Have you ever felt that there was more to life then working for paycheck just to give it all away every month to pay for rent, food and utilities?
Have you felt the deep sense of grief for what you see happening in the world around you, socially, politically and environmentally?
Have you desired more time to spend doing the things you love, with the people you love without the nagging feeling you should be being productive or earning money?
Well, that's what me and my family have felt for a long time and why we decided to take the leap by investing everything we had into joining an ecovillage in the tropics.
In 2020, just before the pandemic caused so much disruption, we poured all our resources into buying a lot in Alegria Ecovillage in the beautiful Machuca Valley. Alegria Village is a revolutionary regenerative project with the goal of living in harmony with nature and with each other, while also cultivating healthier, more balanced lifestyles. In a world that seems to be constantly moving faster, we were attracted to the idea of coming back to ourselves and slowing down.
We are both artists and gardeners and having our son in 2019 turned our world upside down. No longer are we creating just for us but now the next generation too and suddenly more than ever aware that we wanted to live in a way that celebrates human creativity, harmonious living and in an environment that supports health and balance.
We have started this campaign to raise much needed funds to complete our small, sustainable house build which we committed to a the end of 2021. The vision for this build is a place where we can finally call home. A place where we feel connected to the land, where we can live simply within a wilder more primal context surrounded by neighbors who are looking for the same.
By supporting our campaign, you are bringing us one step closer to this ultimate vision for land-based living, where our son can grow up surrounded by fruit trees, friends he can visit by foot, freedom to be in nature and be supported by a community dedicated to a new way of living on this planet.
The Ask and what we are Offering
To enable this reality we are looking to raise $25,000.
This will help get our build complete and ready to receive guests.
We have already had our design approved by the local authorities and made the 1st payment to get started. We are happy to also announce that at the end of February 2023 we broke ground and work is starting on the footprint and the foundation.
It is a small dwelling with 2 bedrooms, designed and built by Regenera who specialise in sustainable but beautiful spaces that blend into their surroundings with minimal impact on the land.
We are using traditional building techniques of wattle and daub and local sustainable materials such as bamboo and teak.
In exchange for your contribution, you will be able to come stay!
- Come experience Ecovillage life
- Feast off tropical fruits already growing around our plot and lining every road around Alegria village. One of our founders, Steven Brooks is a renowned Permaculturist and fruit tree expert so we are well catered for in that regard!
- Come meet the neighbors, both animal and human. Our human neighbors hail from more then 50 different countries while almost 30% are local to Costa Rica
- Relax by our community pool already built as part of the large bamboo structure known as the Hive.
- Explore the rich diversity of Costa Rica from your base at Alegria- only 45 minutes from the coast and only one hour from San Jose international airport
We are offering week long stays where you can rent out either the whole 2-bedroom space as a private stand-alone rental or just one of the rooms which will have its own private access door and shared use of kitchen, bathroom and full-length teak deck.
The build time is only 4 months, and we will be able to start accepting guests from as early as July 2023.
We are offering a substantial discount for rentals to those that support now in advance of the house being finished. We want to show our deep gratitude to those who help us complete this project in a timely manner and our perks and offering reflect that.
If we fail to meet our goal our timeline for building will be lengthened but it won't halt the project continuing to completion. All those who support in exchange for lodging will still be able to visit but this will push the time back towards November 2023.
The Impact
We are a couple who have for a long time questioned our place in the world. Not seeming to fit within the confines of the 'rat race' we have lived life on the fringe, travelling extensively. At the same time we have felt a longing for a place to put down roots, especially since becoming parents.
We are not big shot investors; we aren't trying to build a huge mansion in the rainforest. We are simply seeking home within community. Investing in us - and this dream - will also enable us to invite you to experience this lifestyle for yourself.
We invite you on this journey with us and hope to welcome you into our jungle hideaway soon!
Potential Challenges
Elongated build time due to unforeseen circumstances-
- We will start building in Costa Rica dry season so luckily the weather will not halt progress.
- If something changes the timeline, we will keep contributors informed, we have already factored in an extra 2 months on build time before we start offering lodging.
- The best time to visit Costa Rica is between November- April during the dry season, a full 6 months before the estimated completion of our dwelling.
Price increase of build
- Our contract with our architects already factors in the rising cost of materials which much of the world has been hit with in recent years.
- Luckily our build involves a lot of local materials so the price has not fluctuated widely like it would do with imported materials.
- We are in constant communication with our team, and they are advising us how we can keep costs down but still build intentionally.
- We are both living and working in the US until our build nears completion, so we have our own funds to help with extra costs if and when they occur.
Other ways you can help
We realize this might not be for everyone. Maybe travel isn't on the horizon for you at this time or the contribution is just too great. We urge you to take a look at our other smaller perks and know that every dollar is one step closer to our goal and deeply appreciated.
One such offering is to receive 1 of 33 slip-cast bells. One of the first installations/project I worked on when I arrived to make a life in California with my then husband-to-be was a sound installation of 33 porcelain bells. This was inspired by an earlier work of 22 terracotta bells that I had created in Vancouver, Canada and then travelled with over many months - together with Nathanael - hanging them in different wild trees that we were drawn to and filming the soundscapes. I have decided to offer up these bell babies as gifts for our funders who would like to caretake a piece of our story and enjoy the soothing presence of wind-curated sound. Each bell comes with organic hemp rope and hemp fabric banner, and inside, a wooden laser cut knocker with sacred geometry motif.
Video of bells hanging over the Yuba River in our community https://www.facebook.com/572510068/videos/17020...
These will be delivered April-May 2023
You can also share this campaign around your network and with people you think might really love what we are offering. Use Indigogo's share tools to spread the word!
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for taking the time to read about our dream and vision.
