Tomatoes, lettuce, corn, broccoli, onions, squash, basil, oregano --- these are just some of the vegetables and aromatic herbs being grown chemical-free on small plots of land at Montes de Oro in the Aranjuez River Basin of Costa Rica's Central Pacific region.
Here, Leonel Sibaja, an agro-conservationist, has succeeded in transforming his unproductive field into a plot of fresh, fertile land, brimming with colors, smells, and tastes all which provide his family's sustenance.
"We are trying to do something different to help control pests and put a top quality salad on Costa Rican tables," Leonel said with pride. "And, best of all, we're doing it without polluting the environment with chemical fertilizers."
Leonel's family, along with another 52 campesino families, have benefited from the introduction of new conservation techniques promoted by the Aranjuez Agro-ecological Association.
This initiative is sponsored by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Kenco coffee firm, founded in 1923 by a group of coffee growers and now one of the UK's leading coffee brands.
For the past four years, farmers, teachers, students, and housewives have all benefited from this project to promote sustainable production techniques in an area of some 6,056 -hectare in the middle and upper basin of the Aranjuez River, which drains into the Gulf of Nicoya on Costa Rica's Pacific coast.
Historically, this area has been long affected by soil erosion, water pollution, monoculture, unemployment, and land under-use and over-use. The project, which has benefited some 3,000 people, has brought about a change in local attitudes and in their relationship with the countryside.
From cattle ranching to organic coffee
"I was a beginner, I didn't know where to start, but they gave me a hand and now I have one of the most exemplary farms in this area," explained William Cubero, who is very proud of how he has transformed a site that was totally degraded by cattle ranching into a fertile organic coffee farm.
Here, coffee often referred to as 'green gold' grows prolifically thanks to practices such as shade manipulation and spring water harnessing, as well as using windbreaks and hillside ditches to help filter the water and control excess runoff.
But the success of William Cubero's harvest does not only lie in the application of these techniques. Like other local farmers, Cubero displays modesty, enthusiasm, and drive, combined with a clear vision of the need to conserve the beauty of the natural landscape.
"The change is already evident, both in people's attitudes and in the practices applied on the farms," said Luis Salas, president of the Aranjuez Agro-ecological Association.
"These lands have been rehabilitated...with this project we have planted a very good seed to restore the river basin."
The agro-conservation word puzzle
Barn-feeding systems, worm compost, bio-digester, mechanical weed cutter, gully protection, and paddocks.
These strange terms probably sound very complex, but they could be of enormous value to the region's development.
These words not only represent a new vision of the relationship between people and the countryside, but they are also tools to help farmers produce more crops with higher yields.
For example, María de los Angeles Mesén, a member of a women's group in the community of Cedral, explained how she was able to improve the management of her farm with the help she received from the association in building a livestock shed and acquiring a shredding machine to chop up the feed for her dairy cows using a technique known as partial barn-feeding.
"All these practices are integrated", explained Mesén. "We learned that the animals should spend at least ten hours in the barn, so that they have less impact on the soil."
The cows are fed on sugar cane foliage that is processed by a shredder.
"We plant the cane ourselves, using techniques such as windbreaks to protect the crops and hedges of medium-sized species planted following the contours of the slope to prevent erosion. We also use organic fertilizers produced from manure," Mesén said as she milked one of her cows.
Other local farmers also apply good farming practices such as the protection of gullies, which involves planting trees to isolate the areas where there are watercourses and ditches. This also protects the ground from being trampled by livestock.
To control over-grazing, farm owners that have benefited from the project have also taken the trouble of dividing up the areas where cattle graze into small fields, or paddocks.
Producing worm compost through a process of vermiculture (worm farming) is another of the most common practices adopted by those keen to produce healthier crops. This involves building small worm compost bins into which animal dung is placed and used to feed the worms, which then produce organic compost.
With the residues from pig sties and dairies, other farmers have learned to build tanks to produce biogas, mainly for use as cooking fuel. Two bio-digesters financed by the project are now fully operational and their owners affirm that this experience should be replicated in other communities.
As a result of the project some 45 farms bordering the Aranjuez River can now boast comprehensive achievements that are worthy of imitation. These good practices have not only restored the river basin, which is the basis of life in the forest, and of the local people, but have also improved the economy of these communities.
"The outlook for the future is optimistic," said Luis Salas, whose vision is to create a training school in the area for agro-conservationists in order to benefit the whole country.
"The greatest benefit provided by the Aranjuez Agro-ecological Association has been in training people and making the population aware of the need to conserve and leave a better environment to the future generations."
Cinthya Flores is a Communications Officer with WWF Central America.
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