Welcome to Fruit Haven!

This page contains useful information such as how we communicate, how to get food (and fruit! of course) how to use the kitchen, bathroom, shower, safety information and more below. Please read it all….

Join us on telegram! We use it for group communication and community discussions, intercommunity, events, meetings, gatherings etc.
Click the linked groups here to join them:

  • Fruit Haven group chat: here
  • Gualaquiza Permaculture Communities group: here
  • Other related public groups:
  • For awareness check out the document Dangerous Insects and Reptiles: Poisonous things that can hurt you
  • Emergency phone number is 911 – works even without having a balance on your sim – best service is on claro sim card
  • WiFi hours 7am to 10pm (currently 24/7) at FH1 community area. Other community areas and private lots choose their own wifi hours.

Permaculture:

Getting food

  • Please respect all fruit trees that are not on public spaces including community areas and private lots. Do not harvest any fruit without permission from the owners or community leaders.
  • Generally, communal fruit is shared fairly among their respective community property residents, members, volunteers as well as guests, owners and neighbors if there’s enough to share equally. For anyone staying at FH1 see FH1 Harvesting Guidelines.
  • FH1 Sharing shelf – shared among FH1 residents only to use as needed, not to take it all to your box please. If you’re not staying at FH1 please ask a resident for a taste.
  • Private lots selling fruit, check the telegram groups above for buy and sell or food topic.
  • Weekly food order
  • 1. Chuchumbleza – dock (bridge) market on Friday morning – the village shops usually open every day, morning to night
  • 2. Gualaquiza – market day on Saturday – shops and market are open every day, morning to night
  • 3. El Pangui – market day Sunday – shops and market are als open every day, morning to night

Kitchen

  • Communal dishes, cutlery, blenders (no hot liquids), stove etc.
  • Leave the space clean after use
  • Dry dishes with a towel and put away immediately (please do not leave them on the drying rack)
  • Water comes from the stream (different at each community), sediment filter for dish washing, 10 micron filter and 1 micron ceramic charcoal filter for drinking (fill the water from the 10 micron filter). Bear with us and remain patient when there’s outages, heavy rain can clog up the intake and there can also be temporary outages during system maintenance/cleaning (we are working on improving this).
  • If at FH1 Please add name to cleaning list and read the tasks linked (and posted on the wall – ask for help on first time)
  • Please label your food or it will be considered communal food (see sharing shelf) otherwise abandoned food will be composted and for anyone leaving rotting food will be fined (see security deposit policy).
  • Compost bins for fruit/veg scraps, paper/cardboard and anything organic, please take it to appropriate location and do not scatter around the community area to avoid attracting wild life which can be dangerous (mice and rats which then attract snakes)
  • Plastic trash bin for anything non-compostable (wrap any glass/metal that is sharp with something), ideally taken out to the bridge trash bins
  • For incense or other smoke or burning in the FH1 community house, Please check if everyone agrees to it before doing it.
  • Quiet hours between 10pm to 8am, be considerate of people around – ask first

 Common Area

  • Please respect and keep common areas like the hallways and seating areas clean
  • Pond hut is allowed to be utelized for community gatherings or individual relaxation for 1 hr per day, if paying fh1 rent or utilities and when it’s not being rented, for extra hours please pay $1/hr or rent the pond hut: see prices

First aid kits

  • Check the stock in each community and report to managers or in the telegram group if there’s shortage of anything.
  • Snake bites – go to Gualaquiza hospital (See pictures of dangers here) – call taxi, they are fast to arrive at the bridge and ask them to go to Gualaquiza hospital
  • For other injuries El Pangui hospital ($5 taxi from the bridge, ask driver to go directly there)
  • Emergency phone number is 911 – works even without having a balance on your sim – best service is on claro sim card

Library

  • Books  – please write down what on the checkout page what you’d like to borrow and return in a timly manner.
  • Please care and respect books and instruments (for lost or ruined books please purchase or provide the cost + shipping to replace them see security deposit policy).

Bathroom

  • Using the dry toilet, add a little sprinkle of charcoal (if available) and 3 scoops/handfuls of wood shavings to the bucket after use.
  • Butt spray/bidet with flush toilet or the dry bucket, reduce toilet paper use.
  • No solids or toilet paper in the flushing toilet (bucket is fine)
  • Peeing in the bucket is fine, around fruit trees is encouraged (drip line, not trunk)
  • Please clean up after yourself, leave everything better than you found it.

Shower, Pool and waterfall (FH1)

  • Shower – to use hot water heater: turn water on, turn switch to the right
  • Nudity is permitted at the pool and waterfall  – with respect to locals (be aware of public path/workers since they can be sensitive to nudity if they come from religious background see our bylaws)
  • Local kids can use the pool only with supervision because they may leave a mess and take fruits from our trees. Remind them to go through the front entrance not the back way.

Laundry

  • FH1 laundry machine is $2 per load including detergent (one load is free for room renters staying over 1 month at FH1)
      • Do not overfill
      • Sharing loads is allowed.
      • Ask us to turn it on for the right settings and filters to be clean when needed.
    • Hand washing with a basin for free for FH1 residents, volunteers or paying guests (including FH2 community area renters).
  • Other laundry machines mats and shops at nearby cities like El Pangui and Gualaquiza that can use your own soap if you ask.

Bodega

  • Storage of stuff for those camping or if running out of storage space in kitchen for things like watermelons and coconuts, etc.
  • Warning: careful with clothes and items getting mouldy – hard to clean it (as well as dust, ants, cockroaches, spiders)
  • If available, a locker is provided for campers, for those not staying at FH1 the price is $5/month per locker

    Useful pages: