Blog - Playa Viva Luxury Eco Resort, Mexico

Flujo de Residuos Hoteleros & Principios de Permacultura

¡Saltamos con los pies primero (literalmente) a nuestra propia basura!

Decidimos que el 2020 era el momento para que Playa Viva volviera a visitar sus propios flujos de desechos dentro del hotel. Utilizando uno de los principios de permacultura más importantes, aplicar la autorregulación y aceptar la retroalimentación, pasé tres días consecutivos clasificando nuestros desechos con la intención de comprender lo que estábamos produciendo, en qué cantidades; y medité profundamente sobre cómo podríamos reducir y reutilizar algunos de las cosas que estábamos desechando.

La permacultura se enfoca en evaluar lo que ya existe para que pueda hacerse más eficiente y efectivo para todas las partes involucradas. Entonces, ¿de dónde viene nuestra basura? Primero, de la cocina. Siendo un hotel regenerativo, queremos proporcionar a nuestros huéspedes con una experiencia gastronómica que cumpla con sus valores respecto de la alimentación de la granja a la mesa, y sus expectativas gastronómicas. A veces, lo anterior significa que compramos ingredientes para mejorar nuestra producción local y ofrecer los sabores tropicales que nuestros huéspedes buscan durante su estadía. ¿Pero a que costo? ¿Acaso la opción vegetariana de los hongos ostras cultivados en México significa que ignoramos la verdad respecto a que una porción de cena requiere tres pies cuadrados de empaque de espuma de poliestireno? Cuando la producción de leche local tiene baja oferta, ¿sacrificamos nuestra ética y compramos la leche producida en masa que viene en un Tetra Pak no reciclable? Estas decisiones nos obligan a lograr un equilibrio entre las expectativas de servicio del turismo y las decisiones conscientes sobre la regeneración.

Entonces, evaluemos. Que encontramos en nuestra basura ¿Y cómo podemos aplicar un segundo principio de permacultura, no producir desperdicio,, a nuestro intento de reducir nuestra huella? Finalizando 2018, los ingredientes comprados para nuestra cocina ingresaban al hotel en la típica bolsa de plástico de supermercado. Esta fue fácil. Sacamos bolsas reutilizables de nuestra "bodega" de cocina y le pedimos a nuestros vendedores que empacaran sus productos alimenticios solo cuando llegáramos con nuestras propias bolsas. Sin duda, lo anterior agregó cinco minutos al tiempo de entrega, pero ¿quién no aprecia la oportunidad de moverse un poco más lento en su día a veces?

Uno de los mayores contribuyentes a nuestro flujo de residuos son las bebidas alcohólicas. Ahora, usted se encuentra de vacaciones, no estamos diciendo que no se esfuercen. Como resort regenerativo, asumimos la responsabilidad de encontrar un nuevo uso para las botellas de vidrio que quedan de una relajante cena al atardecer o una fogata en la playa. Decidimos entonces, comprar un cortador de vidrio y comenzamos a convertir las botellas de vino en vasos para usar en el hotel. Las botellas de vidrio cuadradas, de libaciones como el tequila mexicano local, se almacenan en la granja de permacultura para ser utilizadas en futuros proyectos de construcción natural.

El cartón en el que llegan estos productos también está destinado a la granja, donde se utiliza para alinear los caminos entre los lechos de los jardines como un medio de supresión de malezas y desarrollo del suelo. En nuestro clima, el cartón se rompe en tres meses y ayuda a agregar nutrientes a nuestro suelo arenoso. Cuando intente esto en un clima templado, arroje muchas hojas y recortes de césped sobre el cartón (haciéndolo un poco menos desagradable) y espere que el proceso de descomposición tarde de 9 a 12 meses.

Moringa powder produced at Playa Viva’s Farm

Como ya debe saber, nuestro equipo de permacultura se dirige a Eco Tianguis todos los sábados. Este espacio de reunión es un mercado de agricultores, un mercado de artesanía local, un pequeño concierto y mucho más. También es un espacio donde los miembros de la comunidad pueden dejar materiales reciclables y confiar en que encontrarán el camino hacia el centro de distribución correcto. Voluntarios dedicados de Playa Viva clasifican los materiales reciclables de nuestro hotel; somos responsables de ver que el vidrio, el plástico y el aluminio se trasladen al mercado todos los sábados. Los voluntarios también clasifican lo que otros dejan en el mercado para evaluar qué podemos traer a Playa Viva para reutilizar, en lugar de reciclar. (Si usted ha comprado moringa en polvo producida en la granja en la boutique de Playa Viva en las últimas semanas, ha ayudado a reducir la cantidad de desechos que se quedan aquí en México. Por favor trate de reutilizar las botellas de vidrio varias veces una vez que regrese a donde quiera que llame su hogar).

