tasty, and safe) are:

Moringa, Guáimaro (Maya nut), Chaya, Nacedero, Mulberry, Linden, Katuk, and Baobab.

This list was generated by ChatGPT 5.

EDIBLE-LEAF TREES FOR FINCA MILAGROS

1. Guáimaro / Maya nut (Brosimum alicastrum, Ramón)
A keystone native of Central America, also found in Colombia. Extremely resilient in dry tropical forests. Its seeds are a traditional staple, and the leaves are edible — mostly used for forage, but humans can also eat them cooked in stews or teas. The leaves are protein-rich and can supplement nutrition during dry seasons. Guáimaro also creates shade, builds soil, and supports wildlife, making it one of the most important regenerative species you can plant.

2. Moringa (Moringa oleifera, Árbol de la vida)
Originally from India but now naturalized worldwide, moringa thrives in poor soils and drought. The leaves are among the most nutrient-dense of any plant: rich in protein, vitamins A & C, calcium, iron, and antioxidants. They can be eaten raw, cooked, or dried and powdered. It’s fast-growing and coppices well, so you can harvest continuously. On Milagros, it can provide a near year-round supply of leafy greens when other crops fail.

3. Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius, Tree spinach)
A hardy shrub-tree from Central America, perfectly suited to hot, dry climates. The leaves are very nutritious, with high levels of protein, calcium, iron, and vitamins. They must always be cooked (boiled or fried) to neutralize toxic compounds, but once prepared, they’re delicious — often compared to spinach. Chaya is also used as a living fence or hedge, and once established, it requires almost no care.

4. Nacedero (Trichanthera gigantea, Oreja de ratón)
Native to Colombia and widely planted as a forage tree. It thrives in the tropics and tolerates dry spells once established. The young leaves are edible for people — mild tasting, often used in soups or as spinach substitutes — and very nutritious. It’s especially valuable because it resprouts vigorously after cutting, so you can regularly prune it for mulch, animal fodder, and food.

5. Mulberry (Morus alba / Morus nigra, Mora)
Although not native, mulberries grow well in Barichara’s climate with some water support during establishment. The young leaves are edible, cooked or used in teas, and are rich in protein and antioxidants. The fruits are, of course, a delicious bonus. Mulberries are also excellent for silkworms, birds, and other wildlife, making them a multi-use addition to your food forest.

6. Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and relatives, Cayena)
Often planted as an ornamental hedge, hibiscus also offers edible young leaves with a pleasantly tangy flavor. They can be eaten raw in salads or lightly cooked in soups and stir-fries. In addition, the flowers can be used for teas (similar to hibiscus sabdariffa / “agua de Jamaica”). Hibiscus provides beauty, food, and pollinator habitat.

7. Katuk (Sauropus androgynus, Katuk)
An Asian species that adapts well to tropical agroforestry systems if it has some partial shade. Leaves are very high in protein and have a nutty, pea-like flavor, eaten raw or cooked. In very dry spots it may struggle, but planted in more shaded, moist niches of Milagros, it could become a steady leafy green source.

Summary for Milagros:
The most reliable and high-priority edible-leaf trees for your dry tropical forest are Guáimaro, Moringa, Chaya, and Nacedero — all hardy, nutritious, and multipurpose. Mulberry, Hibiscus, and Katuk can supplement diversity, with mulberry also offering fruit, hibiscus adding beauty and pollinator support, and katuk providing protein-rich greens where moisture allows.

This list of trees for Finca Milagros was also generated by ChatGPT 5.

A NOTE ON USING AI

How do I use AI in this context?

I use it to generate ideas for what we can do on Finca Milagros. It’s not the final word, and I don’t rely on it to make decisions. For that, I talk with local experts and sometimes use other reliable sources.

Sometimes, it’s all in alignment. (Which makes the decision easier, although it doesn’t mean the info is 100% reliable or appropriate for our situation.) Sometimes, there are discrepancies and I take a closer look and consult other sources.

In general, it’s good to use AI with caution and always consult experts before making decisions. In this case, when it comes to plants and ecology, it’s wise to consult local experts familiar with the local conditions.

Regenerating the land and people

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I saw this article in the New York Times – At This Clinic in Hawaii, Nature Is the Medicine.

It’s on a topic I have been passionate for a while: Regeneration of the land and people in the same process.

We are all damaged by a particular version of domination culture, one that has its roots in the agricultural revolution, and one that assumes separation, unlimited Earth, and so on.

We as individuals and humans are damaged by it, and the web of life we are part of is damaged by it.

So it only makes sense that the healing involves all of us.

We are still in the very early phase of regenerating Finca Milagros. Our focus is still on developing the basic infrastructure (solar, rainwater collection etc.), we need to rebuild the first small house, we are feeding the soil and developing the food forest around the houses, an organization planted 2000 native trees (20 different types) in the “wilderness” zone last year, we are developing connections with neighbors and other regenerators in the area, and so on.

Already, it’s very clear that the regeneration of Finca Milagros is also a regeneration of us. We feel deeply nourished by being there, being part of that recovering ecosystem, and doing what we can to help it recover. We are all recovering from this civilization and its separation mindset.

As the basics are in place, and things settle bit (if they ever will!), we are hoping to develop a community area. We already have a place set aside for it. It may include a large caney (tall with roof and no or one or two partial walls) for workshops, guests, a small kitchen, and so on, and also a camping area for visitors.

It may be a space for trainings, education, workshops, healing, and so on. And the focus will likely be on regeneration of the land, ourselves, or both.

For instance, we could combine Breema bodywork classes (simple, deeply nurturing), group healings (Vortex Healing), regeneration education, hands-on work on the land, and so on.

Even without that space, we can still organize different events – group healings, Breema workshops, hands-on regeneration work, regeneration education, and so on.

These are just some visions at this point, so we’ll see how it all unfolds.

Update: The day after writing this, I saw another mainstream newspaper article – in The Guardian – on the same topic. It seems to be in the zeitgeist, which is understandable. Nature nurture: the Devon estate where rewilding and mental health go hand in hand. It happens to be from Totnes which I love, and where I lived for six months some years back.

Vecinos recolectando hormigas culonas

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Acabamos de enterarnos de que varios vecinos están viniendo a en nuestra finca (cerca de Barichara, Santander) para recolectar hormigas culonas (Atta laevigata). Estas hormigas son una delicia local y se pueden vender entre 70,000 y 140,000 pesos por libra.

Nos pusimos en contacto con uno de los vecinos para dejar en claro que esto no es aceptable, y trabajaremos en identificar y hablar también con los demás.

Estas hormigas culonas salen al comienzo de la temporada de lluvias, y cada una de ellas es una hormiga reina. Son vitales para el ecosistema, tanto como alimento para la fauna silvestre como para fundar nuevas colonias.

Esto no se trata tanto de las hormigas en sí como de un principio general. No podemos permitir que los vecinos vengan y hagan lo que quieran en nuestra tierra. Pueden pasar por el terreno, y son bienvenidos a tomar algunas frutas para su consumo personal, pero nada más—al menos no sin pedir permiso primero.

Somos cuidadores de esta tierra y parte de nuestro papel es protegerla de este tipo de actividades perjudiciales.

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Neighbors harvesting big-bottomed ants

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We just heard that several neighbors are coming to Finca Milagros to harvest big-bottomed ants (Atta laevigata). These are called hormigas culonas, are a local delicacy, and can fetch €40 to €80 per kilo.

We contacted one of our neighbors to make it clear this is not acceptable, and will work on identifying and doing the same with the others.

These big-bottomed ants come out at the beginning of the rain season, and every single one of them are queen ants. They are vital for the ecosystem, both as food for the wildlife and so they can start new colonies.

This is not so much about the ants as a general principle. We can’t have neighbors come and do what they want on our land. They are free to pass through, and they are welcome to take some fruits for own use, but nothing else – at least not without asking first.

We are stewards of this land and part of our role is to protect it against just this kind of harmful activities.

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Photos: Views from Finca Milagros

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Finca Milagros view
Finca Milagros view
Finca Milagros view

A few views from the large house on Milagros from different times of the day. Most are from November 2024, just before the dry season started the following month. See more below.

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When it comes to regeneration, a “more is better” mindset is not necessarily a bad thing

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A growth and “more is better” mindset has a bad reputation among many and for good reasons.

In our current system – a system that assumes a limitless Earth – growth and “more is better” are often destructive to the web of life we are part of.

And yet, growth and “more is better” is not inherently misguided, wrong, or destructive. In some contexts, it can be beneficial. It can support life.

I notice that with our young food forest, and my vision for regenerating the 15 hectares of Milagros, I definitely have a growth and “more is better” mindset. I even have a slight obsession with it.

I envision the land as a mature ecosystem full of life. I envision all the layers filled in – small and tall trees, bushes, shrubs, roots, vines, and so on. I envision it bringing an abundance of food for wildlife and humans. I envision healthy soil. I envision the rainwater draining into the soil, giving life to the whole ecosystem, and recharging the groundwater. I envision it creating a different microclimate, one that’s cooler and more humid. I envision it as a home for innumerable beings of all kinds from insects to reptiles to birds to possums to mammals.

I am always looking for more and different food-producing plants for our food forest close to the houses. I am thinking of ways to generate income so we can continue the process of regeneration, reforestation, and creating a food forest.

I definitely have a growth mindset when it comes to Milagros, and I definitely have a “more is better” view on it. Of course, the growth and the “more is better” orientation has to be ecologically sound and informed, and I think it largely is, although we still have a lot to learn.

The focus on growth and “more is better” will look different as the project evolves. Right now, we have a focus on basic reforestation in the “wilderness zone” of Milagros, and on building soil and creating diversity in the food forest close to the houses. We are finding sources for different plants. We plant and see how the different ones are doing. We are learning a lot. We are exploring different visions for the future.

As it all matures, the focus will likely be more on what’s missing and filling in the gaps. What natives don’t we have in the wilderness zone? What native food-producing trees and bushes can we encourage and include more of? What other food-producing plants, from anywhere in the world, can we include in the food forest? What new plants will do well now that it’s more mature, and the microclimate is different?

So is growth and “more is better” inherently bad or wrong? Not at all. We may think it is because we typically see it play itself out in our current system. Since this system is out of alignment with ecological realities, it very often is.

In another context, in a system or project that’s more ecologically sound, growth and “more is better” can be very valuable. It helps us regenerate and support nature in producing abundance for the benefit of all life – including us.

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Playfulness, regeneration, and the food forest

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Over the last few weeks, I have walked around Finca Milagros and made small stone dams to reduce erosion, collected seeds from native plants growing here (and some other places) and spread them around, planted seeds in pots and bags in the nursery with others, put mulch around the plants, watered, imagined the future of the food forest (and set things in motion to create it), and so on.

I inevitably notice how much all this seems like, and is, play. It’s the type of thing I did as a kid. I made dams. I loved to run my hands over dry plants to release the seeds. I loved rummaging in the soil and natural mulch on the ground. I loved playing with water and the hose. I loved imagining different worlds and things that are possible and (apparently) impossible. I loved playing while talking with others about anything and everything.

In one sense, regeneration and food production is serious business. The mainstream approach to food production does produce a lot of food, and it’s also profoundly destructive to our ecosystems, our health, and it requires a lot of fossil fuel input. It’s hugely inefficient and it can’t be sustained in the long run. We need a profoundly different approach to our ecosystems and producing food, one that plays along with nature instead of working against it. This is a matter of our health and survival.

On the other hand, there is a lot of playfulness in developing and living the alternatives. The best of them are profoundly life-centered, which makes me feel joy and makes me come alive. They involve doing it with others, which at times is fun and playful. (And sometimes the opposite, as life is.) It involves wildly diverse and varied tasks. The hands-on work is often similar to how many of us played as kids. It involves creativity and imagination. It involves learning which is inherently joyful. (Even if schools often set out to make it as dreary as possible.) It involves working in intentional partnership with plants, soil, and ecosystems, which is profoundly meaningful. It creates vibrant and diverse ecosystems, which feel deeply enlivening, meaningful, and joyful to be in and around.

Developing the food forest on Milagros is also serious business. It will hopefully provide income in the future. Millions of beings depend on it for their habitat, thriving, and lives. We want to do it well.

And much of it also feels like play. It’s fun and enlivening, it makes me feel connected with nature here and the local community, it’s deeply meaningful, it helps me connect with myself as nature. All of that is joyful. It’s not laugh-out-loud joyful, but a quiet joy that comes from connection and feeling alive.

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Food forest CSA

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When I lived in Mt. Horeb/Madison, Wisconsin, I was a member of a local organic CSA. It was a wonderful farm called Vermont Valley Community Farm. I see that Barb and Dave have retired, and their son is now running it with a slightly different emphasis.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture, and it’s a subscription-based form of food production. Members pay at the beginning of the season and get a weekly delivery of whatever food is in season. We would get a variety of vegetables along with some berries and fruits, and I also think we received eggs. With each weekly box came a newsletter with updates from the farm and recipes for the food in that week’s box. They also had community days where members came to make pesto, have a potluck, and so on.

COULD MILAGROS BE A FOOD FOREST CSA?

It’s possible that the Milagros food forest could become a CSA.

It will have to happen in some years when we have a more consistent and diverse production.

People subscribe at the beginning of the season, which here would be at the beginning of the wet season. We get income. And they get a diversity of food weekly, either delivered or they can come and pick it up here or at a central location in town.

To do it well, we’ll need to write a weekly newsletter with updates, recipes, and ideas for how to use the food since some of it will be unfamiliar to many. We could also have u-pick days where they come and pick certain foods that are ready to harvest. We can also have community days where we share food, have tours, and so on.

