How to Spend more Time in a Hammock?
~ by Dagmar Reinhard
Two weeks before the Envision Festival, we picked Stephen Brooks up at the venue in Uvita.
He was extremely busy coordinating between the different working-groups onsite, and mostly supervising the planting of an ever-growing forest of eatable plants and trees. Where three years ago there was nothing but pasture land, now lush vegetation and shadow covers the place.
Stephen Brooks, from Miami, Florida, has been living in Costa Rica for more than 20 years and is an eminence in permaculture, which is basically a system of principles of agricultural, social, political, and economic design based on the patterns and characteristics of the natural ecosystem. Constantly studying sustainable alternatives for a meaningful quality lifestyle, he applied his knowledge to the creation of an environmental education center in the Caribbean of Costa Rica. Punta Mona has an extension of 34 ha. Thousands of people have visited and inspired themselves to build their own sustainable community in their home country.
The local Varela family, without really knowing it, have been working with permaculture principles for years. Stephen meeting Ademar Varela was an energizing exchange of seed and planting information. Stephen was most impressed by the family’s way of extracting sugar cane juice through a mill driven by an old motor bike. He immediately taped a video and broadcasted it all over the Envision world.
Finally, he shared a secret with us: how to optimize your time in order to be able to spend more time in a hammock?
“Plant fruit trees; they grow on their own, need very little maintenance, and the only thing you have to do is harvest!” Finca Mona is only one of Stephen’s multiple projects. He founded various eco-villages and a fair-trade company, and he hosted TV shows. Watch out! In our next edition, we will be reporting about the Rise community in Perez Zeledón, where they have already created a huge mandala vegetable garden.
INFO: Stephen Brooks - https://www.facebook.com/Puntamona?