A mix of barriers prevent erosion

In 1996, Kelly returned to the community of Rio Limpio to demonstrate the value of biodynamic agriculture. To achieve this goal, he designed Piso Verde. The Piso Verde site map is a good visual representation of Kelly’s design.

Though only partially complete, the development of Piso Verde serves as an excellent road map on the path to sustainability. Before Kelly acquired the land, it belonged to a local coffee farmer. The coffee on the land was old and of a shade intolerant variety. Kelly began by planting new, shade tolerant coffee seedlings. Kelly mixed his coffee plantation with banana, cocoa, avocado, and citrus. He also built a mix of live and dead barriers to prevent soil erosion.

Kelly admits that the conversion of Area A represents a significant investment on his part. However, because Area A is primarily composed of perennial species, Kelly spends little time and very little capital in its maintenance. This example is instructive: sustainable systems require a high level of investment in both capital and labor for their establishment. Once established, a well designed system produces much more than it consumes.