There are many ways to experience Playa Viva… You will get out of it what you put into it. What aspects move you and how deep do you want to go? There is so much opportunity, and so much need. We have so much to give. Here is a story of a guest inspired by a visit to the school children of Juluchuca, and giving back with her unique gifts. Read more about the opportunities and needs of the school children of Juluchuca from Education Volunteer ArielArguedas Fernandez.
Molly Stevens here. First, thank you for such a lovely place to sit, breathe and grow. We have been at Playa Viva since Monday and we love it. Everyone is so kind. Ashlee and I are forever grateful for this place. I’m a musician out of Nashville TN and I went over to the local school to play some music for the kids and just wanted to share. It’s been the highlight of my time here. If there is ever a way I can continue to help all of you please let me know.
I wanted to leave my guitar here for all of you. I bought this on an excursion with Johnny the other day. I intentionally left my guitar back home to detach from work. But music is healing and inside me and all around me and I found myself searching for it yet again. This guitar over the past week here at Playa Viva has helped heal some broken pieces to my soul. It’s helped me navigate through feelings and emotions I didn’t even know I had. It belongs here. With all of you. With the children in the schools. With nature. With other guests. With the staff. Continue creating beautiful melodies and memories and know that I’m forever grateful for this life changing experience. Be well. And thank you. Sending love and light to all of you.
-Molly Stevens
Inspiring school children and being inspired in Juluchuca
Thank you Molly, for sharing how Playa Viva, the place, the team and the community has touched you. Your guitar will remain here as La Guitarra Viva and we all hope to see you back at Playa Viva soon!
When you arrive to Playa Viva take a minute to settle in and enjoy the calmness that envelops the landscape. Connect with the land. Take notice of the elements – wind, water, earth – as you move around the property. You will feel a sense of place. To get an even deeper connection with the land, sign up for our Permaculture Farm Tour with our permaculture manager Amanda Harris. This free excursion is quickly becoming one of our most popular activities!
We recommend it after breakfast to help you digest, and most importantly, to beat the heat. The walk is most comfortable if you reserve two hours for the experience – where we encourage you to get inquisitive, pick fresh vegetables and greens from the huerto, chat with our resident goats, and enjoy a breezy ride back to the hotel in the farm truck.
Riding the Farm Truck
Departing from the hotel we make our first stop in “Zone One” with a visit to the kitchen garden and chicken coop.
“Zone Two” begins under the canopy of a bamboo forest and is regularly a favorite stop of most guests as we evaluate why bamboo was introduced in this location specifically, what it is used for at Playa Viva, and how it is strategically harvested in accordance with the moon.
The next stretch of the recorrido is a nice place to walk quietly, reflecting on what you’ve experienced so far and observing nature’s patterns – which serve as the primary teacher for all our forest garden designs. You get your first sneak peak of the watershed restoration work as you cross a coconut bridge above a stretch of the lagoon, and you’ll hear the crunch of seed pods under your feet as stroll through the secondary forest along our property line. Depending on the season you’ll pass fruiting cashew, mango, ciruela or achiote trees, and if you’re willing, Amanda will for certain offer you a termite or two to taste. Be sure to tell us what flavors you notice in this protein-rich forest snack!
This free excursion is quickly becoming one of our most popular activities!
The Permaculture Farm Tour has something for every guest, from kids to adults, whether it’s your first time at Playa Viva or your 10th! Even if you’ve walked the property before, you are sure to see something new. It is a particularly great opportunity for those interested in learning regenerative methods of food production and landscape reforestation at any level or land size. Amanda will share her expertise and the history of Playa Viva’s land, the work of previous designers who helped to reestablish the watershed and landscape, and the plans for reforestation, community engagement and food system development in Playa Viva’s next decade. You’ll see the resort and surrounding property in a whole new light, and leave with a deeper understanding of the interconnectivity of nature’s different systems, and a deeper connection to the place.
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.
Tourism, Playa Viva style, is a force for positive impact and change.
What is the proper role of Playa Viva in that change? What are the most effective processes to create impact? We are always learning and improving our understanding of how to positively impact our community.
In May of 2019, I was invited to participate in a strategic planning session in the nearby community of Barra de Potosi by invitation of NGO Ballenas de Guerrero. Participants included NGOs such as EDF in Mexico y Niparaja from Cabo and members of the local community, fishermen, artists, tourism guides, hoteliers and more.
Some of the participants:
A few key lessons learned:
One of the most effective forms of learning is cultural exchanges
Fishermen from our local area had visited fishermen in Cabo Pulmo (East Cape of Cabo San Lucas in Baja California). When local fishermen saw, with their own eyes, heard directly from the local fishermen and experienced the results accomplished by fishermen in Cabo Pulmo, they could NOT dispute that they too could accomplish the same results. We will do all we can at Playa Viva to bring community leaders from Juluchuca and nearby communities to go to visit other communities who are experiencing success in areas of improving education, community engagement, sustainable fisheries, sustainable tourism, cleaning up their environment, living healthier lives, etc. Whatever interest them as a community, we will do our best to support them in engaging in cultural exchanges so they too can see with their own eyes, hear for themselves and experience that positive impact is more than just possible but exists in communities like theirs all over Mexico.
