ABOUT RIO MUCHACHO ORGANIC FARM

A visit to the farm has three main aspects:

1. Agroecology/ sustainable living

2. Adventure and the local environment, flora and fauna of the transition forest.

3. Culture - the coastal montubio culture

	A group of children taking notes about how the grey water system works.

The farm demonstrates a combination of organic agriculture, permaculture, local traditional moon planting,  alternative energies and  recycling  .  of almost everything  !

Who visits the farm?

Tourists, cultural exchange and Spanish language students, children ( ecocamps ) farmers, community groups, teachers, volunteers,  students studying  ecotourism, agriculture and environment.

PERMACULTURE

Permaculture means permanent culture or sustainable farming. It is a design system based on common sense, logic, energy conservation and optimum use of all components. It was first developed in Tasmania and since then has been taught and practiced in many parts of the world. It involves linking alternative technologies with animals, crops, architecture  and social structures.

The composting toilet, hydraulic ram pump, banana circles and water recycling are some examples of Permaculture.

ORGANIC FARMING

We consider organic farming a philosophy as well as a practice. It does not only mean that crops are cultivated without the use of agricultural chemicals simply  by replacing these  with more natural non toxic products, but that the farm develops a natural  equilibrium such that it DOES NOT REQUIRE  the use of any kinds of sprays.

 To achieve this, the principles of organic farming should be followed.. here are two of the most important .

1.Return all organic material to the soil, and NEVER burn. Organic matter is the most important part of organic agriculture.

2.Feed the soil, not the plant. The tendency in chemical agriculture is to use quick release fertilizers which are readily available to the plant but which don´t contribute anything to the soil. The soil needs to be treated as a living organism which depends on organic material for all its complex processes. Through the interaction with micro organisms the nutrients from the organic material become available to the plants in a natural way, over a longer period. healthy soil-healthy plants- healthy people

Crops on the  farm

Jicima, a heritage crop, once a common, but now very hard to find.

There is a little bit of everything on the farm, first of all to guarantee our own food security as much as possible. Secondly we try to grow as much of the animal food as possible, so there are areas of sugar cane and forage species for this purpose. Some crops are grown for sale e.g. turmeric, aloe vera  and passion fruit. There are 2 distinct seasons, the wet and the dry, and the crops change according to this. The dry season is cooler and many cold climate vegetables can be grown like broccoli, radish, carrots, chinese cabbage etc. During the wet season it is hotter and so we have to rely more on beans, plantain, achocha, sweet potato and yuca. The rest rots !

How do we fertilize the soil ?

Rio Muchacho is one big recycling center, nothing is wasted, all animal, human and plant waste is taken advantage of. We never burn, and so with the rampant growth of weeds alone we have the base of good fertilizer which when cut, is sometimes left to rot in place and sometimes taken to a composting area.

Cow, pig and horse manure is a good source of fertilizer which we apply to the composts, vegetable beds and directly to the crops. We also make a liquid fertilizer "biol" out of a mixture of leguminous plants, manure and microorganisms. Some leguminous plants are used for nitrogen fixing, especially in the king grass.

We have a worm farm area where we produce a lot of worm casts for use in planting and for sale to shrimp farmers.

Insect problems ?

An insect problem is an imbalance in the system. 

Ideally it is best not to use sprays (even natural ones )  so as to encourage a good insect population and therefore natural control..

We avoid monocultures, which are a recipe for insect problems. Encouraging good insect populations can be achieved by having biodiversity, not spraying and by

this is Alf the pet two clawed sloth, he wakes at night to come and nibble on a lettuce leaf or an eggplant!

growing plants to attract beneficial insects and provide a food source for them.

In the event that a natural spray is used, we use a selective spray   i.e. if the problem is with caterpillars we use a spray that only affects caterpillars and doesn´t kill other insects.

Animals on the farm

There are horses, cattle, pigs, guinea pigs, chickens, worms, 1 dog, 1 cat, and 1 pet sloth !

Worm beds y guinea pigs

There are 5 worm beds, each about 15 m long. The worms are kept for the fertilizer that they produce. They are fed cow and horse manure which they transform into a very good quality fertilizer. On top of one of the worm beds we have guinea pig houses.

Feeding the guinea pigs germinated corn. their favorite !

The guinea pigs are fed crop waste and grass, and their manure falls directly into the worm beds and is then transformed by the worms. No we don´t eat the guinea pigs !

Forage areas

One of the consequences of reforestation is that there is less pasture growth. This is compensated by having certain areas dedicated to forage crops. Several areas are planted with king and elephant grass and another is planted with a legume called yuca de ratón. It produces a lot of high protein leaf mass which is harvested to incorporate in the animal  food.

Banana circles ..how do they work ?

Establishing Banana circles

We grow bananas in circles instead of lines and it is VERY effective. The circles are about 50 cm deep and the bananas are planted on the rim. All waste organic material is placed in the center i.e. Weeds, old banana stalks, sticks, left over pieces of bamboo etc. This system is excellent when combined with animal effluent e.g. the circle beside the pig pen. All the manure is washed into the circle to aid the decomposition process and provide fertilizer for the plants.  The pigs are "feeding" the bananas and the bananas are feeding the pigs.

