025 Ian-Michael Hébert: Ecovillage Design with Reciprocity at Heart (HOLOS)

Welcome to an enlightening conversation with Marcus Merlin, steward of MoZen Temple in the Diamante Valley. We delve deep into personal growth, environmental sustainability, and the much-needed impact of regenerative entrepreneurship.

Merlin shares his insights into the power of forgiveness as a personal practice and a foundation for creating meaningful connections and building communities.

Forgiveness has the power to transform not just individual lives but entire communities. The transformative power of forgiveness can unlock our spiritual beliefs and lead us to rewrite our personal narratives in ways that propel us forward. Marcus’s story reminds us of the profound impact forgiveness can have on our lives, offering us freedom and a new perspective on our purpose.

Together, we explore the concept of 'Finding Your Why,' as Merlin discusses the significance of discovering one's purpose to facilitate freedom from the past and a clear direction forward. This idea serves as a gateway to passion-driven work, where doing what you love transforms the traditional notion of work and productivity. It is also the theme of his annual retreat in Costa Rica.

The significance of finding our 'why,' creating passion-driven work, and the magic of vulnerability within dream teams are all worth reflecting deeper on. These elements are crucial for anyone looking to lead a fulfilling life while making a positive impact on the world. They provide us with tools and philosophies to embrace a more holistic and purpose-driven approach to life.

The conversation also highlights the essence of building 'dream teams'—individuals who share a passion for what they do and support one another in achieving common goals. We discuss the importance of vulnerability and authenticity within these teams, revealing how these qualities can be superpowers in personal and professional development.

We also touch on the role of shamanic and spiritual practices in personal transformation, the importance of selective commitment to stay true to one's values, and the power of community and forgiveness in action. The role of shamanic and spiritual practices in personal transformation might be a new concept for some, but it’s thankfully becoming more commonplace in our modern-day culture.

The lessons from this episode have the potential to catalyze change in every aspect of our lives. If you’d like to dive deeper into these concepts, visit www.findyourwhy.info and register for Merlin’s upcoming retreat.

 If you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter at https://regenerationnationcr.com to hear more about cultural bridge-building, regenerative-minded events, and future podcast releases.

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It's a living document that makes your project a joy to interact with.
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Sharing communal space is better with clear agreements!

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Visit regenerationnationcr.com/vft to access this free resource. 
You’ve got a beautiful place. Let me help you show it off!

In this episode, we dive into the fascinating world of dementia care with our guest, Katya Deluisa, of The Infinite Mind. Katya shares her journey and how she became involved in working with individuals with dementia after observing the loneliness and lack of connection experienced by individuals with dementia, even when surrounded by family. Katya’s grown a passion for educating families on how to better understand and communicate with their loved ones.

The conversation delves into the nature of dementia and the physiological changes that occur in the brain. Katya explains that dementia is a symptom rather than a specific disease, encompassing a range of conditions that affect cognitive function. She discusses how dementia impacts memory, imagination, and the ability to plan for the future. 

She also highlights the importance of understanding altered perception in individuals with dementia and the challenges they face in perceiving and navigating the world around them.

The role of caregivers in providing support and care for those with dementia is a significant focus of the conversation. Katya emphasizes the need for caregivers to focus on their own self-care. It’s vital to maintain balance while caring for a loved one with this debilitating condition. She shares personal stories of caregivers she’s worked with, highlighting the transformation that can occur when they shift their perception and approach.

Throughout the conversation, we discuss regenerative approaches to dementia care and how individuals with dementia can still experience moments of joy, love, and connection. Katya brings focus to the unconditional love and purity of spirit that individuals with dementia possess, even as their cognitive abilities decline. She emphasizes the importance of empowering families through knowledge and shifting their perception to recognize the changing capabilities and needs of their loved ones.

Katya's approach to dementia education and caregiving goes beyond the conventional methods. Through her collage communication technique and other innovative approaches, Katya has helped individuals with dementia express themselves and regain a sense of identity.

Katya's work in educating and supporting families affected by dementia is a valuable resource for those seeking guidance and understanding in caring for their loved ones. If you’re a caregiver, have a family member whose mind is fading, or just want to better understand this condition that grips a growing percentage of our global population each year, this episode is for you.