Desde una perspectiva occidental, a veces es difícil entender que no todas las personas reciclen; pero la mayoría de las veces, los servicios de reciclaje no están disponibles para las comunidades que más los desean. En Juluchuca, miembros clave de nuestra comunidad trabajan incansablemente para mover el plástico del vertedero a un centro de reciclaje distante a través del programa Juluchuca Limpio. Nuestros esfuerzos internos para creativamente reutilizar desechos desvían parte de lo que no se puede reciclar. Pero todavía hay límites.

Entonces, ¿qué no podemos reciclar?

Vidrio roto el cual desafortunadamente se acumula de manera sustancial en el hotel – aproximadamente 10 galones de vidrio roto cada dos semanas. Lo estamos almacenando por ahora, con la esperanza de que un voluntario artístico use las piezas de arcilla y vidrio para hacer un mosaico con los niños de la escuela en la ciudad.

Papel higiénico y otros desechos de las habitaciones en Playa Viva. Este impacto es un poco más difícil de reducir y/o eliminar, pero estamos haciendo esfuerzos para recolectar los desechos de todas las habitaciones en una sola bolsa de plástico, en lugar de producir una bolsa de plástico parcialmente llena de cada habitación por separado. Los empaques de Tetra pak tampoco se pueden reciclar en México todavía, y mientras tanto, es responsabilidad del equipo de nuestra cocina y nuestro equipo de producción de alimentos pensar en formas de cultivar o procesar ingredientes locales de los productos que de otro modo tendríamos que comprar en este recurso no renovable.

El poder reconocer retroalimentación tanto positiva como negativa dentro de un sistema es crucial en el desarrollo del proyecto. No hay un final real para este tipo de autorregulación. Hasta la fecha, el trabajo para evaluar y reorganizar nuestras aguas residuales ha recaído en el Equipo de Permacultura y nuestro Chef Ejecutivo; y ahora, es responsabilidad de los líderes de cada uno de estos departamentos discutir, informar y trabajar con otros miembros del equipo en nuestro hotel. Al crear una conciencia colectiva respecto de los desechos producidos en el hotel, y las formas en que podemos reutilizar algunos de estar materiales, creamos oportunidades para que esta información penetre en las comunidades donde vivimos.

Amanda Harris es la Gerente de Permacultura en Playa Viva. Originaria de Maryland, se dirigió a Juluchuca a través de Nicaragua, Costa Rica, el sudeste asiático y, más recientemente, una hermosa "plantada" en Virginia del Oeste.

Prueba de Impacto de Obras

LA RECOLECCIÓN DE DATOS GENERA LA PRUEBE DE IMPACTO

Para aquellos que han tenido la oportunidad de visitar el santuario de La Tortuga Viva, seguramente recordarán las pequeñas señales azules que designan cada nido individual. Cada marcador incluye datos sobre:

La cantidad de huevos en el nido quantity of eggs in the nest,
Cada nido tiene un numero asignado number,
La cantidad de huevos en el nido nombre del voluntario que lo recolecto
La cantidad de huevos en el nido date of collection.

Cuando las tortugas salen del cascarón y emergen a la superficie, los voluntarios escriben en un cuaderno la fecha y cuántas fueron exitosamente liberadas al mar.

La Tortuga Viva lleva recolectando estos datos por años. Muchos de los voluntarios se preguntan por qué es necesario, puesto que pareciera que se genera trabajo adicional sin razón. Esta temporada, sin embargo, estamos comenzando a ver los frutos de nuestro trabajo a través de una nueva asociación con Proof of Impact (POI),un mercado en línea que conecta a las personas que están haciendo una diferencia en el terreno con las personas que quieren ser parte de la solución.

Inicialmente escuche sobre POI a través de un huésped de Playa Viva, David Cooper. El tenia un contacto en la organización con el cual nos conectó. Comenzamos a conversar sobre el trabajo de impacto social y ambiental de Playa Viva y La Tortuga Viva (LTV). Decidimos que LTV sería un Proyecto oportuno ya que teníamos datos sobre nidos recolectados y tortugas liberadas. Envié a POI todos los datos que LTV había estado recolectando a lo largo de los años, demostrando los miles de nidos reubicados y los cientos de miles de tortugas liberadas.

