Fourteen people sitting around a
campfire – each with a coconut in their hands. Adorned with a necklace of small
coconuts fruits, Robert starts the ceremony. “I want you to think about all the
things in your life that have coconut. The milks, toppings, cookies, cakes,
fragrances, shampoos… They all come from the fruit that is in your hand. Think
about the process involved in making that fruit. Somewhere, a seed like the one
you are holding fell to the ground. From within the thick husk roots and shoots
started to grow, and pushed their way out into the world. That tree grew for
several years; acquiring resources and reaching for the sky.”
In a silent, single file(-ish)
line we walked from the fire pit to the large coconut tree on Robert’s farm.
“When you look at this tree what do you see? Those orange, tentacle-like things
up there once bore the fruit you are now holding. Notice how there are fruits
at all ages of development, some young and some almost mature. There are large,
showy leaves that people around the world use as roofing, and parts of the leaf
can also be used as food.”
In a planting bed nearby we dug a
wide, 2-3” deep hole for our coconuts. “The tree that produced these coconuts
was here when I bought the farm, but that one there (pointing to a 5 or 6 foot tree) is about 7 years old. Today we are planting trees that will sequester
carbon from the atmosphere, that will provide food for future generations, and
will be here for you when you visit in 10 years.”
After
the seeds were planted, the coconut necklace was ritually passed from one
person to the next. When it was returned to its owner, he said “I want you to
take a moment to think about what you did here today. Stay as long as you like
to enjoy this place, the feel of the dirt on your hands and the smell of plants
and earth. Come back in the next few days to see what happens, to watch the
plants grow from these brown husks into roots and shoots.”