One big takeaway is the importance of percep

Managing a project with communally-used spaces? The Community Living Agreements Training is for you!
These agreements enhance interactions, reduce conflict, and strengthen community spirit.
It's a living document that makes your project a joy to interact with.
Head to regenerationnationcr.com/cla and save 20%, w/coupon code: PODCAST.
Sharing communal space is better with clear agreements!

Stewarding a land project and hosting guests?
The Virtual Farm Tour Guide offers 7 simple steps to showcase your space in a whole new way. This free guide simplifies the process, ensuring your guests enjoy an immersive experience, whether you're home or away.
Visit regenerationnationcr.com/vft to access this free resource. 
You’ve got a beautiful place. Let me help you show it off!

In this episode, we speak with Ian-Michael Hébert, one of the founders of Holos, a private retreat center and community specializing in holistic living and transformational experiences. 

In our conversation, he discusses the genesis of Holos, their vision for a sustainable and resilient community, and the importance of focusing on reciprocity and honoring the indigenous people of the land. Ian-Michael also emphasizes the importance of preserving the natural beauty of the Diamante Valley and their commitment to stewardship. 

Among other details of the community’s infrastructure, he describes their design for conserving a quarter of the property while reforesting most of the already denatured zones. They also have plans for a macaw reintroduction initiative.

Ian-Michael reflects on challenges they’ve faced in getting set up with elements such as water management, communication breakdowns with the municipality, and bridging the gap between foreigners and locals. 

As we discuss the importance of supporting the local community, paying fair wages, and engaging with local service providers, Ian-Michael affirms Holos’s goal to continue reassessing their programming to focus more on community relations and neighborhood development.  

Other topics we touched on include developing a clear vision, team building, project financing, and embracing the wisdom of not knowing.

I appreciate the degree to which Holos works to cultivate reciprocity with surrounding humans and the natural world. As important as it is, it can be challenging to keep such delicate subtleties at the forefront while in the development phase and when juggling the needs of investors and push-back from the municipality, but it’s the path worth walking.

Setting space aside to develop housing and other infrastructure for the Costa Rican and indigenous Boruca people, who compile much of their labor force, is a significant investment. I’ve been happy to see this practice implemented among some of the other ecovillage projects I’ve been investigating, as well. It’s a valuable step in honoring the needs of their workforce while holding space for the local culture and providing stability for the project. 

Another element I’ve found attractive among the ecovillages I’ve been looking into is the effort to lay out a portion of the community infrastructure kept open for the use of the regional community, which is also represented in Holos’s design. 

Something that echoed strongly for me in this interview is that it can be difficult to

Managing a project with communally-used spaces? The Community Living Agreements Training is for you!
These agreements enhance interactions, reduce conflict, and strengthen community spirit.
It's a living document that makes your project a joy to interact with.
Head to regenerationnationcr.com/cla and save 20%, w/coupon code: PODCAST.
Sharing communal space is better with clear agreements!

Stewarding a land project and hosting guests?
The Virtual Farm Tour Guide offers 7 simple steps to showcase your space in a whole new way. This free guide simplifies the process, ensuring your guests enjoy an immersive experience, whether you're home or away.
Visit regenerationnationcr.com/vft to access this free resource. 
You’ve got a beautiful place. Let me help you show it off!

In today’s episode, we hear from Sarah Wu, a highly respected permaculturist & herbalist living and teaching in Costa Rica. I sat down with Sarah at the Envision Festival earlier this year to learn about some of the regenerative initiatives the festival has implemented as part of its mission. 

Envision is a multi-day music festival with several stages and thousands of participants. By day, the focus is characterized by consciousness-raising workshops and presentations on permaculture, community-building, yoga, wellness, the embodiment of the divine masculine and feminine, and honor of indigenous ways. All this is presented with an overall theme of mindfulness and play. 

By night, the arena becomes flooded by a secondary population of party-goers enjoying the many talented DJs and musicians playing on Envision’s many stages. You can find everything from electronic music to jam bands and local folk artists to ecstatic dance on the padded yoga stage. The experience can be overwhelming for some, and advice should be heeded to pace yourself, hydrate, and wash your hands frequently.

