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We are, primarily, a permaculture farm organically growing fruits and spices. Our farm is continually evolving: we have been growing high quality black pepper for over 20 years, and now in 2009, we are about to harvest our first vanilla pods. When we got the land in the 1980s we began planting fruit trees and we commercially farmed local root crops: as the fruit trees matured and began to produce we stopped selling the root crops to concentrate on fruit.
 
Our farm is situated just beyond Puerto Viejo, a small, somewhat cosmopolitan, mellow Caribbean town. We have the luxury of selling our crops and products to friends and neighbors and to a passing trade of eco-conscious travelers: we are inspired to introduce new flavors and tastes and respond to requests from our customers.
While we have around 100 different types of fruit tree here on Finca la Isla, we concentrate commercial production on several special species: mangosteen, rambutan, salak, sapote columbiano, langsat, durian, araza, pulasan, cas, carambola, charichuelo, guayabilla, banana and cacao. Though we grow a number of spices, from turmeric, galanga and ginger to allspice and cinnamon, we concentrate commercial production on black pepper, nutmeg and vanilla.
 
Our main crops are fruits and spices, but we are interested in maintaining diversity and having a varied diet! We grow salad greens, herbs and vegetables in our Edible Landscaping areas and we harvest edible fungi around the farm. It is our intention to begin small scale commercial production of mushrooms within the coming year.
We also have a very active kitchen ‘farm’ growing sprouts for our salad mixes, and working with certain yeasts, fungi and bacteria to produce several fermented products:
- Tempeh, a highly nutritious soybean product , made by mixing gently cooked soybeans with our homegrown Rhizopus oligosporus spores and allowing the developing mushroom to ferment the beans.
- Kimchi, a fermented Korean vegetable pickle. We make our own kimchi using some of the vegetables grown here on the farm.
- Kombucha, a fermented tea.
- Vinegar from bananas and other fruits.
The kitchen is always busy with new ideas, some of which, like sourdough bread, we use ourselves, others, such as home produced frozen yogurt, we sell at the Farmers’ Market.
It is important to us that we make the most of our harvests. We extend our season through drying and preserving part of our commercial and non commercial crops. For example we
- produce dried fruit mixes and fruit leathers which change with the seasons;
- make fine jams, jellies, marmalades and butters;
- create salad dressings, infused vinegars and oils to enjoy with our salad mixes;
- concoct spice and herb blends to enjoy with meats, vegetables, salads and even popcorn!
 
Our inspirations come from the farm, and from our own tastes and preferences. For the Farmers’ Market, we always have baked goods rich in fruit and flavors from the farm: cacao and banana granola bars; araza and ginger cookies; chai biscotti; coconut lime bars – working with whichever fruits and spices we have each season. And it’s always changing: tea blends, sorbets, syrups and sauces – the only caveat is that the main ingredients come from the farm, and with a farm like ours, that part is easy!
At Finca la Isla our goal is threefold: to bring new fruits and flavors to a greater audience, to provide high quality, fresh, organically grown local produce and products to our friends and customers and to provide a positive example of commercially sustainable agriculture to other local farmers.
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Farm Products 
