COMMUNITY

Joe gets to Bospas Forest Farm to volunteer and almost immediately experiences a peaceful easy feeling.

Feeling good these days.
Really good, in fact.
I’ve been here at Bospas Forest Farm for about five days now, and I’m really settling in. I felt it from almost the minute I arrived here, actually - and that is a rare occurrence. To just feel connected to a place almost automatically, I mean. This is family here. Piet Sabbe, a Belgian guy, owns the property - and his story is a pretty fascinating one.
He bought this land in 1995 - 15 hectares then - but has since added onto it. When he first purchased the plot - the land was dead, man.
Barren.
Scrubland.
Apparently, it had been in that condition for years, too. He showed me the pictures from back then and I couldn’t believe the difference. Anyway, it seems this was the result of some strange and senseless practice implemented by the Spanish colonists, and exists to this day.
The farmers would burn down everything, trees included, to ready the land for next season’s crop planting. This particular plot of land had been, for all intents and purposes, abandoned ages ago - leaving it scorched and desolate, unsuitable for just about anything.
Appalled by this spectacle, Piet set out on a mission to restore the land’s natural beauty and productivity. First, he had to restore the health of the lifeless soil through intensive composting and mulching - then planting trees of all kinds - bamboo, cańa, banana, pineapple, etc., whose deep roots helped to also strengthen the soil, as well as various crops.
He deployed a technique used by the indigenous for millenia - known as ‘forest farming’. This is the practice of spacing out the planting over the entire property, usually accompanied by a shade crop or plant, and a tree or two.
This not only preserves the natural environment, but also serves to maintain the health of the soil in accordance with its natural abundance of vital nutrients. Soil is alive, man. When healthy, it has all the natural components to support life.
Anyway, you should see this place now.
Beautiful.
A vibrant green jungle.
I find this kind of stuff fascinating.
Nature.
Soil.
The environment.
The opposite of all the fakery and fraudulence that is New York. I mean, this is real life here, man. The more I talk to Piet, the more I like the guy. He’s the real deal.
Authentic.
His whole thing is practicality. Putting his theories to work with hands-in-the-dirt hard work, y’know? It’s not for show, or only profit, or a passing fancy - he’s not into compromising his ideals. I respect that.
I even lend him a couple of my prize books on Biodynamic Agriculture - a type of one-step-above organic agriculture practice, pioneered by early 20th century genius, Rudolf Steiner. He also created the blueprint for the popular Waldorf Schools, among many other accomplishments.
The other thing I really like about this place is that it’s a family, with all the benefits associated with that. Piet is married to Olda, a black (African Ecuadorian) woman from Esmeraldas - home to most of the black Ecuadorian population on the coast. They have this adorable 1 ½ year old daughter Naomi, who I seem to have bonded with, which is kind of odd - because I never usually bond with little kids and babies at all.
There’s also a couple of young volunteers from Germany and the Netherlands, respectively, here to help out, too. We all have meals together everyday, great conversation, work together in the field - and I gotta say - it’s a rather comfortable feeling.
I have a room where I meditate everyday, take afternoon siestas in one of the hammocks, and enjoy communal dinners on the front patio every evening. This has all coagulated to do a world of good for my sense of stability and well being.
As the days pass into weeks, one of the more interesting situations I’m observing is the black culture here. Before I arrived here at Bospas, I had rarely seen black people in Ecuador - excluding the black transgender Colombian prostitutes working the streets of Quito. Here, however, they seem to be a rather large segment of the population.
Especially in El Limonal, the small village directly below the farm, and also in the surrounding countryside, where they are mostly farmers. Unlike the US however, these black people are clearly of African descent, and there doesn’t seem to have been much mixture with anybody else. Same physical attributes as native African people - and mostly very dark skinned.
Sadly, they are also widely discriminated against here, too. I would say even more so than in the States. I mean, I’ve seen some stuff that’s, like, right out of the Jim Crow South, or whatever.
Brutal.
And I thought the States were racist!
However, the longer I’m here, the better I’m feeling. There’s something to be said for structure and routine, man. Truly. This working in the field and the communal atmosphere. I mean, I could get used to it.
Who knows?
I’m thinking maybe I could stay around here awhile. Days pass, and me and Piet have been getting into some interesting conversations… we seem to have the same ideas about conservation and environmentalism. Lately, we’ve been talking about different ways I might be able to stay here. Maybe some things I could do to make a decent living, and explore positive environmental viabilities in Ecuador.
I’m starting to feel like this is my adopted country, man. Our talks begin to escalate into maybe going in on a venture together - eco tourism, horseback expeditions, educational activities regarding permaculture, and the like… sustainable land use, y’know?
Something meaningful.
Perhaps even buy a little plot of land next to his, start my own little sustainable farm from which to stage excursions. We could even begin a yoga retreat center here - maybe marketing to those types from New York. I could even do the one month yoga teacher training - and lead the workshops myself. The possibilities are endless, and I’m really entertaining all these brainstorms, feeling pretty good about myself.