They Contribute to Huertas de Nosara

Born in NY and raised by two Latin parents, Michelle has a command of both Spanish and English languages.  Her experience ranges from film and large entertainment charity productions, to many years of experience in the hospitality industry, including tenure as a co-owner of a hotel in Nosara.  She brings to the table skills in organization, communication, and stakeholder management that will support the success of the project goals. Michelle’s diverse background has given her a passion for inspiring and motivating people to come together and make things happen.  This has contributed to her ability to understand the movement of Nosara and what is required help keep this project in motion.

Tony is the heart and initial driver of the Huertas de Nosara concept launch. A multi-lingual Pepperdine University graduate (studies in biology, philosophy, sociology, and music) with an international background ranging 5 continents, he has spent the last eight years of his life in Nosara building and operating his own surf retreat school, incorporating permaculture concepts into everything that he dedicates himself to. He is an accredited Montessori Teacher, a level 2 ISA Surf Coach, and a lifelong student of organic, and biodynamic agriculture. His interest in regenerative systems has led him to dedicate much of his time to the Reviva initiative. His passions span from holistic health and gardening to surfing and spiritual growth.

Tracey, as a certified project manager (PMI), brings to the ReViva planning team more than 20 years of experience in a variety of sectors which has supported the initiative’s progress to date. She has proven expertise in team coordination, facilitation, schedule/budget management, and program development.  Her projects have ranged from coordinating large Canadian infrastructure projects (health centers, entertainment venues, and national monuments), to development of professional educational programs, and implementing international certification offerings for professionals focused on universal design in the built environment. With her experience in coordinating diverse international teams and in developing accredited professional education programming, Tracey has a dual role of both working with the planning team to move the Reviva concept forward as well as engaging our subject matter experts to build out the educational components of the planned initiatives. Tracey is passionate about community building and planning projects from concept to reality.

In this role, Emmanuel’s mission is to lead the collective through implementation of organizational structures and to build out the ReGenerate arm of Reviva Nosara, creating community autonomy by providing alternative, regenerative energy systems. Emmanuel is passionate about systems design and brings to the team two decades of leadership experience and building communities in Canada. This has included development of concert venues, board positions for several community and civic associations, acting as the producer and logistics director for multiple cultural projects, and co-founding a non-profit event production organization, rooted in community development.  Emmanuel believes that acting locally is the perfect way to have a direct impact by helping to think, design, and build prototypes of our next global human social system, required to achieve a truly regenerative future for all life.

Yy brings commitment, experience, and passion to the ReViva team. For the past decade she has witnessed the impact of tourism and development on the environment and culture of Nosara. With this initiative, she sees the opportunity to be part of something important and meaningful to Nosara with the opportunity be an example of a regenerative community -reduce waste, create energy, wealth, jobs, healthy soil, and food. With over a decade of experience working as coordinator and manager of international yoga retreats, working on farms, and also as an educator, Yy brings a key skill set of organization and systems development to the team.  This coupled with her degree in Political Science, fuel her passion for creating an organic waste reclamation and soil regeneration system. She offers her skills and passion to the initiative, to reviving local culture and nature in the hopes of creating wealth from waste and giving back to our beautiful Nosara- compost at its best.

Luis (Louie) is a Costa Rican native and has worked in tourism in the area for the past 12 years. He is the newest member of the ReViva Nosara planning team and his intention is to volunteer his knowledge of the local area and culture to all aspects of the project in order to realize the success in ReViva Nosara’s goals to the regional communities.

Fabian is one of the knowledgeable permaculture and organic gardening experts guiding the Huertas de Nosara efforts in the gardens. 

Fabian is a graduate of The National Institute of Learning where he studied Organic Waste Management, Natural Pest Control, Worm Fertilizer Production, Herbal and Medicine Plant Management and Mountain Microorganisms.  Fabian has also earned his Permaculture Design Certification (PDC) from renowned specialist Stephen Brook’s Permaculture Center in Punta Mona.

Born and raised in the farming family in Cartago, Costa Rica, Fabien now provides his expertise to residents in Nosara and the surrounding communities, planting food forests and permaculture designs to ensure sustainable gardening and landscaping is the norm of all of his projects.

Christoph grew up on the shores of Lake Zurich, learning about the land, farming, and hunting from his Grandfather. At 16, he undertook an apprenticeship as a forest guard and lumberjack. This training provided him with a firm basis for working in the swiss forests, learning about the complex duties of a forester. He also began developing his knowledge in landscape design and creating home gardens at this same time.

Next, he completed Swiss Forestry school, and completed a year of intensive training on the management of a forest district in Switzerland. Extensive travel around Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania gave Christoph a deep respect for indigenous people and the wealth of knowledge about life and the land that they possess.

Christoph’s next challenge took him to a reforesting project in Costa Rica, Novelteak, in 1995 where his role involved educating and encouraging people to invest in reforestation. He remained in Costa Rica and worked for an American couple who own a 200-hectare farm in Nosara, where he helped to replant 12,000 native trees. He continues to manage this mountain finca in addition to consulting many projects in Nosara and the surrounding area.  Christoph is also involved in local water company, ASADA of Bocas de Nosara, a role which he enjoys because of the importance of water conservation and the creation of sustainable water systems.

Ana Rosales was born and raised in Nosara, before tourism and industry came to the area. After spending several years living and operating a restaurant business in San Jose, she returned to Nosara to land passed on from her father. Ana has raised her son and cultivated the site of our initial community gardens. Ana shares a wealth of organic farming wisdom with the Huertas team, more than 20 years of local experience, and 14 certificates earned in organic farming practices from the local institute in Nicoya.

Ana is an valued, honorary member of our team.  Not only our landlord at the Grandmother Garden, she provides ongoing education to the team, both in how to grow healthy organic food and also how to prepare and make the most of the medicinal benefits of many plants.

Working on a pro-bono basis, Diana has helped the ReViva Nosara team accomplish immediate goals of becoming a legally recognized association by the Costa Rican government. Her guidance and dedication to the initiative have been invaluable to the planning team.  Diana fully endorses the goals of the association to create regenerative systems that support the local communities and will continue to advise and support the ongoing efforts of ReViva Nosara.

Manuel is a local Nosara legal expert who will be supporting the OWMs initiative, lending his expertise in local municipal engagement.  As a passionate supporter of waste reclamation and our proposed composting project to deal with organic waste in the region, Manuel’s legal expertise and community knowledge will be invaluable to the initiative.

Isabelle (Izzy) has been a volunteer supporter of the ReViva Nosara initiative since inception. Izzy supports the project both in volunteer hours in the community gardens as well as serving as our webmaster and supporting the development of the various promotional tools needed for community engagement.  Isabelle and her family have been long-time residents in the Nosara community and are valued members of our volunteer team.

Anna has been an avid supporter of the ReViva Nosara initiative since inception. Her property along the Rio Montana corridor already serves as an example in natural building practices and she hosts several of the community meetings that have taken place to date.  Through a generous donation in land, a portion of her property will serve as a future community garden site once the capacity of the initiative is scaled. Anna serves on the ReViva Nosara Board, helping to guide the project with her holistic insight and knowledge.