Waking up at sunrise to the sound of a rooster calling, collecting fresh vegetables for every meal from the garden, and cooling off from the hot afternoon sun in our handmade pool in a nearby river. We spent nearly two weeks in a remote property in Costa Rica on a Permaculture Project and loved every minute of it…
We started off our two weeks at the Rainbow Lot Permaculture Project when David picked us up from the town centre in Monteverde. We visited the local grocery store to pick up a few supplies (what little the garden can’t provide) and headed on down to the Project. On the way, we stopped past the Monteverde Butterfly Sanctuary (David’s other project and business) where David showed us around and gave us a tour – we’ve never seen so many active and beautiful butterflies!
David also takes volunteers at the Butterfly Sanctuary. If you’re interested, you can get in touch with him via @rainbowlotpermaculture on Instagram
We arrived at a large off-grid 0.5Ha property with a luscious garden spreading into the beautiful jungle landscape. David showed us inside his converted-shipping container house, complete with a lounge room area with large windows overlooking the valley and mountains (perfect for watching sunrises). We continued on our tour around the garden, seeing the greenhouse, vegetable patches, fruit trees, animals and herb garden.
After this, David suggested we go down to the river to cool down from the afternoon sun. Making our way down the hill to the river nestled in the valley, we passed some small streams and reeds, and arrived 5 minutes later to the main river. We’d arrived at our afternoon swim spot, a small secluded pool, downstream from some rapids and surrounded by a few larger rocks to put our belongings and sunbathe.
After a relaxing (and cold!) dip in the stream, we made our way back to the house to start collecting fresh vegetables in the garden for dinner. David introduced us to some produce grown in the garden we hadn’t had before like pigeon peas, yuca, and chayote. We helped in the kitchen to prepare a fresh meal and sat down to enjoy it while the sun set over the green forest valley. Over dinner, we started talking to understand and learn more about David, his ideas and dreams for Rainbow Lot, and the concepts he wants to apply to his permaculture project. Inspired by the wonders of permaculture principals, David lent us a book of permaculture to read and learn about in our downtime.
Heading to Costa Rica? Read more on our guide here!
After dinner, once it got dark David took us on a nighttime walk around his property. Exploring through his property, we heard all types of animal noises, trying to track them down with our flashlights. We saw many small insects, spiders, a snake, mouse, and an armadillo. After our successful night walk, we made our way back home and made our way to bed! We had the opportunity to see many other creatures throughout our stay, from monkeys in the tree tops, to a cow we would see everyday on our way down to the river, and many species of birds and bugs around the garden.
Over the next two weeks we helped David with various tasks, daily ones including water the seedlings in the green house, feeding the chickens and rabbits, and watering newly-planted pigeon peas and lettuce around the garden. Our other tasks varied day to day but included creating new swales to capture rainwater, transplanting new seedlings into larger pots, clearing some silted and leaf-covered swales, and helping with David’s social media.
We also helped care for (or play with) David’s 6-year-old son Rook, often involving chasing around the garden, joining in imaginative games, or playing lego (Joel’s favourite). During our time off we would read some books, immerse ourselves in nature by going for walks around the local area, or go down to the river to relax and build a dam to create a larger swimming area.
Maddie and I both enjoyed our time at the Rainbow Lot permaculture project, and felt like we really connected with nature and learnt about the concepts of permaculture. We went from having hear the word “Permaculture” before but not being able to define it, to understanding basic concepts and seeing them in action. We feel inspired to try some of these techniques at home (once we have a home). Cooking fresh food from the garden, relaxing and connecting in nature, and feeling welcome at David and Rook’s home, are some treasured memories we will keep forever.
If you’d like to volunteer with David and Rook at the Rainbow Lot, you can visit his Instagram page here for more information… @rainbowlotpermaculture