El otoño pasado, se nos ocurrieron "Puntos de Prueba" adicionales para asegurar a los donantes de POI que realmente estamos liberando las tortugas que informamos. Esto incluye fotos y videos de las tortugas que se dirigen al océano y un formulario de testigo firmado por la persona que lideró la liberación.

La Tortuga Viva Coordinator Lorenzo Locci

Lorenzo Locci, nuestro Coordinador de LTV a menudo trabaja horas adicionales para ayudar a recolectar la mayor cantidad de datos posibles ya que algunos miembros del equipo LTV no tienen teléfonos o saben cómo usar una cámara. Lorenzo también compila todos los datos en una hoja de Excel y la envía a POI, que a su vez “vende” las tortugas liberadas como eventos de impacto en su mercado.

Desde enero de 2020, hemos recibido $1700 en fondos de POI por el duro trabajo que realiza LTV. Algunos de estos fondos se han utilizado para cubrir los costos operacionales de LTV. Los fondos son principalmente para materiales para el santuario y subsidios de alimentacion para los voluntarios, que generalmente son las personas que más necesitan estos alimentos básicos.

SI usted quiere apoyar nuestro trabajo a través de POI puede encontrarnos en su nueva pagina web. Cada tortuga liberada tiene un costo de mercado de $3. POI garantiza que reciba todos los puntos de prueba asociados a su donación.

Hoy los voluntarios de LTV reconocen que los datos recolectados pueden ser retadores y tediosos de generar, pero comprenden los beneficios del trabajo. Todos le debemos un gran agradecimiento a Lorenzo por coordinar la recopilación de datos con el equipo, y por supuesto a la comunidad de Playa Viva por apoyar continuamente a LTV en su misión de conservar a las tortugas marinas en peligro de extinción.

Colleen Fugate es Gerente de Impacto Social y Ambiental en Playa Viva. Ella vive en Juluchuca. Aprenda más sobre su trabajo involucrando a nuestras comunidades locales a través de nuestros programas de impacto social.

Experiencias Unicas en Playa Viva

¿Qué Recordarás?

Cuando compramos Playa Viva por primera vez, recuerdo claramente caminar por la tierra y encontrarme con los voluntarios del Santuario de las Tortugas ubicado en una esquina de la propiedad. Los lideres del grupo se nos acercaron y preguntaron; “ahora que son dueños de la tierra, ¿nos van a sacar? ¡Wow! La pregunta me dejo perplejo. "¡Por supuesto que no!," respondí, "Si nuestro hotel es Disneyland, las crías de las tortugas son Mickey Mouse". ¡Wow! Que inocente de mi parte.

Inevitablemente, se volverán hacia mí y me dirán: "¡Wow, esta es una experiencia que cambia la vida!"

Claro que sí, las tortugas bebés son nuestra mascota, atrayendo a los huéspedes interesados en las maravillas del mar. No puedo contar el numero de veces que un huésped, visitando probablemente desde alguna ciudad sin salida al mar en los EE. UU. o Canadá, se para a mi lado en la playa por la mañana, observando a las crías de tortuga cargar instintivamente al mar. Inevitablemente, se voltean hacia mí y me dicen: "¡Wow, esta es una experiencia que cambia la vida!" Sí, "cambia la vida". La primera vez que escuché esta misma frase me sorprendí. Entonces, llegué a esperarlo y la experiencia de cambio de vida se volvió normal.

Me sucedió lo mismo respecto de caminar por la playa en cualquier noche de octubre o principios de noviembre, al ver en cuestión de minutos, a una tortuga madre poniendo su nido. Normal. Ver tortugas bebés regresar al mar, se volvió normal.

So when a guests arrives and experiences these wonders for the first time, it reminds me of how exciting it was the first time I experienced these life-changing events myself.

Cuando esos voluntarios se acercaron a mi años atrás, no aprecié todo el trabajo y los recursos que se necesitaron para mantener su operación funcionando sin problemas y de manera efectiva. Su trabajo y recursos externos fueron los que permitieron que esta experiencia que cambia la vida suceda todos los días para nuestros huéspedes.

Para que ese trabajo sea eficiente, necesitamos vehículos para patrullar la playa. Los voluntarios salen todas las noches para llegar a los nidos de las tortugas antes que los cazadores furtivos y los depredadores. Estos son la verdadera amenaza y el tiempo es esencial. En una excursión reciente, mientras los invitados se maravillaban de que la tortuga madre pusiera sus huevos, un voluntario me llevó a un lado y dirigió su linterna hacia la maleza justo al borde de la duna. Dos ojos rojos nos devolvieron el reflejo, un tejon (coatí mundi, de la familia de los mapaches), esperando su turno para desenterrar los huevos y cenar. La urgencia estaba justo sobre la duna mirándonos.

