Canoa, San Vicente, Manabí, Ecuador
The Farm and Eco-lodge is an internationally recognized example of sustainable land management through permaculture design and agro-ecology. The farm offers both part-time and full-time courses for people interested in learning how to practice permaculture, live sustainably and reduce their carbon footprint. . This Farm is nestled in a small valley on the coast of Ecuador, 40 minutes north of Bahía de Caraquez and 15 minutes from the popular beach town of Canoa. . The 10 hectare property is an oasis of food forests, extensive vegetable gardens, pasture, agroforestry areas, models of alternative energy, and rotational animal rearing areas. . Over one hundred crops are rotated throughout the year, and the farm is home to animals of all sizes, shapes, and personalities. The residents include pigs, guinea pigs, chickens, ducks, dogs, cats, composting worms, cows, horses, and birds. For example, ornithologists have created a bird list with 165 species . The land supplies most of the vegetables and much of the fruit required by the kitchen. A number of unusual tropical vegetables are grown as well as temperate, and the fusion of rare vegetables with international and local dishes has made the farm cuisine unique in the country. Amongst the vegetation that you will find here are over 1800 coffee plants and 1000 cacao trees, multiple fruit and timber species. The farm has been continuously planted on for 30+ years and is situated on a small river which provides water year round for irrigation purposes, it also supplies water for showers and gardens. . The farm has accommodation for up to 35 people in authentic bamboo bungalows located throughout the sprawling property. . The bungalows, work structures, and main house are all primarily constructed from local materials. Bungalows have from 1 to 10 beds, as well as ecologically designed bathrooms with composting toilets. The dining room seats 40 with ample space for garden tables with thatched roofs to seat more. . The Opportunity ~ The possibilities here are diverse, between education, tourism, agriculture based, or work online: all in a beautiful setting. The potential is enormous because of the range of areas that the farm has developed. For a group, it could easily be upscaled to provide for many people with diverse expertise and interests, or downscaled. The facilities are in place to create a great permaculture/sustainability education center/institute. There is also good potential to buy other local organic raw materials to transform into value added products. The space has been set aside for a commercial kitchen for this purpose. Small local organic farmers lack opportunities to sell their produce so this would be a win-win situation. . There are many construction sites for new cabins or dwellings to create a multiple occupancy situation if desired. If the main interest is tourism but not agriculture, the farm has obvious geographical divisions (like gullies and the road) where it would be easy to legally subdivide off the bigger farm part. The land retained would provide ample space to grow food for the lodge. The agricultural part could also be leased not sold, in return for produce. .
