SEED International Ecovillage Agricommunity near Cahuita National Park

Mission: We're an ecovillage within an international partnership that's developing sustainability prototypes in ecological education and development.

From www.ic.org/directory/seed-international-ecovillage-near-cahuita-national-park/:

Humanity is facing unprecedented challenges. Rapid urbanization and depletion of natural resources, combined with the impacts of climate change, are forcing us to rethink our current patterns of living and to develop much more sustainable practices, including eco-villages. Worldwide, societies urgently need to promote and advance viable examples of intentional, green communities.

We're an international ecovillage within a partnership that's developing sustainability prototypes in ecological education and development. Right now SEED is creating several model projects simultaneously, including an International Community for Sustainable Living in rural Costa Rica, located in the tropical southern Caribbean region near Cahuita National Park.

Our growing eco-community is seeking like-minded individuals, couples and families interested in actively living sustainably using permaculture principles. You’re invited to consider joining our International Community for Sustainable Living project. 'We hope that our website provides you with enough information to decide if our ecovillage community may be the one that you’ve been searching for.

We're a group of energetic, enthusiastic and committed individuals, dedicated to working with others to accomplish the common vision of an international ecovillage. Currently citizens of Costa Rica, Canada, Columbia, Germany and the U.S.A are property-owning members of the community. There are presently more than a dozen community families, with the residential aspect currently mostly weekend and seasonal. Including community residences and SEED Agroecology Demonstration Center buildings, there are now over a dozen structures.

SEED International Community for Sustainable Living home sites are in the foothills of the Talamanca Mountain Range, in Cahuita District, Talamanca Canton, Limon Province, in the tropical southern Caribbean region of Costa Rica. The elevation above sea level is between about 31 and about 166 meters, and the geographic coordinates of the Agroecology Demonstration Center are 9°42’06.43”N and 82°52’07.44”W.

Our community is comprised of members who own ½ hectare (~1.25 acre) private lots within the 140-hectare (~245 acre) sustainability focused SEED corporation. The six founding members of the International Community together hold the SEED corporation partnership shares. SEED is the acronym for the partnership - Society for Ecological Education and Development.

Individuals, couples and families that are interested in learning to live a potentially carbon-neutral, sustainable lifestyle are eligible for membership in the community. SEED International Community for Sustainable Living members have the unique opportunity of benefiting from the experience and knowledge of fellow ecovillage members. Current areas of community member expertise include sustainable building, safe water and waste management, renewable energy, agroecology, and landscape design.

The topography of SEED is a mix of hills, valleys, plateaus and rivers. The Carbon II River, Cañajira River, Hone Creek and Cane Creek form the borders of the SEED corporation property. Various ongoing sustainable projects are underway at SEED. Thirty percent of the total SEED land is primary forest, 20 percent secondary forest and the remaining 50 percent was until recently used extensively for raising livestock.

Land use at SEED is undergoing a transformation, with the international ecovillage being an important component in a master plan focused solely on sustainability projects. All of the SEED corporation partners are also SEED International Community members, with each owning residential property in the ecovillage. All subsequent SEED residential property owners are invited to join the community as fellow members. Property owners are encouraged to maintain active memberships in SEED International Community, and enjoy the member benefits while living a sustainable lifestyle.

Please consider a visit to experience the power and possibilities of sustainable living for yourself. If you see value in our project, perhaps you’ll become a part of the growing membership of SEED International Ecovillage. Lots in Residential Area 2 are presently filling, and a final residential zone is planned. If you have a question after looking over our ‘SEEDcostarica’ website and Facebook page, please contact us at SEEDcostarican@gmail.com.

A service of the Data Commons Co-op. The project has been supported by Equal Exchange, the Cooperative Charitable Trust, the USDA, and many others - thank you! Tech volunteers over the years include: Benjamin Bradley with support from GAIA Host. Ben Mauer with support from Quilted. Paul Fitzpatrick. Ronin Tech Collective, Brattleboro Tech Collective, Sligo Computer Services. Jason Lemieux. Default map tiles courtesy of MapQuest. Default map data (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA.