Root yourself in living knowledge
Two-week immersive residencies in regenerative agriculture, permaculture, herbalism and green building, on 108 acres of Pacific coastline in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
COHORT ONE
JAN 2027
January 11 to the 24th, 2027
COHORT TWO
FEB 2027
February 15 to the 28th, 2027.
COHORT THREE
APR 2027
April 12 to the 25th, 2027.
EQUINOX FESTIVAL
MAR 2027
March 15 to the 21th, 2027.
Where hands in the soil become the curriculum
Eterna is a regenerative land project on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica in the Guanacaste region, El Corazón is its cultural and hospitality heart. It is where the village opens outward: residencies, gatherings, dinners, concerts and the farm school. It exists to bring people onto the land and send them home able to do something they could not do before.
Starting January 2027, El Corazón opens three two-week residency cohorts to anyone drawn to living in community and learning the skills to regenerate land. Each welcomes up to 60 participants into a thriving food forest, a short walk from the beach.
What you will learn
Each residency weaves interconnected disciplines through fourteen days,
delivered by rotating guest faculty and daily hands-on practice on working land.
01
Regenerative agriculture
The foundation, working with the soil and learning to bring it to life so you can grow food.
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Soil biology, the soil food web, and what healthy tropical soil looks and smells like
Composting, including hot compost, vermiculture and on-farm inputs
Raised bed construction and bed preparation
Swale design, contour reading and water harvesting
Irrigation design and dry-season water management
Seed starting, propagation and nursery management
Crop planning and succession in a tropical climate
02
Permaculture and ecological design
The framework. How to see a landscape, understand what it is doing, and design with nature rather than against it.
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Permaculture ethics and design principles
Site observation and analysis, taught on Eterna’s own land
Zone and sector planning
Food forest design and the seven layers
Orchard design, tropical fruit tree selection and guild planting
Water in the landscape
Herbalism
03
The practice. Growing, harvesting and processing medicine, and understanding the plants you work with.
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Identification of local and regionally important medicinal plants
Traditional plant knowledge, including the local Costa Rican tradition
Planting and tending a medicinal garden
Harvest timing, drying and storage
Tinctures, infusions, oils, salves and teas, made in the residency apothecary
Building a home apothecary
Ethics of wildcrafting and plant relationship
04
Green Building
The shelter. Learn to build with local, low-impact materials using sustainable principles that can be adapted to different environments.
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Natural building principles and site selection in the tropics
Earthen materials: cob, adobe and earthen plasters
Bamboo harvesting, treatment and construction
Passive cooling, airflow and roof design for heat
Rainwater catchment and greywater systems
Composting toilets and closed-loop sanitation
A hands-on build on a working structure at Eterna
| Time | Block | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 07:00 | Land and body | Sunrise movement, meditation, yoga or breathwork |
| 08:30 | Breakfast | Communal, farm to table |
| 10:00 | Hands-on learning | The day's primary agricultural or herbalism work, in rotating groups, led by the week's guest teacher and farm staff |
| 12:00 | Lunch and rest | The main meal, then the hottest part of the afternoon |
| 14:00 | Workshops | Design sessions, herbal processing, theory, guest lectures, small-group work |
| 17:00 | Open | Beach, swim, shower, free time |
| 18:30 | Dinner | Communal |
| 20:00 | Community | Fire circles, stargazing, storytelling, music, film nights. Some evenings are simply quiet |
The shape of the day
Meet the Faculty
Meet the people who bring years of experience, wisdom, and hands-on knowledge to guide your journey into regenerative living.
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Guest faculty, Cohort one and two
Stephen Brooks has spent more than three decades building permaculture and regenerative communities in Costa Rica. In 1997 he founded Punta Mona, a Caribbean coast farm and education center with more than 300 varieties of tropical fruit and nut trees and over 150 medicinal plants, and in 2001 hosted the first Permaculture Design Course held in Costa Rica. He went on to co-found La Ecovilla, a 45-home community in San Mateo, and to found Envision Festival. Eterna, and El Corazón within it, is his largest regeneration project to date.
Stephen Brooks
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Guest faculty, Cohort one and two
Penny Livingston MSc is an internationally recognized as a prominent permaculture teacher, designer, practitioner and speaker. She holds a MSc in Eco-Social Regeneration and a Diploma in Permaculture Design. Penny is a graduate of the Arven School of Herbal Medicine in Germany and holds diplomas in permaculture design and education through Permaculture Institute of North America and Permaculture Institute USA.
Penny has been teaching permaculture and community resiliency internationally as well as working professionally in the land management, regenerative design, and permaculture development field for over 30 years. She has extensive experience in all phases of ecologically sound design and construction as well as the use of natural non-toxic building materials.
She is currently serving as a supervisor board member of the Whidbey Island Conservation District. She also sits on the board of Sweet Child Peru.
Penny is currently working at a Permaculture Instructor with Ecoversity.
Penny Livingston
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Guest faculty, Cohort One
Rosemary Gladstar is widely known as the godmother of modern American herbalism. In 1978 she founded the California School of Herbal Studies, the oldest running herb school in the United States. She later co-founded Sage Mountain Herbal Retreat Center and Botanical Sanctuary in Vermont, founded United Plant Savers to protect at-risk medicinal plants, and started the International Herb Symposium. She is the author of more than a dozen books on herbal medicine, and her home study course has trained students around the world. She holds an honorary doctorate from the National University of Natural Medicine.
