Monkeys are Made of Chocolate - February 2012

By Alexis Costello, Kelowna, BC

Picture: butterfly gardens at Hacienda Baru

Jack Ewing, the owner of the reserve, is a grandfather now, but something about his clear gaze makes it easy to spot the determined and hardworking spirit of decades ago, when he arrived in Costa Rica, ready to conquer the land.  Hacienda Baru has become a model for eco-tourism in Costa Rica and one night on the premises will convince you that the reputation is deserved.

             Jack and I talked about making the change from cowboy to conservationist and he was modest about the role that he and his wife played in helping the land.  His book, “Monkeys are Made of Chocolate” tells the story of how meeting the inhabitants of this land (monkeys, birds, etc) changed things for Jack.  Over lunch, he said “I didn’t decide to do it; it just happened.  There was never any plan, any vision. We had a pasture, and it was land that never should have been made into pasture in the first place.  I figured it was costing us more money to keep the weeds down than it was worth, so I talked to people about reforesting.  Fortunately, the people I talked to knew what they were doing.  The said that the best thing you could do is let it grow back naturally.  So we let Mother Nature do it.  That was in 1979 and it came back so fast that it surprised us. 

            “We planted about 5000 native species that were in danger of becoming extinct here or were already extinct here – for some we got the seeds from somewhere else and brought them in.  The natural forest just came back.  We started doing a few tours and one thing led to another.  One day I realized that I was thinking of Hacienda Baru as a nature reserve, not a cattle ranch and that a lot of other people were too.  So in 1990 we sold all the cattle.”

            In 1985 they planted a large stand of teak which provides all of the wood needed for the reserve, including the new buildings.  They go out of the way to work in harmony with the environment and be self sustaining.  These efforts include: micro-organisms in the septic tanks, using ozone rather than chlorine in the pool, all biodegradable cleaning products, solar water heaters, recycling everything they can, conserving water and electricity and, the big one that sets them apart from other eco-lodges, preserving 150 hectares of restored land. 

            It was on this reserve, during a tour with one of the guides, that we had the experience of tasting the sap from the “cow tree”, named for its oily, milky sap.  The milk can be collected and drunk as a cure for stomach problems and ulcers. The staff also had us eating termites, which taste better than you would think; kind of green and spicy at the same time, like arugula.  My son liked them and had seconds, but the rest of us were content with one.

            When I asked Jack about what messages he would like to see passed on from his experience, he had an interesting answer.  “I realized when I was converting this land from a cattle ranch to a Reserve that for conservation to work, it has to be profitable,” he said.  “If you’re going to conserve something, you have to make a living at it because there aren’t enough philanthropists in the world to take care of all the things that need conserving.  One of the best gifts we could give the world is to find new ways to make a living while conserving.  Of course, other things are also important.  One time I was talking to a student group about plans for the future of the reserve and a girl asked, ‘with the market the way it is, how much is it (the land) worth?  Why don’t you sell it and you could buy more land elsewhere?’ But, you know, fifty years from now my great-grandkids might come driving by here with their friends. They’ll say, ‘My great-grandfather was one of the founders of this reserve.’  That’s more important than having lots of money.  Besides, I wouldn’t be able to show my face around here if I sold it, so I’d have to move and I don’t want to live anywhere other than Hacienda Baru.”

Alexis's Bio: Alexis Costello is a natural health practitioner specializing in applied kinesiology, Bach Flower Remedies, massage and herbology. Her 'passion for plants' brought her and her family to Costa Rica for six months of adventure studying herbs in the rainforest; learning everything she could from 'curanderos', medicine men, shaman and the local folk medicine. Now that she has returned to Kelowna, Alexis is working on starting up a fun integrated learning/healing centre called Happily Holistic. In the new column "Wandering Herbalist" (Alexis formerly wrote the column on nutrition for OK in Health), Alexis shares some of her experieinces and the healing plants she enjoyed most. www.happilyholistic.ca - Alexis Costello Website - Email