Kalu Yala Internship Review

I had a spectacular time during my 2.5 months at Kalu Yala. I loved the fact that i got the chance to learn from everyone there, not just the people in leadership postions. Everyone was so kind and welcoming when we first got into the jungle. From then on, I felt like I was a sponge trying to absorb every possible thing i could from my fellow interns, other staff members, and especially the amazing Jon Trimarco (my ag director)

I learned the basics of permaculture principles not only in the topics but everywhere. I learned how to apply permaculture to all aspects of life, not just farming or gardening. I learned how to compost and build my own compost system. I learned the basics of tropical agriculture. I got to teach elementary school kids the basics of tropical farming :) I learned about Black Soldier Flies and how the can break down a compost pile much quicker than anything else and can then be used as chicken or fish feed; extremely nutritious and sustainable feed :) the ag team as a whole were catalysts in regenerating an old cattle pasture back into its natural state of rainforest. We all worked to breed iguanas in a place where iguanas are going extinct. We showed others that hard, manual labor can be fun and rewarding. and this is all just what we did as an agriculture team. The other programs were simotaneously working their magic in other parts of this amazing village which will someday be a town