TREE OWNERS NEWS
Summer 1997
Sherry and I
want to thank all of you very much for your continuing support and enthusiasm.
Your response
to our letter was heartwarming! To those of you who were already tree owners and chose to
own additional trees, we thank you very much for your continuing faith and support. And to
those of you who have just become new tree owners, we welcome you and thank you very much
for joining Tropical American Tree Farms.
As your
responses to our letter were coming in, we identified a second farm that also exactly fit
our needs. With your help and support, we were able to add both of these new farms to our
program of planting tropical hardwood trees and protecting endangered habitat.
Both farms
have excellent soils for planting our precious tropical hardwood trees, and each has
hundreds of acres of wonderful tropical rainforest that we will absolutely protect.
The first of
these two new farms, San Rafael, is near a small village with the same name, about 6 miles
north of Quepos and inland along the Rio Cañas. It is about 12 miles north of our Santo
Domingo farm.
This farm has
more than 350 acres of flat and gently sloping land with soils that are perfect for
planting teak. It also has just under 100 additional acres that are ideal for planting our
native species. But every bit as exciting, San Rafael has more than 700 acres of beautiful
forest that is home to the rare and endangered tiny squirrel monkey. We will absolutely
protect this endangered habitat.
Our second new
farm is also named for a small nearby village, San Cristobal. It is about 6 miles south of
Quepos and inland in a beautiful valley along the Rio Guabo. One boundary of this farm
nearly touches the back of our Santo Domingo farm.
The San
Cristobal farm is approximately 600 acres, of which about 200 acres are perfect for
planting our native species and 200 acres are in existing beautiful rainforest. We will
allow an additional 200 acres on steep hillsides to grow back into forest.
A majestic waterfalls on San Cristobal
These two
farms are excellent additions to Tropical American Tree Farms, not only because they will
provide space for us to plant thousands of additional tropical hardwood trees, but also
because they have 900 acres of rainforest that we can protect, and all of you can enjoy.
As you
probably know from our earlier newsletters, Beto is a man of action. He plans his work and
then works his plan.
Immediately
after we closed the purchase of each of these two new farms, Beto quickly attracted
workers and set about training them and preparing the fields for planting.
At San Rafael,
one of the first tasks, after getting the cattle out of the fields, was to lay out the
straight lines for the little teak trees. Only a few days after the closing, Beto had
strings stretched and straight lines staked for the plantings. Some of the strings were
more than a mile long, arrow-straight. And now as we are writing this, he has 82 workers
marking, preparing, and planting. They have already planted 50,000 little teak trees at
San Rafael.
At San
Cristobal, things are moving just as quickly. We closed the purchase on a Thursday
afternoon. Just two days later when Sherry and I went to San Cristobal, Beto already had
22 workers clearing the fields and fixing the fences. He had begun building a bunkhouse
for the unmarried workers and two houses for workers with families. The San Cristobal team
is now up to 36 workers, seedlings are arriving at the farm, and we should begin planting
in less than two weeks.
Sherry and I
are always impressed with the earnestness of all of our workers and their gratitude for
having work, but it is most noticeable as we begin work on a new farm.
As we visit
the new farms and walk the fields to observe the progress, the workers briefly glance up
or nod hello. When we walk over to them the first time, some are shy and unsure because we
are strangers.
As we reach
out to shake their hand and thank them for their hard work, their faces literally light
up. They always respond to our thank you with genuine warmth and gratitude for being
appreciated.
But then they
always add "muchas gracias a Ustedes por el trabajo", "thank you very much
for the work." Their words, their eyes, and their actions all say "thank you
very much."
All of our
farms are back in away from the coast and there is little employment opportunity nearby.
Shortly after we buy a farm, the word spreads and the workers show up to ask for work.
They are
grateful for the opportunity and are proud to be part of a project that is planting trees
and protecting the natural beauty of Costa Rica.
Please
remember as you read this that all of this is possible only because of your wonderful
enthusiasm and support.
We want all of
you to know that not only are you growing beautiful tropical hardwoods that won't have to
be taken from the rainforest, and protecting precious endangered habitats, but just as
important, you are also offering humble, sincere people a means to improve their lives and
their communities.
We want you to
all be very proud of what you are doing.
Sherry and I
want to encourage all of you to come visit your trees and to enjoy the incredible beauty
of these wonderful farms.
The forested
areas of both of these new farms abound with beautiful orchids, bromeliads, ferns and
heliconias. And there are beautiful bubbling streams and magnificent waterfalls.
When Sherry
and I review a farm, we are very careful to look only at the planting areas and get a
general view of the forest. We do not go to the most beautiful sites in a farm until after
we have made a decision about the farm. For that reason, and because we have been very
busy since the purchase, we still have not seen the waterfalls in the forest at San
Rafael. But Beto tells us that they are beautiful, some as tall as 50 feet.
We have had
time to go to one of the three waterfalls at San Cristobal, a majestic falls of more than
150 feet, 15 stories in height.
After this
year's planting is complete, Beto will mark trails in the forests of both of these new
farms for you to enjoy on foot or on horseback.
Sherry and I
would love to have all of you visit your trees and enjoy all of these beautiful natural
treasures.
With the
addition of these two newest farms, now four of our farms are within a fifteen minute
drive from the Quepos airport. So Sherry and I thought you might want to know more about
this quaint port town on the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
Quepos is a
beautiful 3-1/2 hour drive from San José by paved highway, or only 15 minutes from San
José by regular daily flights on either Sansa or TravelAir.
It is one of
the principal Pacific sportfishing ports in Costa Rica, with a number of professional
charters available. The fishing is world class.
Nearby Manuel
Antonio National Park has beautiful white sand beaches for a relaxing day at the ocean.
Quepos offers
a wide selection of hotels to choose from, including one or two hotels that come close to
being five stars. And there are restaurants for nearly every taste and budget.
Downtown
Quepos is an eclectic mix of shops, some catering to tourists, some serving the European
and North American residents living in the area, and still others are more typically Costa
Rican, like the local bakeries and fresh fruit and vegetable vendors where Sherry and I
love to buy our food.
So if you want
to visit San Rafael, San Cristobal, Capital or Santo Domingo, you may want to consider
staying in Quepos. If you plan to visit Campo Real or Rio Blanco, or if you simply want to
be away from other tourists, then Punta Dominical would probably be your choice.
No matter
where you stay, we would love to have all of you come see your trees and enjoy the
incredible beauty of the farms.
Sherry and I
want to thank all of you again very much for giving us the opportunity to grow tropical
hardwood trees for you. And thank you also for continuing to share this opportunity with
all of your friends and neighbors.
It is truly a
blessing to be planting and growing your trees and to be protecting these beautiful
rainforests. It is so very fulfilling to see your trees grow, the farms transform, and the
nearby communities benefit. Everyone wins. Thank you all again!! |
