When Javier Lijo bought nine acres of deforested land atop a Panamanian island, he had an eye on the waves below.
A keen surfer, the Argentine had always dreamed of a leisurely life surfing the sea, away from the car-filled giant metropolises of Latin America. But a love of sustainable living took him in a different direction.
Over 20 years, and with the help of the local indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé people, he turned his land on Isla Bastimentos, on Panama’s Caribbean coast, into a thriving, forested eco-haven.
Mr Lijo hopes his example can serve as a model for others who are looking to reforest cleared land.
The 52-year-old pulls down the soaked leaves of one plant as he guides visitors on a tour of his Up in the Hill eco-farm, explaining that water retention in this particular species is so great “you can shower with it”.
To the uninformed, his land looks wild. But much of it is farmed: one part has timber trees for making furniture, in another cacao trees for chocolate, near the top a garden for herbs, and everywhere throughout the forest a variety of fruit, vegetables and flowers.
Most of the products he sells locally.