We are back from our green adventure on our farm in Costa Rica. It was a whirlwind of an 8 day trip! Lots of driving to purchase farm equipment etc. Plus setting up solid contracts for our farm workers with our new and improved lawyer. The dry season is ending and there is still some remnants of the dry season in the coffee fields but the pasture is as green as ever!
East side of the farm pasture at sunrise over the Talamanca mountain range and the Parque Naciónal de Amistad
We have our two full time workers now, Ricardo and Rigo. We are very fortunate to have these guys on board! They know how to maintain the pasture and the coffee plants! Additionally, they are very good handymen and are in the process of fixing fences, building gates to the entrance of the farm and out onto the field, building a shed with the left over wood from the old shack that existed on the farm when we bought it and building a small shelter for the first two livestock we will have… two mama goats who produce milk! We will continue to provide more updates throughout the 2009 year when Ricardo sends us photos of the farm on a monthly basis.
We saved the wood from the old shack so that it could be used around the farm. Ricardo will build his “bodega” for his tools, a shelter for the goats and two gates for the farm with this wood. Ricardo is very resourceful and he is not only our farm manager, he is a carpenter and understands quite a bit about construction, plumbing, electricity etc. He is young enough for strength and old enough for experience. Rigo and Ricardo are brother in laws to each other and they make a great combination of workers. Combine their talents and you have a dynamic duo!
The tall trees in the distance in the background are our hardwood trees that are shading the coffee rows.This is only one side of the field. The farm is 60 acres with 9 of the acres for coffee and about 9 acres of riverfront property which consists of two waterfalls and three swimming holes.
I have been talking to other farmers in the Biolley area where our farm is located who are interested in selling their farms and will keep you posted on this and other properties in the southern zone of Costa Rica brought to you by our favorite green Realtor, Victor Guerrero throughout our green adventure and in future blog posts.
The southern zone of Costa Rica still has some great land deals and the land is not as expensive as the central valley and the hot, humid coastal areas. The prices are 1990 prices as of now, however more and more “estranjeros” (foreigners) are beginning to buy up properties here and just in the year that we have purchased our property we have seen some prices rise.
There are farmers and other small land and house owners however, that are willing to deal with prospective buyers. We purchased our property for $140,000.00 all 60 acres of it!
(That’s me your green girl “farmer Jubie” and Ricardo on one of our humongous boulders out in the field! It’s a great rock to stand on to survey the farm fields and the lower pasture below.)
Of course our farm was not developed when we purchased it. So, for close to a year now we have been developing the property and that has been an extra expense. We have added electricity lines, a grated gravel road with good drainage and a duplex with two apartment sized 2 bedroom 1 bathroom units. Each with an open area for kitchen, dining and living room and a back patio with wash basin and gate. Ricardo and his family are moving into their side very soon. He is going to build cabinets and shelves for both sides in the kitchens before he moves in. We will stay on the far side of the duplex in one of the apartments when we visit the farm and when we make the final move there to build our home, pool and two cabins for the B & B!
Front of the duplex, gravel road and electric lines are in. We are modifying the drainage system in front of the duplex and adding more awnings to each side of the patio. Ricardo will take care of all of this!
NOW
THEN
Some comparison photos above of some of the developments for our newer readers to view. Now… during the dry season, coffee and trees cut back, duplex, electric lines and road. Then… rainy season, pathway and old shack.
(Looking down at the lower pasture.) The lower pasture needs a lot of grooming! Ricardo found a nearby farmer who wants to use our field for his cows. We made the agreement that he could put 20 cows on the property.
There’s room for a lot more cows but we don’t want our fields chomped up by the cud munchers (cows) only to see the land begin to erode like the guy’s farm across the river. Plus the pasture loses it’s green if there are too many cows.
The river is just beyond that thicket of trees and it needs to be cleared up down there too.
(There is a huge mango tree down in the lower pasture that is one of my favorite trees on the property. It looks like a green cotton candy stick down there! Can you see it?)
There are lots of snakes around called the “Tercio Pelo” in Spanish better known as the “Fer de Lance”! If you are bit by one of them it takes a lot of anti-venom (also known as anti-ophidic serum) to survive a bite. There are coral snakes and others around too, but if you keep your path cleared up and stick to the path only, the snakes won’t bother you. They are nocturnal and do not want to be around us just as we do not want to be around them! So clearing the path down to the lower pasture and out to the river is a priority for the farmer who will keep his cows on our property.
The mangoes are ripening! When they ripen they are the big red kind! Delicious!!!!!
Rubber boots are off and it is coffee time! Taking a coffee break between blog posts. I’ll post more updates from our trip in the next few blog entries and show more photos of the coffee fields. I’ll write more about what we have learned from our workers regarding the coffee production and maintenance of the coffee plants. I’ll provide more photos of farm developments, the river down below and our future prospective plans for more building, food gardens, the livestock animal workers and more.
Until then…. pura vida to all and as always…. keep growing green!