The festival brings with it a significant impact on the local town of Uvita, both in the ways of a boosted economy as well as occasional exhausts of some of its more limited resources. Like with all things in life, there exists a dichotomy that the festival producers have worked to bring balance to over the years. 

In our interview, beyond sharing details about the thousands of trees they’ve planted onsite, their extensive composting system, the no-single-use-dishware policy, and the education programs that Sarah has initiated through the Village Witches program, we touch on the reasons why Envision isn’t using compost toilets anymore and what a future solution might look like.

One of my favorite parts of the interview is when we reflect on valuing each of our different niches in humanity’s ecosystem. 

Festivals of this size are here to stay, and they can prove to be a life-changing experience for many people. At the same time, many festivals can get a bad rap for the negative impact of so many people converging on an area for a short time. While the convergence has a temporary impact on the wildlife, for instance, it is worth recognizing that the food forest of this festival site was previously nothing more than a cattle pasture. 

Their internally organized dishwashing system diverts hundreds of thousands of plastic waste products from the landfill each year. The Village Witches program has cultivated a culture of well-being amidst a party scene, bringing herbalism to the mainstream. 

Managing a project with communally-used spaces? The Community Living Agreements Training is for you!
These agreements enhance interactions, reduce conflict, and strengthen community spirit.
It's a living document that makes your project a joy to interact with.
Head to regenerationnationcr.com/cla and save 20%, w/coupon code: PODCAST.
Sharing communal space is better with clear agreements!

Stewarding a land project and hosting guests?
The Virtual Farm Tour Guide offers 7 simple steps to showcase your space in a whole new way. This free guide simplifies the process, ensuring your guests enjoy an immersive experience, whether you're home or away.
Visit regenerationnationcr.com/vft to access this free resource. 
You’ve got a beautiful place. Let me help you show it off!

In this episode, we meet with Scott Gallant, a permaculture consultant at Porvenir Design. I took advantage of the pragmatism he’s developed through his many years here to explore some of the pitfalls he’s seen with foreigners building large-scale developments. We also explore ways he guides his clients toward transmuting those potential problems into solutions.

Through his design and consultation work, Scott often finds himself inviting his clients to slow down and simplify their visions. Scott practices what he preaches, and we get into some of the ways he applies the Holistic Context approach to his own business. He also describes his experiences starting and operating a business in Costa Rica, along with the advantages and disadvantages of doing things by the books.

The second half of the interview gets really interesting as we discuss ways he trains new landowners how to be mindful of the context they’re building in. This includes setting reasonable expectations for your laborers and investing in appropriate education for them, especially if you want them to do things in a way they aren’t familiar with. Setting your work team up with unreasonable expectations is a hasty and unhealthy practice.

Investing into adequately training your workers in the techniques you want them to implement is a far more efficient use of your time, money, and relationships than telling them to do something they only know how to do from a conventional lens and expecting it to meet your end goals.

You’ll want to check out Scott’s blog. He’s an excellent writer who touches on many interesting topics.

I’d like to thank you for caring enough about what you’re doing to listen to this podcast as part of your personal development journey. If you know someone developing land in Latin America that would benefit from what Scott shared with us in this episode, consider passing it along to them. If they don’t often listen to podcasts, we host all of our episodes and more on our YouTube channel.

Keep in mind that the show has a profile on a donation platform called ko-fi.com. There’s a donate button on most pages of the website. It always makes my day when I get an email announcing that someone cared enough to support the show.

If sending in cash to help cover editing costs isn’t accessible to you, send me a message and let me know what you like about the show. I love hearing from you.

You can send an email to jason@regenerationnationcr.com, and I’ll get back to you personally.

Until next time, have a holistic day!

To follow more of Scott’s contributions toward a regenerative world, check out:
Website - Porv

Managing a project with communally-used spaces? The Community Living Agreements Training is for you!
These agreements enhance interactions, reduce conflict, and strengthen community spirit.
It's a living document that makes your project a joy to interact with.
Head to regenerationnationcr.com/cla and save 20%, w/coupon code: PODCAST.
Sharing communal space is better with clear agreements!

