Blog

Transplanting more Turmeric

November 16, 2019/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is known for its medicinal and anti-inflammatory properties and in cooking as a coloring and flavoring. This plant is a cousin of ginger and is native to Asia. Both are considered superfoods. It has been used for many years, but over time the knowledge and importance of this plant has been lost. […]

Certification of Good Agricultural Practices

November 9, 2019/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Btina

Certification of Good Agricultural Practices (BAP by its acronym in Spanish) Yantza Farm – PermaTree Yantza Farm – PermaTree obtained the Certificate of Good Agricultural Practices (BPA) from the Ministry of Agriculture with the register Nr. EC-Z-05-53-PA-G-2019-067 for the following crops: Soursop (Annona Muricata L), Guineo Ceda, Ilex Guayusa and Turmeric (Curcuma longa) on Friday, […]

craft beer with coffee

Coffee Craft Beer

October 19, 2019/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Btina

NATEM and PERMATREE-CAFE-TIPIKAS collaboration Single Origin micro-lot coffee craft beer – the best of two worlds We are proud to present a delicious and exclusive COFFEE BEER. SPECIAL EDITION: Natem Beer. Its a Limited Edition brewed with selected coffee from micro-lots single origin coffee from Imbana and Zumba within the territories of southern Ecuador. History […]

fectur 2019 zamora permatree cafe tipikas Ecuador

FECTUR 2019 Fair in Zamora

October 5, 2019/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Btina

PermaTree-Cafe-Tipikas participated in the first Entrepreneurship, Culture and Tourism Fair in the city Zamora (FECTUR 2019). The event was on Friday, September 27, 2019. It started at 09:00 am at the Central Market Plaza, located on Amazonas street and Heroes del Paquisha avenue, a few steps from the central bus station in Zamora, Zamora-Chinchipe, Ecuador. […]

Volunteer Experience – First 3 weeks

September 30, 2019/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Btina

My name is Rebeca Gaona, I’m from the south of Ecuador, a city called Loja. Almost three years ago I was accepted at EARTH University, in Costa Rica for studying agronomy. There I have learned many things, not only about agronomy, I have learned about different cultures. Different ways to think of the seeing things. […]

dehydrated bananas permatree Ecuador

Dehidrated Bananas

September 28, 2019/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Btina

We have been experimenting dehydrating our sweetest bananas – guineo ceda. Dried fruit is fruit from which the majority of the original water content has been removed through the use of our electrical dehydrator. Dried fruit has a long tradition of use dating back to the fourth millennium BC in Mesopotamia, and is prized because […]

Coffee harvesting at Don Vitaliano Merino

September 7, 2019/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

Saturday Minga August 24, 2019 The goal of our minga last Saturday, was to harvest 1 quintal (45kg) of coffee cherries. In Sangre de toro (Red, ripe). To prepare a micro-batch of special coffee, double fermentation, of unique origin. There where a total 9 people helping with the collection of ripe cherries. Later on those […]

Tipikas Coffeeshop Zamora PermaTree in Ecuador

Tipikas Cofeshop in Zamora

August 26, 2019/0 Comments/in Food /by Ya Go

The PermaTree family is growing. As true holistic organization we focus on the entire transparent value chain. From the farm to the shop where the added value products can be purchased. This is why we are now collaboration with Tipikas Cofeshop in the capital of Zamora-Chinchipe. This is literally brandnew. This will be the store […]

soursop full process

Soursop full process: From harvest to pulp

August 18, 2019/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Btina

Happy to share with you a full transparent process of harvesting the Soursop Fruit (Annona muricata L) to the final frozen pulp. This short article and video will help you to understand the Artisanal Processing of Soursop Pulp. Obviously without the use of ANY additional ingredients, at all. The goal is the keep all of […]

perenial peannut arachis pintoi

Perenial Peanut (Arachis Pintoi)

August 11, 2019/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Btina

The perennial peanut also known as Arachis Pintoi is called Mani Forrajero in Ecuador. This is a perennial tropical legume. Its one of the most highly effective flowering ground cover available. For the tropical climate we have at the farm. Important to mention that this perennial is a natural nitrogen-fixer. They sequester atmospheric nitrogen into […]

Transplanting giant bamboo permatree amazon ecuador

Massive Reforestation with Giant Bamboo

August 7, 2019/0 Comments/in bamboo /by Ya Go

Friday the 2nd August 2019 we just finalized a massive reforestation on a old and steep pasture field with giant bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper). This is a extremely steep hill part of the farm. The giant bamboo will also help fight erosion. Additionally it has been planted so that it will create a tunnel pathway of […]

PermaTree, Ecuador

New PermaTree Logo Onwards

August 4, 2019/0 Comments/in DIY /by Ya Go

Dear friends as you may have noticed, not so long ago, we have up-dated our PermaTree Logo. Some may believe this is something not worth investing time in. Obviously we think differently 🙂 Let us quickly introduce you to the new logo and the background. We are located in the northwestern region of Ecuador at […]

How to make bread at home

How to make healthy bread at home?