Para mantener estas experiencias especiales, memorables y que cambien la vida, necesitamos su ayuda. Gracias a las generosas contribuciones de personas como Michael Franti, Kelly Slater,, Patagonia y muchos más, hemos reunido una colección de maravillosos artículos de subasta para recaudar dinero para comprar un vehículo nuevo (4×4 ATV) para el santuario de tortugas. El vehículo actual está en el taller siendo reparado por última vez y necesitamos seguir haciendo el trabajo.

El trabajo y los recursos llegan de dos formas. Gracias a 109 World y sus retiros de yoga de impacto social, una vez más pudimos realizar mejoras significativas en la infraestructura del santuario de tortugas. Con los fondos que recibimos para suministros y grupo de voluntarios, trabajamos juntos, como comunidad, logrando lo que pocos podían hacer solos.

109 World Retreat Group and Turtle Camp Volunteers

Se requiere de una comunidad, y aunque prefiero que nuestros boletines y nuestras publicaciones en el blog no sean solicitudes de dinero; y odio sentir que estamos caminando con la mano extendida, como un mendigo en la esquina, se necesita una comunidad fuera de Playa Viva para obtener el mayor trabajo realizado. Lo que he llegado a comprender es que nosotros, en Playa Viva no somos los mendigos, somos los locutores, difundiendo la palabra del gran trabajo realizado por los voluntarios que no tienen la misma voz, o el mismo acceso a personas con mentalidad similar como ustedes. Si bien el equipo local de voluntarios sabe cómo encontrar los nidos de tortugas antes de que los depredadores los encuentren, estos mismos voluntarios no tienen idea de cómo encontrar donantes como usted que puedan asegurarse de que lleguen a los nidos antes que los tejones do.

En ese espíritu, corra la voz de lo que están haciendo todas estas grandes organizaciones: La Tortuga Viva, Ballenas de Guerrero y el Fideicomiso Regenerativo de Playa Viva. Por favor apuestele a unos de estos grandes.Realice una donación deducible de impuestos a través de nuestro patrocinador fiscal The Ocean Foundation.Ayúdenos a llegar a los nidos de tortugas antes que los tejones. tejones. Ayúdenos a recaudar los fondos necesarios para un nuevo ATV para el campamento de tortugas.

Gracias por su apoyo. Su ayuda hace que estas experiencias que cambian la vida se mantengan vivas para la siguiente persona. David Leventhal y la familia Playa Viva..

Inspiring Young Ocean Conservationists

Bringing Marine Conservation Workshops to Juluchuca’s Youth.

It’s no surprise that Juluchucans love the ocean. Whether it’s fishing, swimming, or just hanging out, the local beach is a popular place on evenings and weekends. Residents have a deep knowledge of their local marine ecosystem. They easily recognize subtle changes that occur in the water over the span of a few days or the broader, sweeping effects of climate change.

…sometimes all it takes to harness that inner conservationist is providing an experience with one of the ocean’s most majestic creatures, the humpback whale.

I often wonder how we can harness this love and connection with the sea to inspire more people to become conservationists. I look at the kids we work with and wonder what their relationship with the ocean will be when they reach their parent’s age. As we learned last winter, sometimes all it takes to harness that inner conservationist is providing an experience with one of the ocean’s most majestic creatures, the humpback whale.

In partnership with Ballenas de Guerrero, a community-driven conservation NGO in Barra de Potosi, Playa Viva sponsored both a classroom workshop and a whale-watching experience for the kids of Juluchuca for the second year in a row. Raul Ramirez and Andrea Garcia, both trained biologists with Whales of Guerrero, led both of these experiences, first visiting the classrooms to teach the elementary school students the basics of marine biology, then moving onto the specifics of what species of whales we find on Costa Grande and their threats due to human interaction and climate change.

We want them to be delighted when they discover that they have amazing animals as neighbors, right in front of them on their own beach

While the workshop engaged all of the students at the elementary school, there was room for only 17 students on the whale watching excursion. Students were selected based on their performance in school and interest in marine biology. Along with Raul, Andrea and Ariel, Playa Viva’s Education Coordinator, the kids embarked on a full day ocean conservation experience, beginning with a 3-hour whale watching tour during which they saw several humpback whales. During this time they observed how Raul and Andrea collected data and learned how that information contributes to whale conservation.

Afterwards, the group visited a nature refuge in Barra de Potosi to see otters, birds and other terrestrial wildlife before closing out the day with a chance to swim in the ocean and let all their new knowledge soak in.

