Río Muchacho

(A small organic farm near the coast.)

I spent this past weekend at an organic farm near the coast. The owners of the farm seek to educate the population about the dangers of monoculture (the cultivation of a single crop) and deforestation in Ecuador. For an example of the dangers of monoculture, we need look no further than the Dust Bowl in the Midwest during the 1930s. The farm practices permaculture, a more natural form of agriculture which does not deplete the soil of important nutrients and does not require the use of artificial fertilizers. If you want to learn more about the farm, check out http://www.riomuchacho.com.

An enormous strangler fig that we saw on a hike. Strangler figs grow by first wrapping themselves around, or "strangling", another tree and later dropping roots from their branches to the ground. Sort of reminded me of Avatar...

The farm served food with traditional indigenous bowls and utensils. Both the bowls and utensils were made using the shell of a local fruit.

 Me trying to milk a cow with little success.