The upside is that we’ll have income from the year up front, and they will have regular deliveries of organic, local, and hopefully interesting and delicious foods. The “drawback” is that it requires us to be responsible and have a good system in place, which is good anyway.

As it is now, it’s an imagination about the future, and it’s very valuable to have and explore those imaginations. Who knows what will come out of it?

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How we deal with grass in the Milagros regeneration, and how we make use of it

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On Milagros, we have grass on maybe two or three hectares out of fifteen. At both entrances, there is quite a lot of grass, in both cases because the owners used the areas for grazing cows.

The rest is mostly trees, cactus, bushes, and pioneers.

So how do we deal with grass in our regeneration, reforestation, and food forest project?

MAIN APPROACH

We use it as mulch for the plants in the food forest. We cut it into small pieces to allow sprouts to easily grow through the mulch. The mulch provides cover to keep the moisture, some nutrients for the plants, and organic material for the soil. We keep on adding new layers as the older layers decompose.

Grass keeps the soil in place and prevents erosion. It’s better than nothing, and there are some areas where there is bare soil and few plants.

When we cut the grass for mulch, we use pruning shears (hedge shears, hedge scissors). This makes it possible to cut only the grass and leave any natives growing there. This allows the native bushes and trees to grow, become stronger, and better compete with the grass.

As the trees grow and provide more shade, they will eventually shade out the grass. The forest will take the place of the fields of grass.

THE DOWNSIDES OF GRASS

Grass has several downsides.

It can easily become a monoculture. It can take over large areas, especially if the land is degraded, and it won’t allow natives to grow very well.

During the dry season, dry grass is a wildfire hazard.

Grass is the perfect habitat for ticks.

A LESSON

Before we moved here, we asked some workers to cut a narrow footpath through a very beautiful area. Instead, it turned out that two people spent two or three days cutting down everything apart from the large trees.

This happened because we trusted they understood (we had emphasized several times that we just wanted a narrow footpath, just wide enough for one person to walk), and we did not check on them since we did not live here at that point.

Cutting down all the pioneers and small trees led to an almost immediate invasion of grass, and the area is now completely overgrown with tall grass.

I am hoping that revisiting this area relatively frequently to cut grass for mulch and leaving everything that’s native, will help the bushes and trees to gain a foothold.

For me, there are a few lessons here: (a) Local workers will typically default to what they know. These workers are used to people asking them to clear a whole area so that’s what they did, even if we thought the instructions were clear. (b) It’s important to ask them how they understand the task. (c) I need to follow up and check how it’s done. And (d) it is possible to get rid of the grass, it may just take time.

GRASS AS A TRANSITION SPECIES

So we can make use of the grass for erosion control, as a pioneer species, and for green mulch.

At the same time, the plan is to eventually shade out the grass with a multi-layered forest so there will be little or nothing left. This will take several years if not decades.

Some wildlife like or even depend on grassland. I am keeping that in mind, and I also know that the neighbors here have grassland so it’s not exactly a lack of it.

The series of six images above are from the two areas of our land with grass. At the distant entrance to Milagros, where there likely was most heavy grazing, bare soil is colonized by grass which prevents erosion. The image directly above is from the Camino Real that goes by Finca Milagros. This is a path that has been used by people here for generations.

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Tick reduction in a healthy ecosystem

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On Finca Milagros, we have neighbors whose families have lived here for generations. They have cows and grassland, a few trees, and not much else.

THE IDEAL TICK-PRODUCING CONDITIONS

In its own way, it’s a beautiful landscape.

At the same time, it’s very different from the diverse and mature tropical dry forest that used to be everywhere here. It’s a monoculture and a kind of desert. It has led to dried-up springs, rivers, and creeks. It causes erosion and loss of soil. It creates a hotter and drier landscape. It lacks life and diversity.

It’s also a landscape that creates ideal conditions for ticks to flourish. The cows are perfect hosts. The grass is a perfect environment. The lack of life and diversity makes it safe for them since they don’t have many predators.

A HEALTHY ECOSYSTEM REDUCES THE TICK POPULATION

We are doing the reverse here on Milagros. We are regenerating the ecosystem, to the best of our ability. We are planting native trees, bushes, and flowers. We are creating a diverse food forest. We are creating habitats for a diversity of wildlife.

This helps reduce the tick population.

Although there are more animals here, many of them are less than ideal hosts for the ticks.

Similarly, the density of animals that are good hosts for ticks is less. They have fewer opportunities to spread.

There is a diversity of natural predators of ticks here – possums, ground-dwelling birds, lizards, frogs, spiders, and so on.

There is far less grass here, creating less-than-ideal conditions for ticks.

There is more diversity and competition in the ecosystem in general, reducing the number of any one species, including ticks.

THE MANY BENEFITS OF A HEALTHY ECOSYSTEM

A healthy ecosystem has many benefits.

In our case, it produces food for us and the wildlife. We are doing regeneration and reforestation with an emphasis on native food-producing plants in the wilderness zone, and a food forest closer to the houses with a mix of natives and non-natives that do well in this climate.

It creates a diversity of microclimates and, in general, reduces the temperature creating a much more comfortable environment.

It provides habitat for wildlife which is crucial in our time of ecological crisis and dramatic loss of habitat and species.

It can bring the water back to the springs and rivers here, especially if neighbors upstream are also doing some regeneration work along the river beds and creeks. (A healthy forest allows the rainwater to be absorbed into the ground, feeding springs and rivers.)

It reduces erosion and the risk of flooding. The roots hold the soil in place, the mulch cover, roots, and healthy soil allow the water to be absorbed, and so on.

It reduces the risk of wildfire because of the cooler temperatures, higher humidity, and moisture-holding plants.

It builds healthy soil which is crucial for a healthy ecosystem and for growing food.

It creates diversity which prevents any one species from dominating, including mosquitos and ticks.

If regeneration happens over larger areas, it moderates the local climate. The temperatures will be more comfortable and there will be more consistent rainfall.

It can give a diversity of incomes – food, food products, seeds, seedlings from the nursery, compost, knowledge (workshops, training), ecotourism, and more.

It’s beautiful and it feels good to be in a healthy ecosystem. (Or even one that’s recovering.) It’s the type of ecosystem we are meant to live in. It’s the type of ecosystem the vast majority of our ancestors lived in and we – in body and mind – evolved to live in. It’s where we belong and we know it viscerally.

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Making Milagros profitable

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We have been on Milagros for about two years now, and we are still in the phase of getting fundamentals in place and helping to improve the soil around and between the houses.

So far, we have only had expenses and it’s time to think more about how to bring in some money.

How can we bring in enough money from Milagros to support the continued regeneration, food forest, and reforestation project? How can we bring in enough to continue to expand this project in the coming years and decades? How can we create abundance, also financially?

It will likely be a combination of income sources and it will change over time.

COMPOST & WORMS

We are in conversation with a friend in town who has a restaurant. He sets up a compost bin at his restaurant to collect food scraps (not meat or grease). We arrange for transportation a couple of days a week (depending on how much is produced and the capacity of the bins) to bring it here. We’ll create a composting area close to the road so it’s easy to dump it there. At first, we can maybe use the compost here and pay him for it. Later, we can start selling it and share the profit. I wonder if worm composting is best since it yields higher quality compost and we can sell it at a higher price.

As soon as this system is tried out and we have worked out some of the kinks, we can add more restaurants in the town to the project. We know several restaurant owners, so already have some connections. We will help the restaurants with bins and training (minimal required), will organize the transportation and sale, and they receive a share of the profit.

It’s a win-win-win solution. It helps the restaurants with their waste and gives them some income. It gives us some income. It gives people access to high-quality compost for their plants, gardens, and regeneration projects. It helps nature and the soil.

Growing and selling worms is another side to this project, and it doesn’t depend on food scraps from restaurants. One consideration here is that the red wiggler worms are not native here so they should only be used in closed containers.

That said, we haven’t started yet but I hope to get this off the ground in the coming year.

NURSERY

We have a nursery with a few hundred plants to plant on Milagros.

In time, we may create a nursery with native plants, food forest plants, and helper plants.

The local nurseries here don’t have many native plants so there is definitely a market for it.

CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

I have talked with Daniel – the local expert who is helping us develop our food forest – about organizing classes and workshops. There are several ways to do this.

We can have one or a series of day-long classes here where people learn and get some hands-on experience. This can be either free to the participants (since we get the benefit of their work) or at a low cost. We will pay Daniel for it, at a price he feels is fair.

In time, we may also have a Permaculture design course here over a week, with several guest instructors from the area.

This too is a win-win-win solution. Daniel is paid and gets to be known as a teacher. The participants learn both through theory and doing from someone who is experienced. We get some hands-on help with our projects. The ecosystem here benefits from the work. And there will be ripple effects from these courses, most of which we’ll never know.

ECOTOURISM

There is a chance we can get involved in ecotourism, although it will likely be years from now when the project – and the forest – is more mature.

We have an area that would be perfect for cabins or a campground. We have a main path going through Milagros where we plan to plant a variety of native flowering and food-producing bushes and trees. We will likely set up rest spots in the shade along this path, and possibly also signs explaining features of the ecosystem, regeneration projects, and specific plants.

CARBON CREDITS

There is a chance that our reforestation effort can be sponsored by one or more businesses as part of a carbon offset program. This can be done through direct agreements, or ideally through a kind of cooperative. Several working on regeneration and reforestation could create a cooperative and sell carbon credits in a more organized way. This would require a system for certification, monitoring, and so on.

Right now, we receive free reforestation help through an organization that sells carbon credits, although it’s a bit slow (2000 trees in 2024) and we have 15 hectares so there is room for improvement.

FOOD

Then the obvious category: the sale of food and food products.

We are currently focused on building soil, although have planted a variety of food-producing perennials between and around the houses. These are a mix of natives and non-natives that do well in this climate.

We have some Maya Nut trees (guáimaros) in our nursery, and I hope to plant a few hundred on Milagros over the next few years. These are native and reasonably profitable, and it will take 10-15 years before they give a good yield. (For our land, and in a diverse forest, it seems that 500 may be a good number.)

We have planted a good amount of tree spinach (chaya) which is highly nutritious, and we also have a few dozen prickly pears (nopal). They are already giving some food for us, and will eventually produce enough for sale.

We planted dragon fruit (Pithaya) last week, from parts of plants already growing in other places on our land. These are cactus-like vines that grow relatively fast.

In the shorter term, we may focus on hot peppers (chilis) and Inka Nuts (sacha inchi) since they quickly mature. Some chilis are native to this region, including Ají Pajarito, Ají Chivato, and Ají Dulce which may do well on Milagros.

We have planted agraz, a native blueberry, and other native berries. We have also planted native fruit trees like soursop and guava. We will continue planting as many as possible of these since they are well suited to this climate and ecosystem.

We have some olive and fig trees and grape vines, and I want to plant a lot more of these. Mediterranean plants do well here in general.

Several nut trees will likely do well here. We have several guaímaros (Maya Nut trees) in the nursery and hope to get more seeds. Others we may include are pistachio, cashew, pecan, almond, macadamia, pine nuts, Chilean wine palm, and Brazil nuts. All of these are drought tolerant, especially when established.

Passion fruit should do well on Milagros, with a little watering during the dry season. We want to plant more of those near the houses.

We have the “usual suspects” like banana, citrus, mango, papaya, breadfruit, sweet potato, yam, and so on, and we will continue to plant those. A lot of people grow these, so they won’t be our main focus but we will grow some for our own use and maybe some sale.

We have some medicinal plants like Moringa and herbs which there is a market for. A large number of plants have medicinal uses and will do well here.

We can also grow plants for scent. Palo Santo is a native tree used as incense. We can also sell dried lavender for the smell, and sage as incense.

Growing bamboo for construction is a possibility, for own use and/or sale. The native bamboo requires more water than we get, although there are other types we could grow.

We have a lot of uña de gato (cat’s claw) growing on our land. It’s a hardy pioneer with thorns that looks – and feels! – like a cat’s claw. Uña de gato has medicinal uses, so that’s something we plan to look into.

I am thinking about growing mushrooms (shiitake, lion’s mane, etc.), at least when the food forest is a little more established and the microclimate is more cool and humid. We will also plant some cacao and coffee in a while to see how they do here. (Right now, it’s a little too hot and dry but that will change with the reforestation and the maturing food forest.)

One thing to keep in mind is that we want to plant hardy plants at first, mainly pioneers and natives, and as the soil improves we can plant the ones that thrive in better soil and a more mature and healthy ecosystem.

I suspect our focus will be on food (a) for us and the wildlife, (b) we can sell at the local markets (ideally not grown by many others here), (c) we can process and sell internationally. Since we are creating a food forest, we are emphasizing perennials. They also require less work, especially when they are native or well-suited to this climate (dry tropical forest).

Here is a list of some potentially profitable plants that do well in this climate, according to AI. We are already planting several of these.

Annuals and Short-Term Crops. Chili Peppers / Ají (Capsicum spp.), Turmeric / Cúrcuma (Curcuma longa), Roselle / Flor de Jamaica (Hibiscus sabdariffa), Quinoa / Quinua (Chenopodium quinoa), and Dragon Fruit / Pitahaya (Hylocereus spp.).

Medium-Term Crops. Sacha Inchi / Maní del Inca (Plukenetia volubilis), Passion Fruit / Maracuyá (Passiflora edulis), Pepino Melon / Pepino Dulce (Solanum muricatum), and Camu Camu Tree / Camu Camu (Myrciaria dubia).

Long-Term Perennials. Cacao / Cacao (Theobroma cacao), Coffee / Café (Coffea arabica), and Brazil Nut / Nuez del Brasil (Bertholletia excelsa).

