The story of this lodge cannot be told without the seven neighboring villages within five miles. This page is the partnership map: who we work with, on what, and how to participate.
The map opposite shows the lodge plus the seven communities we partner with — Santa Elena, San Luis, Cerro Plano, Los Llanos, La Cruz, Cañitas, and Tigra. Click any pin to read a partnership story.
Each partnership has a named leader on our side and a named leader in the village. We meet quarterly.
We pay 22% above market for every bag we serve. Their cherries are picked, milled, and roasted within 6 miles of the lodge. Diego hosts our coffee tours.
Every booking funds $22 to the Santa Elena school's hot-lunch program — currently feeds 240 children daily. Our chef reviews the menu monthly.
We are the largest funder of the league's native-tree nursery. They've planted over 24,000 trees across the seven villages since 2014. Most of our guest tree-plantings happen here.
14 textile-and-ceramics artisans whose work fills our rooms — every blanket, mug, and basket. Direct purchases at fair-trade prices, no resellers.
Eight family farmers who supply 60% of our produce. Crop planning is done together so they're never stuck with surplus.
Six youth from Tigra are paid year-round to maintain our seven private trails. Doubles as a 4-year nature-guide apprenticeship pipeline.
Are you a craftsperson, farmer, cook, naturalist, or storyteller in one of the seven villages? We're always looking for new guest experiences led by people who live here.
What you'd teach, where, how long, group size. Spanish or English.
One staff and 4–6 guests at no charge. Honest feedback to refine.
Listed on tours.html and front-desk. We market and book; you host.
How a steady contract with a single buyer let us hire neighbors and move from cherry-export to vertically-integrated roasting.
The 4-year naturalist apprenticeship that turned a Tigra teenager into the lodge's lead night-hike guide.
From selling to tourists at the Santa Elena market to a four-figure monthly contract — and what the steady income changed.