Learning Journeys

Finca Maravilla Learning Journeys are an agile and flexible component of life on the finca. We respond to our diverse and changing community and offer programs that shift and flex alongside the needs and desires of the children within our circles. This project began in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, with regular Friday meet-ups, ‘Soul Food Friday’. We offered these gentle and holistically educational days at a time when schools were closed, resources were limited, and the work load – and emotional toll – was high. During this aftermath period, spanning the first crucial six months, the need to gather in creative and wholesome safe spaces, to learn survival/thrival skills, and make joyful sense of the ‘new normal’ was essential for health and happiness of all community members. Soul Food Friday was open to children and their families, and the days were host to multi-generations of residents seeking respite and a nurturing and soulful experience. We then moved into providing learning experiences for teenagers – Wonderland – when the provision within the town’s alternative schools was more limited for this age group. The schools had reopened but there was a lack of enriching learning opportunities for teens. Wonderland offered a creative and supportive space to work on writing skills, reflect on literary works, incorporate theatre skills, and delve into more responsible ways of relating to the self and group. The project now is host to field trips for children from schools or homeschool/unschool groups, offering them the space to get to know the farm’s many animals. Visitors experience the cyclical journey of food, through seed to plant then to compost, and back to food; via either soil or animals (in the form of plants we have grown, milk from our goats or eggs from our chickens). We explore the many medicinal plants and trees of the finca and the herbal medicines and natural remedies that we make from them; we make art, share a snack, become friends. This aspect of life is deeply enriching for the children who visit, and also for us ourselves. It is through these journeys that we get to share the lessons and teachings that nature offers us through the farm; and it is a mutually joyful experience to share these days with young people from the island. If you are interested in arranging a small group visit to Finca Maravilla, please fill out our contact form.