Very Long-Term Perennials. Avocado / Aguacate (Persea americana), Mango / Mango (Mangifera indica), Macadamia Nut / Nuez de Macadamia (Macadamia integrifolia), Pistachio / Pistacho (Pistacia vera), and Olive / Olivo (Olea europaea).

PROCESSED FOODS

We can process some of these foods. For instance, guáimaro nuts need to be ground and roasted. We can make jams and teas. We can dry medicinal herbs and sell them individually or as a mix. Fruits can be dried and sold internationally. Some of this is still quite far in the future but something to keep in mind.

We may start with a mix of roasted sacha inchi nuts (Inka nuts) and chili, all grown here. We’ll need to make a label and can start selling at local markets.

WAYS TO SELL THE FOOD

I assume we’ll start with selling food, as it’s available, at a local community market in town. They are set up for exactly that purpose and we go there once or twice a week.

We’ll likely do trades with people in the community. They have jam, we have sweet potatoes, and so on.

If we process foods – nuts, dried fruit, etc. – we may be able to sell it internationally. Especially roasted guaímaro flour may be a good option, in some years when the trees are mature enough to produce.

Another option is a CSA farm. That will have to happen in some years when we have a more consistent and diverse production. People subscribe at the beginning of the season, which here would be at the beginning of the wet season. We get income. And they get a diversity of food weekly, either delivered or they can come and pick up here or at a central location in town. To do it well, we’ll need to write a weekly newsletter with updates, recipes, and ideas for how to use the food since some of it will be unfamiliar to many. We could also have u-pick days where they come and pick certain foods that are ready to harvest. The upside is that we’ll have income from the year up front, and they will have regular deliveries of organic, local, and hopefully interesting and delicious foods. The “drawback” is that it requires us to be responsible and have a good system in place, which, in many ways, is another upside.

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Nature spirits & Finca Milagros

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There are many things I don’t write about or don’t write about often. I try to keep it to what’s pragmatic and accessible to most if not everyone.

One thing I don’t think I have mentioned is my experiences with nature spirits.

When I started to see and consciously sense energies, in the summer when I was sixteen (1986), it was first around plants. I saw it around the leaves of a beautiful birch tree in my parents’ garden. I was sitting outside reading a book in the summer, noticed a light around the leaves, and first thought it was an optical illusion. Over a couple or a few days, it became stronger, and I saw it around everything. I realized it was something else than an optical illusion since the quality and characteristics of the light were different around plants, inanimate objects, animals, and humans.

I also discovered that I can sense at a distance what’s going on in someone’s system, and also invite in healing. Sometimes, that healing is surprisingly effective.

I mention this since it relates to my experiences with what seems like nature spirits.

It seems that I can sense the nature spirits of a place, a landscape, an ecosystem, Earth as a whole, and even through the universe. I can sense them and there is a kind of communication.

It’s a little odd since it seems that there are nature spirits at all levels, or that the one overarching nature spirit can be sensed into and communicated with at different levels. Said another way, it’s a holarchy where wholes are parts of larger wholes, or a seamless system with nested subsystems.

When we first came to Finca Milagros (it was called Santa Lucia then), I had a profound experience of connection with this land and the nature spirits here. I deeply felt they asked me to be here and protect the land. I have never felt that before or anywhere else since, although I experience it daily here. There is a deep sense of communication with the land and the spirits here. I notice how they respond to what’s happening here and seem active participants in the regeneration, reforestation, and food forest project.

I haven’t explored connecting with individual plants so much yet. My wife seems much better at that and often sense what they ask for and need, and it seems accurate.

In the Amma experience about a year ago, there was a part of the process where Amma and the nature spirits of this landscape and ecosystem were in the foreground. It was clear that all came out of the nothing and are part of the same seamless whole as everything.

Yesterday, I was moved to do something I don’t remember having done before. I connected with the nature spirits here on Milagros, in this landscape, in this bioregion, for Gaia, and through the universe. I asked them for healing for me and included my wife and Mila.

I was reminded of why I haven’t done this before: There is shame in me for how humans have treated the rest of nature, even if I know that this is all part of the larger process of this living planet and universe.

I also noticed an invitation to see myself – this human self – even more as nature, as something and someone who is the domain of the nature spirits and all life.

Today, I have felt very weird. Something is definitely going on in my system. (Although that, in itself, is not so unusual because of the CFS.) My wife is feeling weird too. It feels like a lot is moving. I had mentioned to her that I asked the nature spirits for healing last night, and she asked me if I had included her in the intention. I said yes, and she said she feels the nature spirits very strongly here and in her system.

Being moved to ask the nature spirits for healing came from deep in me, and was also likely inspired by a conversation with a friend in Oregon last night which touched on our experiences with nature spirits, and a recent comment from the Vortex Healing EarthWorks teacher (AG) in an email to me. Don’t forget the nature spirits. (Slightly paraphrased.)

Dream: I am the nursery, growing

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I am the nursery, growing.

This is a dream from last night. It’s one of those dreams where my human self is not present and I was something else within the content of experience.

In this case, I am the nursery at Finca Milagros, growing. My sense is that the dream lasted for a while, although the normal sense of time was not there. I am the nursery with all the many plants growing, and any sense of time was far in the background.

There was a sense of water, sun, and wind coming and going in cycles, and a vague sense of beings there – likely us, birds, animals, insects.

This reflects something I notice in waking life. With the growing of the ecosystem here – with the regeneration, reforestation, and the food forest, I am growing too. I am part of this place. I grow as part of it. It grows me as much as I am helping it to grow.

We have maybe a few hundred plants in the nursery now, and it is a focus for me – watering, finding better and reusable containers for the seedlings, collecting and finding sources for seeds and seedlings, and so on. The plants in this nursery will be part of the food forest near the houses, and eventually further away.

My dream and vision is of the whole of Finca Milagros – all 15 hectares of it – as a food forest, with a diversity of natives and non-natives closer to the house and a diversity of natives in the rest of the area. The zone closer to the houses has a higher percentage of food-producing plants, although there will be many native food-producing plants everywhere. This is already happening, although it’s a process that will go on for decades.

The photos below are recent ones from our nursery, some of the seeds we are collecting and planting, and our nopal-“nursery” which is everywhere around the house.

Volunteer plants in our food forest

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Our food forest is still very young. We have only really put effort into it since April this year, even if we moved here a little under two years ago.

And still, we are seeing a lot of changes. Where it was barren with only a few pioneers, we now have lush plant life. Where it was dry, we now have mulch, moisture, and a variety of fungi. Where the soil was hard and barren, it’s now gradually becoming more porous and healthier.

One of the things we noticed this morning was the presence of volunteer plants. Just looking at a small area in front of the house, we found agraz (native blueberries) and a small carob tree, likely introduced by birds.

The birds are attracted to the increased diversity and the food and shelter available, they offer seeds in return, and the improved soil gives these seeds a better chance to sprout and grow.

This is an example of how food forests increasingly take care of themselves as they mature, and also how they produce more and more abundance. In this case, the changed environment invited birds, these birds brought seeds, and these seeds are giving us plants we didn’t already have and are very welcome.

The first two photos are of the carob tree, the third is the agraz (mostly not ripe yet), and the fourth is of Daniel who has helped us develop the food forest for the last several months.

Our ecological crisis: Distractions and misconceptions, what we can do, and food production in partnership with nature

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I have written about this before, but thought I would revisit it briefly.

When I look at the public discourse in general, and especially the public discourse about our ecological situation, I see a lot of distractions and misconceptions.

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LIVING SYSTEMS OF THIS PLANET

The main misconception is the importance and role of the living systems of this planet.

In the public discourse and in the media, it’s often prioritized after a long list of other issues, and it’s often framed as one of many topics.

I assume this is because of our idea that we are separate from nature and have a dominant relationship with nature. This makes us feel insulated from what happens with the planet, and we also secretly think we can control and manage it, whatever happens. This is a typical Western, and increasingly global, imagination. Ultimately, it’s an ecocidal and suicidal imagination.

In reality, the condition of the living systems of this planet and our relationship with it is the one topic that encompasses everything else. It’s the context for our lives and everything we care about. We can’t talk about anything without also talking about that.

We are nature. What happens to this living planet happens to us.

If we were more aligned with our ecological reality, it would not only be our priority, it would be the frame for every other issue and topic.

GLOBAL ECOLOGICAL OVERSHOOT VS CLIMATE CHANGE

If the media and politicians focus on ecology, it tends to be climate change. The petroleum industry has known about climate change for decades and has also been successful in its strategy of sowing doubt and creating confusion which contributes to inactivity. Both are well documented.

I remember a conversation I had with a teacher in high school in the ’80s. During a break, he wanted to discuss whether there is human-created climate change or not. I said that in the big picture, it doesn’t matter. We need to make the same changes anyway. It’s a distraction.

That’s how I still see it.

Yes, the activities of our civilization have nudged our planetary system in a direction where it retains more heat, which has massive consequences.

Science shows us that, and it’s also easy to understand: We have a thin atmosphere. We are 8+ billion people with powerful technology, much of which releases certain gasses into the atmosphere that we know let through light (sunlight) and retains heat (what much of sunlight converts to when it hits matter).

That combination inevitably creates a greenhouse effect, and it can create a runaway greenhouse effect.

But since there is confusion about this, let’s not use that as our main focus or argument for the need for profound change. A much better argument is our collective ecological footprint.

This living planet is unable to replace as much as we use and deal with the waste we create. We are in a global ecological overshoot. This is similar to living off a savings account with less coming in than we spend. At some point, we reach the bottom and our lifestyle comes crashing down.

What we see in the world today is our ecological savings account going down fast. When we reach the bottom, which is fuzzy in this case, not only will our lifestyle come crashing down but our lives may crash down with it.

That’s not hyperbole. That’s simple logic. If we continue as before, there is no other way it can play itself out.

WHAT’S THE CAUSE OF OUR ECOLOGICAL CRISIS?

Before we can successfully deal with a problem, we have to have some level of understanding. We need to diagnose it correctly. So what’s the underlying cause of our current ecological crisis?

Why are we in a global ecological overshoot?

Some seem to blame corporations and politicians. Say that was true: Who voted for the politicians? Who supports the corporations with their money? It’s us.

This is a systemic problem. We have a civilization built on the idea of separation and domination.

We are separate from nature. We are more important than nature. Nature is here for our use. Nature is infinite. It’s our right to dominate nature. The sacred is “out there” in the sky, in a sky god, in the afterlife. Humans have souls and other beings don’t. We understand things better by taking them apart, by separating them from all the other things they belong to.

Every aspect of our civilization, including the minds of individuals, reflects this worldview. We have all internalized it, at least to some extent.

The origin of this worldview, at least in its modern form, is likely the agricultural revolution and our newfound ability to amass wealth and control land, plants, animals, and some humans. Before then, we were all indigenous. We lived in small groups. Were more or less equal, apart from in experience and knowledge. Saw ourselves as nature. Saw the sacred in everyone and everything.

That’s the deeper reason for our ecological crisis. It’s the predictable outcome of such an orientation, especially combined with large numbers of us and advanced technology.

We are all part of this system. Even if we recycle, eat vegetarian, avoid toxins, take bus and train, and so on, our lives are still destructive for the living systems we are part of. It’s inevitable since we live within this system.

It’s not about corporations or politicians. It’s about all of us.

It’s not about greed. It’s about a system based on fundamentally flawed assumptions about reality.

THE MISMATCH BETWEEN OUR GLOBAL SITUATION AND WHAT WE EVOLVED TO DEAL WITH

We evolved to live in small groups and deal with our immediate surroundings and relatively short timespans. At most, we needed to think one or a few seasons ahead.

These days, our challenges are global and play themselves out over decades and centuries.

Our bodies and minds have evolved to deal with the world of our relatively distant ancestors, and we are born into a very different world.

I suspect this is a big part of why we collectively are not even close to taking this seriously enough or doing enough about it. Collectively, we are distracted by anything and everything else, we are mostly focused on fragments of the bigger picture, and we operate on relatively short timespans.

A FEW MORE DISTRACTIONS

I thought I would mention a few other distractions and misconceptions.

(a) Some think we’ll find a technological solution. Technology will be part of the many solutions, but it’s not enough in itself, and it’s not even what’s most important.

What’s most important is our collective will. Will we find a collective will to make the needed change? Will enough of us recognize that the problem is systemic and that we need a thorough transformation of every aspect of our civilization?

(b) Some think it’s not that serious.

This is about the living system we are all part of. The living system we fully depend on for our existence and quality of life. The living system we are fleeting and local expressions of. The living system that not only gives us our life but everyone and everything we care about. What can be more important than that?

(c) Some think others will do it.

We are all part of the problem. This is about all of us. If we don’t make changes in our own lives, how can we expect a change?

(d) Some think we still have time.

What we do today has impacts decades, centuries, and even millennia into the future. Some of it has impacts forever, for instance with extinctions of species and whole ecosystems. We cannot wait.

Also, we are already far into this global ecological crisis. It’s already unfolding all around us and within us (plastics and toxins in the bodies of all living beings including ourselves). We cannot wait.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

We can start by…

… educating ourselves about ecology, sustainability, life-centered solutions, etc.

… identifying and questioning our worldview, finding what’s more aligned with our ecological reality, and exploring living from that. I find the Universe Story, Epic of Evolution, systems views, integral models, deep ecology, ecospirituality, and Practices to Reconnect inspiring and helpful.

… finding like-minded communities and individuals. It’s easier to make changes with the support of a community. It’s inspiring, we share experiences and knowledge, we can help each other in practical ways, and so on.

… living some of the solutions in our own life. Make it real to you by making it real in your life. By doing so, we create momentum, become part of the solution, and give ourselves hope.

