Here, we LOVE our nature, we cherish our plants, we respect our food, we give back to our environment its loyal position: it is part of us and we need to respect it as much as we respect ourselves.
We teach the kids not only permaculture techniques but really give them another picture of what nature is: not just a basket of groceries, but a sofisticated realm of beauty that is looking after us and needs our attention back.
NO chemincals are used in the garden and we do our best to avoid them in the house (natural soap, ash...).
Permaculture & biodynamic
We teach teach how to make the best use of our environment but also that each plant and animal has a role to play and that we cannot sacrifice them for the sake of quantity.
- Quality over Quantity -
We believe that plants have a deeper essence that only its physical compound. As in some alternative medecines, we try to approach them in a more spiritual way. This is very new in the Salvadorian mentality and give us pychological barriers to overcome, but the kids are always open to new ideas and prove to be very sensitive to it after some time.
Plants & fruits
- Comestible leaves
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| Chaya |
We decided to invest more time and research into Leaves. Few movements focus on their use although they prove to have great nutritional qualities. The garden gives us a large variety of them they we add in our everyday meals: Ortiga, Amaranto, Wild cilantro, Oregano, Basil, Chaya, Camote ...
Note: Apparently, when the Spaniards invaded Central America, they noticed that indigenes were eating large amount of Chaya leaves to get their every day strength. So they eradicated the plant for strategical purposes. The knowledge is coming back and Central America is starting to consume more Chaya Leaves as a nutritional and medecinal plant. More here.
- Fruit trees
We have an abondance of fruits all thoughout the garden that sweeten our palates on regular basis: 3 kinds of mangos, 4 kinds of bananas, coconuts, papaya, guayava, lemons, marañon, zapote, avocados, pineapple ...
- Wild vegetables
We currently do not focus on growing vegetables, only taking advantage of what is growing wild: malanga, potatoe, aspargus, seed bread, yucca, chile, camote...
- Medecinal plants
We are learning as much as we can about medecinal properties hold by the plant, realizing its potentials and that we have a lot of them growing wild around us: chichipinse (pure penicillin), curarina (for scorpion, snakes and tarantula bites), nim (antiseptique and mosquito repellent), chichicaste (for fevers), corona de cristo ( for kidney problems), lemon grass (for stomachaches), aloe vera for everthing!!!
Animals
- Animals are part of the cycle - they eat our compost, give us natural fertalizer, carry seeds around, clean bugs and provide us food. Also, they can be a great tool for communication with kids. They can emotionally exchange a lot with them, through touch, attention, affinity ...
- Rabbits
We built a rabbit house to host rabbits with the intention to be able to regularly give them away to the kid family, as well as a casual source of food.
- Chikens
Chikens are running wild during the day, sometimes messing with our projects but filling our live with stories and our basket with eggs.
- Ducks
A lovely couple has established their home in half of the empty swimming pool.
Projects
- Pisiculture
We are developping a basin to host different types of fish. It is a new learning process for all of us and we hope to have an balance biotope to sustain both eatable and non eatable fish.The water is being cleaned and oxygenated by a tropical plant growing in El Salvador called Las ninfas o buchon:
- Tree transplanting
- Things grow wild and quick here! - we regularly go look around trees to collect young sprouts, transplant them in a small container so they are ready to be given away and carried to a new life. At the same time we offer free coconuts to drink.
Once a week, altogether we head to the Santa Ana or Santa tecla market emptying the back of the pick up previously filled with trees. People are not accustumed to be offered trees and plants but happily accept them. They often offer us with vegetables and fruits to say thank you. We invite them to the house and encourage everyone to have lunch with us.
