It is 4:45 in the morning, still
dark out and the sun is just beginning to creep up over Pico Bonito. The ocean
is a steady rolling roar and as I reach out my arms to stretch, I can hear the
Howler monkeys out the window doing the same. So begins another day in
paradise.
Mira and I are working alongside
the Fundación Cuero y Salado (FUCSA) where we live in the Refugio de Vida
Silvestre. While our days may begin with a quiet – well noisy if you consider
the toucans outside – wake up, they are filled with a healthy bustle of
projects and to-dos. So far, I’ve had my hands full with mangrove restoration,
seed collection, gathering local knowledge on medicinal plants, sourcing out
herbs for planting a demonstrative medicinal garden, employing the philosophies
of permaculture to kitchen gardens, juggling environmental education and
English classes, and of course making sure Sundays are dedicated to cheering on
Salado’s soccer team (and by cheering I mean eating Eda’s pasteles).
The projects in Salado are especially
interesting given the community’s historic, cultural, and economic diversity.
Formerly owned by Standard Fruit (now Dole) the surrounding area is being transformed
from coconut monoculture to a biological corridor based on the principals of
Analog Forestry. As the sun comes up, Mira is already out in the fields working
hard, taking measurements, mapping, digging holes, and planting a mix of fruit
trees. The legacy of agriculture in the area also drew in various different
communities, leaving Salado home to a mix of Garífuna and Latino cultures.
Given the isolation of the reserve – a bumpy hour and a half chicken bus ride
from La Ceiba, followed by a grumbling 15 minute mototaxi, and ending with a 45
minute ‘train’ ride into the reserve – the community faces substantial economic
development challenges. Still, within the community, Doña Irma and Doña Fatima
offer tasty lunches of balleadas and fried fish, little pulperías sell eggs and
juice, Jairo busily carves jewelry in the joyería, Martiza and Indio put
together solar panels and the fishermen head out every morning in their wooden
Cayucos.
Upon our arrival, we were treated
to an amazing ride up the mangroves into ‘Monkey Channel’ where we shared a
tree of viscoyol fruit with a white faced monkey. We then headed back down the
estuary and out to sea where we watched the sun set while rocking on the
Caribbean. The community has been wonderfully welcoming and have invited us
into their gardens and homes, taught us how to make tortillas (shaping them
didn’t go so well), showing us how to properly place a fishing hook through the
eyes of a fish, and a few of the young girls have even given me lessons on
properly combing and pulling back my hair. Looking forward to the month to
come, we are getting ready to host the community parcela kitchen garden
competition, work with FUCSA to train local guides for improved eco-tourism,
and of course eager to welcom Dr. Ranil Senanayake later this month. Enough for
now, time to get back to work!
Que le vaya bien!
Anna + Mira
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