Being a Farmer on Vacation: Growing Sustainable Agriculture Tourism

In Monteverde, Costa Rica the farms are nestled in the tropical rainforest. Many of them create coffee grown under the shade of trees. Some of the farms feature dairy cattle, used to create delicious local cheeses. And yes, many of these farms also supplement their income with bed and breakfasts, homestays, and farm vacations. For a farmer to be sustainable, this means complementing sustainable agriculture with a solid financial base. Having a foot in the world of tourism and the world of agriculture helps make ends meet.

Worldwide, keeping a small farm can be a struggle. It is a challenge to compete with huge companies that source from large tracts of land, all planted in a less than sustainable monoculture. It is a challenge to create a diverse ecosystem that supports subsistence farming and a selection of crops for the local and international market. Many farmers are now courting the tourist dollar as well. Instead of cleaning up the farm and becoming a posh bed and breakfast, these farms invite visitors to get their hands dirty and play farmer.

Unlike the World Wide Volunteers on Organic Farms, farm holidays are definitely farming lite. They are more experiential than tangibly helpful. For the farmer, they provide a diverse source of income, employment prospects for other family members, and most importantly, an opportunity for world travelers to experience local culture and sustainable farming methods. Visitors to tropical countries are often greeted with a plethora of fresh fruit, a cool drink, and a hammock. Although this is an attractive way to spend the day, it is not really a cultural experience.

Staying with a local family, attempting to speak the local language, and visiting an agricultural area as a farm tourist are all ways to embed oneself in the local culture at least a little. For Northern city slickers who think that pineapples grow on trees, a taste of a farm in another country can be a profound education. It can also lead to more - a volunteer vacation such as WWOOFing on a farm that embodies sustainable agriculture, and a rethinking of where our food comes from, even when it comes from far away.

Is farm tourism sustainable? Well, considering the carbon footprint involved in getting to tropical places, perhaps not. The most sustainable farm tourism is that which is accessible by bike, bus or train, farm tourism inside your own borders. Even then, it may simply be a bourgeois activity for the wealthy, a feeling of getting one's hands into agriculture without accomplishing anything at all. Then again, providing a sustainable income for farm families, growing connections with farmers, and developing an understanding of how food grows is a worthwhile endeavor, a true food-lover's vacation.