Update from Cotito group

Ben shared the following about what they have been up to in Cotito: “Today we are in the midst of our independent projects. We got here the first day and explored the hot springs which were beautiful! Yesterday we got a tour of the coffee plantation and had an interesting conversation about pesticides and agrochemicals with one of the farmers. Today we started working on independent projects. Some students are taking more in depth tours of the coffee farm, others are talking to families that live here, and some are exploring on their own. A lot of people are interested in the daily routines of the farm and the people who work there. Max is looking more in depth into the use of fertilizer and pesticides. Liam and Hope looking at the man-made structures versus natural environment. I’m photographing Nicolas and Raquel who live on the farm. This morning some people chose to watch a chicken slaughtering. Sara helped plucked feathers. And earlier we all went birding with Will and Abel. Chessie showed the group how to do soil shake tests with soil samples from the different sites we’ve visited so we can compare the composition. The cabaña where we are staying is beautiful. It’s all wood and the beds are comfortable and there’s a huge deck for people to hang out on.” More later!