Lunch in Eden

This weekend Nancy and I visited an organic farm near Arenal Volcano. It supplies herbs for the New Chapter product line. Our friend Beverly, an herbalist in New Mexico, is planning a field trip for her students this spring, and she wanted to check out the operation.

Nueva Luna, tucked back off the main road, is an Eden. Everything from the landscaping to the open air dining room exudes tranquility. For lunch we ate delicious organic greens picked that morning, with an organic chicken and yucca casserole plus the Costa Rica staple, rice and beans. We could hear and see a toucan (the big-billed Fruit-Loop bird) calling in a nearby tree.

It is amazing what one person with a vision can do. Steven, the manager of Nueva Luna, has been farming organically for 30 years. New Chapter used him as a source for their herbs and eventually had him buy a farm and run the operation. The demand for organic products has grown so much that Steven, who used to supply 100% of New Chapter's turmeric and ginger, now provides only 4%, as other farms worldwide join the list of suppliers.

We will be returning to Nueva Luna in March for a 4-night stay. I’m sure I’ll have more to report then. Meanwhile, Nancy and I will continue to search out organic produce—not always the easiest thing to do in Costa Rica even at the marvelous local farmers’ markets.

As the medical intuitive Jamie Champion once told us, “Fresh trumps organic.” And fresh is what we have in abundance here-- mangoes, pineapples, papayas, bananas, and many other fruits and vegetables. We eat with gratitude for the earth that provides and for the many farmers like Steven of Nueva Luna, Karen & Jacqueline of the Women’s Environmental Institute in Minnesota, and our brother-in-law, Steve Anderson, whose passion brings us nature’s best.

Becky