Cahuasquí · Imbabura · Ecuador
An island in the sky, built by hand.
Environment · Ecuador
The land
and the farm
Where you're standing
Ecuador packs coast, Andes, Amazon and cloud forest into a country the size of Colorado. We sit in the middle of it, on a plateau between two rivers, where the equator gives twelve hours of light every day of the year.
One valley, three ecosystems, a day's walk apart.
Imbabura Province, northern Ecuador, 20 miles from the equator and three hours by road from Quito. Volcanoes on every horizon, four of them over 15,000 feet. Ecuador is one of seventeen megadiverse countries on earth and holds roughly 1,600 bird species. The river canyon, agricultural areas, and páramo all meet within a day's walk of the gate.
The farm
A regenerative farm, no chemicals, ever.
The farm sits at 7,700 feet on the edge of a mesa. Days run 70–75°F, nights drop to sweater weather, and there is no summer or winter, only wet months and dry months.
The soil
Fed by compost, cover crops, crop rotation and the same patience the coffee trees take to ripen.
The animals
Llamas graze at dawn, hens move through the garden, chickens lay healthy eggs, horses and donkeys roam nearby, and Tony and Oso, our famous dogs, greet every arrival.
The crops
Coffee, heirloom corn, avocados, beans, citrus, tree tomatoes, naranjilla, passion fruit, herbs and greens.
The soil
Built from the ground up.
Every bed is built from compost, crop residues and cover crops . We rotate cover crops back into the ground, never spray synthetic inputs, and let the mycorrhizal network do the work commercial fertilizers pretend to do.
The animals
Llamas, hens, and two very good dogs.
Llamas fertilize and graze the upper pasture. Hens patrol the garden for pests. Tony and Oso are not guard dogs. They are the welcoming committee, trail companions, and late-night fireside companions.
The crops
What you eat and drink comes from here.
Specialty coffee, avocados, heirloom corn, tree tomatoes, naranjilla, passion fruit, herbs and salad greens all grow within sight of the cabins. What we do not grow ourselves comes from neighbors who have farmed this valley for generations.
About the food
From the fields to the table
Most of what you eat is grown or raised on this farm. Coffee, avocados, corn, tree tomatoes, naranjilla, passion fruit, herbs and greens come from the fields; eggs, milk and grilled meats from the animals and kitchen. What we do not grow ourselves comes from neighbors who have farmed this valley for generations.
The Farm Gallery