… and making sure there is some balance between (a) focusing on and learning about the problems (useful up to a point), and (b) focusing on, learning about, and living some of the solutions. If we focus too much on the many challenges in the world, it can lead to frustration and burnout. If we focus one-sidedly on what appears as solutions, we may engage in solutions that are less grounded in reality.

PARTNERSHIP WITH NATURE

Since most of our collective challenges come from an orientation of separation and domination, the medicine is found in an orientation of connection and partnership.

There is inevitably always some of each, and these days, we need an infusion of the latter.

This can be applied in all areas of society and our life.

FOOD PRODUCTION FROM DOMINATION VS PARTNERSHIP MINDSETS

I am mostly focused on food production and regeneration these days, which are major pieces of the puzzle.

Modern food production comes from a domination mindset, with monocultures, dependence on huge energy inputs, use of chemical fertilizers and toxins, depletion of the soil, destruction of wildlife habitat, suffering of domestic animals, poisoning of insects, birds, animals, water, soil, and air, and much more. It’s food production from a zero-sum mindset where a small temporary gain (food) comes at the expense of massive ecological destruction.

The soil, ecosystems, and our health become worse over time. It’s a downward spiral.

Food production from a partnership mindset is different. It’s typically polyculture, uses non-toxic methods, includes as many natives as possible, focuses on and improves soil health, provides wildlife habitat, and more. It comes from a win-win orientation where we seek solutions that provide food for us and the wildlife, improve the soil and ecosystem over time, and provide habitat for a diversity of wildlife.

The soil, ecosystems, and our health becomes better over time. It’s an upward spiral.

We are developing a food forest on our land in the Andes. Large areas will have only or mostly natives, with as much diversity as possible, and as many food-producing plants as possible. The areas closer to the houses will have a diversity of native and non-native (non-invasive) food-producing plants. We focus on building healthy soil with mulch, manure, microorganisms, and so on. We want as much diversity as possible. We plant 95+% perennials.

As this food forest matures, it will become more and more self-sustaining and our work will mostly consist of harvesting, some maintenance, and continued diversification. Over time, it enhances soil health, reduces erosion, and provides habitat for more and more species.

It becomes better with time because we work in partnership with nature.

Some will say that we need modern monocultures to produce enough food for everyone, but that’s clearly not the case. It’s an example of brainwashing from those who benefit from it.

In the big picture, it’s not true since modern agriculture is so destructive to life.

Even from a narrow perspective, it’s not true since polycultures can produce as much if not more than modern monocultures. This is especially true for perennial polycultures like food forests. As they mature, production increases, inputs go down, and the return on investment continues to go up.

HOW WE CAN SUPPORT OUR LOCAL ECOSYSTEMS

We can all do something to live this partnership orientation with nature.

We can find local organic farms and buy directly from them. If we can’t get everything from local farms, we can buy organic as much as possible.

If we have a garden, we can make it into a nature garden that replicates the local ecosystem where we live. This will benefit the wildlife and ourselves and can be an inspiration to others. We can start small, even just in a small corner of our garden, and then expand as we get more experience.

We can join a community project. For instance, planting native trees or wildflowers in a park, along a river, or in any public area. If there is a larger regeneration project in our area, even better.

We can join a community garden, use organic methods, and mix in native flowers to support the pollinators.

We can talk with local organizations and governments to see if they are willing to set aside some parts of public areas for wildflowers. It can start small, as an experiment, and then go from there.

Aldo Leopold: One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds

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One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds. Much of the damage inflicted on land is quite invisible to laymen. An ecologist must either harden his shell and make believe that the consequences of science are none of his business, or he must be the doctor who sees the marks of death in a community that believes itself well and does not want to be told otherwise.

– Aldo Leopold

He wrote this decades ago, and it’s more true today than ever.

There is very little true wilderness left, and very few examples of untouched nature like old-growth forests.

What people take for nature and wilderness is typically heavily impacted by human behavior and civilization. It’s degraded, tamed, and a shadow of its former self.

I am not an ecologist, but I know enough to see this everywhere. Yes, it may still be beautiful in its own way since nature is beautiful. And I always bring with me an image of how it could be if it was allowed to be more diverse, vibrant, and mature.

Knowing a bit of ecology means seeing with deep time eyes, with an overlay of how nature used to be here before human civilization. It means having a mental overlay that shows us the contrast between how nature can be and is when it’s allowed to come to maturity, and how it is because of human intervention.

How would it be if this was one of the essential topics of any formal education? If all children learned to see with deep time and ecological eyes? I think it would change not only how many grow up to see the world, but how they live, at least to some extent.

The photo is one of the current views from Milagros. It’s amazingly beautiful. And when I look, I also see all the impacts on the other side of the canyon from human activity. I see the patches of land that suggest different ownership, or at least different use. I see land more heavily degraded from grazing. I see areas with a few more trees but still far from a mature forest. I see erosion. I imagine how it may be in a few years or decades. Will some areas be more developed? Will some areas be actively supported to become more diverse, mature, and vibrant?

The remedy to what Aldo Leopold writes about is to find, develop, and nourish communities of like-minded people. Globally, there are many of us. (And, in my case, many who know far more about this than me.)

Another remedy is to actively support nature – wherever we are, and in whatever ways we can – in regenerating. How can I, in my own small ways, help restore ecosystems to a more diverse, vibrant, and mature state? How can I do it in my own garden? In my own community?

We are doing it here on Finca Milagros, through the reforestation with native trees and through developing a food forest closer to the houses.

How a food forest manages water as it matures: less need for watering, improved drought tolerance, making good use of heavy rainfall

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As our food forest matures, it will become increasingly resilient and self-reliant.

A food forest tends to need more inputs and management at first and then becomes more self-reliant as it matures.

A MATURE FOOD FOREST NEEDS LESS WATER

The need for water is no exception.

We have needed to water our plants quite a bit, especially during the dry season at the beginning of this year. They are young. Many are still seeds and seedlings. We are still working on the mulch cover. We are still creating swales and terraces to retain the rainwater. Many areas are still quite open so there is more wind, sun, and faster evaporation. Also, we are young in this project, just likely the food forest is young, so we may have watered more than we needed.

What are some reasons why the food forest will need less water as matures?

A thicker layer of mulch retains moisture better. It also helps slow down and absorb rainwater.

More vegetation in more layers creates more shade which reduces evaporation.

As trees and plants grow, their root system is more developed, goes deeper, and can better access water and moisture in the soil.

Healthier soil can absorb and retain more rainwater. It has a better structure and more organic matter.

More swales and terraces help retain and slow down the rainwater, allowing more of it to be absorbed into the ground.

For many reasons, including all of the above, a food forest creates a microclimate that’s cooler and more humid.

In general, we are focusing on natives since they are adapted to this climate, and also drought-tolerant species from similar climate zones that do well here. We have some that require more water close to the houses, although these also will need less watering as they mature.

In our case, we are also developing our rainwater catchment systems so we’ll be less dependent on the water from the municipality.

A MATURE FOOD FOREST DEALS BETTER WITH HEAVY RAIN

A more mature food forest not only deals better with heavy rain but also makes use of it for many of the reasons mentioned above.

Several layers of leaves and branches help slow down the drops as they fall, reducing the impact on the ground.

Swales, terraces, and thick mulch slow down the water, reducing or eliminating erosion.

Healthier soil absorbs the rainwater more effectively. It’s more porous and has more organic matter.

The roots hold the soil in place. In a food forest, there is a high density and diversity of plants with different root structures. Combined, they stabilize the soil to a remarkable degree.

We are developing a system of channels to channel rainwater into the terraces. This catches the rainwater, slows it down, and allows it to be absorbed instead of running down the hill.

THE DROUGHT TOLERANCE OF A MATURE FOOD FOREST

A more mature food forest is more drought-tolerant for the same reasons as mentioned above.

Rainwater is better absorbed into the ground, which even recharges the groundwater and benefits the larger trees.

The soil and ecosystem are better able to retain moisture.

The roots go deeper allowing them to access deeper layers of water and moisture.

More mature plants are better able to deal with droughts in general.

In our case, we are working on our rainwater catchment systems – in tanks and ponds – and this will help us during the dry seasons and drought.

THE RESILIENCY & WATER MANAGEMENT OF A MATURE FOOD FOREST

A mature food forest is amazing at regulating water, whether it’s rain or drought. After all, it mimics a natural forest ecosystem, and these evolved to do just that, among many other things.

In general, mature food forests are resilient when faced with extremes of weather and changing climate, at least more than mainstream systems of growing food and up to a point. They deal better with water and drought. They create their own microclimate. They are diverse so a higher number of plants are likely to do well as the climate changes.

PHOTOS

These photos are from our very young food forest. They show… A pond near the house. A carved stone that receives rainwater from the roof and channels it underground to storage tanks. A series of small terraces that receive the overflow from the stone. A rainwater channel that goes along and under a path and leads the water into a terrace. (It was just created so nothing grows there yet.) Terraces and swales. Rocks and wood used to create edges to retain the soil and rainwater. A retaining wall made of naturally rot-resistant branches used to retain soil and rainwater along the road.

We are just getting started so this will all continue to be developed as the food forest changes and we learn more.

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Why we plant densely in the Milagros food forest

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We plant densely in the food forest on Milagros, which is still very young.

Why?

There are many benefits to planting densely.

It helps improve the soil. The roots break up the soil. The microbial life in the soil is improved. The plants create more mass for mulch.

The roots reduce erosion by holding the soil in place. The more densely planted, the more roots to keep the soil in place.

Improved soil absorbs rainwater more efficiently. The rainwater goes into the soil, feeds the plants, and replenishes the groundwater. Reduced runoff reduces erosion.

There is more plant diversity and biodiversity in general. A larger number of different plants creates habitat and produces food for a wider diversity of insects, birds, and animals.

Dense planting allows us to have more support plants, in addition to the food plants and the ones for pollinators. We have some for green mulch, some that improve the soil and prevent erosion (vetiver), and so on.

It’s easier to water. They are all in a smaller area, so watering is more efficient.

It allows us to focus on the area close to the houses. Dense planting means we have a higher number of food-producing plants in a smaller space, which helps with monitoring, maintenance, and harvesting. We don’t lack space here, but if we did, that would be another reason for dense planting and making the most out of the space.

It shades out invasive grass more effectively. This is an area largely used for cattle farming so there is a lot of invasive grass in some areas. As the forest grows and becomes more dense, it shades out the grass.

The trees grow faster vertically. They compete for light and can’t spread out too much, so they grow up instead.

We make fuller use of 3D space. We have a dense planting of a variety of plants, including climbers and herbs, to make better use of the vertical and horizontal space.

It creates an enhanced microclimate. Plants, in general, create a cooler and more humid microclimate. When they are planted densely, that’s even more the case. For us, it may allow us to grow cacao and other plants that like cooler temperatures and moisture. We are also considering growing edible mushrooms.

The food forest will be more resilient as the climate continues to change. A dense planting means the microclimate created may be slightly more stable with changing climate and weather. With more diversity and higher numbers, a larger number of plants are likely to do well even as the climate changes.

Dense planting converts more greenhouse gases to matter in a smaller space.

To me, it looks, feels, and sounds amazing. It’s lush, rich, and diverse, and attracts a wide range of insects and birds.

This is a general guideline, but it’s not the whole picture. We are reserving some areas further from the houses for food-producing trees that require more sun, and these areas will be more open. At the south- and west-facing edges of the dense areas, we plant trees requiring more sun. We will remove some trees and plants as they mature to create space for the more valuable ones. We are considering how the microclimate changes over time when we decide what plants to include. As the food forest changes, we’ll add trees and plants that may be a better fit for the new conditions. We also prune for green mulch and to open space for the sun and air.

We have an excellent consultant and helper for establishing the food forest, although we are all still learning and always will be. This is very much a work in progress.

We are in an early phase of the food forest, as seen in the photos above, but you can still get a sense of the dense planting.

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How we stay cool in the tropics

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We live in the Andes, 6 degrees north of the equator, 1000 meters above sea level, in a dry tropical forest ecosystem, and the climate has wet and dry seasons.

The daytime temperature here is from low 20s to low 30s Celcius, with cooler days during the wet season and hotter days during the dry season. Since we are in the tropics, the sun feels especially hot.

So how do we deal with the heat? How do we stay cool?

LOCATION

We found a location for our house that benefits from the afternoon breeze coming up from the canyon. We avoided the peak since the wind can be very strong there, and we also avoided locations that were too sheltered with not much breeze.

We built between relatively large existing trees with good shade coverage. We went out of our way to find a location where we could keep the trees already here, and the builders were instructed to be careful to not harm them during construction.

HOUSE DESIGN

We have a small initial house and a recent larger house here1.

We designed both using software that models the sun and shade at different times of day and year. (SketchUp has a free version that does it.)

We are building with traditional local methods and materials.

The walls are rammed earth (tapia pisada), 50cm thick, and they function as a heat sink and moderate the temperature through the day and night. The walls are white to reflect light.

The ceilings are tall for good air circulation, space between the warmer ceiling and our heads, and the roof is insulated (in the traditional way) to prevent hot ceilings.

We have large doors and several windows. This allows for cross ventilation and good air flow through the houses.

The large house is just one big open space to allow for unhindered air flow. The small house is similar. (We are planning to make it completely open.)

We have a wide covered veranda around the big house, to provide outdoor shaded space and shade for the indoor space. We will do the same for the small house.

We will install large curtains (made of natural materials) at the edge of the south and/or west sides of the verandas. This will block the sun on warm afternoons.

We have large ceiling fans to provide air flow when the air is still.