“Our intention is always to incentivize the curiosity and interest in nature amongst the children,” explained Raul. “We want them to be delighted when they discover that they have amazing animals as neighbors, right in front of them on their own beach. Humpback whales are usually good ambassadors for this since it is difficult to forget an encounter with giants. These are brief experiences that will hopefully mark something important in the lives of these children and inspire them to conserve their ocean.”

Humpback whales are usually good ambassadors for this since it is difficult to forget an encounter with giants.

A year later, many of the kids still talk about the day they went to see the whales. A few of them want to grow up to become marine biologists. The rest have taken steps to conserve their ocean ecosystems in Juluchuca, participating in beach clean-ups and turtle releases with La Tortuga Viva. Sometimes during these experiences at home, we are even lucky enough to spot a whale out in the water, reminding us all of the important role we play in conservation.

We are incredibly grateful to Whales of Guerrero for their continued work in education, research and conservation in Barra de Potosi and beyond. We are currently looking for sponsors to help finance another whale watching workshop and boat trip this Feb. The total cost is 400USD. Donations can be made through our fiscal sponsor, The Ocean Foundation.

109 World + Playa Viva = A Priceless Experience

A Retreat That Prizes Service as Well as Mindfulness.

This past December we were thrilled to welcome back 109 World to host a second retreat at Playa Viva and to continue their volunteer work with La Tortuga Viva. 109 World is dedicated to “Retreats that improve your happiness and fulfillment through caring for oneself and our planet”, and we are happy that they found Playa Viva to be the perfect partner to realize their vision for purpose filled mindfulness retreats.

On their first trip last year they financed and helped build a new sanctuary structure, this year they came back with participants new and old to build a palapa for our environmental education work, and a tool shed to store materials for the sanctuary. Participants again worked alongside local volunteers and experienced the magic of morning turtle releases and the excitement of night patrols on the beach in search of nests to rescue. That was in addition to their regular yoga and mindfulness practices. Thank you, 109 World for you continued support of La Tortuga Viva and for your vision on how to make both lasting memories and positive impact on all of your retreats!

Nature is Awesome!

Experience the Humpback Whale Migration at Playa Viva!

The word “awesome” is probably overused but sometimes there’s just no better way to say it. Nature has a way of leaving us in awe, and never more so than when she makes us feel small in the face some natural wonder. Getting up close to a migrating Humpback Whale is one of those times. It is truly AWESOME. Something to add to your bucket list, and something to remember forever once you experience it.

Imagine waking up and looking out to sea, or looking up from your morning coffee only to see a humpback whale and her calf swimming past.

Part of the wonder is that you never quite know if you will see this magnificent sight until the moment that you see these massive mammals breach the vast surface of the ocean. There are no guarantees. But what is certain is that when you come to Playa Viva you are in one of the best places in the world to check this off your list! There are 2 ways you might encounter these wonderous creatures at Playa Viva.

It’s the stuff of dreams, but at Playa Viva it happens in real life

1) The first chance to check the whale migration off your bucketlist is right off the beach just outside your room! Imagine waking up and looking out to sea, or looking up from your morning coffee only to see a humpback whale and her calf swimming past. It’s the stuff of dreams, but at Playa Viva it happens in real life! Guest Ben Horton captured the incredible video above just off the beach at Playa Viva.

When The Whales Win, Everyone Wins from Katherina Audley el Vimeo.

2) The second chance requires a little more time and intention on your part, but it’s well worth the effort. The second video above will give you a taste of an adventure offered along with one of our partners in conservation, the Whales of Guerrero Research Project. The one and only Johnny Adventure will take you on a short ride from Playa Viva to Barra de Potosi and go out to sea with local fishermen and citizen scientists in order to try to see these amazing creatures up close. See the video below to for a taste of what that might be like. Even if you aren’t lucky enough to see a migrating whale, it’s guaranteed to be a memorable journey that takes you past major Pacific wetlands and pristine virgin coastline with plenty of sightings of both terrestrial and marine wildlife, including birds, sea turtles, rays, and dolphins! This excursion is offered seasonally from January to March.

If you are inspired to check this off your list there’s still time to book this year, or else plan ahead for next year from January to March!

There’s still time to book this year, or else plan ahead for next year from January to March!

When The Whales Win, Everyone Wins from Katherina Audley el Vimeo.

As hard as it might be to leave Playa Viva, you’ll be glad you made time for this amazing experience.