Instead of having to provide water and fertilizer to each individual plant, there is a central point where all the plants draw from. Other shade loving plants can be grown beneath the banana e.g. In Rio Muchacho we have coffee and ginger. Plants can be grown between the circles for example cocoa.

Reforestation

The area of Rio Muchacho is quite deforested. As there has always been a good supply of trees for timber in the forest, the local farmers have never had to think about reforesting or providing for their own timber needs, therefore it is not a part of their culture. In fact they are in some ways reluctant to reforest as they consider it an achievement to have cleared their land for growing pasture. At the same time they are beginning to recognize that there isn´t much wood left. It is easy to deforest, but a lot harder to reforest.

We have been reforesting for about 6 years with varied success. Some years with the help of the rains we have had a good survival rate. It is unpredictable; the dry season has been too tough some years and in others, there has been too much rain. In 98 we planted 600 Guayacan trees (one of the best, hardest woods of the dry/ transition forest) but with the ceaseless rains of el niño they all rotted in the ground. We have tried to use species of the area in reforestation but we are also creating areas which will be for future use for timber.

Reforestation in the tropics sounds easy from the point of view that the trees grow quickly, but if the trees grow quickly that means that the weeds also grow quickly and so it is a continual battle to establish the trees.

We always place the weeds around the base of the tree as a mulch, to maintain the moisture but also to slow down weed growth around the plant. In the dry season we use old soda bottles for watering and fertilizer. We make up liquid fertilizer and fill up the bottles. One is placed in each tree. The bottle top is removed and the bottle stuck (opening down) into the soil. The water seeps out slowly and keeps the area wet for about 10-15 days (depending on the amount of mulch there is and the soil type).  This system has proven a great success. The combination of the mulch and the slow watering prevents the extremes of dry and wet that there would be with normal watering. This system has been seen at Río Muchacho Organic Farm and  then used successfully in some of the driest parts of Manabí (  much  of which is semi desert )

The organic farm has contributed with plants for reforestation in the community. These species are good timber species and are therefore are valued.

OTHER "ECOPRACTICES"

There are many designs of composting toilets.  The design of this toilet was created in the Andes to provide a better alternative for sanitation in mountain villages.

The composting toilet

In 1991 we brought the design to the coast, and it was first tried at  Alandaluz Ecological Hotel. It proved to be an excellent solution for areas with water shortages as there is no need to use any water. It makes a lot of sense to use human waste in a productive way though instead of trying to hide it, ignoring the fact that sooner or later it could seep back into water supplies etc. As is the case with all waste, there is no "away" it has to go somewhere, and may as well be used productively.

The compost which is made in the toilet is used after a year, it resembles any animal manure compost and very useful in tree planting, coffee, fruit trees and reforestation but  is not used on vegetable areas.

Garbage Reduction

We avoid having junk food in Rio Muchacho and therefore al the trash that comes with it. Most things are bought in bulk and so the containers are reusable on the farm. We do not permit the use of disposable cups, plates cutlery. When large community groups and children come to the farm we use hard plastic reusable cutlery and plates or bamboo or gourd cups.

Paper

All paper is collected including the toilet paper wrappers and toilet rolls, this is sent to Bahía for recycling at Ecopaper .

Plastics

 All plastic bottles that reach the farm are used for irrigating plants, we fill them with liquid fertilizer and place them upside down next to fruit trees. It is like a simple drip irrigation system.

Water

 All shows have water saving shower heads, then the water is all reused.  Guests are asked to conserve water and bring biodegradable soap.

Electricity

Our electricity comes from the national system. All bulbs are the energy saving type and guests are reminded to switch off lights when not in use.

We run some of the machines on the farm from natural gas, which is non polluting.

"feeding" the biogas with manure. Artificial wetland for water treatment  in foreground.

Alternative  Technologies

Bio gas

We have a built a biogas plant which is based on a simple design used in Vietnam. It uses a long plastic tube which is placed in a trench and filled with water.  Each day we have to "feed" it with animal manure ( 5 buckets of water and 1 of pig manure ). The manure ferments and creates methane gas which can then be used for cooking, lighting and heating water.

Solar power

We use a solar panel for electricity for the short wave radio, this is our life line in case of emergency so it is a great help when the  Ecua-electricity fails.

Alternative pumping

Part of the irrigation on the farm is done with a hydraulic ram pump. This is a very simple pumping system which uses the force of the water itself for pumping. Our river is not very big and there is not much drop and so we are unable to rely completely on this system.   

The laundry and  grey water system with aquatic plants. The water is reused for watering coconut palms.

Water recycling

All water from hand basins showers, laundry and kitchen is recycled. or reused. It all passes through grey water systems which includes a series of filters, grease trap, gravel, carbon, and in the case of the laundry, has a reed bed system.  The water is then used for watering other plants.