Rosemary Gladstar Guest teacher
Miguel Elliott Guest teacher
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Guest faculty, Cohort Two
Miguel Elliott, aka “Sir Cobalot” has been actively building with cob for the past 30 years. He operated his business/service Living Earth Structures in Sonoma County CA where he had built countless ovens, benches, cobins and other earthen structures, often through workshops. His signature design is the “Palletable Cobin” which is a shortcut method of framing a structure with pallets and covering it in an earthen plaster. He currently lives at the Cob Cottage Company in Oregon where he is helping to revive what was the North American School for Natural Building. He has numerous videos on his Instagram channel @ Sir Cobalot
Discover the Cohorts
Three intimate residency journeys rooted in regenerative living.
108 acres, one kilometer of coastline
Nestled amidst rolling hills with ocean sunset views, along one of Costa Rica’s most pristine white sand beaches, five minutes’ walk from the village of San Juanillo.
Guanacaste’s coastal zone is tropical dry forest, one of the most threatened forest types in the Americas. The property is surrounded by pristine creeks, lush jungle and abundant wildlife, and sits inside a Blue Zone, one of the few regions in the world where people live measurably longer and healthier lives.
Where you sleep
The program fee covers the residency. Accommodation is chosen separately.
Furnished glamping units on the property, a short walk from the teaching spaces and the kitchen.
Shared triple, shared double or single occupancy. Electricity in every unit. Bathrooms and showers are shared across the site. Linens and servicing included.
Glamping at El Corazón
Set your own tent up where you feel called, with access to showers, bathrooms and all common spaces.
Bring your own tent
We have reserved a block of ten rooms at Buddha Retreat Hotel in San Juanillo village, a short walk from El Corazón. You book one through us as an add-on at registration and you will find the rate during booking. Terrace and sitting area, air conditioning, pool views, outdoor pool, on-site restaurant and bar, free wifi and parking, 24-hour reception and beach access. Ten rooms only, first come first served.
Buddha Retreat Hotel
Prefer a hotel room, a private bathroom, air conditioning, or simply your own space? Book your own accommodation in San Juanillo or nearby and attend as a day participant. You pay the program fee only, and you are responsible for your own lodging fee and your own transport to and from El Corazón each day. All three meals a day are still included.
Book your own lodging
Three meals a day, from the farm
Three meals daily, prepared on site, built around what the farm produces. Farm-to-table food using produce from the land and sourced locally for everything else. Healthy, nourishing meals shared together, highlighting the diverse crops grown at Eterna.
Who this is for
This residency is designed for
People who want to grow food and medicine on land they own, rent, or intend to acquire, and who want practice rather than theory.
Career changers moving toward regenerative agriculture, land stewardship, herbalism or ecological design.
Homesteaders, market gardeners and small farmers wanting more experience.
Herbalists and plant medicine practitioners wanting hands-on time growing and processing herbs.
Designers, builders and planners who want to see a working eco-village at scale.
Graduates of ecological and regenerative design programs looking for a field immersion.
High school graduates and college students seeking an alternative education experience.
There is no minimum or maximum age.
Families are welcome and all age ranges are welcome.
All three cohorts are open for registration now.
Each takes up to 60 participants and fills in the order bookings arrive.
Dates & investment
COHORT ONE
Permaculture
and Herbalism
January 11 to the 24th, 2027
JAN 2027
STATUS: OPEN
Permaculture and
Green Building
COHORT TWO
FEB 2027
February 15 to the 28th, 2027.
STATUS: OPEN
COHORT THREE
Theme to
be announced
APR 2027
April 12 to the 25th, 2027.
STATUS: OPEN
You pay one program fee, then choose where you sleep.
What's not included in the program fee:
Accommodation, which is chosen separately
Flights, and ground transfer to and from the airport
Off-property activities and their transport
Travel insurance
Personal spending
Come and put your hands in the soil
Three cohorts. Fourteen days each. Up to 60 people who want the same thing you do.
Questions before you book? Write to production@eterna.earth. We would rather answer a long list of questions than have someone arrive expecting something different.
Questions
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No. The residency is built for complete beginners and for people who already work land, and the faculty teach to both.
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Yes. There is no minimum or maximum age and families are welcome. Tell us who is coming when you book so we can plan accommodation and food.
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Reasonable mobility and a willingness to work outdoors in tropical heat for several hours a day.
Nothing beyond that.
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Furnished glamping units on the property with electricity, or your own tent, or a room at Buddha
Retreat Hotel in the village. Bathrooms and showers at El Corazón are shared across the site.
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Tell us at booking and we will do our best to accommodate.
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Yes. Tap water is potable on site. Bring a refillable bottle.
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January through April is Guanacaste’s dry season. Hot, sunny days, very little rain, and cooler evenings.
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High-speed wifi covers the site. There is no ATM in San Juanillo, so draw cash at the airport.
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Yes. Book your own lodging and attend as a day participant. You pay the program fee only, and all three meals a day are still included.
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More than 90 days before arrival, a full refund less a $150 administration fee. Between 60 and 90 days, a 50 percent refund or full credit toward another 2027 cohort. Fewer than 60 days, no refund, with one transfer to another 2027 cohort permitted subject to availability. If we cancel a cohort, everything you have paid is refunded.
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Yes. A one-week extension at La Huerta, our sister farm, can be arranged. Ask us before you book your flights.
And in March,
Seven days at El Corazón in March, open to a much wider community than the residency cohorts: music, food, ceremony, land-based workshops, and the people of Eterna and San Juanillo.
The Equinox Festival is a gathering, not a residency. Program, pricing and registration are announced separately.
Join the list to hear first
El Corazón at Eterna · San Juanillo · Guanacaste · Costa Rica
El Corazón Residencies
production@eterna.earth · eterna.earth