Regenerative Agriculture
I recently started learning about the term regenerative farming when I listened to a podcast called The Doctor’s Farmacy. (episode #73 September 25, 2019) Dr. Mark Hyman was interviewing Tom Newmark who is one of the founders of a farm in Costa Rica called Finca Luna Nueva Lodge where he and his team put regenerative farming principles into practice. The farm and lodge are located near San Ramon in the Alajuela Province of Costa Rica, about 2 1/2 hours from the San Jose airport. After listening to this podcast episode, I looked up the farm/lodge and said to myself- “I need to go to Costa Rica and check out this special place!”
I just returned, having experienced the magic of Finca Luna Nueva Lodge two weeks ago and am sharing what I have learned with you in this blog. I hope you enjoy learning something new!
Finca Luna Nueva Lodge is a 207 acre organic, regenerative farm and ecolodge in the Costa Rican rainforest. “The goal of regenerative agriculture is to optimize photosynthetic activity to sequester carbon in the soil.” “Regenerative agriculture is the hope for the future.” Tom Newmark
Do you remember photosynthesis from biology class? (at least 40-50 years ago for me!) Basically it is carbon dioxide + water = glucose + oxygen that requires the presence of sunlight for energy. So in regenerative agriculture, plants can pull carbon dioxide out of the air and return it to the soil in the form of glucose that then nourishes the complex system of organisms in the soil that keeps soil healthy. In comparison, industrial agriculture uses pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer and mono crops that destroy the health of the topsoil with the end result of damaging the living systems that are supposed to be in soil. Worldwide there has been a loss of between 35-75% of available topsoil. The podcast mentioned above gives much more information if you want to explore this further and I will include resources below for more exploration.
What follows is my experience as a solo traveler to the lodge. From their web site: “Finca Luna Nueva Lodge is both a recreational paradise and a living classroom. We offer a delicious “farm to table” experience of regenerative agriculture, together with miles of hiking trails through rain forests, farmland and herbal gardens.”
I flew into San Jose and the lodge arranged for private van transportation to the farm that was 2 1/2 hours from the airport. I chose not to rent a car since I was traveling solo and didn’t feel comfortable in an unfamiliar country, but cars are available and a good option if you want to explore other surrounding areas. The drive was beautiful! Mountains, fields, forests, sunshine, fog, rain, narrow winding two lane roads and single lane bridges that required turn taking. It was amazing how fast the weather and the terrain changed as we drove.
The Lodge is located in a rain forest. It is about 30 miles from La Fortuna where a lot of adventure tours are located because of Lake Arenal and the Arenal volcano. The lodge is a peaceful refuge away from all the extreme sports but close enough to access many different activities if you choose to.
My fun souvenir from the lodge
I stayed in a room in the building closest to the reception building and also close to the open air restaurant and swimming pool. There are multiple on-site activities. I did the farm tour, the bird watching tour, chocolate making tour, and the sacred seed tour.
I was extremely fortunate to take the sacred seed tour when one of the founders, Steven Farrell, was leading it. We walked through the forest as he identified medicinal herbs and spices and let us smell and taste when they were edible. He has a wealth of knowledge about plants and medicinal uses and the tour was my favorite. There are more than 300 plants prized for their medicinal or sacred uses and it is one of the finest medicinal herb gardens in the world. It is a sanctuary because many of these plants are close to extinction and the farm is working to preserve those species.
I also enjoyed the farm tour, early morning bird watching, chocolate making tour and the night hike where you see critters that come out at night. The chocolate tour was fun because we learned how chocolate is made from harvesting the cacao pod, removing seeds, fermenting seeds, roasting seeds, grinding and then mixing with sugar and making our own chocolate bars. Fun and yummy!
Everyone at the lodge was super friendly and helpful. The owners were there mixing with the guests and by the end of the week, I felt like part of the Lodge family. Other guests invited me to eat with them when they saw me sitting alone and we got to know each other well enough to exchange contact information. One new friend, I discovered later, knows one of my cousins in the Boston area!
Horseback riding to view the volcano
I signed up for two activities offsite. One was a float trip down the river on an inflatable boat, like a zodiac. There were 6 people on the raft and a guide doing most of the paddling. We saw monkeys, sloths, crocodiles and birds. Then another day I went horseback riding up to the top of a mountain where you can sometimes see Arenal Volcano. But that day there were too many clouds and fog. Both activities were great fun. The lodge is really good about arranging transportation for offsite activities and it gets added to your bill so money doesn’t have to change hands unless you want to give drivers a tip.
Three toed sloth cruising down the driveway the day I left
The food at the lodge was amazing! So fresh and healthy. Breakfast was included with homemade bread, granola, fresh pineapple, papaya, watermelon, eggs, kimchi, kefir, fried cheese and much more. There was enough on the menu for lunch and dinner that I could order something different everyday if I wanted to. I ate all my meals onsite. The fresh smoothies were creative and delicious!
Breakfast buffet-included daily
Yummy lunch!
Overall it was a wonderful experience! I learned a lot, met new friends and felt completely safe and nourished. I would definitely visit again sometime!
Resources:
The Doctor’s Farmacy Podcast episode #73 September 25, 2019
https://thecarbonunderground.org great information about saving our soil and planet. You can donate by “adopting a meter” of soil to support regenerative agriculture globally