Cane Farms, Cosmetics, and Cameras!

Our next adventure in Monteverde took us to a locally owned female-run sugar cane farm. As we hiked to the farm, Jessica and Vane taught us about local plants and animals. They showed us coffee beans and explained their harvesting practices as well as identified local animals throughout the forest. This farm focuses on education and sustainability, so we had the opportunity to learn about the history behind sugar cane, modern, sustainable practices, and common uses for this plant. The girls also spent time assisting the farm owner, Alysa, and earning service hours by removing harmful weeds from the root of sugar canes. 

After clearing all weeds from the sugar canes, the girls spent time learning about the various ways of harvesting and using sugar cane in Costa Rica. Alysa explained that many generations of her family have used similar practices as they are good for the environment. Her farm extracts juice from the sugar cane through oxen yoke machines. Normally, one person feeds the cane through as another removes it, and the oxen push the gear in the machine to juice the cane. On this day, however, the girls powered the machine! They took turns pushing the bar around in order to remove all juice from the cane. 

This Thursday, we also took a trip to a local cosmetic farm! Here, the girls learned about the history of the locally owned and run Monteverde Natural Cosmetics. We learned about the history behind the owners and their family, as well as their efforts to use locally sourced, all natural products – many of which come from their own property! With a better understanding of how the cosmetic products are made, the girls we invited to do the same! They worked in groups to combine and melt the ingredients, use alkalines to balance the pH levels, set the mixture, and cut it into individual blocks of soap. 

After completing our daily Spanish lessons, the girls worked with our teachers Jessica and Vane to set up cameras throughout the forest. This is done to better track night life in the areas surrounding campus. We will check these cameras early next week to see what we have found!