A Place to Come Together

Building A New Community Plaza In Juluchuca

What unites a community? What brings us together? These are questions we all ask ourselves at holiday times, and something I’ve thought about often since moving to Juluchuca a little over a year ago. With roughly 500 residents, Juluchuca is certainly a small, close-knit agricultural community. Residents are brought together by their common roots, familial ties and community-wide celebrations throughout the year.

We recently celebrated 2 of our largest holidays here in Juluchuca, the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe on Dec 12 and the patron saint of the town, San Martin, on November 3. All four schools in the town also recently organized a celebration for the Day of Guerrero, our state day. These festivities are full of music, dance, food and traditions that are passed down from generation to generation.

If you have been to Mexico you likely know that these types of celebrations are usually held at a central plaza, or zocalo. In Juluchuca, we don’t have that central community space where we can come together as a town…YET. In response to this need, the Juluchuca Plaza Project was born.

In September 2018, a group of Juluchucans in the US, most of whom live in Portland, Oregon, raised money for the initial building phase of the project. With their donation, we were able to clear the space for the plaza and build the overarching structure.

Since then, however, funding has run out for the project. Juluchuca is a vibrant community, but without a central space for all residents to enjoy, it is harder to come together for celebrations and meetings. The unfinished plaza has also become an eyesore in town and is a project residents wish to finish as soon as possible.

With the support of Playa Viva’s international community, we are hoping to raise enough money to finish the Juluchuca Plaza. So far we have raised $650. We hope to reach our $2000 goal to complete the project, and make sure Juluchucans can celebrate the next holiday season in the new zocalo.

The plaza will benefit the entire community – it will be a space to host school productions and weddings, traditional festivals and town hall meetings; it is where people will sit to enjoy ice cream on a hot day or where kids will get together to play on the swing set we hope to install.

In October of this year we started a GoFundMe campaign to facilitate raising money for the project. If you would like to contribute, please follow this link. If you would like to find out other ways to get involved in the project, you can always email Colleen Fugate at colleen@playaviva.com.

On behalf of all of Juluchuca, thank you for your support!

A Season of Impact at Playa Viva

Playa Viva’s Season 10 Social Impact

As 2019 comes to a close, it is a wonderful time for all of us to reflect on the past year and Season 10 of Playa Viva. We want to take the chance to share with you some of our key achievements in the community in 2019 and thank you for being part of these programs, for your continued support, and for helping to make Playa Viva much more than a hotel.

As the Social and Environmental Impact Manager at Playa Viva, my job is to work alongside local leaders to design programs targeted at education, health, and economic empowerment, ensuring that Playa Viva is truly having a positive community impact. This also includes overseeing our work with La Tortuga Viva, the local sea turtle sanctuary, making sure that we are the most effective conservationists that we can be.

Read Playa Viva’s Full 2019 Social Impact Report

What did we do in 2019? I encourage you to read the full Social Impact Report for Season 10, but here are some of our key accomplishments we would like to highlight:

In Season 10, we were thrilled to provide English classes to over 120 children and teenagers, collectively receiving over 350 hours of English classes. This involvement in the schools inspired our current Programa Adoptar un Estudiante, to help kids in need to stay in school.

We formed Juluchuca’s first youth soccer team! With two co-ed teams comprised of 25+ kids, together they played in 16 games and had practice three times a week throughout 2019. A big thank you to Ariel and Johnny for being the teams’ dedicated coaches.

With La Tortuga Viva, we released 87,200 sea turtles in 2018 alone. We were also able to build an entirely new sanctuary with the support of 109 World. To support our conservation initiatives, we began the Adopt a Nest Program to allow guests to give the gift of a sea turtle nest while providing much needed funding to La Tortuga Viva.

Through our Juluchuca Limpio Project, we successfully recycled over 675 kilos of plastic from our community. Our goal for 2020 is to reduce our plastic consumption while still recycling the plastic that we do consume as a community.

Juluchuca hosted its first spay and neuter campaign. Over the course of two days, we sterilized 113 dogs and cats and raised awareness about animal welfare in our community. Our GoFundMe campaign is live for our next spay and neuter clinic which we hope to host in March 2020.

In November 2018, we completed three environmental murals outside the Juluchuca elementary school. We hope to continue to unite and beautify our community in Season 11 through additional murals and by finishing the town plaza.

These programs are funded by the generosity of the Playa Viva community. I encourage you to read more about these programs either in the report or in the stories we are sharing this month. Progress and change takes time, but our hope is that together we can regenerate our communities to become examples of rural development and empowerment in the Costa Grande Region.

Happy Holidays to everyone in the Playa Viva community, and I look forward to 2020 and making even more impact together!

