Picture this:
You are out on the farm (the integrated organic farm). You go to use the bathroom, a little metal shack with the only glimpse of light from an opening near the ceiling. After you finish, you attempt to nudge the door open. Nothing happens. So you push the door harder. Nothing happens. You brace your body and push on the door with all your might. Nothing happens. You plan to shout out “I’m stuck” for help, but you don’t know the word “stuck” (atascada) in Spanish. So instead, you bang on the door and weekly cry “Hellloooooo…” No one answers. You call your friend, but she’s out working with the animals. So you wait, patiently, for someone else to come to use the bathroom.
Don’t worry. I escaped. After 10 minutes of pleading to the universe for help, another person came along to use the bathroom. She easily yanked the door to the bathroom open and I tumbled out, red from my embarrassment and energy exertion.
At this point, I had less than 30 minutes to finish planting my lettuce for my research project, so I snapped back into action and paced back to my table of plants. I had to plant, fertilize (fertilizar), and apply my treatment to my babies (lettuce) before the bus left to take us back to campus. I especially had to stick to my schedule because I would be heading out on a trip across the country after lunch.
(Lily's Lettuce - 06/22/24)
I arrived at my dorm with just enough time to shower, eat lunch, and finish packing. I would be joining the Rice Cultivation elective course on their trip to rice plantations for three days. To reach a climate suitable for growing rice, we would have to travel 5-6 hours to the opposite side of the country (the northwest).
I hopped onto the bus and found that I did not know anyone. I told myself to relax and hoped I would be able to make friends on the way, but first, I needed a cat nap. My “cat nap” turned into a full-blown 5-hour sloth nap. I guess my body was exhausted from the EARTH lifestyle (estilo de vida). I now understand why many students sleep the entire day on Sunday.
When we finally arrived at our lodging, the other EARTH campus, La Flor, I hastily ate dinner and crashed into my bed. I would save the socializing for the next day.
We woke up late the next day (6:30 AM) and headed to the commercial rice farm called Finca El Pelón de la Bajura. We entered the first air-conditioned room I’ve been in since the airport (besides the library and lab) and listened to a biocontrols presentation (my fav :) ). This farm has a lab where scientists research natural alternatives to fungicides by battling good fungi and harmful fungi in a petri dish to find the good bacterial champion.
El Pelón de la Bajura employs many other sustainable measures. They power their facilities with biofuel extracted from their rice husks. They do not depend on herbicides because their crop-flooding techniques eradicate weeds. Rice plants can survive in standing water because they have special root systems that allow oxygen to enter from their leaves and stems, unlike weeds. In standing water, it’s an easy fight for rice plants.
The drawback of growing rice in standing water, however, is that this environment serves as the ideal breeding ground for methanogens, anaerobic microorganisms that produce the potent greenhouse gas methane from carbon dioxide. On a hopeful note, some studies show that alternating flooding and drying events in the crops reduces the prevalence of methanogens.
Regardless, we NEED rice, a staple food across the country. Even at EARTH, we eat rice with every meal (rice and beans for breakfast is the norm).
I met this boy named Fernando at lunch the other day, and he bluntly and honestly admitted “As a semi-agronomist (because I’m only a first-year agronomy student) I don’t think any human-made systems are perfectly sustainable, but we must try our best in order to save ourselves.”
I couldn’t agree more. Group Pelon continues to search for and implement sustainable alternatives to reduce their environmental footprint, and this mindset is important to spark hope and slow the devastating consequences of climate change in agriculture.
I continue to search for Spanish words online. I think I searched up every agriculture-related word in the Spanish dictionary during the rice paddy lectures to keep up. Turns out the Spanish word for “drone” is “zumbido.”
After the lecture ended, the tourism began. We all posed for photos in front of the gorgeous rice paddies (I never thought I’d call rice paddies gorgeous). Then, we hopped on the bus for an ice cream run, a stop at the beautiful Rio Celeste (heavenly river), and $1 bathroom trips. People here treasure natural wonders not only for their innate value but also to encourage tourism. Our final destination was the pool, surrounded by mango trees, mosquitoes, and my new friends. :)
(Lily and Teresa at Rice Paddies - 06/20/24)
(Mangos con Mis Amigas - 06/20/24)
The following day, we arrived back at la U (the university) in the early afternoon, but the week was far from over. Paolo took me to a zip line-like contraption deep within the infamous, hidden Banano Orgánico, and we sipped coconuts while we sat in the river below, wearing pants and hiking boots (botas).
(Zip Lining Chair - 06/22/24)
Directly after, wet socks and all, I biked to the organic farm to check on the growth of my baby lettuce and came across a turtle (tortuga) crossing the road. To help it get to the other side, I parked my bike in the middle of the road to stop traffic (tráfico). On my way back, I saw a professor casually riding a horse down the road. After this week, I can check zip lining off of my bucket list and add riding a horse.
Life here in Costa Rica is beautiful, full, and more sustainable. I will never stop learning, and I will never stop exploring (explorando). Each day is a new adventure to love.