August 1, 2019/0 Comments/in DIY /by Btina

Basic ingredients: water, flour, yeast and salt. (i) The yeast is not mixed directly with the salt. No sugar is needed. The simpler the recipe the better the bread. 1kg of wheat flour in a glass bowl. Make a hole in the middle of the flour. Cut a little (half a finger) fresh yeast (not […]

Exploring Existing Bamboo Operation in Coastal Ecuador

July 25, 2019/0 Comments/in bamboo /by Ya Go

Finally I have been able to invest some time into visiting and exploring some of the existing bamboo related operations in costal Ecuador. With some help of INBAR (International Bamboo and Ratan Org) and also directly via Social Media, I was able to get some good contacts. So Sunday 7th of July 2019 I started […]

DIY Video DIY Recipe Tropical Paradise Juice

Video DIY Recipe: Tropical Paradise Juice

May 22, 2019/0 Comments/in Micro videos /by Ya Go

This is a yet another very simple juice recipe. But its tastes epic. Its delicious. As always important is that you get quality materials in this case the fruit should be organic even better if you know where its grown or who is harvesting it and how. You absolutely dont want to be consuming glyphosate […]

Mycorrhiza Fungi

Mycorrhiza Fungi

May 18, 2019/0 Comments/in Plants /by Ya Go

As part of the goal to achieve an increase in the world’s agricultural production to meet the needs of a growing global population, farmers and researchers alike must consider the sustainable intensification of agriculture. To intensify agricultural systems, we must consider improving the amount of production knowledge per hectare – both above and below the […]

Ready to serve: Potato Gratin Coconut Milk DIY

Video DIY Recipe: Potatoe Gratin with Coconut Milk

May 10, 2019/1 Comment/in Micro videos /by Ya Go

Today, we share one of our favorite dishes made at our farm. Its simple but very tasty recipe: How to make your very own potato gratin with coconut milk. As usual, we at PermaTree focus on healthy foods. In this post we are using instead of cow milk, coconut milk which you can make at […]

Growing Bamboo From Seed

April 27, 2019/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

To grow bamboo from seed, start by soaking the seeds in bowl of water for 12 to 24 hours to help them germinate. Planted fresh bamboo seeds the 31.01.2019. After letting the seeds in a bowl of water for 24 hours, to soak it up. To help germinate. During the first 8 weeks we kept […]

Soursop Tea, PermaTree

Soursop uses and recipes

April 6, 2019/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

Ok we all know about the amazing health benefits of the soursop fruit and leaf by now. In case that you missed the health benefits a quick summary: Soursop contains more than 200 chemical compounds in its pulp, leaves, and stems that contribute to its many health benefits. It’s particularly rich in alkaloids, phenols, and […]

Organic Soap From Scratch_PermaTree

Soap From Organic Raw Materials

March 30, 2019/1 Comment/in Health /by Ya Go

how to make organic soap from scratch with raw materials. Directly extracted manually, off the beaten path in the Amazon Region of Ecuador. From local organic vegetable & animal elements to produce the highest quality organic soap. With ancestral time-tested methods of soap making via cold saponification. Without harming any living beings.

Bamboo Potential for Regenerative Micro Enterprises

March 23, 2019/1 Comment/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

As of March 2019 we have our 3rd anniversary at PermaTree. Living on-site and off the grid in this very unique tropical climate, we are now, better able to understand what works best. We try to focus on less work. Even if thats not visible yet 🙂 but hopefully in the not so far future, […]

Adaptive Contour Access Path (ACAP)

March 16, 2019/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

With the Adaptive Contour Access Path (ACAP) our focus is: Enabling improved manual access to the crops. Enhancing the soil quality with nitrogen fixing plants – Arachis Pintoi. Let the microorganisms do their magic with the soil – Vetiver Grass. Reducing erosion on a micro and macro level. Slowing down the water flow. Tropical rainfall […]

Water Systems

March 9, 2019/2 Comments/in Permaculture /by Ya Go

As holistic farm we focus on treating all resources efficiently. Even more Water. Did you know that water is vital for all known forms of life, even though it provides no calories or organic nutrients. Water is the one of the 4 elements (Earth, Water, Air, and Fire). Humans are born of water from our […]

