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Patillas.- The mountains that adjoin the Carite State Forest, in Patillas, nestle a sustainable forestry project called Las Casas de la Selva, a space where volunteers from all over the world come together to cultivate trees and care for the forest, while carrying out ecological research that seeks to demonstrate that wood can be produced and harvested in our forests, without affecting its sustainability.

For the past 40 years, this space, which comprises around 1,000 acres and is located in the Real barrio, Miraflores sector in Patillas, has been an ecological investigation workshop for the Tropic Ventures Research & Education Foundation, a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote forest preservation and sustainable management of tropical secondary forests, both in the Caribbean and worldwide.

However, this project was born much earlier; in the 1980s, an expedition through the Amazon rainforest alerted the crew of the Ecotechnical Institute of New Mexico of illegal logging and deforestation in that area. Thus, the entity began a research movement in several parts of the world, and Puerto Rico was included as one of the headquarters.

“As a result of that expedition in the Amazon, the Ecotechnical Institute returned to Puerto Rico, which was the expedition’s port of origin, and they decided to start a sustainable forestry project,” explained Thrity “3T” Vakil, president of the Tropic Ventures Research & Education Foundation, who is originally from Kenya, Africa, and was part of the Ecotechnical Institute expeditions on the research vessel Heraclitus, in the 1990s.

In 2000, Vakil set foot in Patillas and, since then, she has been responsible for running Las Casas de la Selva, as well as personally planting nearly 5,000 hardwood trees, both native and exotic. Among the species are: swietenia x aubrevilleana, manilkara bidentata, hibiscus elatus, and several rare endemic hardwoods such as: simarouba tulae, cornutia obovata, and styrax portoricensis.

Las Casas de la Selva promotes and applies sustainable forestry as a method to benefit from the production of this wood and, in turn, achieve “healthy forest growth”.

This project is supported by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DRNA, in Spanish) and the United States Forest Service, entities that have cooperated by supplying seedlings, partially covering planting costs, and providing general counseling to promote the development of hardwood production in the island’s forests.

“Las Casas de la Selva is registered as an Auxiliary Forest by the DRNA, and a Sustainable Forest Management Plan was developed for the long-term use and conservation of the Las Casas de la Selva area. The tree-planting project was designed to test the effectiveness of on-line plantation enrichment in the life zone of the rainforest, as a dual means of providing economic return and protection of natural biological resources,” explained the researcher.

“This land is a valuable natural area, since it adjoins the Carite State Forest and, therefore, expands the continuity of the rich forest habitat... if valuable economic benefits are achieved from line planting efforts, Las Casas de la Selva will provide a model for future sustainable forestry initiatives in the management of secondary forests,” said Vakil, who has worked on tree planting and identification operations, selective harvesting, sawing, and drying wood.

“There are no other sustainable forestry projects in the Caribbean, a region of the world where hardwood trees grow. Puerto Rico has a dormant timber industry that is waiting to be born,” she pointed out.

Las Casas de la Selva also has a sawmill where the wood obtained from the forest is processed, and pieces such as tables, dining sets, and other products, are created.

This space has served as a link project that integrates volunteers from all over the world.

“The project receives teams of young people and university students to work in tasks related to the objectives of the project, such as planting trees, nursery work, and others. We also have limited spaces that are open to the general public through appointments,” said the president of the organization, who is assisted by a work team made up of Magha García, Andrés Rúa, Raquel Torres, and Ingrid Datica.

Las Casas de la Selva has also opened its doors to tourism, since it has a room in the heart of the forest that is available for those who are not interested in volunteering, but are interested in enjoying the beauty of this natural space.

Those who are interested in the project can visit: www.eyeontherainforest.org and those who wish to stay in their cabin can book through the Airbnb platform.