COMMUNITY
The Permaculture Farm at
Shift Esperanza
Where your food comes from the land outside your door, and the land is better for it.
THE PERMACULTURE FARM
Food as Part of Community Life
The farm is not an amenity. It is how Shift works.
Designed to produce enough food to help feed up to 400 people, the farm is a living system at the center of the community. Residents eat what grows here. Children learn here. The land is restored here. It is the clearest expression of what it means to live in a place, rather than just own a part of it.
What the Farm Supports
Organic food production
Regenerative land practices
Education and workshops
Community meals and gatherings
Connection to seasonal rhythms
A living example of food sovereignty
FARM LIFE
A Place to Learn, Gather,
and Grow
Residents can experience the farm as part of daily life through food, events, learning opportunities, and the simple act of being close to where things grow.
8 acres of organic produce and restored land
What was once depleted cattle ground is now Finca La Esperanza: 8 acres of restored land with enriched soils, increased water retention, and food already growing.
Thanks to the ongoing efforts of our cherished local farm team, guided by land design partners, Porvenir Design, our farm will provide Shift’s residents with fresh produce and will be an integral part of our community’s day-to-day commitment to healthy living.
How our farm works
Our farm team tends the soil, plants agroforestry systems, and manages the harvest with one principle guiding every decision: work with the land, not against it.
Soil, water, plants, animals, and fungi are managed as a single living system. The result is food that is cleaner, land that is healthier, and a place that gives back more every year than it takes.
Our Systems
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We design agricultural systems to function like the native dry tropical forest ecology.
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We protect the farm’s soil so that it is always covered by living plants or organic materials, maximizing nutrient and water retention and minimizing erosion.
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We manage water from the top of the watershed to the bottom, always in a way that seeks to recharge our aquifer, store water in the soil, and cycle raindrops as many times as possible.
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We work to establish varied microclimates that offer lower-than-average temperatures and more humidity in order to create more comfortable growing and working environments.
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Although not exclusively, we primarily focus on perennial crops that generate a yield and provide multiple ecological services.
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We plant diverse species, arranged in both space and time, in order to accelerate the natural ecological succession and move the farm toward a forest ecosystem at a faster pace.
RESTORATION & CONSERVATION
The Land Was Here Before Us.
We Are Returning the Favor.
Thousands of trees, plants, and grasses have been planted across the land. Each one chosen to rebuild shade, restore soil, attract pollinators, support wildlife, and return this hillside to the tropical dry-forest ecosystem it was always meant to be.
This work does not stop at the property line.
Shift works with neighbors in Las Delicias on a community-based reforesting initiative. Local children plant trees alongside our farm team, learning what it looks like to take care of the place you grow up in.
That is what restoration means here. Not a metric. A practice.
OUR PARTNER
Porvenir Design
The development of our farm is led by Sam Kenworthy, a water systems enthusiast and landscape manager with over a decade of experience in the tropics. He has experience designing and developing educational curriculum for students of all ages, particularly focused on conservation, practical skill building, and applied research.
Dedicated to continued learning and improving his skill sets, he is passionate about self sufficiency, water management, generating more and better yields, and well executed design for human eco-systems. Experienced in working in a wide variety of environments, he enjoys the challenge and process of designing around problematic landscapes.
Visit the Guiones Farmers Market
Come say hi every Tuesday and discover fresh, locally grown produce from Finca La Esperanza.
What’s fresh this week?
