Our farm and garden are local sustainable eco-businesses established in the vibrant community of Puerto Viejo, Talamanca.  The diverse groups of people in our Talamancan community are essential components of our intricate ecosystem, as are all the plants, animals and other resources that this area has to offer.

Talamanca is the country’s most biodiverse region as well as the most multicultural one. It is the home to the largest Indigenous groups, the Bribri and the Cabecar, as well as having a large and important Afro-Caribbean population, a Spanish-speaking latino population, andpeople from all over the world who have chosen to make Talamanca their home.

We encourage community members to participate in our projects and we support other local, community based initiatives. We are founding members of the local farmer’s market and the alternative energy cooperative, we hold activities for kids in the garden on special occasions throughout the year, host skill-building workshops and produce a local newsletter. Local schools also have an open invitation to visit the garden to learn about the diverse flora and fauna in this region, permaculture, medicinal plants and more. We also host a great Christmas potluck party for our smaller Black Beach neighbourhood every year!

While we are very fortunate to live in such a naturally beautiful place, our community also faces some pressing social and environmental issues: attempts to drill for oil, install big marinas and other unsustainable projects are a result of the growing development that this area attracts; illegal cutting of trees and destruction of rainforest areas, scarce financial resources in education and healthcare, unregulated immigration and other issues that affect us all when people disregard the surrounding environment and the larger society. Browse our documents on this website to see just some of the work that we’ve done to shed light onto some of these issues. Please contact us to further discuss or share information on anything related to the community if there is any way that we or you can help.

Important community resources:

Books:

Cool Cool: the complete green resource guide to the Southern Caribbean of Costa Rica. This booklet can be purchased at ATEC, in front of Tamara’s restaurant in downtown Puerto Viejo.

Organizations:

ANAI: Works on biodiversity conservation, protection and research. www.anaicr.org

ATEC: The Talamancan Association of Ecotourism and Conservation has a great office in town with internet, phone, souvenirs and sustainable tourism advice. www.ateccr.org

CBTC: The Talamanca Caribbean Biological Corridor is active with many of local projects related to biodiversity protection. www.corredortalamanca.org

CoopeTalamanca Sostenible: A local multi-service cooperative aimed at producing and distributing second and third generation biofuels made from local organic waste. www.coopetalamancasos.org