Earth Rose Farm

When I was first planning my trip down to Costa Rica, I began by emailing nearly all of the farms on the WWOOF Costa Rica list.  One of the farms that really interested me was Earth Rose Farm, but at the time that I emailed, they were not accepting new volunteers.  Rosi, one of the owners, was actually the one who pointed me toward her neighbors, the Chinchillas!  So really, I have her to thank for my time here at Finca Chinchilla.

The front of the house as the sun rises.

Having been at the farm a few weeks though, I was in the mood for something a little different.  Everyone at Earth Rose Farm has to pass through our front yard here to get to town, so I was often in contact with the caretaker, Steven, and the owner, Mario (Rosi´s husband.)  When I asked if I could come spend some time up the hill, they welcomed me.  I waited until Mario headed back to the States (long story), and then huffed and puffed up the substantial hills that lead to Earth Rose.

Earth Rose is a very different farm than the Chinchilla´s - it is based around a traditional wooden Tico house and is (theoretically) 100% organic, vegetarian, and cruelty-free.  In short, it´s sort of the farm I formed in my head when I started dreaming about coming to Costa Rica. The land is truly beautiful, and there are inumberable resources that could be harnessed to produce a peaceful, productive space. Unfortunately, the reality isn´t quite the same.  Due to lack of care, lack of man-hours, well-intentioned but uncompleted projects, and questionable leadership, the farm is a shadow of what it could be.

The living and dining room.

I arrived at the farm at a time when only myself and the caretaker were there, accompanied by a local day-worker.  The caretaker is an older guy who has been at the farm for four and a half months now. He is the polar opposite of the owners (think traditional-practical-conservative vs. hippie-visionary-free spirits), and is very, very ready to move on.  He will be heading out next week and was in "do the minimum necessary and get ready to go" mode while I was staying there.

But!  There was good to be found there.  Having spent the last few weeks in the constant company of at least one and usually three or more members of the Chinchilla family and their TV, the intense quiet that prevailed at Earth Rose Farm was like a warm bath.

My bedroom while I stayed at the farm.

 
I had a blast learning to care for the free range chickens and meeting my first rooster (huge!) I fell in love with the rickety old house with its wood-burning stove and outside sink, and I loved the exposed tin roof during the rain.

 The rooster. He scares me a little.

We picked all of this in a 20 minute walk around the farm!

You can see starfruit, guava, oranges, and limes.

Makin´ guava jelly!

Would I stay again at Earth Rose Farm? Perhaps with a different cast of characters, but I don´t have much faith in the farm to become the functioning place it should be under current conditions.  It gave me a lot of what I needed at the moment, though, and for that I´m very thankful.

And finally, the biggest roach(?) I´ve ever seen, ever.  Next to it is a big kitchen serving spoon for reference.