Stewarding a land project and hosting guests?
The Virtual Farm Tour Guide offers 7 simple steps to showcase your space in a whole new way. This free guide simplifies the process, ensuring your guests enjoy an immersive experience, whether you're home or away.
Visit regenerationnationcr.com/vft to access this free resource. 
You’ve got a beautiful place. Let me help you show it off!

This episode is with a dedicated community organizer living in the Osa Peninsula, Tricia Stapleton. Tricia shares her embodied wisdom with each question she answers. Relistening to this episode to prepare it for publication was a treat! I had a hard time selecting which portions of this interview to use for the 3-4 highlight reels I produce with every episode because there was SO MUCH amazing content.

You’re lucky to be listening to this episode right now.

One of the many things that Tricia and I have in common is the responsibility we share as regenerative projects of not ignoring the socio-economic context we find ourselves in. Socio-cultural diversity as a vehicle for mutual aid, and the bridging of analog and digital solutions to community building are other topics that I enjoyed exploring with her.

We cover a few programs Tricia has co-founded in the Osa Peninsula. Cooperativa Los Higuerones is a bioregional learning center in the southern zone of the Osa Peninsula, Gulfo Dulce watershed. Its focus is on promoting alternative economic, social, and environmental opportunities.

From “stone soup socials”, to mutual aid work, emergency food boxes, a CSA program, a recycling program, and a locally operated farmers market… this multi-cultural local resilience organization, Higuerones, is doing it all!

Through that cooperative has been born Manos Cambiatas, a community work-party initiative that you’ll hear more about. Here’s a video that they created highlighting the work of Manos Cambiatas.

Be sure to listen to the end of the interview, where Trisha shares what they’re birthing with the ReGenerOsa collective. Regenerosa has developed a tithing program to fund regenerative projects in local communities.

Could you contribute 2.5% of something you’re doing to support a community actively caring for 2.5% of the earth’s biodiversity? This interview might just motivate you in that direction.

If you got some value from this episode, share it with a friend, say something nice about the podcast on your favorite social media channel, or drop a donation off at ko-fi.com. 

I have more wonderful interviews like this waiting for the editors, and every little bit helps cover the production expenses. Thanks for sharing your time with us.
Now, go and give that 2.5%...

To follow more of Tricia’s contributions toward a regenerative world, check out:
Cooperativa Higuerones -

Managing a project with communally-used spaces? The Community Living Agreements Training is for you!
These agreements enhance interactions, reduce conflict, and strengthen community spirit.
It's a living document that makes your project a joy to interact with.
Head to regenerationnationcr.com/cla and save 20%, w/coupon code: PODCAST.
Sharing communal space is better with clear agreements!

Stewarding a land project and hosting guests?
The Virtual Farm Tour Guide offers 7 simple steps to showcase your space in a whole new way. This free guide simplifies the process, ensuring your guests enjoy an immersive experience, whether you're home or away.
Visit regenerationnationcr.com/vft to access this free resource. 
You’ve got a beautiful place. Let me help you show it off!

Rodo is a master natural building teacher from Costa Rica who’s been studying & teaching bamboo construction around the world for over 40 years.  

I’ve released Rodo’s full-length interview on YouTube, complete with a visual tour of his handmade tools and a demonstration of a few bamboo building techniques he shows us. Still, I decided to release this shortened version of it for my podcast listeners, cutting out the parts that were primarily visual.  

We start this interview in front of one of his most recent compost toilet & shower installments he’d made. We talk a bit about the bamboo and cob techniques that he used, as well as the series of week-long workshops that he taught, using these structures as the workstation.

From there, we move into his bamboo workshop, where he gives an overview of his handmade tools - several of them have traveled with him for over 40 years! 

You’ll have to see the video to get the close-up tour! In that video, he also demonstrates a few of his furniture-building techniques.

The last segment of our interview takes us inside his tool shed for a discourse on building with cob and other natural materials.  This is the part that made me want to release an audio version. I was particularly impressed to hear about his use of hydraulic lime as a substitute for cement!

