Where?
Carite is located in the southeast side of the island of Puerto Rico in the Municipality of Guayama. The lake was created back in the early 1900’s as a reservoir for irrigation and potable water for the island. La Plata River feeds the lake. The topography of the land made it ideal to make a damn and flood it. The lake covers a total area of 123 hectares. The protected forest of Carite is in proximity of the lake, making the area an important natural region for the island. The lake is at an altitude of 550 meters, making the temperature a little bit colder than the rest of the island of Puerto Rico.
My grandma told me the story that grandpa bought the first lot back in the 1970’s. She said that one of my grandpa’s employees was from the area. This particular employee was going through some financial issues and offered my grandpa a little piece of land that he owned. My grandpa was always willing to help and a lover of plants, so he decided to buy the property. Around five years later he noticed that another piece of land was for sale. This was a bigger piece of land that covers around 8 hectares. The land had access to the lake so he again made invested and bought his second property in the Carite region.
Un/learning Reflections and Patterns
I can foresee a pattern of family union through the Carite farm. So far my uncle, Tio Tito, is putting the resources to build up the road, a tool shack and a fence. My cousin Celso, that is currently getting his masters in construction management, is doing a projection time line for the land. My cousin douglas, an architect, is designing the first house in autocad. My other cousin Dani, whom is a civil engineer, its making sure that the house structures are strong. My aunt Titi Tere, who owns a nursery, is going to provide us with fruit trees and ornamental plants to plant around the farm. I feel like there is a pattern here, where we can all come together and create a nice family project. My uncle Tio Jaime wants to build a small house and Titi Tere is thinking of building one in a couple of years. My other uncle, Tio Musin, is really into growing food and fishing. I am sure that as we start developing the land he is going to partake in the project.
Why?
My grandma is 93 years old. Sadly I know she won't be with us forever. Talking with Tio Tito, we discussed where is the family going to meet in the future. We are unsure what is going to happen to the beach house. Perhaps the Carite land will offer us a place where we can all meet. My uncle also says that if by any magical reason my deceased grandpa were to visit Puerto Rico, he would go to the Carite land. I think that the major reason to develop this land is to keep a place where we can all meet in the future.
Being an eco-social designer makes me aware of the fickle future we have ahead of us. I think that making a good design for this land will give our family a sense of food and natural security for our future generations to enjoy. This is why I want to start planting a food forest in the land. My intention is that in the future our family can go there and eat from the land. We can also have a live seed bank for many plants.
As a consultant, I think there is a great niche market to design family properties like the one in Carite. I think that demonstrating this design in the form of an output package will open the doors for opportunities in the future. This land is going to offer me a great learning experience for the future and I am sure that other member in the Gaia community would learn from this experience.