Issue #41: Year in Review: 2024
One of the ideas behind this newsletter is to have a written record of the evolution of Machuca Valley and all of it’s happenings, so that one day you may tell your grand-children: “You see that Jackfruit you’re eating, well I planted that 50 years ago, in fact here is a picture of my young self featured in the local newsletter…”. The pinnacle of that is the annual “Year in Review” issue where we try to summarize the highlights of the year. This also gives us a better sense of the overall “arc” of our own story and perhaps offers a glimpse of where we’re heading. Before you dive into the 2024 edition, I recommend going back to the 2023 edition we published 1 year ago:
Today’s issue is made possible thanks to submissions from Ross & Oren from Alegria, Mandy and Marcelo from LEV, Zach from ESM and Cristiane from MDLT.
Machuca Valley
Roads, Roads and more Roads - main road to La Ecovilla and up to Tacotal got a huge upgrade! Only a few years ago, the week-long journey on elephants would take you up the “path of no return” across rivers with wild crocodiles. Now a modern autobahn from Route 3 goes up with exits to LEV and Tacotal, reducing the journey to mere minutes and making it possible to complete with just a 2WD car.
San Mateo gets sidewalks - in a sign that the new mayor really cares about it’s citizens, San Mateo is now much more walkable. And speaking of “signs” - the colorful San Mateo sign whose “S” disappeared, was taken down(the missing “S” never found).
Census Update - the main “MV Neighbors” community chat is now 373 members strong, some of whom actually live here! That’s as close to actual census as we have, my personal “guesstimate” is that there is probably around 200 - 250 of us here in the area.
Schools - we’ve had a 50% reduction in the number of schools in the area with the merger of Journey and RWS school which we covered here. RWS school has now over 100 kids, the largest school we’ve ever had.
Parents - continue to be highly engaged in both school and after-school activities. An ongoing initiative about screen usage(covered here) is underway + Wednesday afternoon mega-playdate is becoming a hit.
Beach Volleyball - what might be deemed as “The Biggest Discovery of 2024”, thanks to Juan we realized there is a covered, olympic level beach volleyball court right here in the area. Sunday afternoon games fast became a central communal focal point with people of all ages and levels joining every Sunday afternoon, even if its just to hang out and play in the sand. It didn’t take long for the egos to emerge and a competitive nature to take hold with “varsity” level games popping up. I hope to see the communal nature of the Sunday games to continue through 2025.
Sports - beyond volleyball physical activity in general continues to be a major theme with Yoga, Dancing, Boxing, Karate, Basketball, Workouts, Surfing being some of the most popular activities.
Casa Victoria opens its doors, with Fernando & Luis serving the best food in the area by a mile! Just last year you had to travel to either Atenas or the coast to get anywhere near this level of cuisine, now people from there are coming here for a meal.
Finca Vida Verde Podcast celebrates 1 year with 79 episodes, giving everyone a chance to “meet” and learn more about the residents here. Thanks Human! Its a wonderful community service and I hope more people can support it.
La Ecovilla aka LEV
LEV experienced a year of heartfelt goodbyes to long-time neighbors and warm welcomes to new members.
In January, we bid farewell to our beloved neighbor and friend, Lester, who passed away peacefully in his sleep(covered here).
Paul and Margie move to Maderal.
Dominique and Jamei settled into Lot 6, transforming it into the beautiful and cozy “Casa Calabaza.” They also shared the wonderful news of expecting a new community member.
Monica, Ross, Arielle, and Ryan completed their move to Costa Rica’s south coast, selling Casa Maracuya.
Long-time community members Mario and Carla, along with their son Marito, relocated to Nosara. Their home, Casa Zen, was sold to local cowboy Larry, expanding his BBQ gatherings and presence in LEV.
Welcomed Sally and Maria, a mother-daughter duo from the UK, as the new owners of Casa 9.
Eros made significant progress this year by breaking ground on construction at Lot 32. We’re excited to see Eros, Trisha, Jeff, Indra, and Amara move from house-hopping into their dream home soon.