Rodo has since moved on from EcoMaste and is now teaching natural building at a new location in La Florida, further back in the Diamante Valley.  To learn more about his upcoming workshops, you can follow him on Facebook at “Bamboo School Costa Rica.” I also have his email address listed below.

If you found these tips useful, share them with a friend or on social media.

If you want to send the show some love, follow Regeneration Nation CR on your favorite social media channels and throw us a Comment or a Like every now and again to let us know you care.

I’m grateful to be building a better world with you!

Remember,

When the world around you seems to be falling apart, 

The most regenerative thing you can do is lift your head up and create something.

To learn more about Rodo’s workshops and how you can learn from him, check out:

FB - https://www.facebook.com/BambooSchoolCostaRica 

Managing a project with communally-used spaces? The Community Living Agreements Training is for you!
These agreements enhance interactions, reduce conflict, and strengthen community spirit.
It's a living document that makes your project a joy to interact with.
Head to regenerationnationcr.com/cla and save 20%, w/coupon code: PODCAST.
Sharing communal space is better with clear agreements!

Stewarding a land project and hosting guests?
The Virtual Farm Tour Guide offers 7 simple steps to showcase your space in a whole new way. This free guide simplifies the process, ensuring your guests enjoy an immersive experience, whether you're home or away.
Visit regenerationnationcr.com/vft to access this free resource. 
You’ve got a beautiful place. Let me help you show it off!

In today’s episode, we get the privilege of visiting with not one but two leaders in the regenerative space, Jean Pullen & Alan Cacao. Through their project Regenerate Your Reality, Jean & Alan have been tirelessly promoting permaculture education, seed propagation, food sovereignty, & community-building projects throughout the country.   

Regenerate Your Reality is a permaculture, agroforestry, and education project working to bring sovereignty and happiness to our communities. ⁣It’s their mission to restore the relationship between humans and the earth to build a regenerative present.

They start the conversation by describing their work educating people at their biodiversity sanctuary in the mountains, near Platanillo, up the hill from Dominical. If you schedule a visit to their 1-hectare food forest, you’ll be welcomed to a tour of more than 300 species of food they have planted there. All of which is a living seed bank.

We discuss their partnerships with Kiss the Ground & Jungle Project and how they’ve been empowering local farmers with a regenerative livelihood, growing syntropic food forests with a focus on the abundantly producing breadfruit tree.

With the help of Earth University, INA (Costa Rica’s National Institute for Learning), and Kiss the Ground, these two life advocates and the rest of their friends at The Jungle Project provide ongoing, multi-year technical assistance to small-scale farmers on a variety of organic regenerative practices.

The organization’s mission is Trees, Training & Trade. The farming families learn to restore and maintain the ecological health of their farmland in ways that improve their nutrition and their income. 

This crew is actively seeding a regenerative nation. 

As Alan put it, connecting with the earth is our first medicine and one worth practicing daily. Participating in a w

Managing a project with communally-used spaces? The Community Living Agreements Training is for you!
These agreements enhance interactions, reduce conflict, and strengthen community spirit.
It's a living document that makes your project a joy to interact with.
Head to regenerationnationcr.com/cla and save 20%, w/coupon code: PODCAST.
Sharing communal space is better with clear agreements!

Stewarding a land project and hosting guests?
The Virtual Farm Tour Guide offers 7 simple steps to showcase your space in a whole new way. This free guide simplifies the process, ensuring your guests enjoy an immersive experience, whether you're home or away.
Visit regenerationnationcr.com/vft to access this free resource. 
You’ve got a beautiful place. Let me help you show it off!

In today’s episode, I meet with Jonathon Conant, a seasoned performer, and coach of the aerial arts. He teaches trapeze and aerial silk skills in one of the most enriching environments a student could hope to learn them in. 

We talk at length about Jonathan's practice of guiding students to explore flow state as a tool for unlocking unrealized potentials and enriched self-awareness. 

We also talk about a number of the small touches that Jonathon places along his guests’ experience, from his first contacts with them by email down to getting them involved in cleaning up each other’s dishes after sharing a meal.

Jonathan uses the word Milieu several times in the interview. Milieu refers to the way we create and keep our space and what a significant effect that has on our guests' experiences. This applies even to their ability to assimilate what we have to offer them. 

