Live the Possibility: Community Safari

012: Community Safari

Hola Amigos,

Hey friends, we have a special edition of the Newsletter this week – Community Safari! I’ll be doing more writing on this one, so as always, if you are just looking for the sweet visuals, feel super free to just scroll on through – but I think you’ll like this one!

Over the last 15 years I’ve traveled all over Costa Rica and used to joke that we were on a Safari of some peculiar kind. We were looking at alternative ways of living that people have chosen for themselves and seeing if it felt authentic to us, if this was what we were looking for? I would go traveling around eco-villages and neighborhoods where friends were building homes and retreat centers or boutique eco-hospitality operations of various kinds. They seemed to be enjoying a life less ordinary. I liked to observe and study what was happening at the forefront of all these people pioneering into the unknown, what challenges they faced, where in Costa Rica felt they chose to hunker down and why? These trips were always a blast for me and well... This week, I had the delight to go on Safari again! Strap-in for a a good one!

This week I hosted a friend, and major land steward here in Costa Rica and toured around the country to get inspiration and wisdom from those who are creating impactful projects. We visited a variety of inspiring places all over Costa Rica – starting from San Jose and traveling to Orotina to see Alegria Ecovillage & La Ecovilla, and down the coast to Uvita to see Selva Armonia and Yakumama and up to Tinamaste to see Holos. We then took a leap to Santa Teresa to connect with our family at Zunya and finally closed in Nosara . Was a short and sweet Safari to get a taste of whats happening all around Costa Rica.

It's amazing seeing what people are building, share best practices and learnings. I ask people what challenges they’re running into all the time. I love to see how open all the founders are to share their wisdom and learnings in hopes that we can all create regenerative future together. And to save our friends butts from making certain mistakes! You see a rising tide really does lift all ships.

So here’s the reality. This whole living in paradise thing comes at a cost. Developing homes, retreats, communities all takes more time than people think (advice of the week #1), budgets always need 20-30% buffers (advice of the week #2), and the biggest one – burnout (advice of the week #3). It takes a lot of energy to prototype alternative ways of living for yourself and others, and I always support the clients I advise to watch their energy levels, bolster their teams, and create a structure so they know the process and the risks from the get go. You have to be realistic at how much things will really cost, how long things will really take, and who you are working with. How much do you want to take on? Pause. Breath. Observe.

I’m going to be leading more of these Safari’s this season - some focused on seeing communities and centers all over the country and others hyper focused on neighborhoods like Nosara on Costa Rica’s North West Coast where many friends have been moving.

I'll be sharing a lot of images from this week's adventure so let's have some fun.

At the edge of the world - Nicoya Peninsula, virgin beach. Land steward standing below :)

**Here's What I Want to Share This Week:**

This week we will have one long share of the incredible places we traveled to...

Here we go amigos - lets go on Safari together. Notice the key elements people are designing for - places to sleep, eat, stretch, hang, meet, work etc. Notice the love and magic :)

Alegria Eco-village - San Mateo, Orotina - "The Hive" and below the community pool.

Epic Bamboo Work

We continued south to Visit other communities and retreats.

Below arriving at Selva Armonia Immersive Retreat and soon Community.

Entrance Experience is legit :)

Awesome netted hang zone and nest over the ocean at Selva Armonia.

Yoga Shala - key thing to have at your spot!

With Josh below - the humble founder of this labor of love. Been at it for years!

Hot tub with an ocean view? Yes please. But really is that a small pool? No. Big Hot Tub.

Then we continued up to Tinamaste - the Diamante Valley to see Ian Michael @ Holos

Holos Base Camp & Shala's

Domingo the guy who makes things happen at Holos! Shout out uncle D!

We continued the adventure down to Yakumama Center & Community

Temporary Glamping Structures as they ignite their dream project!

The Vegan Kitchen was so on point! Nailed it Chef Adri!

Below the Maloca / Shala where Ceremonies are held.

Soak it in girl! What a moment in life.

Look at that grandfather tree - wow! We continued the next day driving North.

This a property that one of my friends and clients who stewards 500 acres and 3km of beach in Tambor, Costa Rica. It's just stunning. Evening if he did nothing and lot God handle the rest.

Check out this ledge and the waterfall into the ocean. Yes thats real.

And from Tambor we drove along the coast to Santa Teresa and Mal Pais to see Zunya.

Nucleo co-working area at Zunya

Nula Plant Based Kitchen

Catch past webinars and workshops HERE or Zaydeltube.

⚡️ This weeks Goodies - Free Workshop & Free Online Course ⚡️

1. Free Workshop / Webinar: International Real Estate and Alternative Living - just led this live and it was a blast! Its packed with good info on buying land abroad, communities and eco-villages, building income producing properties and conscious land stewardship :) If you need more support in Real Estate or Development - just reply to this email and we got your back - realtors, attorneys, accountants, architects, builders, property management solutions, oh my.

2. Community & Land Safari - Starting to take enrollment on our next Land Safari's where we look at real estate, see communities and learn about a lot of cool stuff all while having fun in Costa Rica. I've been doing these Safari's with groups & individuals for some years, and now time to make it a bit more official! Let's Ride!

3. Free Access to my online course on alternative living, moving abroad, and Taking the Leap. This is essentially the best of what I offer in workshops and consultations with clients in a condensed format and is designed for anyone looking to move abroad or develop a land project whether its a home or full retreat center & eco-village. I love sharing this content on teachable as it beats long zoom calls and you have me in your iPhone app :) See the full Genesis Incubator if you want more of this goodness.

Who We Are Celebrating This Week: Diego Dosal

Celebrating my dear brother Diego Dosal - this week who I met in Costa Rica some moons ago. When we met there was an instant remembering - have we met before? Cosmic family or just a Jewish looking Mexican with a nack for regenerative hospitality and community building? Doesn't matter - he came here on a journey to create something that had been in his heart for a while - a place to cultivate community, incubate regenerative solutions to living and traveling and how to leave a positive legacy as a land steward. Building a place that feels like family - and the most inspiring programing and culture on this side of the mud ball - I think he's really nailing it. Blood, sweat and tears included - but also laughter, inspiration, growth and evolution. Diego continues to explore and pioneer - improve and redirect - hone in on how he wants to live and how Zunya can be of greatest service to world and to its members. He's been a brother over the years, and I continue to support, visit, share best practices and just hang with him as his baby grows (literally and metaphorically). The new earth isn't going to create itself, and nor do I lack the humility to say this is it, but its a process and we have to start to prototype and evolve the ways we live and be together :)

This Week's Curiosities

First Curiosity: Mangostein - Queen of fruits

Mangostein - queen of fruits. The best fruit that I've ever tasted. It's rare and considered a jewel among fruits. Inside is an incredible white lychee like nugget of goodness.