James Habib Carouba

James Habib Carouba

The family of James Habib Carouba, who was also known as Hasib or Jimmy to friends and family, is stunned to announce that our brilliant, adventurous, loving brother and son died unexpectedly from a brain embolism in late July on his farm in Costa Rica.

Jim's childhood in San Francisco with his parents Habib and Alice Carouba, older brother Nick and younger siblings Joe, Mary, and Annie, did not hint at the extraordinary life he would have. Jim did well in school, never had to study to excel, was always deep into a book or off on an adventure by himself, and never gave his teachers or parents cause for concern.

Even as a boy, Jim was an oasis of calm, seeming to exist on the periphery of the problems, conflicts, and daily realities of a home with eight people, five of them rambunctious children. Amid chaos and confusion, he could be found quietly reading a book, not unaware of his surroundings, but not bothered by them either. He was always loving and protective toward his family, but he never really belonged to us. Even as a child his eyes were turned toward something others could not see.

Jim always asked the big questions; he sought answers and above all, he sought God, or what he came to term "Existence." He devoured books, carting home stacks of them each week from the neighborhood library in a red wagon. One of his sisters became interested in spiritual matters at a young age by picking up the books he'd read and cast aside, books by esteemed religious and spiritual teachers and philosophers.

When Jim was eight, he began going on long treks by himself. One day he walked to the San Francisco airport on frontage roads off the freeway to watch people arrive from far-flung destinations. Even then the greater world was calling.

He began traveling as a teen, and in those early years worked as a fisherman on the Hudson River, trekked the mountains of Afghanistan, celebrated Mardi Gras in Rio de Janeiro, helped build a small city in Oregon, and met family members in Beirut and Damascus, before finding his home for many years in a spiritual community in India and later, Costa Rica.

As a young man, Jim was handsome, even more so because he seemed to have no awareness of himself in that way. His two sisters watched an endless stream of their friends fall in love with him, but his gaze always seemed to be on a far-off horizon.

Just out of his teens, Jim connected with a spiritual teacher—Osho—and a spiritual community to which he devoted himself for decades, where he took the spiritual name Hasib. The deep friendships forged in those years would remain strong through his life. Although there were controversies surrounding the leadership of Osho's community, Hasib was never touched by it or even aware of it at the time. His pure heart saw none of it. He would go on to maintain a very deep, disciplined, and consistent spiritual practice for 50 years.

When Hasib met and fell in love with Secret Fine fifteen years ago, he knew her immediately as his match, his equal, his life partner. Shortly after meeting, they decided to spend the rest of their lives together before kissing or even going on a date. Secret said, "We just knew." Sharing a deep commitment to spiritual principles, sustainability, and conservation, they bought a cacao farm in southern Costa Rica. Jim became a master cacao grower and chocolate maker and with Secret, transformed raw land into what is now a healing center and a lush, productive Heritage Museum Farm dedicated to preserving traditional farming practices.

Secret said, "Jimmy loved pioneering, trail-blazing with a machete, digging trenches in the rain, searching for springs. He enjoyed planting a huge variety of plants and became an expert in exotic fruit trees and grafting. He had encounters with deadly snakes or would run into the house with lightning strikes on his back without concern. It was how he lived." Jim worked long days on the farm but the evenings, Secret said, were for "long conversations about the mysteries of life."

Our humble Jim would never tell you this, but he developed remarkable innovations in farming, and would receive visitors from around the world who came to study his methods. We hope they noticed, as they observed his techniques, that Jim treated the seeds and plants with such love and reverence that they had no choice but to joyfully grow and produce their best for him.

Jim recently spent several months in California to help care for his mother, who is facing serious health issues. When he said goodbye to her only a few short weeks ago, he held her close and told her that he would always love and care for her. His family believes that he is doing precisely that. His heart was so expansive and his love so unconditional, not even death can keep his love from us, or ours from him. Rest in Peace our brother, our son, our beautiful Jim.