Rio Muchacho Organic Farm

FROM THE VISITOR'S BOOK

"I was fortunate enough to spend a little over five weeks at Rio Muchacho Organic Permaculture Farm. Relieved to have a break from city environments, I took in the fresh air and marveled at the immense biodiversity of birds and plants-many of which I had never seen before. Later it was explained that the biodiversity is because the farm is nestled in a transition zone between a wet and dry forest. As one might expect, there were many things to learn about animal care, farm systems maintenance, and the day-to-day care of vegetable crops. Although I had worked on farms before, Rio Muchacho stood out as a special place. It stood out because there was a mix of non-conventional farming practices woven with the thread of meaningful community interactions.

The farming practices at Rio Muchacho are deeply rooted in the idea of sustainability and permaculture. These practices consider the surrounding ecology as the basis for designing integrated systems of food production, housing, appropriate technology, and community development. Moreover, permaculture is built upon an ethic of caring for the earth and interacting with the environment in mutually beneficial ways. Rio Muchacho demonstrated these principles in the way they grew fruit trees in special circles to preserve and cycle nutrients back into the soil and plants, in the manner in which they protected their crops from insects by growing complimentary plants that the insects are not attracted to, and through intense composting of farm manure including the use of worms, a biogas system, and an all-natural, soil-enriching fertilizer. I left with the impression that the directors at Rio Muchacho were not only mindful of the daily interactions with the land, but were also attempting to assure a secure future. At the farm the concept of waste does not exist-all organic material is returned to the soil and no synthetic chemicals are put into the land. Water from the house is channeled through an all-natural filtration system and distributed through water-loving plants into a small reserve that delivers the water to mumay and bamboo trees. This is a long-term strategy for improving the tilth of the land and balancing the farm with the surrounding ecosystem. While I already resonated with many of these ideas, a number of the demonstrations were new to me, and I have since felt inspired to share these ideas with others.

When ideas are shared there is the potential for them to transform into actual practice, and through practice, there is the power to transform the people who hold them. Rio Muchacho Organic Permaculture Farm shares its vision not only with tourists, but also within its community by supporting and facilitating an environmentally conscious school. The school provides the fundamentals of reading, writing, and mathematics to younger students, and for older students more advanced lesson on health and history. In addition, the children share a meal near the end of the school day. I appreciated the fact that the lessons were enriched with examples of how sustainable and harmonious interactions with the environment benefit the health of individuals and families. At times during the school day, the children were responsible to care for chickens and monitor the processes of compost and worm cultivation-a tangible means of learning the dynamics and demonstrating the principles of stewardship. These lessons, like seeds carefully sown into the fertile minds of the youth, have the potential to inspire families and thereby and transform the community.
I have been encouraged and empowered through my experiences at Rio Muchacho. In a world where it is easier to see what is wrong and harder to notice what is right, I feel that Rio Muchacho Organic Permaculture Farm stands out as a vivid beacon and world-class model of community development and sustainable agriculture. It demonstrates to Ecuador and its visitors that there are practicable alternatives to a paradigm that seeks to exploit and capitalize upon our precious, living Earth."

Thank You,
Christoffer Hansen
October 1st, 2006
Portland, OR. USA

“The environment was very peaceful and welcoming. Also I liked the art activities however; my absolutely favorite part was the food… very delicious!”
Monica  French  Germany

“Rio Muchacho was great!    Your finca is an oasis of green intentional living and we very much enjoyed learning how you operate.  Our volunteer time was as valuable a learning experience as our time doing your three day program.  We have told many people that the food we had at Rio Muchacho was the best we had anywhere in Ecuador.  Nora and Juanita are fabulous.”
Chris Bradshaw USA

“Mike and I just wanted to write to say thank you very much for such a wonderful week!  We both had an amazing time at the farm and learned so much. Your emails beforehand and all of your advice was very helpful.
We'll sure be missing those wonderful organic meals and the excitement of the farm.  I will recommend the farm as highly as my sister had to me.”
Mike and Trishe Folley USA

“Rio Muchacho had a huge influence on me.  I still have dreams of running my own organic farm.”
Mike McGaraghan USA

“We had an absolutely wonderful time! Everything was great... the guides, food, the cabanas, the tours. I would totally recommend Rio Muchacho to friends with children, I think it's a great learning experience for adults and kids alike. I have a farming background and my husband has a development background, so we both really enjoyed talking to Dario about the farm and it's many aspects. Our mate gourds are drying in the kitchen! :) we really had a great time and have already told friends who live here that they should really go out to RM for a vist. Thanks!"
Sarah-Lee Richardson Canada

-“Bryce, Clark and I had a wonderful time at Rio Muchacho.  In fact, the boys keep saying it was the highlight of our Ecuador trip, including the Galapagos.  I'm sure it was the hands-on involvement with the animals and food processes that engaged them so well.  We enjoyed so much meeting Dario and everyone involved at Rio Muchacho.  Our Spanish got a great work-out.  Bryce is talking about wanting to come back longer as a volunteer some day!”
Susan Wilson UK

 "Just a quick note to say a HUGE thank you for keeping up with the
 ridiculously long stream of emails below and making it possible for me to
 come to Rio Muchacho. I had an amazing time with Beth, Meredith, Alicia,
 Denise and Michael and I loved all the activities we did. The way you´ve
 organized the three days really helps you get the very most out of your
 time at the Farm and I´ve learned all sorts of things during my stay
 that´ll stay with me long after I´ve left Ecuador."
 Rachel Hamilton-UK

"Thank you for a fantastic 3 days at your farm. We had a very enjoyable stay, and found the farm very interesting and the activities lots of fun. We particularly liked milking the cow, even though we were hopeless at it. We thought the activities were well put together, varied and kept us very busy.
Have you ever thought about adding an extra day to the tour for cooking lessons - the food was fantastic, and the best we have eaten in our 6 months in South America, and if an extra day was offered to learn Ecuadorian cooking we would have taken it. Just some food for thought, excuse the pun!"
Martin and Anna -UK