PermaTree composting toilet

Composting toilet

March 2, 2019/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Ya Go

The PermaTree compost toilet system explained For our toilet system we do not use any water at all, because we have build a so called “compost toilet” which are water free. For most visitors at the farm, using a composting toilet is a first-time experience. This system which treats human waste by composting to produce a […]

Soil analysis

Analyzing fruit & plant pest in unbalanced environment

February 23, 2019/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Ya Go

The challenges of growing food in a tropical climate, in a unconventional region (mining) and on a area with more than 15 years of cattle farming history. Are that the existing environment is unbalanced. Consequently we face more than just a few plagues and pest. Which we believe is important sharing this challenging process with […]

Visual Status Update 2019

February 16, 2019/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Ya Go

As you can see yourself from the photos below, the visible transformation is massive at the PermaTree operation. It is clearly visible how the Soursop fruit trees have successfully grown. Actually we have pruned them else they would be even grown taller. And of course the Bamboo which is the fastest growing plant on the […]

Stingless bees (Apidae, Meliponini)

February 9, 2019/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Btina

Just a few days ago (14. January 2019) we have been gifted with a box of endemic “Catana” (Scaptotrigona ederi Schwarz) also known as Meliponini or “stingless bees”. They are twice the size as the “Angelitas” (Tetragonisca angustula) Meliponini stingless bees which are all-ready on the farm since over 2 years now. When we first […]

Fauna: Polinator and Heliconia

Best Tropical Flowering Plants

February 2, 2019/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Btina

So from a holistic perspective it makes sense to have flowers. The question is then obviously which flowers are endemic to our tropical climate (Excessive rain and sun) and which flowers have which uses. The more uses-cases a flower has, the better. Thats core permaculture philosophy. One uses-case was, is the flower edible – can […]

Basic rules of coexistence

January 26, 2019/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Ya Go

Since we work with volunteers all over the world at PermaTree we have learned that its key to be as clear as possible with everything. Starting from the volunteer information pack to how to co-exist. And to not expect anything from anybody. In the best case we will be positively surprised else no big deal […]

First Giant Soursop (Annona muricata) fruits

January 19, 2019/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

As of the 25th of December 2018 we have had the first 60 Soursop fruits which are growing and starting to ripe now. When we first planted 100 different fruit trees, back in 2016, the soursop stood out because of its rocket like growth. Compared to the citrus fruit trees all of the Annona (Soursop, […]

Permatree – Sustainable Living In Ecuador, With Educational Aspirations

January 13, 2019/0 Comments/in Philosophy /by Btina

In search of a sustainable way of life in harmony with nature, the two Swiss Citizens were interviewed by PonderingTime about their new life and their project PermaTree. PonderingTime Magazine Published on 12. January 2019 By Thomas Matterne – read the full article here PonderingTime Trilingual International Online Magazine with stories beyond mainstream PonderingTime.net (English), DenkZeit.net (German), […]

Harvesting our first Pitahaya aka Yellow Dragon Fruit

January 12, 2019/1 Comment/in Plants /by Ya Go

Have you heard about the Dragon Fruit? If yes you absolutely need to try the yellow dragon fruit also locally called pitahaya in Ecuador. This is the sweetest one of the 3 different existing dragon fruits. Last week we have finally been able to harvest the first few cactus fruits ourselves at the farm. Naturally […]

Giant Bamboo (Dendrocalamus Asper) clearing out thinning of culms

Bamboo clearing out or thinning of culms

January 5, 2019/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Ya Go

We just finalized the clearing out or thinning of culms from our 2 years ago planted, over 400 bamboo plants. Bamboo is unconventional part of our tropical food forest at the PermaTree farm. Pruning or trimming back bamboo can be used as a means for encouraging even more rapid growth. The world record for the […]

Fauna Biodiversity PermaTree Ecuador

PermaTree Area Fauna Biodiversity

December 27, 2018/0 Comments/in Animals /by Ya Go

The current state (from March 2016 to December 2018) of all the photographed bio diverse fauna at finca PermaTree. Located in the southeastern region of Ecuador, alongside the Cóndor Cordillera at the edge of the Andes mountain range and the Amazon River Basin in Ecuador. More basic farm information about PermaTree – here / GPS coordinates of Finca […]

Rice harvesting

December 23, 2018/0 Comments/in Food /by Ya Go

Have you ever wondered how rice is made respectively harvested? Read more to learn about this process and our learning. This was the first rice harvesting at the farm – entire Thursday 20 September 2018. As you can see the harvest was done manually and believe me when I say it was hard work. We where […]

