Today was a rather easy day as we were given the option to rest in the morning while others went to retrieve Macadamia trees to plant later in the day. So, Sam and I chose to stay behind while Mekhi and Leif piled in the truck with T. Alan and T. Paula to learn about food forestry and pick up 12 macadamia trees. After a relaxing morning and a great breakfast, we set out with Angel to plant trees alongside the road to the tiny house. The trees were planted two meters from the road, and 8 meters apart from each other. Unlike the trees we planted the day before, the holes for these Macadamia trees had to be much larger in diameter. Furthermore, even before we could start digging holes for the trees, Angel came around with his machete and skillfully made clearings for 12 trees alongside the road. Once the holes were made, we carefully placed the trees inside their respective holes and filled up the sides with 50% compost and 50% soil. The compost was necessary to facilitate their growth.

After the tree planting took up the majority of the afternoon, we had lunch and prepared our presentations for the students coming tomorrow. We rotated through each part of the tour and talked about the various eco-technologies present in those locations. We also read sections from Eric Toensmeier’s book about Carbon farming. We learned about the cloud forest and how it was so important because of its many unique plant species. Lastly, we learned about how pollution is negatively influencing the climate’s temperature. After the later portion of the afternoon was filled with learning about reforestation, we ended the day after delicious dinner with a very shocking documentary about how the consumption of meat could possibly have links with cancer and general sickness. I look forward to spending a couple more days here by living fully alive.

P.S. The seeds we planted in the seed blocks a few days ago are looking great!

– Dahoon