short term relocation during covid and cacao in puerto rico
hi from puerto rico 🇵🇷
i've been in aguadilla for a month now and i feel beyond grateful for space and nature. life is weirdly the same- home for most of the day, still teaching, lots of admin work, but simultaneously so different. i swim laps in the ocean every morning. some afternoons i'll go for a hike. i watch sunsets and the stars from my roof.
its still covid so im not going out and about all the time. every store i have gone into involves a temp check and hand sanitizer (compared to nyc...) and masks are always on. so much is already outdoors - automatically there's space for everyone to be distanced and lots of airflow. i can't tell you whether or not or how to travel it's not my business. being mindful that our actions impact others is important. american culture is not based in care, evolving our systems into caring systems is where we should spend our energy. for me, it was important to have little physical contact during these 6 weeks- one of the reasons why i chose a long period vs something short. im able to space my farm visits out, i clean my own apartment (vs hotel), and i continue the same behavior i practiced in nyc. i might be extreme but i don't eat at restaurants here - i just can't bring myself to do it- i feel for servers. but i do practice take out once a week! i have this one spot, rico's pinchos, a stand on the main road that once i came across it, i've stopped exploring. their ensalada de pulpo (octopus) and tostones de pana (breadfruit) are UNREAL. the pinchos are v good too- but im not really enjoying the taste of meat at the moment so there's that. which brings me to - listen to yourself and your body. when we feel something- literally in our physical body and/or mind - listen listen listen
this is the first time i'm living alone. ever in my life. i've either had roommates or lived with a partner. Virginia Woolfe's A Room of One's Own has a whole new meaning / i get it now lol. i quickly learned i have no idea how to buy food for one person, but im learning! the farmers market is what dreams are made of which makes it harder because i want to buy everything. i have never loved my body and self more. im not sure if its because im practically naked all the time so im literally seeing my body, practicing my favorite movement meditation (swimming), getting a lot of vitamin d, or spending a lot of time with myself and with nature. its most likely a combination of it all. i feel such a deep gratitude to be able to experience this
i've been to two (of three) cacao farms and i have learned so much about the history of cacao (aka spanish colonialism), the Taíno people & language (indigenous to Puerto Rico and the Caribbean), current politics (and some conspiracy theories), and agroforestry / regenerative farming. i plan on diving much deeper and share all of the details. but i can't help but share a little now!
there were many cacao plantations throughout the island (the spanish could not get enough cacao), but in the 1700s a series of hurricanes took out a lot of the agriculture on the island. and after that coffee farms became popular. there's a dept of agriculture research center in Mayaguez where scientists have been cataloging and, well, researching cacao trees! they have identified high producing plant variations and many cacao farmers purchase grafts from dept of ag in Mayaguez. a grafted tree is the best look- starting a tree from a seed takes many more years- and you still need 8-11 years before a grafted tree seriously produces fruit. a bb tree will still produce fruit, just not a lot.
the two farms i have visited are 11 and 7 yrs old - they're about to head into major fruit production! that doesn't mean they haven't been doing anything these past years. both farms practice regenerative farming or agroforestry (we working with trees and not plant beds). my first day on the farm i asked- what makes this regenerative? i was slightly taken aback by the simplicity of the answer. diversity. so simple yet so complex. i am going to take the liberty and add patience because it takes years to set up an agricultural forest. biodiversity allows the farmers a more hands off approach - focusing on caring & maintaining vs human manipulation. there are no irrigation systems, pesticides, or fertilizers. by having all kinds of trees (sapote, mango, papaya, jackfruit, avocado, durian, guanabana to name a few) and vines planted between and around the cacao trees - there is no reason for an infestation of bugs because there are other bugs & animals who will take care of unwanted visitors. the fruit is spread out, which also deters infestations vs plant beds growing the exact same food. the trees' root system allows for deep irrigation and water conservation. tree leaves and sometimes fruit are left where they have fallen to decompose and bring nutrients back to the earth. these farmers care for the cacao trees by pruning the fruit bearing trees (the taller the tree the harder it is to access the fruit and the tree will spend more energy on growing vs fruit production) and the surrounding forest to ensure sunlight. by practicing patience, they are letting nature do its thing. i am by no means saying this is easy. i pruned one morning for about 5 hours - i didn't think it was so bad- honestly it was meditative and beautiful (and scaryyy!! ugh bugs!!!) but WHEW i could barely move the next day!
coming back to what makes regenerative farming regenerative - diversity and patience - can be applied beyond agroforestry practices, it's a life practice, cultivating relationships with ourselves and with others takes diversity (of thought, people, places) and patience