A highlight of the year was welcoming baby Elias, born to Julianne and Marcelo in August. Elias, a new brother to Noah and Ilan, has brought joy to the community and is already surrounded by a dozen doting “aunties.”
Karina and Ellie moved to San Mateo to prepare for building their lot in Alegria.
Ali and James relocated first to Dulce Nombre and then returned to Texas.
Suzanne and Joey moved to California.
Yes, impermanence is a thing!
The rancho and yoga deck roofs were re-thatched, the yoga deck refinished, and the replacement of plastic road pavers with concrete ones advanced.
The green committee, led by Dominique, worked tirelessly to expand the community’s food production, planting and tending new growing beds near the sports court.
In November, the weekday morning workout group in the yoga shala celebrated its two-year anniversary, solidifying its place as perhaps the longest-running active group in LEV’s history.
The annual Halloween party and trick-or-treating brought its usual excitement, even as the rain gods tried to wash it away (covered here).
Alegria
Alegria doubled in neighbors, ~40 neighbors living in the village.
Alegria HOA hired its workers directly and is making sure that all social security benefits are taken care of
Our farm is committed to the continuous education and upskilling of our farm workers and the farmers of the valley by organizing an organic agriculture course - hat tip to Pao for organizing and inviting 30 local farmers
Our farm finished building the biofabrica where we are making our own fertilizers and mixes for soil regeneration. This year we regenerated enough soil to increase our garden space by 60%
The community rallied to help Tavo (our administrator) get his mother a bed for her recovery.
Our community volunteered in helping the Maderal school on many occasions
Patricio organized the Maderal Asada yearly meeting, 2nd year in a row!
Juanca put together a comprehensive plan for managing our wastewater management including expert site visits, annual effluent measurements and communicated this plan with other community leaders.
Linda and Pao organized the workers Xmas party with gifts for all the workers children.
A group of neighbors created a dog park where our furry friends could run free, while keeping local wildlife safe to thrive.
Alegria has hosted multiple Ecstatic Dances for the Muchuca Valley (using our new sound system)
Daily exercises at the Yoga Shala led by community members (free for anyone to join)
New Septic system installed for our guard station
Celebrations: Halloween, Christmas celebrations and movie nights!
Linda & Hunter continue to lead the community in Solstice walks through our labyrinths
Karate, aerial silks, and yoga classes continue at the Yoga Shala
Monthly community market (1st Saturday of every month) for Alegrians and local vendors to sell their products to the wider Machuca community
EcoVilla San Mateo aka ESM
Over 2,000 trees planted this year, with an additional 18,000 saplings thriving in the nursery, ready to be planted in the upcoming green season.
Held the first in-person Neighbor Gathering in February 2024, welcoming over 100 new ESM neighbors and fostering meaningful connections. The 2025 gathering already has 150 neighbors registered to attend in February.
First full-time residents(Zach, Ece & Neo) moved in this April to an existing house.
Federal Approvals Secured: The SETENA and INVU approvals were granted by the federal government, and ESM is now in the final phase to deliver titles to property owners.
80% of the water, underground electricity, and fiber optic infrastructure is installed.
Common Areas in Progress: Construction of some of the community areas is underway, including pools, ranchos, yoga shalas, and spaces for local entrepreneurs to open new stores year after year.
ESM has hosted multiple events throughout the year, fostering collaboration and strengthening ties within the broader valley community.
ESM has initiated efforts to develop community agreements, governance structures, decision-making processes, and systems for conflict resolution, ensuring a harmonious and collaborative environment.
Mercado de La Tierra (MDLT)
No doubt the center of Machuca Valley’s communal life is the Sunday market which has been operating for 1 year and 5 months now.
The market has hosted over 120 vendors, including producers and artisan entrepreneurs, 80% of whom are from our bioregion.
Currently, we have 25 active vendors participating weekly, biweekly, or monthly.
Our artistic space has welcomed more than 50 musicians and artists and has hosted over 40 talks promoting a sustainable future for our community.
