Being in Costa Rica for the second time in my life I feel both surges of joy and peace as well as anxiousness and determination to learn and transform. Physical labor brings me a sense of accomplishment and the challenge to remain present and open. Coming to Garden Village and learning more about the vision for this healing center has sent my imagination soaring. I know the healing, nurturing powers of this land and waters, the food we harvest and eat, and the loving, safe space sustained by Susannah and David.
Garden Village is situated on a beautiful hillside, including both dense jungle and open pasture lands. There is a creek that runs right through the property, and two rivers close by that come down from volcano Torialba. Most days are sunny and partly cloudy, yet when the heavy clouds roll in it can pour for hours. Within less than a year, Susannah and David, with the help of volunteers like myself, have constructed four shelters for housing and work. The Seed House is an open air ranchero where we cook and eat meals, right next to that is the Leaf House- a beautiful oval shaped building designed by David- and then there is a ranchero where we store the wood and have a work table set up. Finally, there is a guest cabin that is screened in and contains the dresser, and queen sized earth bed we helped to create. These structures are surrounded by gardens that we have planted, including root crops like yucca and malanga, corn, passion fruit, okra, lots of kale and turnip greens, basil, sweet potato, peppers, and more. Day by day we find new projects to focus on, and there is much integration between work and leisure as it is respected and valued that each person is responsible for their own choices and contributions.
Stripping away distractions that accompanied my life in Colorado gave me the opportunity to focus on simple necessities and pleasures and gave me the space to feel more deeply and live at a calmer pace. This space, held in love, has also revealed to me my own insecurities and false assumptions. I have been dissolving mental blockages and reactionary behaviors within myself through the open discussions we share at meals times, and especially through the daily work projects. I learn so much about myself and the joy/challenges of manifestation through jobs such as: building an earth bed, digging out drainage trenches, making lasagna garden beds, planting and harvesting fruit and root crops, wood working and making furniture, fixing and building shelter structures, feeding the chickens, running electrical wires, and digging pits for the composting toilet. The manual labor that has taught me so much in the way of mental and physical perseverance and creative design, has also been balanced and enhanced in the down time spent swimming in the rivers, reading, sharing delicious meals, hearing David read from his Jaguar Queen series, and reflecting in meditation, fasting, and yoga practices.
I know that my time here has reoriented the trajectory of my life in the best ways possible. I have learned and grown so much in the ways of carpentry, gardening, and construction skills and techniques, and even more emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. My relationship to Earth and my own body has deepened, and I will never again allow myself to live so disconnected and unaware of my consumption and responsibilities to Her. I have been returning to Garden Village again and again between my visits to the Maya Point Project in Bocas del Toro region, and the Envision Festival outside of Uvita. This time I have returned to conclude my last two weeks before flying back to the US in a calm, rooted, and reflective way. In preparing to return to the life I left in the States, I am aware of new practices and ways of living that I must implement there. I have learned the importance of fasting in order to keep the body regenerating itself, how important it is to me to be using a composting toilet and relating to my excrement as a resource for the land and not “waste” to be flushed away, being in this region as a white male has also challenged me to continually relax and allow myself to be tender and open even when faced with harsh judgments and assumptions.
I am returning to the States knowing that I will return to Garden Village again and again to help manifest the vision that Susannah and David are bringing. I am eternally grateful for the opportunity to live and learn with them, and for how affordable it was for me to stay at Garden Village. I will continue to share my experiences here with others and encourage anyone with a communal, loving nature to visit. We are at the point now where we are ready to invite more and more volunteers/partners to come live and build this center with us.
-Cache Stone Hunter- Loveland, CO, age 19