2010 has been an exciting and very busy year at Finca Carolina. We enjoyed our first harvest of Canistel fruits this year (Pouteria campechiana). This delicious fruit is also known as egg fruit as it has the consistency of the yolk of a hard boiled egg. However, the flavor is sweet and a bit flowery and evokes a bubble gum like flavor. It is delicious eaten out of hand or can be made into a smoothies with milk or baked into delicious pies and desserts.We made great progress this year on identifying the plants found around the farm and forest. Marcia Gomez, a forestry student at the Institute of Technology has been a huge help in identification of forest herbaceous plants and trees. There is lots more work to do and we welcome any assistance on this large project. The eventual goal is an interactive list and map of the farm. The list will describe the plants and all of their potential value to humans as food, medicine, fiber, building material, or ornamental value. In addition to providing an online source of information visitors to Finca Carolina will be able to discover these plants for themselves as they hike our extensive hiking trails. The plant list can be found on UTSI's group on Facebook.
Our day tours continue to grow in popularity as guests walk away from them highly satisfied and inspired by the intense Nature they have experienced at Finca Carolina. The howler monkey shown in this photo and the sloth were both seen during day tours at Finca Carolina.
We are very excited to announce that we will be hosting a Permaculture Design course at Finca Carolina next February and March. Scott Pittman, a legendary Permaculture teacher who taught for many years alongside of Permaculture founder Bill Mollison will be instructing the course. The course lasts two weeks and is followed by a one week hands-on practicum. During the practicum we will be constructing a composting toilet, digging new raised beds, preparing compost and caring for our large garden and orchards. Groups we plan to host in the future include African Drumming and Dance, and Tropical Plant Taxonomy. If you would like to lead a course at Finca Carolina please contact me.
Finally, we are now much easier to find. We have put up a sign along the Coastal Highway in Uvita. Now when you come to Uvita, just keep heading south until you see the Finca Carolina sign and take a left. Go up three kilometers and you can't miss us on the left side. We hosted a great deal of volunteers throughout the year and thank all of you for all of your hard work and positive attitudes.
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