Another wonderful week on planet earth! Love this mud-ball and love you all. This week a few themes came up in my life and in land projects I work with - the theme was "ecosystem health". How healthy is our ecosystem of relationships - those in our nuclear family, core friends, our communities, the nature that surrounds us. You can tell a lot about a tree by looking at the fruits, and damn I love fruits. So I really like to look at ways to love up my ecosystem.
Shot from the beach in Mal Pais, Planet Earth
How does that look? It can be hooking my gardener with some extra dough, to bringing together key members of a community or land project to solve some issues they've been having or support land projects on a national and international level. Neither of the two matter more than another to me even though the scale of impact may seem larger. Its about a constant flow and awareness of generosity so that every stake holder around you is thriving. How are the teachers, healers and practitioners doing? How is my architect, engineer, topographer, builder doing - their families? How about the towns I work in - those communities, or the indigenous population, or children in Costa Rica? So the healthier my ecosystem gets, the healthier I get, and as I get healthier I keep looking at ways to impact my ecosystem reciprocally. If we're all just walking each other home, lets get to walking no?
And don't forget you are a critical part of your ecosystem, so put the oxygen mask on yourself. Yep. You. Are you getting the sleep you need, exercise, time in nature, time with your family, learning? Do you feel stable and secure - albeit where you live, finances, etc? Make sure you are really taking care of yourself - however that looks.
Okay pulling up to periscope depth - we got a fun newsletter ahead. We'll be chatting about bio-mimicry and what it means for our lives and our projects, Lifestyle Re-design, and Ecosystem Health. We'll hit the sexy cabin designs and see some cool projects too, don't you worry.
Whats on my desk, you may wonder?
Here's What I Want to Share This Week:
1. Ecosystem Health: Coherence in your Community
Okay no bears, but there's a ton of things I love to do with people before they touch their land. The first is to PAUSE and study it. Bringing my main man Greiven, our engineer over, helps me understand a properties boundaries, topography, risks, advantages, legal situation, trees, soil, water run-off and much more...
We can study the patterns in nature to build a better life here on earth and with earth, duh. I was blown away by Dr. Tamsin, evolutionary biologist and bio-anthropologist, as she gives us the best and latest on biomimicry and how it can save our freakin planet! Geez. Watch this one please. Below are some teaser stills from her talk thats sure to widen your perception (LINK).
Dusted this classic off the shelf - Re-inspired me. The Bible.
3. Lessons from the Field: Travels around CR
A field-trip to Nosara opens up a conversation about neo-vernacular architecture and the story of place. Gave me some context :) A trip to Sante Teresa, helped me check in with the family at Zunya as they grow and evolve into new stages. Experiential education here is epic and lots of lessons along the way, while building this magic place.
Love Site Analysis & Masterplanning - Playa Barigona
Boom - Timeless Classic haha
Next Stop - Santa Teresa
ZUNYA - Home away from Home
How do you build culture & programming while nailing eco-hospitality and home development? One step at a time.
Site vist Numero Dos - Playa Hermosa, Santa Tere
Checking topography, water, build-ability and a bunch of goodness.
I like to look at some of these for material inspirations, pools, designs, colors, whatever floats your boat! Enjoy :)
Compressed Earth Bricks & Sandstone
Outdoor Patio spaces to inspire
Reminds me of mountains x Japan
Okay lets end with a funky twist - this staircase is dreamy!
Second Curiosity: Coffee & Culture in San Jose
Now there's coffee shops, and there's Cafeoteca. This is not a cult, its a culture. Yes these people are all about coffee, from all of the regions around Costa Rica, not just the flavor profiles, but the rich history that steeps in each cup. Part art gallery, coffee shop, restaurant and a bunch of other corners I've left off the list. A must visit in San Jose, and also buy a bag of the Peaberry - trust me!
Cafeotecta in Bario Escalante, Costa Rica
How I enjoy my morning blend!
Third Curiosity: Best Nature Moments With Man's Best Friend
Maya straight Livin'
Who We Are Celebrating This Week: Greiven Chacon Ramirez
This week I'm celebrating a key member of my team, Greyvin Chacón Ramírez - Engineer and overall Wizard when it comes to analyzing land. He also knows great places to eat along the ride out to properties in the middle of nowhere haha. His team comes out to study every inch of a property, do a detailed topographical analysis, GPS positioning, water run-off, soil studies and a ton of other stuff, that I see in a huge report after he leaves. This is one bad-ass hombre, who has saved my butt and my clients butts many times. He's also just an incredible human with a kind spirit, honesty and integrity before all else, and a fun person to be around. This week we tried to take a backroad to a property and ended up halted by a river and turning around, but the conversations we had in the car were well worth the detour! Grateful to be on the journey with people like Greyvin. If you need an engineer - just holler at me, we got ya covered amigos!
