This posts is to recognize the ICDS Summer Class students of 2024’s Sustainability & Food Security Course in Finca Sol y Valle. These students stayed with host families in the towns of La Flor and El Yas. The program is structured for students to practicing sustainability in the morning and have related classes in the afternoons. This 2-week, 90-hour course earned the students credits at their respective universities in the United States. Here we introduce you to the students and their final projects for the course:
Makayla –Took it upon herself for her final project to help expand the farms cookbook now filled with new plant-based recipes that will help new coming generations of volunteers with ideas for recipes when they are in the kitchen. Also, it is a great way to document the amazing meals our cook Roxy prepares for the group. One thing Makayla enjoyed about this project is how she got to build a better relationship with many of the people on the farm just by taking the time to ask about what they were cooking that day.
Isabella - Used her artistic abilities to paint and bring a brighter feeling to the kitchen. While depicting the view from the dinning room table at Finca Sol y Valle. Trying to incorporate the biodiversity found at the farm in Costa Rica. Izzy feels like this project has helped her embrace the Pure Vida mindset of letting things flow. Something that her time at the farm has taught her is to be more grateful and more conscious about her food waste and excited to plant her own medicinal garden back home.
Tera – Her final project was inspired by Dani and her knowledge of medicinal plants and their properties to making different Mocktails with health benefits using different fruits and plants found on the farm. Some benefits of these Mocktails can be to aid with digestion, reduce menstrual cramps and for relaxation. Tera was really happy that she was given the chance to broaden her understanding of medicinal plants and different plant properties coming from a city where that’s not really common. All while helping the farm make new uses for some of their herbs.
M’kayla - Spent her time learning about the many flowers on the farm and the pollinators they attract. Using flowers near other crops that would bring a pollinator to the plant instead of having to hand pollinate the plants on the land. Even though the pollinators she has back in the states different than the ones in Costa Rica, she wants to use the knowledge of these flowers and incorporate them in her own home.
Andrew-For his final project decided to modify the “three sisters” to make it more suitable to what the farms already grows, using Corn, bush beans, and the Mexican sunflower. These beds that he has designed could produce corn and beans at a higher rate and with stronger yields. He can’t wait to use the knowledge and experience he gained from the farm to help him live a sustainable life wherever he ends up.
Lance - Dedicated his final project to the Melipona bee. They are a small harmless bee that does not sting, and they are all over Latin America. Lance using his engineering skills built the bees a new hive out of scrape pieces of wood and bamboo. His idea when it came to the beehive was to improve and increase the number of friendly pollinators on the farm. With the amount of time we had at the farm, he got the hive and the trap for the bees installed. Now we hope the bees move in sometime soon!
Sofia - For my project I choose to spread information through the media and interview my group mates to learn more about their interests and what kind of impacts they wanted to leave on the farm. Everyone in this group has gotten the unique opportunity to come to Costa Rica and experience life on the farm while work together at Finca Sol y Valle. I’ve gotten to make amazing memories with everyone on the farm and I am so grateful for Dani and Jeff for being so welcoming by opening their home to us. They showed how important trying to live a sustainable life is, the impact it can have on your health, and opened my eyes to a different way of life.
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