GARDEN & FOOD FOREST

We are creating a food forest around the houses. This is already cooling down the temperatures, and will do so even more as the forest grows. Vegetation reduces the temperature significantly through shade and evaporative cooling. A thick layer of mulch retains moisture and also helps create a cooler microclimate. (This changing microclimate also allows different plants to thrive here.)

I have seen people talk about a cooling of 5-10 degrees Celcius although I am sure that varies a lot.

We are planting with shade for the houses in mind, and we are planning ahead so new trees will be ready to take the place for older ones when they die. A high canopy allows the breeze to come through, and opens up the view, while also providing shade.

WATER

We have an outdoor shower which we use to cool down on hot days.

We may create a small natural pool, although that’s in the future.

Personally, I am interested in building a small Japanese tub for two people for cooling down on hot dry-season days.

SLEEP

We sleep with cross ventilation and the fan on if the night is warm.

During the last dry season, I slept outside in a hamock now and then which was a delight.

REFORESTATION

We are reforesting the 15 hectares we have here, although we just started this year and it’s a long process. This will help change the microclimate of the whole area, which we also will benefit from.

Most of the land has vegetation, although most is in an early stage of regrowth. Some areas are more eroded and dry and hot.

NOTES

(1) For the small house, I had a design I would be much more happy with than the design we ended up with. At the time, other people were involved in the project and we were not sure what this house would be used for. (We thought possibly rental.) I was able to design the big house a little up the hill.

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Our food forest is medicine

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Our young food forest is medicine in several ways.

MEDICINE IN A CONVENTIONAL SENSE

It’s medicine in a conventional sense in that it has many medicinal plants. Most of these are edible and also have medicinal properties, many of which are supported by modern science.

Local, organic, and fresh whole food grown in rich soil is medicine. This is the real medicine.

MEDICINE FOR US

It’s medicine for us. We love being here. It’s amazing to wake up to birdsong. It’s amazing to see all the diversity here and all the flowers and insects.

I feel healed by this food forest, the land here, and the regeneration project.

It heals me as much as it heals the land.

MEDICINE FOR THE LAND

It’s medicine for the land.

In the wilderness zone, the regeneration is with all native plants and a certain amount of food-producing plants. Closer to the house, it’s a mix of natives and non-invasive non-natives.

In either case, it helps build soil, create a natural layer of mulch, increase diversity, and make the ecosystem here more healthy, rich, and vibrant.

MEDICINE FOR OUR CIVILIZATION

It’s medicine for our civilization. We have an ecocidal and suicidal civilization built on the idea of separation from nature, nature as primarily a resource for us, and nature as infinite1. It’s an extractive and power-over mindset that came with agriculture and wealth inequality. It’s a mindset that has led to our chemical-dependent monoculture way of growing food that creates ecological deserts, poisons life, and depletes the soil. It’s also a zero-sum mindset where we look for solutions that gain us and not necessarily anyone else.

Food forests are very different. They are diverse. They mimic a natural healthy ecosystem. They provide habitat and food for wildlife. They produce a wide range of valuable products for us, the wildlife, and the ecosystem. They get better as they mature. The return on investment increases and builds on itself over time. They reflect a more ecological and life-centered mindset. They are an example of a win-win-win orientation. Nature wins, wildlife wins, we win, society wins, our civilization wins, future generations win.

FOOD FORESTS ARE MEDICINE

So food forests are medicine in many different ways.

Already, our very young food forest is medicine, and we will hopefully be more so as it continues to grow and mature.

There are many similar types of medicines in the world today, of course, in all areas of life.

NOTES

(1) We are separate from nature. Nature is here primarily as a resource for us. Nature has value only by its value to us. Nature is infinite. The sacred is not here, it’s out there somewhere in the sky with a sky god. We understand something by seeing it in isolation and taking it apart to its smallest components. One end of each imagined polarity is good and the other is bad. Thoughts can tell us something real and true about reality. Non-human beings don’t have rights or the same value or inner life as us. The divine speaks to us through priests. If you are at the bottom of a hierarchy, it’s your fault – through karma, lack of character, or similar.

Why we use only natural methods on Milagros

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We use only natural methods on Milagros to keep the soil & plants healthy and the ecosystem in balance, and to reduce the impact of pests.

HOW WE BUILD HEALTHY SOIL AND PREVENT PESTS

Healthy plants require healthy soil, and we build healthy soil through mulch, compost, manure, micro-organisms, and a few other things like rice husk. We also build healthy soil through planting a wide diversity of plants, and allowing ants and other insects to fulfill their important function in the ecosystem.

This diversity also means that no type of food source is predominant, which means that no one type of insect has a chance of taking over. That means we don’t really have pests. We have ants and other insects that will eat parts of some plants, but that was only noticeable in the beginning when we had far less diversity, the soil was poor, and the plant health was far from optimal. Now, in our second year, it happens rarely and to a very low degree.

PESTICIDES AND CHEMICAL FERTILIZERS

We don’t need pesticides or chemical fertilizers which is good since these have a huge and detrimental impact on the ecosystem. They kill off wildlife. They contaminate the water and groundwater. They cause cancer and other diseases in humans and perhaps especially in children and pets. They destroy the soil quality. They create dependency. (Which is, of course, part of the business model.) Creating and shipping them is resource-intensive.

THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL OF CHEMICALS, TOXINS, AND MONOCULTURE

With pesticides and chemical fertilizers, you have a downward spiral, especially combined with monocultures. The soil is increasingly depleted. There is less and less diversity. Monocultures invite huge numbers of insects specializing in that particular crop.

You find yourself in an increasingly difficult situation, and increasingly dependent on chemical fertilizers and toxins.

THE UPWARD SPIRAL OF DIVERSITY, POLYCULTURE, AND NATURAL METHODS

This is in contrast to the upward spiral of diversity, polyculture, and using natural methods.

We are putting in resources now in the establishing phase. We are learning. We hire specialists and practical help. We buy seedlings and seek out seeds and cuttings from neighbors. We do a lot to improve the soil health, including bringing in some resources from outside (manure, compost, wood chips, rice husks, microbes, etc.). We water if needed, especially in the nursery and the young plants.

Already, we are seeing a significant return on investment. We are starting to have food from the garden and young food forest. We are getting more plants from several of the ones we have here. (A few days ago, I took about 30 nopal pads and planted more nopal.) And so on.

As our food forest matures, it will increasingly take care of itself. We have mostly drought-resistant perennials and these don’t need much if any extra water after they are established, especially if they have a good mulch layer, grow in good soil, and have a diversity of plants around them to help improve the soil and create shade to retain moisture.

As the food forest matures, there will be less need for inputs and maintenance, and it will produce more food, seeds, seedlings, cuttings, and so on.

By taking this approach, the return on investment is high and exponential.

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Ecosystem diversity on Milagros

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We aim for as much diversity as possible on Milagros.

We aim for as much native plant diversity of Milagros as possible, and as much diversity – native and non-native – as possible in the food forest near the houses. With plant diversity, we hope to encourage habitat and food for a greater diversity of wildlife.

There is another form of diversity that’s as important, and that’s the diversity of ecosystems.

DIVERSITY OF ECOSYSTEMS

We already have a diversity of ecosystems here. In the area of the big pond, we have a relatively mature forest with tall trees. We have a semi-riparian (?) zone where the creek (small river) goes, although this seems only to have water when it rains. (From what neighbors say, it used to flow year-round.) We have grassland with some trees of different sizes. (Used for grazing.) We have many areas of brushland with some trees, pioneer species, and more. We have dense young forests with pioneer species. We have a growing food forest with native bushes and trees mixed in.

WHAT WE WILL DO

As we support the ecosystems here to be more diverse, healthy, and vibrant, we want to keep this in mind.

Some of this seems relatively straightforward – we want to support the riparian zone, we want to support reforestation in many areas, and we will continue with the food forest near the houses.

I am not so sure about the savannah or grassland. Maintaining that will require grazing animals, and we may include that in some zones in the future. In any case, the neighbors have plenty of grassland and savannah since they graze cows.

What about the brushland? This will naturally evolve into a forest given time and opportunity. Should we try to maintain some areas as brushland?

We will continue to prune in the food forest to provide mulch and nutrients for the soil and to open it up for air and sunlight. We may also prune some in the wilderness areas, although only if specialists recommend it and under their guidance.

All of this will depend on learning more, what specialists recommend, how many resources we have, and how it all evolves in general.

THE DIVERSITY OF EDGES

Each of these ecosystems will tend to have and attract unique species, and there is something special that happens at the edges: They have species from the two ecosystems and also some that especially thrive at the edge.

That’s another reason for having a diversity of ecosystems: It creates more edges and invites even more diversity at those edges.

THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY

Why do we want as much diversity as possible?

The short answer is that healthy ecosystems are wildly diverse. In most cases, you cannot have one without the other.

Diversity creates healthy soil, and healthy soil supports diversity. Diversity allows some to thrive where others do less well. Diversity ensures all the nooks and crannies are filled in. Diversity allows the system as a whole to better adapt to changing conditions. (Including changing climate.) Diversity of plants supports a diversity of wildlife. Diversity of plants, wildlife, and ecosystems prevents one species from taking over and becoming a problem. Diversity produces a wide range of food for wildlife and us.

It offers far more opportunities for income: Fruits, berries, seeds, saplings, education, workshops, eco-tourism, mulch, compost, and so on.

We evolved with diversity. It helps us come alive. For us, diversity in nature is fun, exciting, fascinating, and beautiful. (Not for all of us, which I suspect has to do with disconnect and possibly trauma, and that disconnect is a form of trauma.)

I love living in a wildly diverse food forest, and it will only become more diverse.

A NOTE ON SOCIETY

Nature shows the way, and these are some of the same reasons why a diverse society – if that society is actively inclusive – is a more healthy, vibrant, and resilient society. (Of course, if significant segments of society are actively working against diversity and inclusivity, it’s less healthy.)

See below for more info on these topics.

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Good design is invisible (and feels good, and is beautiful)

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We had our first dinner party in the large house today, and we all enjoyed the house and the view tremendously.

I found the location and did the basic design – the layout, organization, sizes, and so on, and an excellent local architect did the final design and the construction drawings and oversaw the building process along with my wife.

We designed with the climate, sun, and wind. (I used design software with sun ray tracking to test the design at different times of day and different seasons.) We used traditional building techniques (rammed earth and wood) and local materials. It’s durable and easy to repair. Houses built with the same techniques have been standing for centuries. We will install solar panels and batteries. We are collecting rainwater. We are using a form of composting toilet so no resources are wasted. We are planting around the house to provide shade, beauty, and food, and to keep the views open. For me, that’s all part of good design.

Another aspect of good design is that it feels good. It feels good to be in and around the buildings and to live there.

Yet another is beauty and fascination. It should have some fascinating features, materials, and contrasts.

And yet another, which I was reminded of today, is that it’s invisible. After the initial exploration and fascination and as you live your life, it becomes invisible. It works. It’s functional and convenient. There is little to no friction. It’s easy to move between the spaces.

None of this is new, of course. It’s about delight, function, and viscerally feeling good in the space.

I should mention that I studied architecture in the Master’s program at the University of Oregon, I grew up with an architect father so I lived and breathed architecture growing up (he shared a lot with me about how he went about it), and I spent years learning about designing with the elements, using traditional techniques and natural materials, and different forms of vernacular and modern eco-sound architecture.

Above are a few photos from the construction process.

Plants for the Milagros food forest: How we select and a provisional plant list

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We are developing a food forest at Finca Milagros outside of Barichara. This is a dry tropical forest zone in the Andes mountains at 1000-1100 meters above sea level.

TWO GENERAL ZONES

We plan a food forest for almost all of Milagros, with two general zones.

The largest is a near-wilderness zone with natives that includes food-producing trees, bushes, vines, and so on. These will produce food mainly for the wildlife, although I suspect we will gather some too. Two thousand native trees of twenty different kinds were planted there a few months ago, and we plan on more. As a forest, it will all natives as far as that is possible, most plants will produce some kind of food for the wildlife, and some – maybe 10% (?) – will produce food for humans as well.

The other is around the houses. Here, we will have a range of natives and include food-producing plants from anywhere worldwide as long as they are non-invasive and well-suited to this climate. A good portion of these will produce food for humans, maybe half (?).

It’s difficult to know the exact proportions since this is all in an early phase. I suspect we will continue to interplant for as long as we are here with natives to increase the diversity, and with food-producing plants to produce more food for the wildlife and us.

HOW WE FIND PLANTS

How do we select and find plants for this project?

We use what’s here. We already have a wide variety of natives, including food-producing plants.

We get some seeds and seedlings from friends and neighbors. (We will get Maya Nut seeds and some native Agraz and Suriname Cherries from a friend in the area within a couple of days.)

We get some seedlings from local nurseries. The selection of any one nursery is quite limited, especially when it comes to natives, but combined – by searching and going to several – we find a wider variety.

We plant seeds in our own nursery which has a few hundred plants so far. These go into the ground when they are ready and we have a good place for them.

We may eventually get seeds and seedlings from non-local nurseries for useful plants we cannot find here.

We aim for as much diversity as possible for several reasons: It creates more resilience and better habitat for wildlife. It improves soil health. It makes a better use of the 3D space. It shows us which ones do especially well here, and which ones may need a different microclimate. (The microclimates here will change as the food forest develops.) It produces a wider variety of food for wildlife, us, and possibly sale.

Also, with a changing climate, some will do better in the future than others and we don’t know which ones yet. That’s something we’ll have to observe and learn as the climate changes.

I know that some tropical or sub-tropical food forests have 200-300+ types of food-producing plants. I am honestly not sure how many we have so far but it’s likely still in the double digits.

PLANT DATABASE FOR MILAGROS

I have developed a plant database with 250 entries so far. These are all plants that are suited to this climate. The list includes plants recommended to us by locals and that we know do well in this area.