Adopt A Nest and Help Save Sea Turtles

Update: Dec 2019 – We Love Early Adopters!

Adopting a nest is the best way to support our turtle sanctuary, and your giving makes a huge difference this holiday season! The program is officially a hit! Thank you for helping us surpass our goal of 50 adopted nests for 2019, and we are looking forward to doing even more in 2020.

Our volunteer team safely released 87,200 sea turtles last year alone.

2 Ways to Adopt A Nest:

1) Make any donation of $40 or more through our partnership the Ocean Foundation and we will contact you

2) Email Volunteer Coordinator Lorenzo Locci at lorenzo@playaviva.com

Join The Early Adopters For 2020:

Cost: $40 = 1 Nest
You’ll receive a Nest Adoption Certificate and info about your nest.
Receive photos of the newly hatched baby turtles when we release them!
All funds go directly toward our conservation activities.

Adopting a nest for a friend or family member makes a great gift and allows the volunteers of La Tortuga Viva to continue to do their important marine conservation work. Please consider a donation or email Lorenzo for more information.

Lorenzo explains what adopting a nest means:

Your gift helps the 14 local volunteers collect sea turtle eggs, relocate them into the sanctuary, protect them during the incubation period and, finally, safely release the hatchlings into the ocean. All generated funds go directly toward the equipment and materials required to run our sanctuary.

Adopt A Nest for the Upcoming Season (Published Aug 2019)

Click here to email Colleen to Adopt A Nest for $40

After experiencing the beauty of a sunrise turtle release at Playa Viva, you may find yourself asking how you can support the work of La Tortuga Viva, our local sea turtle conservation project. Run completely on guest donations and a team of 14 local volunteers, La Tortuga Viva releases upwards of 50,000 baby sea turtles each year. This past season, some of those hatchlings were released in the name of Playa Viva guests, family members or friends, thanks to our new Adopt a Nest Program.

By adopting a nest, you become an active participant in our conservation story. Your nest will be marked with a placard with either your name or the name of the person on behalf of whom you adopted the nest. We will send you an email certificate of adoption with information about the number of eggs in the nest, date of relocation, and species of sea turtle. When the turtles hatch, you will get another email detailing how many made it to the ocean along with a photo.

At a cost of $40 per nest, in Season 10 at Playa Viva we were able to raise $1400 for La Tortuga Viva through this new program. This additional funding supports environmental education initiatives with kids in our community and helps cover some of the operating costs of La Tortuga Viva. For this upcoming Season 11, our goal is to have 50 nest adoptions, up from 35 the year before.

Protected nests at La Tortuga Viva sanctuary. Help sponsor this work by Adopting a Nest!

Adopting a nest for a friend or family member makes a great gift and allows the volunteers of La Tortuga Viva to continue to do their important marine conservation work. If you would like to donate, simply email Colleen at colleen@playaviva.com.

The Secret Lives of Pets in Juluchuca

Update: Dec 2019 – A Lasting Gift to the Community

In May our first spay and neuter clinic was a huge success.

We surpassed $3,500 in funds raised, and brought a group of volunteer veterinarians to Juluchuca where they performed 113 successful surgeries, and activated a new generation of animal advocates through a new local youth education group Los Amigos de los Animales.

From similar campaigns in other areas we know the magic number to see a real reduction in the unwanted pet population and break the cycle of kittens and puppies are born into a life of suffering is to have three consecutive sterilization clinics within two years.

So we know that we need at least 3 clinics to make a generational impact. Our next goal is to raise another $3500 to fund 100+ sterilizations in our 2nd clinic, scheduled for March 2019. Thank you all for your generous support, at this season of giving and throughout the year!

To contribute to this lasting gift, please follow this link to our GoFundMe page.

Update: June 2019 – Thank You For Your Support!

To all that have donated – thank you! We are thrilled to announce that we have surpassed our fundraising goal for Juluchuca’s first spay and neuter campaign. With over $3,700 in funding, we can now ensure that no animal will be turned away from the clinic on June 8th and 9th.

Playa Viva volunteers have spent five weeks leading animal welfare classes in the schools and canvassing Juluchuca with a group of youth dedicated to the cause – Los Amigos de los Animales. Together, they have now registered over 100 animals for the upcoming clinic. Our original goal was 80, so your generosity has translated directly into a larger impact at this first clinic.

That’s right, we said FIRST clinic. There will be follow-up clinics to come. Our GoFundMe campaign is still active for those who wish to contribute. Any additional money raised will be saved for follow-up clinics over the course of the next two years. It has been shown in neighboring towns that three consecutive sterilization clinics are necessary to have a long term impact in reducing dog and cat populations. Please consider supporting this multifaceted program either by donating or by sharing this link.

