Ecotopía Park
The Samaná Peninsula, and especially Las Terrenas, has the good fortune to have the Ecotopía Park, a private project for the study of the ecological system for agricultural prevention, the promotion of the conservationist technique and the practice of community coexistence.
Located on the Las Terrenas-Sánchez highway, by Hoyo Cacao, with over 74 acres (30 hectares), Ecotopía is more than a wonderful nature reserve. It has over 1,000 species of “rare” trees, exotic, native, and indigenous plants, some hundreds of years old, tropical flowers, many types of orchids... It is inhabited by thousands of birds of different species, frogs, saltacocotes, and other reptiles.
It is an excellent place to escape the noises of the town, to relax and enjoy nature, a great alternative to the beautiful beaches of the area. It is comprised of two short paths to explore on foot, accessible to everyone, accompanied by a guide and, when he is in Las Terrenas, with Andreas himself, who will provide an instructive explanation of everything you’re observing. After a short walk, looking at the  exuberant flora and the incredible views of the hills from the overlook located at 650 ft (200 mts) with the ocean as a backdrop, there nothing more comforting than a bath in the natural pool fed with cold water from the river, and accompanied by an excellent lunch.
The hacienda (ranch) produces milk, cheese, yogurt, fruits, vegetables... Also engages in landscape projects. It sells tropical flower arrangements, and packs them in boxes approved for international flights, with delivery service to your residence or hotel.
Colmar-Andreas Serra
Ecotopía Director
He is of German nationality, an agronomist, with a doctorate in agricultural entomology and integrated management of plagues, from the University of Gissen (Germany). Born in Mexico, his parents were diplomats, lived many years in Latin America and Africa. He arrived to Las Terrenas for the first time in 1981. In 1984 he participated in a project-study on the white fly. A professor of entomology in the University Santo Domingo, he is working on a book about the integrated management of the plagues in the Dominican Republic.
Nim Project
Andreas developed a project about a tree called Nim. This tree has peculiar characteristics: lives in poor soils, has deep roots and can find water in very dry lands. It is “melifera,” which means that it attracts bees. It also affects the development of the youthful hormone of the migratory grasshoppers, hindering its evolution to adult insect. This is very important for the control of the agricultural plagues, because this insect, when adult, emigrates and becomes dangerous to the crops. The tree grows very quickly, its wood is similar to mahogany, although is not as hard or pretty, but it will not be attacked by termites. During the project, 3 million trees were sown, giving positive results in the cultivations of tomato, cabbage, beans and eggplant. Its seeds can be used to make a good repellent, nontoxic for the skin, and a very efficient product for the fumigation of houses and fields
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