Clearing zone-G for additional Fruit Tree PolyCultures

December 16, 2018/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

When we talk about cutting pasture grass. It’s not the same thing in a non tropical climate like in Europe. The grass here is GIANT Elephant grass (the African Pennisetum purpureum, also known as giant king) which grows up tu 3 meters tall and is very thick up to 1cm! Check out the photos. So […]

Disruption of the food system

December 10, 2018/1 Comment/in Food /by Ya Go

Today the greatest minds are busy with disruption of banking system, automobile industry, space rockets, energy sector etc. But only a few seem to focus on our food system or “food value chain”… Organic Farming VS Conventional Farming? People tend to forget that organic farming is actually the traditional way of farming. Industrial or conventional […]

What Are Food Forests

December 3, 2018/1 Comment/in Health /by Ya Go

The PermaTree FoodForest(s) have been growing physically and also digitally, on the website. As you can imagine most plants need more than just 3 years to grow strong and even more to produce fruit. Even in the tropical climate we have at the farm. Currently producing from the list above are Bananas, Guayusa, Coffee and […]

Permaculture presentation in Spanish

November 25, 2018/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Ya Go

For our Spanish speaking visitors we have published a presentation about what Permaculture is. Maybe ill find some time to translate it to English … one day 🙂 ¿Qué es Permacultura?Mesa medio ambiente, Valle de las luciernagas, Zamora Chinchipe, Amazonas, Ecuador ¿Qué es Permacultura? Mesa medio ambiente, Valle de las luciernagas, Zamora Chinchipe, Amazonas, Ecuador […]

Giant Soursop

Health Benefits of the Soursop Fruit and Leaves

October 19, 2018/2 Comments/in Health /by Ya Go

Soursop grows on a broadleaf, flowering, evergreen tree in the rain forests of Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia and is a common food there. And here in Ecuador at the edge of the amazonas basin in our organic tropical farm PermaTree. Its scientific name is Annona muricata. Also known as Graviola, Custard Apple, Sauersack, Guanabana […]

Adaptive Contour and Erosion Control with Vetiver grass and Arachis Pintoi

October 10, 2018/1 Comment/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

Tropical Permaculture Here we have a A-typical climate at PermaTree at the edge of the amazonas region in Ecuador. Most of the year too much rain. Too much water. Lots of issue with erosion and high difficulty of access with very steep hills. Access path with Vetiver and Arachis Pintoi So to improve this we […]

Experiment: Bamboo Vegetative Method Reproduction

October 1, 2018/1 Comment/in Permaculture /by Ya Go

Experiment: Bamboo Vegetative Method Reproduction Bamboos can be propagated either by reproductive method or vegetative method. Reproductive method involves the production of new bamboo plants through seeds while the vegetative method makes use of vegetative parts such as rhizomes, culms and branches. Giant bamboo = Dendrocalamus giganteus, also known as dragon bamboo or one of several […]

Cacao Fino de Aroma

July 12, 2018/2 Comments/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

We produce Cacao Fino de Aroma At PermaTree we produce Cacao Fino de Aroma. Fruity and flowery aromas and flavour with nutty malt notes. This is the characteristic flavour of Cacao Fino de Aroma that distinguishes it from other cocoas in the world. The Fino de Aroma denomination is an International Cocoa Organization (ICCO)* classification, […]

Health Benefits of Turmeric

June 21, 2018/0 Comments/in Plants /by Ya Go

We planted our very first Turmeric the 5th of February 2018 at the farm. Usually it takes 7 to 10 months from planting to harvest. So we should be able to harvest soon June/July 2018. The Scientific name of Turmeric is “Curcuma Longa” . It is also known as “Curcuma Domestica” and is popularly known as “Haldi” […]

Nutrition – Flexitarianism

June 8, 2018/0 Comments/in Food /by Ya Go

Written by Matthew Livingston and originally published at the mattliving.com blog – DISCLAIMER: These are my thoughts and experiences on what can be a deeply cultural, charged and personal topic: diet. There is a lot we don’t know, especially when it comes to what a sustainable diet is. For one, most studies have been centred in […]

Prioritizing Decision Making and Goal Setting in Project Development

April 16, 2018/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Btina

Written by Sam Kenworthy and originally published at the Porvenir Design blog. Every project starts with a goal in mind. Regardless of scale or time line, the inception of a project revolves around achieving a goal of some sort. Despite how seemingly simple it is to set a goal for a project, even the best […]

Where is PermaTree in Ecuador?