We would also like to give special thanks to Rosanna Tavarez, a Playa Viva guest, and yoga instructor in California, Rosanna held a donation-based yoga class and a raffle that together raised $900 for the clinic. The support of Rosanna and her community was an inspiration to us all and led directly to us sterilizing an additional 25 animals next weekend.

Help Juluchucans make real impact on animal welfare in their community today! (Published May 2019)

You may know “The Secret Lives of Pets” as a happy kids movie with a sequel coming out summer 2019. The movie imagines the unseen daily life of pets which are beloved and celebrated members of the family.

But in many parts of the world, the REAL secret in the lives of pets, and especially stray animals, is that they lead a difficult and unfortunate existence suffering harsh conditions and mistreatment. Spaying and neutering of animals is often too expensive or not available, and with animal populations uncontrolled, street cats and dogs reproduce quickly and are often seen as pests. When a beloved family pet becomes sick, families without money for treatment have no option but to abandon the animal, leaving them to suffer on the streets.

we are raising a new generation of animal advocates in Juluchuca

The repercussions from not sterilizing pets is staggering: just 1 female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000 dogs in only 6 years. Sterilization programs are the only sustainable answer to solve the animal welfare issues caused by unwanted litters.

Here in Juluchuca many residents wish they could do something about stray animal starvation, suffering and overpopulation, but don’t have the funds to properly address the issue. Playa Viva’s environmental impact team, spearheaded by Valentine Reiss-Woolever, has connected with Playa Viva guest Nikki Borodi to launch a series of initiatives to help the community reach their goal.

For a donation of as little as $30, you can make a significant contribution towards breaking the cycle of suffering for these animals

Our first spay and neuter event will be held June 7th. As of early May 2019, we have already raised over $2,400 towards our goal of $3,000. This is the cost to bring in a local team of 6 veterinarians to conduct spay and neuter programs in Juluchuca and surrounding villages. Please help us reach that goal, it will be one of the most impactful ways you can help animals in the local community. With your help we can sterilize over 80 dogs and cats in one weekend. For a donation of as little as $30, you can make a significant contribution towards breaking this cycle of suffering for these animals by spaying or neutering a street dog or cat.

we are offering educational classes on animal welfare targeted at local school children in the community.

https://www.gofundme.com/juluchuca039s-first-spay-and-neuter-campaign

This campaign will not only help us curb our pet population problem, but it’s also a fantastic opportunity to work with local residents to raise awareness about animal wellbeing. In April, May and early June we are offering educational classes on animal welfare targeted at local school children in the community. After their training, they go door-to-door with our international volunteers to spread the word about animal welfare and the upcoming sterilization event. In addition financial support, Valentine, Nikki, and the Playa Viva community including Radiant Spiral Retreats are committing their time and hard work to making this event a success.

Through this work, we are raising a new generation of animal advocates and creating a community movement around animal activism in Juluchuca. If you would like to support our efforts, please follow this link to contribute to our campaign or contact us directly to find out how to get involved through your next stay at Playa Viva. Thank you for your support!

https://www.gofundme.com/juluchuca039s-first-spay-and-neuter-campaign

About Nikki Borodi:

Nikki came to Playa Viva first to lead a yoga retreat at Playa Viva. As a lifelong animal advocate with Rocket Dog Foundation, she leapt at the chance to meet some local residents, and learn more about the animal welfare issues facing the community. Working closely with Valentine, Nikki helped with a full weekend of puppy bathing, deticking, and vet visits, and gained a deeper understanding of how to run a targeted campaign for animal welfare and sterilization in Juluchuca. From there she began taking an active role in our campaign after her first-hand experience working with animals in Juluchuca. Through an act of passion and luck, Nikki was able to facilitate the transfer of four homeless puppies to the United States.

In her words:

“It has been an incredible gift to support Playa Viva’s mission to improve the lives of animals and people in Juluchuca. I went to Playa Viva with the intention of having a relaxing yoga get-away, but got so much more than just a beautiful private beach. Unexpectedly, I was able to transport four puppies out of a life in the streets of Juluchuca… After coming home, I’ve continued to work alongside the team at Playa Viva and am honored to help foster a happier and healthier community for all species.”

About Valentine Reiss-Woolever:

Valentine serves as the La Tortuga Viva Sea Turtle Sanctuary Coordinator in addition to working on environmental education programs in Juluchuca. She grew up in Dusseldorf, Germany.