I am also using AI (ChatGPT 4o) for some aspects of this database. I use it to identify additional candidates for the food forest. It helps me fill in the info for each plant. It also helps me rank the plants according to different criteria: Nativeness, drought tolerance, nutritional value, sun/shade requirement, and so on. I always check with local experts before making any decisions based on this info.

The photos are from the last couple of weeks on Milagros, most around the house and a few of the newly planted trees in the wilderness zone.

See below for a list of plants and more info.

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A day on Milagros

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How does a day on Finca Milagros look for me these days? It’s always quite different but I’ll use the last 24 hours as an example.

THIS MORNING

This morning, I woke up at 4 am and went outside to enjoy the full moon and the landscape bathed in the moonlight. Some birds were already singing and I could hear several roosters crowing in the distance.

I then had some water with lemon and wrote a few things here.

My wife woke up at about 5 am. We spent some time together in bed with Mila the dog. She is only about four months old and although she is generally not allowed in the bed, we are taking time with her in the morning. It’s likely very good for her, and we enjoy it too.

We got up some minutes before 6 am, as the sun was beginning to come up. I watered the plants in the nursery, some plants we planted yesterday, and a few that seemed to need it otherwise. It rained a bit two nights ago, it rained a lot some days before then, and we are using a lot of mulch, so most plants don’t need water now.

Daniel and José Luis came around 7 am. I gave them each a couple of the many oranges we got from a neighbor earlier this week. They will work on the area between the two houses today, and also the garden around the big house. Daniel has helped us since April with the garden and food forest, and his help has been invaluable.

I am not able to do much physical work because of my chronic illness, and although I have been passionate about Permaculture and more for decades, I also don’t have expertise with this tropical ecosystem.

Diana came closer to 8 am to help get the big house ready. Roberto, my wife’s father, is coming later today. While they were talking and making breakfast, I went outside on the terrace facing the canyon to do qigong.

We then had breakfast – oatmeal porridge with papaya, sunflower seeds, bits of dates, some coconut oil, and more.

Just now, a few minutes after 8 am, my wife and Diana went to the big house to get it ready. I am staying back here to rest and do a few things, including in the house. As I write this, I listen to Mop Mop.

After Roberto arrives, we will go for lunch at Ángel in the town of Barichara.

Since it’s not even 9 am yet, I’ll write a bit about what we did yesterday.

YESTERDAY

Yesterday, Daniel and José Luis came at 7 am. I talked with Daniel about some of the plans for the terraces between the houses.

We had maybe 20 soursop seeds so Daniel and I mixed soil – 1/3 local soil, 1/3 compost, 1/3 rice husk, and a cup of microbe water. I and José Luis put the soil in bags and planted the seeds while chatting with my imperfect Spanish and his slightly better English. The soursops will grow for a while in these relatively large bags until they are ready to be transplanted.

I also looked at the progress with the vermicompost flush toilet system, and especially the area where the water flows into the ground. We want to make sure there is little to no chance of contamination. The location is made so any overflow is unlikely to create problems, and we are using a deep mulch bed (1-1.5 meters deep).

We did some other things in the garden and my wife cooked a delicious lunch for all of us – a soup/stew with beets, beans, squash, and much more.

After, we did several practical things and I watered some newly planted plants. If we need to water, we do it in the early morning just after sunrise, although in this case, I wanted to water them since they were just planted. I did it when the sun was close to the horizon.

I also looked at examples of the Japanese torii gates since I imagine one of those – a simple and rustic one – could look good at the entrance to the garden and house from the small road going here.

In the late afternoon, we walked up to the big house to look at the sunset from there. At the small house, where we are, we have the same view but we are in the middle of a forest so it’s less visible.

We then had a simple delicious meal with Felipe’s toasted bread, olive oil, avocado, and – for me – locally made goat cheese which is amazing and has a rich and complex taste. We had a good conversation.

We went to bed between 8 and 9 pm and fell asleep relatively quickly.

I realize all this sounds idyllic, and it is, although there are also plenty of challenges on some days.

All photos are from yesterday apart from the before-dawn moon photos from this morning.

All the beings on Milagros

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In my teens, I envisioned myself in the future writing books, giving talks, holding workshops, working with people individually and maybe in groups, teaching meditation, perhaps having an academic career related to psychology or spirituality (ideally doing research on a topic related to awakening), and so on. It didn’t seem all that far-fetched. I had familiarity with the terrain, the passion and drive, a good enough brain, and I relatively easily got top grades.

A SHIFT IN COURSE

None of that happened, likely due to a combination of trauma (social anxiety, wanting to stay hidden as a trauma response) and my chronic illness.

Instead, I find myself now putting all of that into the reforestation and food forest project here on Finca Milagros. It’s deeply rewarding, I notice how I am transformed by it along with the land, and it doesn’t have some of the annoying downsides (!) of working with humans. (Of course, it instead has its own challenges.)

If I had followed the path I envisioned, and which seemed realistic in one form or another, I could perhaps help a few dozen people, maybe somewhere in the three digits. Instead, through where life put me, I can help millions if not billions of beings. Of course, it’s not all about numbers, but in a sense, it is all about numbers.

RESCUING THIS LAND

I find it immensely rewarding to know that millions and possibly billions of beings will live out their life fully or partially on this land.

If we hadn’t bought it, someone else would and they would likely have developed it into dozens of plots with houses or a big hotel. Both is happening right down the hill from us, in two different projects, and we know that an architect in town had similar plans for this land.

LOVE SPICED WITH DISAPPOINTMENT

As I sometimes tell friends, I channel my disappointment into this regeneration project. It’s said as a joke, but there is a grain of truth in it.

What’s more real, of course, is that it comes from love – love for nature, life, this amazing living planet we are all expressions of and how it appears locally here.

AN ESTIMATE OF THE NUMBER OF BEINGS ON MILAGROS

How many beings live here now? Maybe low three digits of birds, a half to a few million insects, some dozen mammals, three digits of reptiles and amphibians (maybe more), trillions of microbes, and hundreds of thousands if not millions of plants of a few hundred different types.

How many beings may live here at any one time in the future, when the ecosystems is more mature, rich, and vibrant? Maybe a thousand birds, billions of insects, three digits of mammals, several hundred reptiles and amphibians, trillions of microbes, and millions of plants of several hundred different types.

Of course, this depends on what’s happening in the larger local, regional, and global ecosystem, but this will be a sanctuary for millions if not trillions of beings.

It will be a sanctuary for millions and perhaps trillions of consciousnesses just like me and you and all of us, all living through and as different bodies.

WE ARE ALL ESSENTIALLY THE SAME

Some will say that it’s more important to help humans but I don’t see it that way. Of course, I value and love my human connections, but we are all consciousnesses no matter what type of body we live through and as. We are all essentially the same, it’s just the expression that varies.

Similarly, we are all local and temporary expressions of this living system we call Earth. We are all the local eyes, ears, thoughts, and feelings of the universe. We are the universe bringing itself into consciousness.

LIVING THE ESSENCE OF MY CHILDHOOD DREAM

As a child, I loved nature. I loved being in nature with my parents. I loved nature programs on TV (especially Richard Attenborough and Sverre M. Fjelstad.) I wanted to become a biologist, although what I meant was ecologist. Now, I live my childhood dream in many ways.

Read on for more info.

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An update on our food forest and reforestation project

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I thought I would give a brief overview and update on our food forest and reforestation project near Barichara, with a few dates so we can more easily keep track of the progress. Hopefully, this will be the first of many updates.

FINCA MILAGROS 2022

We bought the land in early 2022, started building the first small house, and moved in on Winter Solstice 2022. During this time, we didn’t do anything with the land apart from letting it start to recover after decades and maybe centuries of grazing.

FINCA MILAGROS 2023

We didn’t do very much with the garden or food forest the first year were here. There were too many other things to do: repair 1,500 meters of stone fence, get basic water and electricity, clean up barbed wire fence throughout the finca, set up a good fence towards a neighbor with cows, get familiar with the land and climate, and so on. Since we came here, we have been away for long periods as well.

We also had challenges finding someone to advise us on the regeneration and food forest and also help us with the work. (Most of the local workers only know grazing farming, see pioneers as “bad plants” to be removed, don’t know much if anything about mulch and building soil, and so on.)

We did connect with Fundación Guayacanal in the second half of 2023 and had conversations, a survey of the finca, and made a plan for reforesting Milagros. They use a mix of native trees, including food-producing trees, and seem to have a generally good understanding and approach. They sell the carbon credits and make money that way.

FINCA MILAGROS 2024

In May this year, Daniel started coming every week to advise and help us with the work. He is very knowledgeable and completely aligned with what we wish to do here, so it’s been a blessing. That’s really when the garden and food forest started, so it’s only been about five months of focused work.

In April, Fundación Guayacanal came and planted close to 2000 native trees of twenty different varieties in the more arid and degraded areas of the land. This is also a blessing and the first part of hopefully several more phases of plantings.

More recently, we installed a rainwater catchment system for the small house, and the big house is almost ready and will have its own rainwater catchment system.

THE NEAR FUTURE

As for the rest of the year, we plan on continuing to develop the food forest around the houses. We have a nursery with maybe a few hundred saplings ready to go out.

I assume Fundación Guayacanal will continue planting when the rain returns in April or May next year, and we will hopefully also have a variety of native food-producing saplings ready to go out further away from the houses, close enough so it’s easy to harvest and far enough away so we won’t water them.

PERMACULTURE ZONES

Here is how it looks in terms of Permaculture zones:

Zone 0: House. We may move the toilet and shower away from the house and install a dry toilet.

Zone 1: Kitchen garden. We have herbs interplanted with other plants and may dedicate one area for herbs.

Zone 2: Larger plants and orchards. This is where the main focus has been so far in developing the food forest around and between the houses.

Zone 3: Main crops that require less attention. We are moving into this zone and I suspect this will be a focus for the rest of the year and next year.

Zone 4: Semi-wild areas. I want to plant more native food-producing trees in this area. That may happen to some extent next year, but I suspect the focus here will happen in a couple of years.

Zone 5: This is where Fundación Guayacanal is planting their mix of natives, including food-producing trees.

A FEW PHOTOS

This is the area around the house in December 2022, just after the house was finished. There are some native trees here (acacia) and a few other pioneers (uña de gato) but mostly bare and compacted soil with almost no organic content.

The photos at the beginning of this article are from these days, October 2024, almost two years later. As mentioned above, we did some of the work in 2023 although the vast majority is from the last six or so months.

A few photos from our nursery and our most recent plant delivery (108 trees from Santi and his family). The nursery has a few hundred plants right now, some grown by us from seeds and some from other growers in the area. It’s a mix of native and non-native food-producing plants. The non-natives are non-invasive and generally well-suited to this climate.

When we came, the soil around the house was too barren and dry for mushrooms. These days, we find mushrooms everywhere in the garden/food forest. It’s a sign that the microclimate is changing with the soil building, mulching, and wide diversity of young plant life. (The last one is from the main path and close to the big house.)

We found nopal (prickly pear) in town, close to Casa Común, and brought a couple (?) of pads here. Now, we have maybe 30 or 40 nopals growing here. As they grow more pads, we take them and plant them in more areas of the food forest. They are a good food source and also help the soil and ecosystem. This is very likely a Mexican variety used for food.

We have planted a few moringa trees, and I want to plant more. They are nutritious and medicinal.

We save seeds from the food we are eating and plant them in the food forest. If we want to give them a good chance of survival, we plant them in the nursery first and then in the ground. If it’s a plant we already have several of, we may plant the seeds directly in the ground.

Some photos from January 2024 from the more arid and eroded area of Milagros. This is along the ridge and close to the peak. Other areas of the land have more vegetation, although often mostly pioneers.

A crew working with Fundación Guayacanal dig holes for later planting, on January 16, 2024.

Some of the two thousand trees planted by Fundación Guayacanal in April 2024. The photos are from early October. I went to the areas with the most difficult conditions and got the very unscientific impression that about a third didn’t make it, a third were alive and small, and a third were larger and thriving. It is to be expected that some don’t make it, especially in these conditions, and we also had a few weeks without rain between April and now.

The photos were taken after a night of rain. Poor soil like this, with mostly sand, silt, and clay, is difficult for the plants in several ways. It lacks nutrients. It lacks a mulch layer to keep the moisture in the ground. Because of the compacted and hard soil, rainwater runs off and causes erosion instead of draining into the ground, and the roots have trouble penetrating the hard soil.

A few more photos from the arid and eroded zone. It has its own fleeting beauty. If all goes well, this will again be a forested area.

These are from along the main path through Milagros. The path largely follows the ridge so it is along the more eroded areas, although it’s not as arid and eroded as the peak area in the other photos. The photos are from earlier this month after a night of rain. The second photo is what’s left of the fruits from the mamón (Spanish Lime), which is one of the native fruit trees here.

The astonishing return on investment in our food forest

moe 1 Comment

There is an astonishing return on investment in our food forest.

We do some work, mainly now in the establishment phase. We learn, receive guidance and help, find the plants, plant, mulch, improve the soil, water a bit, and so on.

Nature does the rest. Nature grows, turns air into organic matter, creates new layers of mulch, improves the soil, brings out more and more food for us and the wildlife, and over time grows a rich and diverse food-producing forest that requires far less work.

THE SMALL RETURN ON INVESTMENT OF CONVENTIONAL APPROACHES

When we put money into a savings account, there is a relatively small and steady return on investment.

If we put it into a fund, we may get more although it’s slightly more risky since the economy goes up and down and we are also likely supporting a lot of destructive activities. That last aspect, in itself, is not a good return on investment.

