We visited the water source (an underground spring), saw where our host was experimenting with the grafting of various strains of grapefruit trees, and drank coconut milk (scraping out the meat with a blade made from the coconut's shell).

The coolest example of sustainable agriculture was how they were growing rice using a technique that was developed (I believe) in combination with Cornel University:

• Rice is grown in a small paddy.
• After the rice is harvested, the "straw" from the rice is used as bedding for chickens.
• After the chickens have soiled the straw, it is dumped into a small pond where the organic material (plus leftover food and other organics) combines with the sun to create phytoplankton.
• When the water is rich with phytoplankton, some of it is put into a small (25'×25') pond to feed carp and tilapia.
• After the fish are fattened, the larger ones are consumed by humans and the smaller ones are dried and ground up. The resulting fish meal is fed to the chickens.

No waste; no harm to the land; beautiful.

After our walkabout, one of our translators, Alexandre (shown to the right), asked why his heart beats faster when he walks uphill. I spent about an hour <yawn> explaining how the circulatory system works. He didn't know that oxygen only enters our bodies through our mouths and nose (he asked if it was also absorbed through our skin).

We took each others' pulses, ran around the compound, and then rechecked them. I showed him my blue un-oxygenated veins (easy to see on a Blanc). It was fun. He brought out a book with medical terms that he had written down. He was pretty excited about posing for this picture (with my stethoscope).

Later in the day, after jump-roping with some kids, I asked him why my heart was going faster. Unfortunately, he still didn't quite understand that it was because my body needs more oxygen during exercise. It's difficult to learn these concepts when you aren't exposed to them until you're 19 years old.