The turtle symbolizes independence and being at home anywhere. The tortoise can travel everywhere with its home on its back, so the tortoise can travel far and wide and experience many opportunities. The turtle values ​​the land, the water and the skies, symbolizing the quality of the land, the emotions of the water and the magic of the mystical. Turtle energy can be helpful in achieving balance and freedom. This totem is a symbol of connection with the center, navigation skills, patience, development of new ideas, self-reliance, tenacity, and non-violent self-defense.

Deep in the jungles of Costa Rica, without uniting my nation and my farm, she has been cultivating gardens, digging gutters, and implementing creative permaculture designs. Torrential tropical downpours force it to design systems that resist the waters and protect its plants, so that it can spread its seeds. A permaculture pilgrim equipped with her packet of turtles, a bag of seeds and cuttings, a wisdom in implementing permaculture, a deep knowledge of plants, a collection of books and her PDC and teacher training, she sets out to bless each farm with its work. . For over a decade, Desiree Wells has been traveling Costa Rica landing on farm after farm, implementing designs, planting and maintaining. In search of new learning opportunities and driven by the perpetual 3-month border jumps, she traveled. Learning the way of survival with simplicity and beauty. Today, this permaculture pilgrim has found a place to call her own.

Over the past year, Desiree has created a “classroom” where she can share the things she has learned on her adventures. This classroom is located in a beautiful oasis garden where mulching, composting, and cisterns are in perfect harmony. Where the cob comes in many forms, and recycling is a work of art. Workshop participants come from the community to experience hands-on learning about watershed maintenance, growing seeds and cuttings, composting, natural building, introductions to permaculture, and more. Because this classroom is only in its first year, much of the learning that takes place at Abundant Eden (the business that Desiree has started) is grassroots and focused on implementation. Desiree calls what she does Permaculture practical and focuses on techniques and designs that establish sustainable survival. Slowly and surely, like the turtle, he believes that with careful observation and thoughtful designs, many problems that can arise in the Permaculture feedback loop can be avoided. Desiree provides food for the community she belongs to, Finca Fruicion, and her gardens are like magical fairy lands, where plants come together in a three-dimensional art.

I met Desiree about 2 years ago, when my family and I first came to Costa Rica, with the intention of living our dream. It was such a bright light and I remember walking through its gardens on one of the many farms it serves in awe of its beauty. Some time later, she and her horse came to our farm and decided to make a home here. I cannot express the joy I felt when she shared that she wanted to be a part of our community. After having gone through a Permaculture Design Certification course and teacher training, she still didn’t feel like she was ready to really share what she had learned with others. I was looking for a mentor, someone who could show me the course in this foreign climate, and like an angel she came into our lives. Since then I have learned more than I can express here and I deeply appreciate your wisdom. When I look at the gutters around my house and then walk through the community garden that Desiree cares for, I feel humbled. Although my desire to work side by side with Desiree is strong, fate has blessed us with a baby and has slowed that course for now. Still, I have learned a lot. Some of which I will share in this article.

When I first came here, I was in a rush to design and implement. He wanted chickens, goats, gardens, and more. We focus primarily on infrastructure for our family of 5, but soon my rabbit speed manifested itself in a chicken coop, cistern gardens, and a goat house. We had a lot of chickens, plants, and some goats. But unfortunately my speed caught up with me and a great lesson awaited me. Desiree kept telling me to slow down and focus on my zone 1, but I was an ambitious young man and didn’t listen. Our dog ended up killing most of the chickens and my ignorance the rest. The gardens near the house were installed without the infrastructure to water them and many of the plants did not survive the dry season. Although the goats are thriving, in the morning I have lost the chickens and plants and have learned my lesson. Slow and steady, the tortoise wins the race.

One of Desiree’s greatest strengths, in addition to her ability to know what plants need, is her construction of cisterns. She has created a system in which her plants thrive. She begins by creating contour lines with animal manure and plant matter, which depends on which pioneer species are nearby. Then dig a trench, a depth shovel and a width shovel, just above the organic matter line, and place the soil on top of the line. This is a nice textbook, however there is more to it, the compost / manure line creates a “worm hotel”, especially when you add cardboard, another layer of organic material, food scraps, and essentially create a pile compost, which she affectionately calls “yum yum sandwiches.” After that, dig the trench deeper and add that dirt to the top. This is not the best soil, nor do plants thrive in it on their own, so what you do is add some rich soil from elsewhere on the farm and create a little nest for the seedlings. By the time the roots are deep enough to reach the compost underneath, it is decomposed enough for the plant to use. Of course, here in the tropics things go bad quickly. This is just one of the many techniques he has put into practice here on the farm.

Desiree is an extremely creative, artistic and competent permaculture designer, she has traveled and worked on some of the best known permaculture farms in the US, Thailand, Costa Rica and Panama, developing her tricks of the trade. I am very honored to be able to work with her and call her sister and friend. I encourage other people to come and take a look at our little piece of heaven here to learn in the Abundant Eden classroom, as I did. Desiree is now accepting interns and apprentices at Finca Fruicion in Costa Rica. For more information, do not hesitate to visit our website Finca Fruicion or send us an email.

Sincerely,
Alana bliss