Greetings from EARTH University


Welcome to Earth University!
Today was our first official full day at Earth U. To start the morning, we went down to the cafeteria to have a heart and delicious breakfast. We then got into a van to visit the first farm of the day. At the farm, a student named Andrea talked and walked us through the different systems they used to grow the very same food that we were eating in the cafeteria! Such as the aquaponic system which produced tilapia and green onions.
Next, we traveled to a farm that was focused on creating models of sustainable and economically-friendly agriculture for neighboring farmers with similar conditions. We were led by a professor from Earth University who explained the benefits of a mandala (a model consisting of a lagoon for fish at the center, different produce growing around it and chickens for eggs) and taught us about the different types of composting that they use to create fertilizers. We also made a few pig friends at the pigsty. After eating a couple of organic bananas and asking some questions we returned to the main campus for lunch.
Our group met up a few hours later for one last tour. This tour was led by two Earth U students, Eric and Brenda. They showed us around an animal husbandry and food processing farm, explaining what the chickens, pigs, and cows ate. We also learned more about the independent business plans that the students here created. We even bought some bars of soap made from Brenda’s project. In her all-natural soap bars she had different exfoliators in them like cacao or coffee granules which were both grown here! We also learned about their bio-digester and how the methane from the cows is used to heat stoves in the kitchen. 
Finally, we traveled back to the main campus, did some laundry, had dinner, and will soon be meeting up for our nightly discussion meetings. Though this is our last night here, I can’t wait to explore more of Costa Rica at our next destination.”
— Gloria