April 13, 2018/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Btina

PermaTree is located at the edge of the Andes mountain range and the amazon basin. The Amazon river system has its sources in the eastern flanks of the Andes. The Andes are the longest exposed mountain range of the world, and the second-highest after the Himalayas. The Andes mountain range is the highest mountain range outside […]

Retrospective 3 Years PermaTree

April 7, 2018/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Btina

With PermaTree in Ecuador we kickstarted the project 19th of May 2016. Fast forward today 6th of April 2018 we have survived the first two years on site. Currently 3rd year. This has been similar to a start-up kind of lifestyle to be honest. Extremely interesting but also very very intense in all possible directions. We […]

eGo-centric VS eCo-centric

March 30, 2018/1 Comment/in Permaculture /by Ya Go

As it stands, we have over 7 billion “little things that can make a big difference” walking around on this planet, each with the power to become a tiny tipping point of their own. Indeed, with the power to change the world. But, like Confucius said, “Those who move mountains begin by carrying away small […]

Ojeme – Volunteer Testimonial 2018

March 27, 2018/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Ya Go

I spent four weeks at PermaTree, and my overall feeling about the experience is very positive : it was a great enlightening and rewarding experience. I had the opportunity to do : Building work : I worked on the big sized greenhouse (I helped to build the roof, the field, the tables and install the […]

Diatom

March 22, 2018/2 Comments/in Permaculture /by Ya Go

Lots of ants during this season of the year at the finca PermaTree in Amazonas region of Ecuador. We have started to work with “DS” aka Diatomea which are a major group of microalgae, and are among the most common types of phytoplankton. Diatoms are unicellular, although they can form colonies in the shape of filaments […]

Planting Ginger & Tumeric

February 8, 2018/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Ya Go

A few days ago we planted the first batch of Ginger & Tumeric. After having prepared the soil with a typo of tractor for poor… check out the photos for yourself. 🙂 We organized a minga (traditional communal work in the Andes) – during that day so it was quite crowded on the farm but great vibes. […]

How To: Adobe Oven

December 19, 2017/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Btina

How to build a Adobe Oven Or horno as it is called in Spanish-speaking parts of the world. Sun-dried mud brick construction, mud mortar, recycling (bottles) and mud plastering construction. Build a base structure at a good hight, so you can use the oven in future without having to bee kneeling down all the time. […]

Herbal medicine: Leonotis Nepetifolia – Klip Dagga

October 25, 2017/1 Comment/in Plants /by Btina

Leonotis leonurus (L.) R. Br. is a shrub belonging to the Lamiaceae (mint) family, which comprises of about 3,200 species in 200 genera. L. leonurus is commonly called ‘wild dagga’ or ‘lion ear’. and is found in tropical Asia, Africa and southern India. The plant stems emanates from a thick wood base. The green leaves are […]

Interesting Bamboo Facts

September 30, 2017/0 Comments/in Plants /by Ya Go

Most of the +400 bamboo plants growing at PermaTree have been growing well and even better since we keep them clean from the fast growing pasture grass 🙂 For of our tropical permaculture soil improvement goal we have been implementing bamboo. Not only bamboo grass but mainly bamboo grass and vetiver grass. Both are very interesting […]

PermaTree’s productive and nutritional capacity. Summary and conclusion.

September 4, 2017/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Ya Go

The completion of this SIP (Self Initiated Project) during August 2017 demanded many volunteer hours which, according to Yago and Btina Veith, permacultors and owners of the Yantza farm, located in the south east of Ecuador, and creators of the PermaTree.org project, is innovative. Since it combines the technique and practice of permaculture, with the […]

The Oriente – Ecuador’s Amazonian region

September 1, 2017/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

Amazon River Basin The Amazon rainforest of Ecuador or “El Oriente” of Ecuador is the country’s largest region. Nothing is just ordinary in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Ecuador’s Amazonian jungle, one of the country’s most thrilling destinations. At first glance, the rain forest is a vast green wilderness. However, as one observes carefully, this ecosystem is full […]

How to Make Chocolate

June 27, 2017/0 Comments/in DIY /by Ya Go

How to Make Chocolate 101 Chocolate Making in Ecuador – it’s a delicious snack that happens to have a lot of benefits. It is loaded with nutrients such as iron, magnesium, manganese, copper, potassium, zinc and selenium, it’s a good source of antioxidants, and studies show that it can help restore flexibility to the arteries […]

Tiny Bamboo House

May 19, 2017/1 Comment/in Status Update /by Ya Go

Step for step development of the new bamboo tiny house at PermaTree. Its a 6 x 3 meters tiny natural house. The roof is in tin the most used roof solution in the region here. The bottom structure is wood and the main house structure is 100% guadua bamboo. It took us a while to figure […]