We can conventionally grow food, planting every year and inputting a lot of chemicals and work. This gives some return on investment, but it’s inefficient. It requires us to start over every year, depletes the soil, and depends on petroleum.

THE NEAR-INFINITE RETURN ON INVESTMENT IN FOOD FORESTS

Food forests are different. They have a very different trajectory and they provide a great and diverse return on investment.

In a food forest, we always build on what was before. We gain more organic matter. Soil health continues to improve. We get more and more diversity. The forest grows and fills in more and more layers. We fill in more of the 3D space with root vegetables, vines, herbs, bushes, and trees of different sizes.

Although there is a lot of work in the establishment phase, there is less and less work as the food forest matures. More and more, it takes care of itself, with (pleasurable) harvesting becoming a larger and larger portion of the work.

A food forest produces a great diversity of yields.

First the commercial ones: Fruits, nuts, vegetables, and herbs. Value-added products like cacao, coffee, Maya nut flour, tea herbs, and jams. Seeds and saplings. Regular and worm compost. Information and knowledge. Ecotourism.

Then all the other yields, equally or more valuable: Food for us and wildlife. A great place to live. Flowers for pollinators. Habitat for wildlife. Seed dispersal. Improved soil health. Erosion prevention. Recharging the groundwater. Possible return of natural ponds, springs, and creeks. Community connections. An example and inspiration for others.

What comes out of a food forest, through nature’s work, is almost infinitely more than the limited work we put into it. It’s an amazing blessing.

The images are from our beginning food forest. We started small last year and got going only earlier this year, so a lot of the focus is on building soil and getting the basics of the food forest started, mainly close to the houses so far.

I got the idea for this article from a talk by Tutu Sainz called Food Forests, Our Path to Infinite Abundance.

Read on for more info.

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Where does the new organic matter in our food forest come from?

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Where does the new organic matter in our young food forest come from?

THE FOOD FOREST ON MILAGROS

As I have written about in other articles, we are growing a food forest on our land in the Andes.

It’s in two distinct sections, although I suspect the distinction will get more blurred over time. One is the wilderness area where an organization is planting a diversity of natives that include some food-producing plants. The other is around the houses with an emphasis on native and non-native food-producing plants, with other natives mixed in.

WHERE DOES THE ORGANIC MATTER COME FROM?

The soil around the houses was very poor, mostly sand and clay with little to no organic content. It still is this way in the areas we have not planted yet.

So where does the new organic matter come from?

Imported from neighbors and the region: very little in terms of mass

Some are imported from neighbors close by and in the region. We get organic goat manure from Paul down the road. We get worm compost from Marlon a little ways away. Earlier, we collected leaves along the road and brought them here and used them as mulch. We are buying microorganisms from people in the area. We have also bought rice husk, which I assume comes from further away. All of this is vital for improving soil health.

Most of the plants in the food forest are imported as well, as seeds or small and smallish saplings. This is obviously essential for creating the food forest.

As important as this is, in terms of mass or volume, it’s not much.

Pruned material: recycling what’s already here

We regularly prune some pioneers already growing here and use the pruned material as mulch. In terms of mass, this is a little more substantial although it’s a recycling of the organic material already here. As the food forest grows, we will prune a greater diversity of plants and this pruning will help improve the soil health and create a thicker layer of mulch.

Air, soil, and water

The vast majority of the new organic matter here comes from the air. Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen collected from the air make up roughly 96% of a plant’s dry weight.

Soil nutrients are important although make up just 3-5% of the dry weight.

Of the wet weight, about 70-90% is water.

THE MIRACLE OF LIFE

This is one aspect of the miracle of life.

We start with severely degraded land and soil. The soil is mostly inorganic matter – sand, silt, and clay.

There are some hardy pioneers here and they do the vital work of beginning to improve the soil. When we prune these plants and give them back to the soil, that process is sped up slightly.

We have imported some manure, compost, and mulch, although not much in terms of mass.

We are importing seeds and saplings to start the food forest, and this is obviously essential for creating this food forest. This too is not much in terms of mass.

From this humble beginning, nature takes over. The plants create organic matter mostly from the air, and it’s an exponential process. As there are more plants growing, the soil health improves, and the plants grow better and create the conditions for new plants.

Over time, the forest becomes more and more diverse, healthy, and self-sustaining.

It never needed us, of course, to evolve into a more diverse and healthy ecosystem. It just needed humans to stop interfering. Since we are here too and we wish to have food and perhaps income from the forest, we steered the regrowth in the direction of becoming a food forest.

The images are from the area around the first small house. We started last year so it’s all new still, and we started with very poor soil so a lot of the emphasis so far has been on building soil and improving soil health. That is, literally, the foundation of healthy plants and a healthy forest ecosystem. The second image is a section of our nursery. The last shows that the microclimate has already improved so we are having a lot of fungi here now – where we used to have barren and dry soil.

Read on for more info on these topics.

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Wildfire prevention on Milagros

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There are occasional wildfires in our area, especially during the dry season. Many of our neighbors grow tall grass which becomes flammable when dry, and they are generally using practices that degrade and dry out the soil, plants, and landscape. This all increases the risk of fire.

Wildfires are part of the natural cycles and ecosystems have evolved to deal with occasional fires. They sometimes even depend on them, it helps them stay healthy. At the same time, this landscape is severely degraded and unable to hold much moisture, which increases the risk of more frequent and stronger wildfires. I assume the mature forest that once was here was inherently less flammable.

What are we doing to reduce the risk of wildfire on Milagros and close to the houses?

Mainly, we support reforestation and regeneration of the land. As the ecosystem evolves and becomes more healthy, several things happen that reduce the chances of fire: We get a cooler and more humid microclimate. The vegetation is more hydrated. With better soil, natural mulch, and more shade, the ground retains moisture for longer. As the forest comes back, the grass is shaded out. In time, water may return to creeks and springs.

In general, there is more water and humidity throughout the whole system – in the soil, in the mulch layer, in the vegetation – which reduces the risk of wildfire.

Around the houses, we have developed terraces and swales to slow down rainwater so it’s absorbed into the ground. We are improving the soil so it has more organic matter which makes it more porous and able to absorb rainwater. We are adding a relatively thick layer of mulch which slows down and absorbs rainwater and retains moisture. We water now and then during the dry periods so the vegetation is hydrated and the mulch is moist. We are planting water-rich succulents (agave, cactus). We avoid especially flammable vegetation like eucalyptus and pines. We plant in layers – small and large trees, bushes, herbs, groundcover, and vines – so there will be a lot of greenery throughout the vertical space. There is no grass here, apart from some vetiver.

We have water tanks with water from the town and our own rainwater. I plan to look into attaching a thicker hose combined with a pump. There is a small pond close to the small house. If we have a small swimming pool, it will be slightly up from the big house so we can find a way to use that water if necessary, likely with a large hose and pump.

As for the rest of Milagros, we are engaged in a reforestation project which will help create a more healthy ecosystem. It will take some time, but it’s already a good start.

I am sure there is more we are doing, and there is a lot more we can be doing, although this is what comes to mind for now.

As usual, the answer to almost any question is to support the regeneration of a healthy and diverse ecosystem, one with an abundance of water and healthy water cycles. This helps with growing an abundance of food, pest control, reducing the impact of storms, preventing and reducing the impact of fires and floods, preventing erosion, and so on.

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Making hillside paths on Milagros

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Milagros is relatively hilly, and we have a slope between the two houses.

The images above are of the existing path which just follows the path rainwater naturally takes down the hill.

That’s not a workable solution in the long run so we want to make a better path.

THE PROBLEMS WITH FOLLOWING THE PATH OF THE RAINWATER

If we made it in the same location, we would perpetuate at least two problems:

(a) The water collects at the bottom of the hill instead of draining into the soil where it falls. In itself, it’s not necessarily a problem but we prefer to let it drain into the soil where it falls since we are growing a food forest there.

(b) It will lead to continued erosion. The rainwater will continue to erode the same path as it has for a while now. It removes valuable soil from where we need it and deposits it where we don’t need it. If it’s a stone path, the water will remove the soil holding the stones in place.

SWITCHBACK PATH + IMPROVED RAINWATER ABSORPTION

So what’s the solution?

The main solution is to make a serpentine or switchback path. A path that does not follow the natural path of the rainwater when it runs down the hill.

In addition, we can do several things to improve rainwater absorption.

We already have swales and terraces on that hill and will create more. These retain and slow down the rainwater, giving it more time to drain into the soil. Terraces also give us flat sections for the path.

We are adding mulch which also slows down the rainwater, in addition to keeping the moisture in the soil.

We are adding organic matter to the soil, improving its porosity and ability to absorb rainwater.

We may channel the rainwater away from the path and into swales with channels and miniature stone dams.

We will plant and encourage vegetation between and near the stones in the path to reduce erosion. Native ground cover plants would be ideal and we already have these here around the house.

With terraces, improved rainwater absorption, and a serpentine path, we may not need many vertical steps, and a path that’s similar to the old traditional roads in the area – camino real – may work well. They are a combination of soil and stones.

THINKING OUT LOUD AND RECORDING INFO

Why am I writing on these topics?

It’s mainly to record the progress of our regeneration project, and even something as apparently simple as a path on a hillside is an integral part of that project. We want to do it in a way that works well for us and the nature here.

It’s also to think out loud and record info. It helps me think it through and remember, and I also have the opportunity to add updates.

It’s also possible that some of this can be of help to others, although use it as a starting point. Do your own investigation and find what works best for your project and with your goals and priorities. I am by no means an expert on any of this.

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Vermicomposting flush toilet on Milagros

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We are installing a vermicomposting flush toilet system at the big house on Milagros.

VERMICOMPOST FLUSH TOILET

Inside, it’s a normal flush toilet. What’s flushed goes to a tank where the solids are held back and composted by worms. The water with soluble nutrients continues and feeds plants from an underground release system.

In some situations, it seems a very good solution. Inside, all is normal, and nothing goes to waste.

THE SYSTEM

It’s a pretty simple system. All that’s needed are some pipes, a couple of tanks, a metal screen, and some worms. We have two tanks so we can switch when one needs maintenance. We use the usual red wiggler worms.

The pipe channels the flushed water into the top of the tank. Solids are held back by the metal screen and the worms live on the layer on top of the screen. The water continues down and through more pipes where it’s led into the soil by a network of smaller pipes.

MAINTENANCE

The worms need to be fed so if nobody is at the house for a couple of weeks or so, someone needs to come and feed the worms with food scraps or similar.

Toilet paper can go into the toilet, but we have to use non-toxic and mild cleaners so the worms and plants are not harmed.

From what we hear, it’s good to check in on the worms once a week or so.

It’s not necessary to remove the compost very frequently. I think it can take years (?) before it needs to be removed, and it’s full of nutrients.

I suspect it’s good to check on and clean the pipes releasing the water into the ground to make sure they are not clogged by roots and more.

TEMPERATURE RANGE

I suspect the main challenge here may be temperature. The worms do best in the 20-25 Celsius range and can survive in the 10-30 Celsius range.

Here, daytime temperatures are often in the 25-30 range. It means the tanks need to be in the shade, they need good insulation, and we need to check in on them regularly – especially in the beginning.

PATHOGENS & CHEMICALS

In composting toilets, pathogens are less of a problem because of the time and heat.

Vermicompost flush toilet systems are different since pathogens will follow the water into the soil. I see others recommend using the water to feed plants that produce food far from the soil, which is what we will likely do too.

I have some questions about pharmaceuticals. Won’t some be absorbed by the plants and the fruits? Won’t antibiotics harm the microbial life in the soil? I need to learn more about this.

It’s also important to make sure that the water is absorbed and filtered sufficiently so it doesn’t contaminate the groundwater. That’s why it’s important to have a deep bed of absorbent material – like wood chips – in the area where the water is released.

RESOURCES

This is a video about the vermicomposting flush toilet system some friends installed a while ago. They have given us invaluable advice.

Vermicomposting Toilets – a website with detailed info about vermicomposting flush toilets

Vermicomposting Toilets – a page from the Earthworm Society of England

How to Make a Vermicomposting Flush Toilet – from an UK Permaculture site

Composting Flush Toilet – an example from Permaculturing in Portugal

OTHER SYSTEMS

The usual flush toilets are hygenic and also wasteful. They waste water, nutrients, and energy, in addition to creating a waste problem out of something that’s a natural fertilizer. (Here in the countryside outside of Barichara, flush toilets release into the ground which is terrible for the groundwater.)
Upside: Familiar, convenient, and the infrastructure is already there in many places.
Downside: Waste of water, requires local or public infrastructure, waste problem, and the public system requires a lot of resources.

A simpler option is some version of a composting toilet. The solids and liquids can go into the same container, or they can be separated. The solids can compost on their own or with the help of worms. Done right, there is little to no smell from these toilets. (I have lived with old-fashioned composting toilets at the cabin in Norway and have no complaints about them. In general, I prefer composting toilets and I plan on replacing the flush toilet at the small house with one.)
Upside: Simple, has been used for thousands of years, deals with pathogens, gives compost.
Downside: Requires some simple maintenance and knowledge of how to reduce or eliminate smell.

Vermicomposting flush toilets are described above.
Upside: Can have a regular flush toilet inside.
Downside: Requires maintenance, possible pathogen problems.

Incinerator toilets collect and burn the waste, leaving a small amount of ashes in the end. This requires some energy although not much. The upside is that it’s simple in use, hygenic, and doesn’t require much infrastructure apart from an energy source. The downsides are the energy requirement, cost, and waste of resources.
Upside: Simple and elegant, hygienic, and very little maintenance.
Downside: Expensive, requires electricity, waste of potential compost.

