We’re Mark and Monica Donaldson, owners of Hacienda Rosa- a 6 acre tropical permaculture homestead next to El Yunque National Rainforest in Luquillo, Puerto Rico. We’ve lived here for 20+ years and have raised our 3 children on the property, which has been passed down from Monica’s parents and grandparents. We currently have three structures on the property- our house, and two rentals- the Hacienda Rosa Guesthouse and the Sugar Shack. We also have 2 dogs, 2 cats, and a flock of chickens that help us with preparing land for future gardens.
Our goal for this project is to build a screened, roofed camping platform nestled into the lower forest on our property to provide a unique place to stay for guests such as work-trade volunteers, permaculture workshop participants, campers, interns, and short-term rainforest staffers. The Bosque Bungalow will be the first major development project for Hacienda Rosa since Hurricane Maria and will be one of the foundational elements for implementing the rest of our property’s master plan. Once we complete the Bosque Bungalow, we hope to add amenities like a bathroom/shower facility, a kitchen and dining area, as well as additional camping platforms to create a home away from home for our guests.
After Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit Puerto Rico in 2017, we were woken up to the fact that we were ill-prepared to face the challenges presented little to no government services for as much as 6 months. Scarcities of food and water became normal, and while we fared better than most in our concrete house and the great fortune of continued support by our employers, the realization that we need to be better prepared in the future prompted us to begin plans to develop our property to be more self-sufficient. As this property has been handed down from previous generations, we hope to continue that tradition while leaving the property more healthy and productive for our kids and grandkids to have something to fall back on.
We reached out to our close family-friend Nick Jennison, a permaculture designer and consultant, and he helped us develop a master plan for the property that will allow us to take advantage of the land we have to be more self-reliant. Using permaculture principles as a guide, we plan to develop our land using techniques that will support and respect the delicate balance of our tropical rainforest ecosystems. Nick will serve as our project lead to be sure that we are leaving minimal impact on the land during the build.
As we continue developing our property and learning along the way, we hope to provide our community with a model for clean, nutrient dense food grown in harmony with nature by hosting educational workshops and tours. In the future, we hope to help support our community and economy by providing locally grown food, sourcing from local businesses, and hiring local workers. We also plan to host long-term work-trade volunteers and interns to help us with developing our property as we transition to a more property-based income through food & produce sales, lodging, and agrotourism/ecotourism experiences.
Volunteers help us with the work-load of maintaining the property, running two guesthouses, and developing food production systems on the land. In return, we provide room and board, as well as an educational experience working on our land. The Bosque Bungalow will provide a place for us to host these volunteers without having to lose the income from one of the guesthouses during their stay. We’re committed to providing a comfortable and unique stay for all of our guests, volunteers included, and this kickstarter will help us do just that!
The main risks and challenges that we face for this project are hurricane related. That being said, we plan to carry out the construction of the Bosque Bungalow during the winter months. That way, the supply chains on the island should be running smoothly and we’ll also have a bit of a respite from the heat of the tropical summer. Once the project is complete, future hurricanes have a potential to damage the structure through tree and branch falls, but we’re siting the structure in an area that was left mainly untouched during our most recent hurricanes to preemptively guard against that possibility. It only takes one storm to do major structural damage, but that’s life in the tropics! We can only do our best to over-engineer the structure to make it last, and we’re up to the challenge.