More Vetiver Grass at PermaTree

May 7, 2017/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Ya Go

Taking advantage of the current rainy season we have been planting some 5000 new vetiver grass seeds. Having already transplanted vetiver grass half a year earlier and seen the positive effect. We decided to plant more during the rainy season. Vetiver Technically Vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides) is a noninvasive perennial bunchgrass of the Poaceae family, native to […]

Sustainable Lifestyle, implementation at PermaTree

April 25, 2017/1 Comment/in Permaculture /by Ya Go

Sustainable living is a lifestyle on which we have strong focus at Finca PermaTree. An Overview of all on-going sustainable lifestyle elements and implementation. In first hand, at PermaTree, you can learn what sustainable lifestyle is, within a minimal ecological footprint – as our goal. To name a few sustainable ways, we’d like to start with […]

Challenges – as first time Chicken Owners

April 20, 2017/1 Comment/in Animals /by Btina

Why Chickens? The main interest of having free-range chickens at our organic farm was, to have real and own organic eggs as food nutrition and the chicken dug for soil fertilizer. How to start? But as we were – without knowledge about raising chickens. It was a completely new experience. First, of course, we were […]

Growing Plants from Seeds, with the right Soil

April 18, 2017/0 Comments/in Ecuador, Plants /by Ya Go

Soil types at PermaTree In the beginning of PermaTree, we just used the soil we found around the plant nursery which has a reddish and claylike soil texture. Not ideal for the seeds to germinate, we found out. It makes them hard to thrive, because of the slow drainage rate and therefore the high water-holding […]

Bamboo Volunteer Cabin

April 10, 2017/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

The latest PermaTree micro project is to build a bamboo house mainly for volunteers with an amazing view of the Rio Zamora and the Valle de las Luciernagas. The size will be 6 x 3 meters and there will be a fix hammock on the panoramic view side of the house. This is another so called […]

Last week of March 2017 at PermaTree

April 2, 2017/0 Comments/in Status Update /by Ya Go

A week in 2017 at PermaTree So this has been an interesting week, to say the least. And on behalf of many volunteers and visitors asking what we do here at PermaTree and how a week of tropical farm work looks like, here the summary of the last week of March of the year 2017. […]

guanábana – 4m preparation finalized transplanting fruit trees

March 25, 2017/1 Comment/in Food /by Ya Go

After more than 4 month of preparations and planning, this week we have been transplanting about almost 1000 guanábana tropical fruit trees. The plants seem to really like this climate and the geology of step hills here. Wikipedia: It’s tolerant of poor soil and prefers lowland areas between the altitudes of 0 metres to 1200 metres. […]

New Natural Building Volunteer Structure

March 9, 2017/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

After having almost 95% finished the construction of our current PermaTree HQ bamboo house, we started with the next natural building project. Within 3 month we started living in our bamboo house so we improved step by step the construction. The first few month where a bit rough because we had almost no walls within the […]

Tropical Fruits at PermaTree in Amazonas Region of Ecuador

March 6, 2017/0 Comments/in Food /by Ya Go

Tropical Fruits at finca PermaTree at the edge of the amazonas region in Ecuador, South America. We are between the warm tropical / subtropical lowlands and the cool sierra region. We are growing a extreme diverse mix of common tropical fruit with native species to Ecuador and Latin America, as well as many new varieties from the […]

Healthy Tasty Food

March 4, 2017/4 Comments/in Food /by Ya Go

The project PermaTree was mainly created because we – Btina and myself – wanted to eat healthy tasty food in our future. We at PermaTree focus on healthy nutrition aka healthy food “diet”. Definition of diet: “A selection of nutritious substance that people or animals eat or drink, in order to maintain life and growth.” It’s […]

Long-term volunteer positions PermaTree

February 26, 2017/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

2017 long-term Permaculture volunteering positions available at the PermaTree Project in southern Ecuador. Spend 3 or 6 months to a year at the PermaTree Project, in Ecuador. Current open volunteer positions are: All-round volunteer Talented Paint/Artist volunteer Talented Author/Blogger volunteer Experienced Compost volunteer Talented Carpenter volunteer Talented Video & Photography volunteer Experienced natural swimming pool […]

Brilliant Way To Reuse And Recycle Old Tires: Stairs

December 30, 2016/1 Comment/in DIY /by Ya Go

Driving a vehicle you know you have to change your tires every 2-3 years depending on how much distance you have been driving. Now what happens to the used tires? Here in the Amazonas region of Ecuador not so long ago they where just dumped into the biggest river … Also most of the tires […]

