Thursday, July 24

Daniel 

As today approached, Jennifer has been telling us, "You *have* to meet Daniel, you'll love him!" Although we never doubted her, now that we've met him, it's clear why. 

Daniel is a Costa Rican farmer, who treated us to a delightful organic meal (que rico!) and gave us a full tour of his farm, which was 100% organic. 

Daniel proudly tells us that he runs his farm without a single chemical. In order to keep insects from eating the plants, he uses natural repellents, such as the citronella plant, le loteria, and some others he showed us. Also, he creates his own fertilizer from pig/goat/chicken merde (poop!) and natural microorganisms from the mountains. In order to do this, he uses a his own signature process using microorganisms and molasses, which he hopes to one day patent in the United States and Canada. All you San Franciscans would be interested to know that he also uses animal poop to create enough methane gas to fuel his own house using a machine called a biodigestor. Nothing is wasted on this farm!  

Touring the farm, and hearing him speak, it was clear to us that Daniel is a man who truly loves what he does.  He invents and experiments with various farming tricks and processes, writing down the results and sharing with local organic farmers. He's never finished school, but Daniel is a true scientist. 

As if the tour wasn't impressive enough, we were even further moved at hearing Daniel tell his story. Back when he was very young, he worked for the Standard Fruit Company as a field worker. He and the other workers were paid to bulldoze the forest, where he witnessed many animals being carelessly and inhumanely killed and displaced. Perhaps worse, Daniel and the other workers were made to apply huge quantities of dangerous pesticides. Although they didn't like the work they were doing, they knew that if they complained, they would lose their jobs.

The whole time, though, Daniel promised himself that he would run a completely organic farm if he ever got a piece of land. Thankfully, a government program has provided him with that chance.

Since the time he worked for the fruit company, however, the exposure to those dangerous chemicals have caused him to partially lose hearing, much of his sight, many of his teeth, and develop an enlarged heart. Maybe worse, Daniel became sterile because of the exposure to the chemicals. Luckily, he already had 4 children!

In a grave tone, Daniel acknowledged that the exposure to chemicals has caused him illnesses that will eventually kill him. But then, with a smile, he said to us, 

"Sé que los químicos me van a matar, pero soy un productor orgánico por el bien de mi familia, mi comunidad, y mi bella planeta."  ("I know that the chemicals will kill me, but am an organic farmer for the sake of my family, my community, and my beautiful planet.") 

To this day, the fruit company won't recognize the effects of the pesticides, or provide care or restitution for any of the victims. In fact, they've thanked him by threatening his life, and trying to silence him. And although it would be easy for him to live his life quietly, the threat of pesticide use is too present for Daniel to ignore. From his fields, he can literally see the corporate Pineapple fields which pollute the rivers and soil of Costa Rica.

Driven by the need to save his home habitat, Daniel has become an activist for organic farming. For years, Daniel has been telling his story, and doing all that he can to convince other farmers that organic farming is possible. Along with a group of Canadian scientists, he's tested the river water, and found it heavily polluted. They've used the results to convince other farmers to reduce the chemicals they use, and in 3 years of doing so, they finally saw fish in the water again. Slowly, Daniel is working to make his home a better place.

Hearing Daniel's story has made me want to think much more critically about the products I buy. The label "organic" didn't mean much to me before- a luxury at best, but in some ways, the grocery aisle is a voting booth. Now I plan to help, where I can, by buying organic, and by learning about the farming practices of the companies that make the food I eat. 

With our hands in Daniel's famous fertilizer...

I think I speak for the whole crew when I say that today was an intense day. We learned a lot, and now are grateful to rest. We'll settle into our home stays, and let the rain sing us to sleep. We're looking forward to our next day and next adventure!

-Chris, Hilary, Meagan, and Rachel