I’ll have to say that this was probably one of the most fun interview visits I’ve been on so far.  I made sure to arrive at Jonathon’s place early in the day to get in on his morning trapeze class. I filmed a little video of the class while I was there.  Make sure to check it out on our YouTube Channel on the Farm Tour Playlist when you get a chance. Here's the link: https://youtu.be/Y5wRjg3_A70 

See more of what Jonathon is up to at www.airbornearts.com/ 

This episode is brought to you by, well, YOU!  I haven’t built up my audience enough to have attracted sponsors and all that, so instead of buying an organic cotton shirt or an online course, maybe you can just buy me a coffee!   

Go to https://ko-fi.com/regenerationnationcr/ to drop a few dollars in the bucket and let me know you care. 

You can now also visit our website’s Resources page to find lots of great information and products that many have found to make their lives better.  Visit: https://regenerationnationcr.com/resources 

If you enjoy the podcast, please consider leaving a short review on Apple podcasts or wherever you listen.  It takes less than a minute, and it really makes a difference in helping to spread the word about our mission to others looking to improve their own projects.

Special thanks to Peter Mukuru and Ariel Poltronieri for editing this episode!

Music: Rite of Passage by Kevin MacLeod

Link: 

Managing a project with communally-used spaces? The Community Living Agreements Training is for you!
These agreements enhance interactions, reduce conflict, and strengthen community spirit.
It's a living document that makes your project a joy to interact with.
Head to regenerationnationcr.com/cla and save 20%, w/coupon code: PODCAST.
Sharing communal space is better with clear agreements!

Stewarding a land project and hosting guests?
The Virtual Farm Tour Guide offers 7 simple steps to showcase your space in a whole new way. This free guide simplifies the process, ensuring your guests enjoy an immersive experience, whether you're home or away.
Visit regenerationnationcr.com/vft to access this free resource. 
You’ve got a beautiful place. Let me help you show it off!

The episode you’re about to hear is with Norman Brooks,

Norman Brooks is a veteran pioneer in community development here in Costa Rica. Norman found his way to the jungle in a different manner than most of our guests. He followed and supported his children's passions. He’s commonly known by many around these parts as the father of Stephen Brooks, a well-known permaculturist and community leader in the country. 

While his backstory gives an impression that Norman has been following in the footsteps of his son’s relentless passion and inspiration, the rest of the interview, as well as most of the other conversations I’ve had with Norman before setting a date to record, reveal him to actually be one of the pillars of practicality and fountains of wisdom that have been instrumental in his co-creators’ dreams coming true.

In this interview, you’ll hear the story of how their three projects, Punta Mona, Alegria, and Ecovilla, have evolved one out of the other.  You’ll hear lessons learned and descriptions of adjustments made in response.

We also get into some of the legal and logistical details of building a community in Costa Rica and how Alegría was designed to make residential lots accessible to locals. His experience working with the local community has taught Norman that cultural regeneration is a first step on the path toward agricultural and even financial regeneration.

One of my favorite takeaways from the interview is Norman’s reflection that “If your dreams aren't scaring you, you may not be dreaming big enough.”

Links:

https://Puntamona.org

https://Alegría.com

https://Ecovillage.com

Alegria Home Owners Association Condominium Bylaws

Casa Sula (The school at Ecovilla)

This episode is brought to you by, well, YOU!  I haven’t built up my audience enough to have attracted sponsors and all that, so instead of buying an organic cotton shirt or an online course, maybe you can just buy me a coffee!   

Managing a project with communally-used spaces? The Community Living Agreements Training is for you!
These agreements enhance interactions, reduce conflict, and strengthen community spirit.
It's a living document that makes your project a joy to interact with.
Head to regenerationnationcr.com/cla and save 20%, w/coupon code: PODCAST.
Sharing communal space is better with clear agreements!

Stewarding a land project and hosting guests?
The Virtual Farm Tour Guide offers 7 simple steps to showcase your space in a whole new way. This free guide simplifies the process, ensuring your guests enjoy an immersive experience, whether you're home or away.
Visit regenerationnationcr.com/vft to access this free resource. 
You’ve got a beautiful place. Let me help you show it off!