We spent our weekends in the community of La Argentina with their home stay families. La Argentina is a rural community that outside of Pecora, the local town, which is about half an hour away from EARTH University. This land got its name, Argentina, because it was owned by an Argentina man. EARTH University has been working with this community for twelve years so far and students from the school go to their community every week to support families and help them to develop their community. They have a lot of projects going on. From the two families we visited, Finca La Virgen and Finca Laureles, we discovered a lot of students’ establishments and projects. Both farms have a well designed and decorated garden, and Finca Laureles has an aquaponic system with a little covered garden that was just installed a week ago, and La Virgen has a medicinal garden with all kinds of herbs and flowers.
Both farms are very beautiful and have a lot of sustainable aspects integrated within them. Finca Laureles is a traditional farm with all kinds of livestock. There are gardens equipped with raised beds and recycle materials all around their house. They have two dairy cows, horses, a coop behind the house and fifteen beef cows on the other side of the farm. They also have a pond that they use to raise tilapia. In addition, there is a river that runs through this five-hectare farm. Don Fernando, the owner of the farm, has conserved the farm through planting trees, being sustainable and self-reliant. On the other side, Finca La Virgen is a one-hectare cacao farm that is run by Doña Chepita. It is a very beautiful farm with lots of ornamental plants. Doña Chepita used to own five hectares, but she sold four hectares to other people after her husband died of cancer two years ago. Her gardens and cacao trees are all organic. However, since it is the flowering season for the cacao, her main income actually is from groups visiting and the homestay program that EARTH has brought to her.
We were divided into two groups: Cassandra, Feyi, Maya and I stayed at Finca La Virgen, and Ada, Christine, Gianna, and Scott stayed at Finca Laureles. When I arrived at the farm, I felt a warm welcome with a big hug from Doña Chepita, and she told us she wanted us to feel comfortable at her house and let her know if we need anything. I was totally overwhelmed by her enthusiasm, but I guess it is not a bad thing to be immersed in a house full of love for a weekend! During our farm stay, we were fully engaged in the community, eating, sleeping and working there. We also learned more simple and traditional ways to do things, like roasting beans on the stove, grinding beans through a hand mill, making chocolate on a pan. Moreover, we got to see the traditional tools these families use to brew coffee and squeeze sugar cane juice.
At Finca La Virgen, every meal we had was plated beautifully, with bowl-shaped rice and nicely placed salad and meat on the side. Our whole farm stay was filled with wonderful food and snacks. These delicious homemade foods totally made our weekends and combined with our adventures on the farm, it was an incredible experience as we are able to get off campus, escape from the cafeteria food, and enjoy the local culture and see a real Costa Rica and Costa Ricans.
Costa Rican cuisine is known for being mild, with high reliance on fresh fruits and vegetables. Since Costa Rica has a mix of culture and races, modern Costa Rican cuisine actually is influenced by all different kinds of ethnic cuisine, especially Spanish and Caribbean. Therefore, Costa Rican cuisine combined these dishes and developed into their own cuisine. Rice and beans are included in every meal. On the Caribbean side, it is also a very common dish but cooked differently. There are various styles of rice and beans in our daily meals. The Caribbean style is cooked in coconut milk, gallo pinto is mixed rice and beans which is a traditional Costa Rican meal that is typically served for breakfast, and other dishes containing rice and beans. Usually, we will have gallo pinto and eggs in the morning; lunch and dinner are either refined beans or spiced beans, which are generally served separate with rice. Moreover, rice is always cooked with finely chopped red peppers and onions, so it always looks nice.
The highlight of our farm stay was the party at the rancho at Finca La Virgen. We ate chalupas at the party and danced together for the whole night. Chalupa is a Mexican cuisine that means a fried corn tortilla sometimes shaped like a boat and usually filled with a savory mixture. There is actually an Americanized version of Chalupa sold in Taco Bell. What we got on our Chalupa base was refried black beans, chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuces and cabbages, minced onions, ground beef, a piece of cucumber, and ketchup and mayonnaise on the top. Everyone was excited about our Costa Rican Chalupa; Doña Lidia’s cooking was blowing our minds! After dinner, all of us had a blast with Mexican songs and salsa dances. We laughed, sang and danced all night! Thanks to our host families, everyone enjoyed this beautiful night.
Lei Shen
Masters Candidate in Food Studies
earthtochatham 