Shishi Odoshi

How To Make A Shishi Odoshi Fountain

December 20, 2016/0 Comments/in DIY /by Ya Go

Hands On Experience: How To Make A Shishi Odoshi Fountain In Your Garden or Home Shishi Odoshi, ”Deer Scarer” in Japanese is a beautiful artcraft designed straight from bamboo and a bit of rope or string depending on what you prefer. How Does It Work? During the rest period, the heavy end of the […]

HowTo Make Raw Energy Bars

December 19, 2016/0 Comments/in DIY, Food /by Ya Go

Making Raw Energy Bars & Why We Should Eat More Raw Foods Today we would like to share a new recipe with you, which is very simple to make and does not require any baking or cooking. These raw energy bars are the perfect snack on the go, providing you with a combination of complex […]

Another week at Finca PermaTree

December 6, 2016/0 Comments/in Status Update /by Ya Go

It is the end of the week again, and we are sited down commemorating the success of the last seven days work. Photo Update: Video Update: 4×4 going down! What Did We Do? Brainstorming Ideas For Next Week Tire Recycling Project. (Saturday, 3rd December) With lots of plastic around the world being dumped on to […]

idea-board

Project Update: Week (28 November – 4 December 2016)

December 4, 2016/0 Comments/in Status Update /by Ya Go

”Progress lies not in enhancing what is, but in advancing toward what will be.” – Khalil Gibran It is the end of the week again, and we are sitted down commemorating the success of the last seven days work. What Did We Do? Repair The Water System Yesterday afternoon, a water pipe started leaking, and […]

Tropical Fruits of Ecuador

November 27, 2016/0 Comments/in Food /by Ya Go

If you also embrace diversity and a healthy living then you might be interested into the so called tropical fruits or exotic fruits of this planet. Here in Ecuador the different micro-climates provide a fantastic environment for most of the tropical fruits, to grow very well. Our goal with finca PermaTree here within the amazon […]

Status update October 2016 at PermaTree

October 13, 2016/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Btina

It has been more than just VERY busy. It has been exiting EVERY day here. With ups and downs like everywhere of course. But so fare we are on track and are moving forward.
Enjoy the photos. Let us know if you want to Skype. Sunday is a good day for Skype here

Growing seeds in sustainably with origami paper pot

September 30, 2016/0 Comments/in DIY /by Btina

Here is a sustainable Do It Yourself way to plant seeds in paper bags instead of plastic bags! We try to use as little plastic as possible and produce the less amount of plastic waste. This is why we have been trying to find smart ways to replace all the plastic “things” we are using […]

August 2016

August 11, 2016/0 Comments/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

Time is flying by. Now it’s already again August. Exactly 2 years ago back in 2014 we left Zurich Switzerland with the plane to São Paulo in Brazil to officially start our exploration journey of latin America. First Paraguay then Bolivia after that Colombia and finally Ecuador. Much has happened since then. Even more happened now in […]

Bamboo cabana

June 22, 2016/3 Comments/in Status Update /by Ya Go

The building chronology of the PermaTree bamboo cabana in the amazonas region of Ecuador in South America. Harvesting, Transporting, Planning, Building … All photos in chronological order: Harvesting bamboo during good moon – means during the 6th and 8th day after full moon, between 12pm and 6am = lowest starch content! Transporting – After the […]

DIY Soap Making Natural From Scratch, Part 2

June 17, 2016/0 Comments/in DIY /by Btina

How to Make Lye out of Ashes Before discussing how to make lye, it is important to note that lye is very dangerous and extreme caution should be used when making or handling lye – whether commercial or homemade. Lye should never come in contact with aluminum, as it will react with the metal. Lye […]

DIY Soap Making Natural From Scratch, Part 1

June 17, 2016/0 Comments/in DIY /by Btina

Control of Your Ingredients If you make your own soap, you have direct control of what kind of ingredients you like to have in it! In today’s commercial soap, there are many chemicals used, which causes skin irritation or even cancer! Industries find their way through, to make even more profit out of a cheap, […]

PermaTree photo impressions

June 12, 2016/0 Comments/in Status Update /by Ya Go

The amazing landscape view from PermaTree temporal HQ-cabana where we can see the Zamora river which later enters the great Amazonas river. One of the many waterfalls which we discovered within the PermaTree property more than 1 hour walk 🙂 The Chontaduro Palm tree (Bactris gasipaes) is endemic to the region of Zamora Chinchipe […]

Volunteer opportunity in Ecuador!