We organized three Seed and Knowledge Exchanges to promote food sovereignty in our community.
Celebrated MDLT’s first anniversary in August in partnership with Shanti.
Sponsored the San Mateo oxherd parade.
Organized the first Río Machuca Festival in collaboration with MDLT and dedicated community volunteers.
Partnered with Feria Alegría.
Launched a relief campaign in November to support those affected by heavy rains.
Held the first Río Machuca Festival, organized by committed community volunteers and the MDLT team. This festival involved five educational institutions in our community, as well as other public and private organizations that made it possible.
The market will remain open this year, continuing to operate every Sunday in January as usual.
Mercado de la Tierra is a community initiative in partnership with Ecovilla San Mateo, providing an open space for community participation and collaboration. Artists and exhibitors who wish to share their knowledge and talents through music, art, workshops, or talks can contact Elieth Polanco at +506 6376 2604 to coordinate the schedule.
Amigos Río Machuca
One of the most transformative initiatives is Amigos Rio Machuca, a group of volunteers whose mission is to facilitate the transformation of the Micro-watershed of the Machuca River into a regenerative and sustainable model, where prosperity, ecological balance, and community healing are fundamental pillars.
Held two workshops on how to develop a participatory watershed management plan with CATIE researcher William Walters (virtual and in-person).
In July, organized two informational sessions about the regenerative project (virtual and in-person).
Conducted four participatory sessions this year with the local community at the San Mateo Municipality.
Participated in Gitcoin’s quadratic funding process, achieving an approximate contribution of USD ~$5,858.55.
Sponsored the “Boyeros” parade alongside the San Mateo Municipality.
Collaborated on the Municipal Comprehensive Waste Management Plan.
Identified key strategic lines and the most significant outcomes in the restoration process.
Nearing completion of this phase to begin the Strategic Plan.
Held two workshops during the 2024 Río Machuca Festival to inform and promote proper water management practices.
Amigos Río Machuca is a collective project and an open space for community participation and collaboration.
If anyone would like to actively participate in the project, please contact Gabriela Feoli at +506 8815 8782.
Every drop counts!
Maderal
Those wishing to “live in a community” just not “inside a community” continue to settle in Maderal(and other areas). With a number of houses being sold / rented / built this year.
The Ventanas community up the road with its beautiful ocean-views got a number of new residents including a new gorgeous house Casa Nera.
In a sign of gentrification Aeromar, the 360-degree, drop your pants gorgeous views restaurant gets an English menu and some English speaking staff. Don’t encourage it! Ask for Spanish menus and refuse to speak English, otherwise we’ll have our own little Tama-gringo life here in no time.
The Machuca Elements Newsletter
Lastly, this newsletter celebrates 1 year! Launched on December 17, 2023 as an experiment, 41 issues and 1 year later, it has a chance to stick around. With an average of 400 - 500 viewers per issue, it’s the most-read newsletter in the area! (also the only one).
Thank you to everyone who contributed a post this year: Cristiane Sampaio, Keith and Amanda Stern-Pirlot, Daniela Luján, Robin Shaw, Trisha Benson, Jesai Jayhmes, Keri Shinn, Marce, Jules Evans, Oren Schaedel and Na’ama Moran, Florian Kuster, Sarah Wu, Jamie Alexander & Jeff Benson. Special thanks to Jeff Benson for editing a number of issues this year and Florian Kuster for the nature photos that we use for our memes.
I hope to see many of you readers contribute in the coming year. The goal continues to be a newsletter that is written by and for community members, representing diverse set of voices and opinions on a wide range of topics. If you have an idea for a post, please reach out, we can even help you write it.
Happy New Year! Here is to a vibrant 2025!
Don’t sweat the resolutions - try the YearCompass instead: https://yearcompass.com/en/ (Thanks Keri!)
Love reading these!
Thank you so much for this recap. I will be moving to ESM this year and this brought me tears of joy. May this new year bring you joy and growth, Anton, and all reading this. <3