Plants for Tropical Homesteads

Come learn about choosing the appropriate plants for your tropical homestead with Ranch teacher and designer Rachel Jackson during this 2-day course.

From food to medicine to building materials, this short course will cover useful tropical plants for the homestead. We will go deep into selecting, planting and caring for your plants.

Topics covered include:

•    Selecting plants that are right for your site
•    Planting and caring for young trees
•    Using plants to build soil fertility
•    Designing plant guilds/companion planting

We will also introduce you to some of our favorite all-star tropical species and share resources for finding plants in Costa Rica!

About the Instructor:

Rachel Jackson 
Rachel holds a Masters Degree in Sustainable Landscape Planning and Design from the Conway School in Conway, Massachusetts. She has been practicing permaculture in the tropics since 2009, working in both the rainforests of Costa Rica and the dry forests of Nicaragua. She is passionate about creating harmonious, healthy relationships between humans and the landscape. From urban renewal projects in New England to food forests in Latin America, Rachel has used her skills to create integrated, whole-system designs in difficult locations. She has also worked as a garden-based youth educator, art handler, photographer and carpenter and harbors a life-goal of trying as many varieties of tropical fruits as possible.

Other Information:

Arrival


Students should plan on arriving to the Ranch no later than 8 a.m. on the morning of the first day of the class and are encouraged to arrive on the evening before (this night is included in the cost of the course). We will hit the ground running on the morning of May 14. The course will wrap up on the evening of May 15.

Cost
US$250.  Costa Rican get a 15% discount.  If you take this course in conjunction with our Sustainble Homestead Design Class you receive a $50 discount off both courses.  These prices include 3 nights lodging (starting on May 13), course instruction and full access to Rancho Mastatal and its private wildlife refuge.

Accommodations


For more information about food and lodging please see our website at accommodations.

Language
The course will be taught in English.  If there is enough interest from Spanish speakers, we will translate the course into Spanish. 

Course Payment


Please follow the link for payment options.



Enrollment


For more information about this course please contact Tim O’Hara at [email protected] and/or call the Ranch at 2200-0920. To enroll in the class, please go to our Online Course Registration Form.  We have a maximum of 15 openings for this workshop and a minimum of 5 students to run the course.

• Directions
Driving from San José
Take the highway out of the capital going towards Ciudad Colón and Puriscal (sometimes referred to as Santiago). We recommend you drive during the day. To get to the highway from downtown San José, take Paseo Colón west, until you hit Sabana Park, then take a left, and follow the signs to Escazú/Ciudad Colón. If you are coming from Alajuela or the airport, you will have to head towards San José before picking up the highway to Ciudad Colón. A local map will be very helpful. On the way to Ciudad Colón, you will pass the town of Santa Ana.  The highway can get a little confusing just before getting to Ciudad Colón.  Make sure that you follow the correct signs.  DO NOT HEAD TOWARDS CALDERA.  In Ciudad Colón follow the one-way streets and signs towards Puriscal. You will then climb up and out of the Central Valley, and pass through the Quítirrisi Indian Reserve. From Ciudad Colón, it’s about 40 minutes to Puriscal. Once in Puriscal, follow signs to Parrita/Quepos. Once outside of Puriscal, continue on the main road through the towns of Santa Marta, La Palma, Salitrales, and other small communities. The paved road ends about 15 kilometers outside of Puriscal. About 1 hour and 15 minutes after leaving Puriscal and soon after passing by the entrance to the administrative offices of La Cangreja National Park, you will arrive to an intersection. A small run-down bus stop and a few signs, one announcing “Mastatal”, mark the junction. Make this left hand turn, and continue for 6 kilometers until you arrive to the town of Mastatal. There is one intersection along this road. Stay left and continue down the road. As you enter Mastatal, we are the house on the left with the red roof. There is a black gate that marks the entrance to the Ranch.