pathogens are more likely to enter damaged crops
(J. Wolfe, pers. comm.). The greatest successes for the
organic producers have been cabbage, celery, carrots,
radishes, cilantro, and beets. They have also success-
fully produced broccoli, "aracache," covered beans
("frijol tapado"; see Griffith and Wolfe, "Frijol Tapado,
p. 414), and sweet peppers. Tomatoes have been unsuc-
cessful. Research is needed to further adapt organic pro-
duction techniques to the Monteverde environment.
11.5. Livestock and Fowl11.5.1. Commercial PoultryAlthough some families sell homestead eggs and
chickens, the area has only one commercial poultry
operation (Union VARSAN, S.A.), which began egg
production in 1991 and chicken production in 1992.
The company is owned by six local shareholders.
Varsan's operation has 2500 layers out of a total
chicken inventory of 4200. They produce 54,000 eggs
and 1750 chickens of 1.6 kg per month. Chicks be-
come layers at 5 months and lay for 16 months. All
the feed (240 tons/yr) is purchased from outside the
area. All the manure from the operation (10 tons/yr)
is used as fertilizer on coffee and pasture. The op-
eration has had minimal disease problems (J. L.
Vargas, pers. comm.).
11.5.2. Commercial Hog Raising
As of 1996, there were three commercial hog opera-
tions in the Monteverde area. The largest one (2000
hogs), belongs to the dairy plant as its waste treatment
facility and an agricultural enterprise. The con-
troversy it has generated illustrates the different co-
existing conceptions of sustainable agriculture in
Monteverde (see Griffith, "The Pig Farm," p. 415).
The hog farm was conceived as a solution to a prob-
lem generated by the dairy plant, whose wastewater
and whey from cheese-making had been polluting the
Rio Guacimal for many years (See Gill, "Impact of
Lecheria," pp. 446-447), to the increasing objections
of community members. The dairy plant had taken
some steps to reduce the problem (e.g., dripping the
whey into the river slowly, in small quantities, rather
than sporadically in large amounts). They also sold
whey to a nearby hog producer but recognized that
his farm polluted another river with hog wastes. More
drastic measures were economically unattractive; the
dairy plant averred that it would be at an economic
disadvantage if it undertook pollution control mea-
sures and its competitors did not. As one factory
employee stated, "As long as there's no law [whichapplies to everyone], whatever we do has to pay for
itself" (J. J. Monge, pers. comm.).
Two developments spurred the dairy plant to action.
One was the growing threat that environmental regu-
lations would be imposed at a national level. The other
was the size of the problem. After many years of grow-
ing at about 10% per year, by 1993 the dairy plant was
producing 24,000 liters of whey and 80,000 liters of
other wastewater per day. These large volumes made
other treatment alternatives economically viable. The
dairy plant elected to install a commercial hog facility
that would solve the waste problem and pay for itself
(and possibly generate a profit) by using the whey to
fatten hogs. With an initial investment of $275,000,
they built a confinement facility for 1800 hogs, with
separate buildings for breeding and gestation, birth and
early development, fattening, and cattle, which would
be partially fattened on treated hog wastes. They also
constructed two lagoons of 1800 and 2200 m^2 to treat
the water and chemical wastes from the dairy plant and
the water and manure wastes from the hog operation.
The smaller, deeper lagoon is anaerobic, with water
hyacinths. The larger, shallower, aerobic lagoon re-
ceives the treated wastes from the first lagoon.
The first step is to mix, dilute, and neutralize
wastewater (excluding whey) in a 40,000-liter tank.
This mix is then filtered before going to either the
42,000-liter biodigestor or directly to the anaerobic
lagoon (Fig. 11.6). The solids (mostly undigested pro-
tein and fiber) from the filtering process are fed to
cattle; whey goes to the hogs. The hog waste is diluted
and filtered. Some is fed to cows, some goes to the
biodigestor, which produces gas and organic compost,
and some goes directly to the first lagoon. The waste
that finally leaves the system is 96% pure water, well
above the Ministry of Health's standard of 85% (J. J.
Monge, pers. comm.). Measurements of biological
oxygen demand (BOD), a statistic indicating the
amount of oxygen needed to break down organic pol-
lutants, indicate a healthy system. A heavy biologi-
cal oxygen demand implies greater stress on the body
of water that receives the pollutants. As of 1996, the
operation achieved a 98.5% reduction in the BOD of
the factory's wastes (Table 11.7).11.6. Future Directions
and Conclusions11.6.1. How Sustainable Is Monteverde
Agriculture?
Dairy production. Specialized dairying in Monte-
verde has made significant environmental progress in
recent years. Farmers have intensified production by405 Agriculture in Monteverde: Moving Toward Sustainability