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Porvenir Design Holistic Context (Eng/Esp)

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Porvenir Design Holistic Context (Eng/Esp)

This article is about Holistic Management and decision making as a tool and how we use it in our business, Porvenir Design.

“Hi, I found your website researching vanilla. I want to know if you think my property would be good for growing vanilla to sell. I don’t need to get rich, I just need for it to cover the property expenses. I’m located near Quepos. Please let me know if you can help me set up my vanilla farm? Thank you!”

What to make of a client inquiry such as this? In some ways it is quite a simple question: can we help them set up this farm enterprise? There is a problem, though.

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Porvenir Design Case Study: Brave Earth Retreat Center

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Porvenir Design Case Study: Brave Earth Retreat Center

Brave Earth or Tierra Valiente is a young shareholder based community located on a 35 hectare property in the La Fortuna area of Costa Rica. The project was founded in 2016 by a large group of friends who were connected through their activism and the larger healing arts and medicinal plant communities. 

The project is squarely in the early experimental phase of development.

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Vanilla Cultivation: A Practical Guide for the Tropical Homestead

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Vanilla Cultivation: A Practical Guide for the Tropical Homestead

The vanilla orchid (Vanilla planifolia) is one of the world’s most interesting plants. Of the nearly 35,000 species of orchid, the second largest botanical family of plants, vanilla is the only species that produces an edible fruit. True vanilla is a sought after product, usually the second most expensive spice in the world, yet we associate the word vanilla with plain, boring, and commonplace. Native to Mexico and Central America, the vanilla vine is well suited for any tropical homestead. Yet vanilla is a particular plant requiring special care, in particular during pollination where every flower must be hand pollinated.

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Permaculture Due Diligence Workshop

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Permaculture Due Diligence Workshop

A few months back a series of clients began asking me questions that I didn’t have the answers to. I knew just enough about the topics to know what I didn’t know. One client wanted to know about building restrictions around a small body of water, another needed information about opening up land for a road through an existing forest, and a third was seeking support to enroll in the FONAFIFO Environmental Service Payment program.

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Where to Buy Your Trees and Seeds in Costa Rica?

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Where to Buy Your Trees and Seeds in Costa Rica?

Ever have a challenging time finding your favorite plant in Costa Rica? Or wonder where to get supplies for a new greenhouse? What about organic pesticides? 

After nearly a decade working in country, our team has compiled a comprehensive list of nurseries, seed banks, botanical gardens, and farm/garden suppliers. In the past we shared this document with students and clients, but with our new website we have the means to make it available to the all the gardeners, landscapers, and farmers in country.

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8 Tips for Starting your Tropical Homestead

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8 Tips for Starting your Tropical Homestead

You’ve just purchased your dream property in tropical Costa Rica. You want to grow your own food. You are anxious to get to work now, have bought some plants from a nursery you randomly drove by, and have a shovel in hand, but...where to start?