June 5, 2016/2 Comments/in Ecuador /by Ya Go

Take the chance and visit us! A Volunteer abroad opportunity at Finca PermaTree located in the South Ecuador between the Amazon basin and Andes mountain range. We’re just starting to build the house and the farm with Permaculture principles. Be involved within the very first steps, like building the main bamboo house and starting with […]

Found a property in Ecuador!

May 18, 2016/7 Comments/in Status Update /by Btina

After a literally long and intense exploration and research during more than 600 days (2 years)! Which we started in Paraguay back in 2014 and then went to Bolivia. From there to Colombia where we finally decided to explore Ecuador. We are very proud and happy and thankful to announce that we finally found […]

Struggling With Parasites In Latin America

May 15, 2016/0 Comments/in Health /by Btina

In Latin America, I continuously struggle with bacteria’s. While traveling now almost two years, I mostly struggled with amoebas – the bad ones! The thing is, here, the water is often contaminated mostly of cows poo or other fecal sources. Local people often told me, that the tap water is drinkable but in fact, it’s […]

Ecuador

May 7, 2016/1 Comment/in Ecuador /by Btina

Nature: Flora and Fauna of Ecuador. Threats from modernization. Permaculture movement and communities. Permaculture Farms in Ecuador. Seed Savers Network of Ecuador

Welcome: Lobo and Oso

May 5, 2016/0 Comments/in Animals /by Btina

Yesterday we visited the “RESCATE ANIMAL CUENCA” A Non-Profit Organization located in the colonial center of ‪‎Cuenca‬. We now are proud daddies to two adopted local abandoned and rescued street dogs from Cuenca. Very long travel yesterday for the dogs and us from Cuenca to ‪El Pangui‬ but now the dogs are well and happy […]

Exploring with digital maps challenge

April 4, 2016/1 Comment/in Ecuador /by Btina

We have been exploring for over 2 years many properties in Latinamerica. The following have been the most reliable tools so far. Sometimes no Internet/3G (no coverage or too much demand). No GPS-Satellite (too many trees in the jungle). No Electricity to reload the batteries 🙂 It has been a real challenge to find good […]

The plant nursery

March 23, 2016/3 Comments/in Permaculture, Plants /by Btina

Arriving in El Pangui canton Zamora Chinchipe we have lost no time and started right away with a plant nursery (A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to usable size). Our food forest plant-wish-list is growing (see the list below. Currently about 147 different names… Most of them are of course […]

Building our own house in the tropics

March 23, 2016/1 Comment/in Ecuador /by Btina

It’s time for us to start thinking about how we want to build our own house in the tropics. We did some extensive research during the last 2 years – but knowing where we are going to stay makes it a step easier.

Our PermaTree exploration status

December 28, 2015/0 Comments/in Permaculture, Status Update /by Btina

Our journey exploring for a suited property for the PermaTree-project has taken us traveling in Central and Latin America. It has been quite a trip so far. The more we travel, the more we have been learning. The better we have been able to focus on what we believe will be we need to be […]

What’s Permaculture?

November 27, 2015/0 Comments/in Permaculture /by Btina

We have been asked so many times by family, friends and acquaintances what this so called “Permaculture” now means. A few had heard it has something to do with gardening. Or how to raise a flower bed … So we decided to explain it the most simple way via a video so it’s slightly easier […]

November 2015 status update

November 6, 2015/0 Comments/in Status Update /by Btina

After exploring for almost 90 days Colombia it was time for us to move on. The retro perspective about Colombia will follow a little later for those who wish to read about our experiences and findings there. Now we started to explore Ecuador. Which is about 4 to 5 times the size of Switzerland (47000 […]

Social Tribes

October 25, 2015/0 Comments/in Philosophy /by Btina

Social Tribes – We believe that to live in balance with ecology, it is ALSO very important to live in balance with our fellow human beings. What’s good for the tribe is good for everyone. A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. […]

Colombia so far

October 7, 2015/in Status Update /by Btina

After, the fresh high mountains and the hot Amazonian region of Bolivia, we decided to fly over to Colombia on August 12th 2015, where the climate is more stable, over the whole year. What we’re actually looking for, after Bolivia. For a bigger view; click on the top icon right hand. Bogotá Big city of […]

Seeking permaculture land

September 28, 2015/0 Comments/in Status Update /by Btina

Our goal with PermaTree is, to start our own self-sufficient, cooperative, eco farm, hostel and co-working, co-living space, nature reserve, eco-tourism, reforestation with the aid of the brilliant permaculture principles. We plan to build natural buildings with adobe, bamboo or whatever makes sense depending where we finally settle. And to work with locals as well […]

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