Biogas toilets use anaerobic bacteria to compost waste, and the gas can be used for cooking, heating water, and other purposes.
Upside: Makes gas for cooking etc.
Downside: Requires knowledge to install and some maintenance.

I love living machines and constructed wetlands for breaking down and making use of the waste. They are educational, beautiful, and may be especially useful for communities.
Upside: Beautiful, effective, educational, makes use of the resources.
Downside: Requires a lot of knowledge and some work to install, and requires regular checks and maintenance.

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Reforestation practices on Milagros

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About three months ago, we had close to two thousand trees planted on Milagros. It was done by Fundación Guayacanal, an organization that specializes in reforestation in this region. We plan in cooperation, and the trees and work are at no cost to us. In exchange, we give them the right to sell carbon credits to multinational corporations.

It’s a win-win-win situation. The land and wildlife benefits. We receive invaluable help to reforest and regenerate the land. They make a living and likely a profit. The corporations get to offset their ecological footprint.

The images above are from a walk I made a couple of days ago to the first reforestation zone. This is the most degraded part of Milagros. It has been heavily impacted by grazing and erosion and only a few trees are left in that area.

Some saplings are doing very well, some are alive although quite small, and about a third (?) died. That some die is to be expected. They grow in challenging conditions (poor soil, strong sun, and wind exposure) and we had some short periods of drought since they were planted.

GOOD REFORESTATION PRACTICES

What are some good practices when it comes to reforestation?

Use native trees, bushes, herbs, and vines. They are adapted to the climate and they are of most benefit to the wildlife since they have co-evolved.

Plant a wide diversity, as many different natives as possible.

If the climate has distinct wet and dry seasons, like here, plant at the beginning of the wet season so the saplings are better established before the dry season.

BETTER REFORESTATION PRACTICES

There are also some better reforestation practices, according to what I know from Permaculture and what I hear from people more knowledgable than me.

On slopes, create swales and terraces to retain rainwater and reduce erosion.

Use more mature saplings since they are stronger.

Start at the edges of the existing forest and gradually move into the more degraded areas.

Keep natural succession in mind. If the land is degraded, start with the hardiest pioneers and early-stage plants. Later, include the ones that require a slightly more mature ecosystem.

Plant for all layers of the forest: Tall trees (canopy layer), smaller trees (sub-canopy layer), woody plants and bushes (shrub layer), non-woody plants (herbaceous layer), low-growing plants (ground cover layer), underground plants (root layer), vines and climbers (climbers layer).

Include native food plants that will feed the wildlife and humans. Create a food forest with natives.

Use companion planting. Plant fique (native agave), cactus, and more close to the trees. These help with soil retention, supporting microbial life, absorption of excess water, and more.

Make wide and deep holes for the plants and use good soil. This is especially important where the soil is degraded. Larger holes and good soil absorb the rainwater, hold the moisture longer, allow excessive water to drain, and allow the roots to spread out more easily.

Use biodegradable containers to grow the saplings, and then place them in the ground. This is efficient and it doesn’t disturb the roots when planting.

Use compost, manure, and microbes. This enriches the soil and gives the plants the best possible start.

Use a good layer of mulch and refill now and then. This helps absorb the rainwater and retain moisture, and it also provides nutrients and a good environment for microbes and fungi.

MIMIC A HEALTHY FOREST

In general, these practices mimic the conditions in a healthy forest and ecosystem.

The soil is nutrient-rich and porous enough to absorb and retain rainwater and allow the excess to drain deeper into the soil. There is a natural layer of mulch on the ground. The soil has plenty of nutrients and microbial life. Plants grow with a great deal of diversity and close together. The roots have space to spread out and go deep. The seeds tend to germinate at the beginning of or during the wet season.

THE MILAGROS REFORESTATION PROJECT

We have two distinct efforts on Finca Milagros: Reforestation in the wilderness zone and a food forest close to the houses.

One is the reforestation project by the organization mentioned above. They use a variety of native trees including food-producing natives, and they will replace the saplings that died. This will jumpstart the reforestation. The idea is that these trees will provide the foundation for regrowing the forest and nature – the wind, water, birds, and animals – will bring in a variety of other trees, bushes, vines, and flowers. I suspect we will interplant with a variety of natives to create more diversity.

This is already the beginning of a food forest since it will include native food-producing trees. We will likely keep adding more native food-producing trees and bushes in this area, especially along the main path.

Their approach is simple. They make small holes for the saplings, don’t amend the soil, don’t mulch, and start in the most degraded areas. Since natives are hardy, many seem to survive anyway.

As mentioned above, there are better practices, although these are also more resource intensive: Use larger and deeper holes, fill in with good soil, use biodegradable containers, start at the edges of the existing forest, and mulch. That would likely allow more plants to survive and thrive, the trees would grow maybe 2-3 times faster, and it would require less follow-up and replacement of dead saplings. This would require more work up-front but less follow-up and the forest would grow faster.

THE MILAGROS FOOD FOREST

The other is the food forest around and between the houses.

Here, we are focused on building soil since we are still early in the process, and we (aim to) use the best practices mentioned above since it’s a smaller area and we can put more energy into it.

We use whatever food-producing plants that work well in this climate and ecosystem, whether they are native or non-native.

Our aim is to make this food forest as rich and diverse as possible with at least a few hundred varieties.

A DIVERSITY OF ECOSYSTEMS AND PLANTS

It’s important to have a diversity of ecosystems, so this is not only about reforestation.

There is a creek / small river that goes through Milagros. It’s mostly dry although it fills up after rain. With reforestation, it may be possible to bring back water for more of the year, and with the water comes a different ecosystem with different plants and wildlife.

There will be some open areas, for instance on steep hillsides, where there are a lot of rocks, over a pond, in some areas closer to the houses, and where large trees fall. We may also keep other areas in the wilderness zone more open, depending on what we are advised by people who know more than us.

In general, we are going to encourage and plant a wide variety of native bushes, flowers, and vines, within the forest and on the edges. The trees will create the conditions for a wider range of natives to come in, and we can help it along a bit, especially by increasing the diversity.

A NOTE ON CARBON CREDITS

Carbon credits are not a long-term solution since they don’t address the root causes of our current ecological crisis. To address the root causes, we need profound and thorough systemic changes.

That said, it is a good transitional solution. It’s a step in the right direction. It brings awareness to the topic, and it allows corporations to do something to offset their ecological footprint. They have taken the first step which makes it easier for them to continue to make changes.

If the carbon credit project is done right, as it is here, it helps with the reforestation and regeneration of the native forest and that’s a blessing.

NOTES

The first set of images is of the natives planted in the arid areas of the land, without anything done to improve the soil or to mulch. The soil is poor (sand and clay) so I suspect some of the plants died because rainwater is not absorbed into the soil, and perhaps some also drowned since excess water is unable to drain away. This is zone 5, the wilderness zone, in Permaculture.

The second set of images is what we are doing closer to the houses, with improved soil, mulch, dense planting, terracing, swales, and more. This is zones 1-3 in Permaculture, the areas closer to the houses that receive more attention and input.

Read on for more info.

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Can we bring the river back on Milagros?

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There is a dry river going through Milagros, within an area that’s not easily accessible. This morning, on a walk after a night of rain, I heard water in the river in the distance.

We have been told it used to have water year-round until about twenty years ago, and also that there was a spring in the same area used by the neighborhood (on the border of Milagros and Francisco’s land).

Why did the water go away? Likely because of deforestation. A healthy ecosystem – with trees, mulch, humus, and so on – slows down the rainwater and allows it to be absorbed into the ground to give water to rivers and springs and recharge the groundwater. In a degraded ecosystem – with fewer plants, more shallow root systems, and poorer soil –  the rainwater typically runs off and is not so easily absorbed into the ground.

How can we get it back? Through reforestation and by supporting the regeneration of the ecosystem. A healthier ecosystem will have more plants with deeper root systems, a thicker layer of natural mulch, more organic matter in the soil, and so on. We can support the process by making swales and creating ponds. This will help slow down the rainwater and absorb it into the ground.

We will do what we can here, and we will likely need to talk with the upstream neighbors to see if they want to join this project.

We are reforesting Milagros with the help of a regional organization. They planted close to 2000 native trees on Milagros a few months ago, as the first phase in a process that will hopefully continue for years. They have not planted in the river area yet, but it’s part of the plan. Right now, our priority is the food forest around the houses and basics like housing, solar, rainwater collection, wastewater use, and so on. If we are to put more effort into bringing the river back, it will have to be after we have the basics in place.

The photos are from a walk in January this year. The river is ready to receive water although it’s beginning to grow over with vines and more.

Read on for more info.

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How we deal with light pollution on Milagros

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We are blessed to have very little light pollution in our area, outside the town of Barichara. On a moonless night, the sky is dark and filled with stars.

At the same time, there seems to be very little awareness of the many problems of light pollution in this area, and I suspect we will get more of it.

So how do we deal with light pollution on the land we are stewards of? It’s not very difficult. I keep the outside lights off at night unless we need them on for a few minutes for a specific purpose. Also, they are shielded so they don’t send light upwards. (Others here are not so concerned about light pollution and want to keep the lights on even when not needed for practical purposes, so there is some friction around this.)

What needs to happen in the community? Education is one place to start, although it’s not going to do much in itself. Regulation would help, although it seems there is little regulation about anything here so it would require culture change. Structural changes will help, like actively offering guidance and rebates on shielded bulbs and lamps.

The images are of our small house and the sky here. Some light comes out of the windows on one side of the house at night because we have the windows open for cooling and ventilation, but the light does not go up to the sky. These photos are taken with my phone so don’t do the night sky here justice.

Read on for more info.

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How we are creating a food forest on Milagros

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We are creating a food forest on Finca Milagros. I have mentioned it in other articles and thought I would devote an article specifically to the food forest.

BACKGROUND

We moved in on Winter Solstice 2022 which is a little over 1 1/2 years ago. In the beginning, we did very little planting apart from a few fruit trees and flowering plants around the house. We wanted to get to know the place first, and also make connections for finding appropriate plants and local guidance. We also had a lot of other things to get in place, including basics like the road up the hill to the house. (We still don’t have the solar panels up or the main water filtration system.) About half a year ago, we partnered with Daniel P. who comes once a week to help us with the design, planning, and work, to share his experience and knowledge with us, and it’s also invaluable to have a knowledgeable conversation partner to find good solutions and paths forward.

FOOD FOREST AREAS

We are developing a food forest around our first small house, and are slowly expanding the area down and up the hill. We have also started to plant in a small forest made up of pioneer species close to the house. There is a main path going through Milagros, with a couple of connecting paths, and we plan to plant a food forest along that path as well.

As I have mentioned in other articles, we are partnering with an organization that will plant a variety of native trees on the land, in consultation with us. It’s free to us, and they sell carbon credits to corporations. It’s a win-win-win project, as far as we can tell now. They planted close to 2000 trees two or three months ago and will plant more in the coming years. They include some native food-producing trees, which are important to feed the wildlife.

We will very likely interplant trees on our own, especially native food-producing trees.

HOW WE DEVELOP THE FOOD FOREST

We leave the existing native trees and incorporate them into the growing food forest.

Otherwise, we aim for as much diversity as possible. We use native trees, bushes, and flowers since these help the wildlife. We include non-invasive non-native trees, bushes, and flowers if they work well in this climate and ecosystem, and if they serve an important function, either as food producer, for pollinators, or to improve the soil.

We focus on building healthy soil through a diversity of plants, thick layers of mulch and using compost, green mulch from pruning, organic goat manure, and microbes.

We use mulch, plants, swales, rock edges, and terracing to slow down the rain water and allow it to absorb into the ground.

We started close to the house and are slowly expanding outward as we learn more and have capacity.

Our goal is for the food forest to become increasingly self-sustaining as the soil improves, there is a thicker layer of mulch to retain moisture, and the plants become more established and able to survive better in this dry tropical forest with distinct wet and dry seasons.

PLANT SOURCES

It’s been a challenge to find good sources for native trees, bushes, and flowers. Local nurseries mostly have exotic non-native plants and not many natives.

Most who work on similar projects here collect and grow from seeds, which has several benefits. They are available if you know where to find them, they are free apart from the time, and they are likely well adapted to this climate. We are also doing this, although want to do it more systematically. We have our own small nursery with 50+ plants right now.

Through connections, we are also discovering smaller nurseries and individuals who grow and sell natives. For instance, we are buying several native saplings from one of the people who have helped us develop our food forest.

PLANNING AHEAD

One of the things we have needed help with is planning and thinking ahead.

Which plants need direct sunlight? Where should we plant them so they will continue to have access to direct sun five, ten, or twenty years in the future?

Which ones like shade? Which areas are and will continue to be shaded?

Which plants can be sacrificed in a few months and years to provide mulch and give space for other plants?

We are already seeing changing microclimates from the early phase of the food forest. It’s cooler and more humid allowing fungus to grow here which it didn’t before we started. It’s possible that this will allow us to grow coffee and caco here in the future as the microclimate continues to cool and become more humid. (We are in a dry tropical forest ecosystem and the ecosystem is degraded which has made it hotter and drier, so a cooler and more humid microclimate is very welcome.)

LAYERS

We are also planning for using vertical space as fully as possible. We have shrubs, herbs, bushes, small trees, large trees, and wines. At some point, we were short on bushes and wines so that’s one focus right now.

THE PLANTS

The types of plants appropriate for a food forest obviously depends on the climate and other conditions.

Natives are a safe bet, as is plants others in the neighborhood are growing successfully. It’s also good to try any food producing plants from regions in the world with a similar climate.

AI ASSISTANT

I am using an AI assistant to help me with information about creating food forests, suggestions for which plants to include, specific information about the different plants, and more. If it’s something we’ll put into practice, I always check the info with local experts.

Read on for more info.

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