Sustainable fisheries are possible
While this might be an oversimplification of a long and arduous process, the stakeholders involved need to take a few key steps to make sustainable fisheries a reality. Fishermen in a community need to unite and agree to take action, at least a super majority, as you will always have a few naysayers (who will block anything and everything for their own selfish purposes). The fishermen need to get together and agree on which locations are key areas to protect. As more experienced voices told us, the fishermen know which areas there are, they can sit down as a group, circle them on a map. Then they need to set these areas up as marine protected areas (MAP’s). Fishermen will fish right up to the edges of these zones but at least they will be protected. Protection is key and work with local authorities (of all types) to insure these “no-take” zones are respected. Then teach the fishermen how to SCUBA dive so they can go down and do the counts of fish and, again, see for themselves, the positive results of such MAPs and no-take zones. Then they need to evaluate those zones on a regular (annual) basis and agree which need continued, expanded or cancelled protection. Finally, hoteliers, restaurants and retailers of fish need to be involved in the process to understand the reasons, process and eventual positive results for them and their customers.
Playa Viva’s Role
Cultural exchanges and iterative development with stakeholder engagement across the entire ecosystem is the same process whether we are talking about fish and fishing, tours and eco-tourism, spay and neuter programs, waste management and recycling programs and on and on. The process can be applied to bring about any type of change. Yet, what is Playa Viva’s role in being part of this change? We are not going to do it for anyone (other than ourselves), however we are a key stakeholder in the community and can bring several assets to being part of this change. We have access to social, intellection and a bit of financial capital which we can make available to the community as we work hand-in-hand, jointly, to attain the goals which the community aspires to achieve. We are lucky to have guests who visit us with so much of all these types of capital and Playa Viva becomes a leverage point to allow the local community to achieve more because they have access to know-how and other resources they might normally not have available to them.
Colleen Fugate, Social and Environmental Impact Manager at Playa VivaAmanda Harris – Permaculture Manager at Playa Viva
Specifically, we have two great resources available to their disposal: Colleen Fugate, Social and Environmental Impact Manager and Amanda Harris, Permaculture Manager. In addition, Playa Viva attracts volunteers from all over the world who come to contribute their small part to the local community and ecosystem.
Playa Viva, through its EcoLuxury Hotel, attracts hundreds of guests a year. Guests are invited to engage in the local landscape and go visit the local community, engage with the volunteers and meet the locals. These guests likewise contribute their small part to the local community and ecosystem. Tourism, Playa Viva style, is a force for positive impact and change.
Ariel Arguedas Fernandez grew up in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. He is an educator, dreamer, and avid nature lover. He has been volunteering with Playa Viva since October 2018.
Last September I arrived to the small, colorful town of Juluchuca, where farm animals roam free and the kids tackle you with hugs. As an English teacher coming from Spain, I was eager to get involved in the schools in my new home. Little did I know that teaching English would transform into something much bigger than language lessons, opening the door to connect, explore and reflect on what education is really all about.
Playa Viva’s investment in education has served to create a renewed relationship with the community
The Juluchuca Education Project arose from the voices of the community, who recognized the importance of preparing children for what increasingly feels to be an uncertain future. Playa Viva’s 2018 Social Impact Report reflected this sentiment, demonstrating the need for more Playa Viva involvement in the schools and the community.
We decided to start the education project by incorporating English classes in the community. There are four schools in Juluchuca: kindergarten, elementary school, middle school and high school. Currently, the majority of my time and energy focuses on the elementary school, comprised of 60 students who are divided into three classes.
Most mornings I am greeted by my students on their morning commute. “Ariel! Ariel!” they always shout at the top of their lungs. Approaching the primaria, you can hear the sound that reverberates through all schools around the world: the murmur and bustle of children. There are several tamarind trees that frame the entrance and I often watch as the kids entertain themselves by hanging on their branches in search of fruit. Others are immersed in competitive games of marbles or organizing foot races on the cracked cement. In the distance, the sun is often just breaking through the mountains when I walk through the main gate and begin the school day.
I go to the elementary school to teach English three times a week, from 8am to 12:30pm, spending one hour with each class. I prepare the lessons over the weekend, knowing that the likelihood of following the plan is minimal, and the space for improvisation is large. Classes are bustling and often chaotic. Many children are on track with their studies, while others have fallen far behind. Most of those who are struggling in school experience challenging home environments, which makes it difficult for them to achieve academically. For some of these children, this will be their only educational experience, as many do not have the economic means to go to secondary school or they have fallen too far behind.
Education in Rural Mexico
In Mexico, schooling is compulsory until the end of high school. However, in many rural communities like Juluchuca, there is a large number of children who drop out of school when they finish primary school. This is due to a number of factors. Some kids do not want to continue studying, while others start working at a young age or their families are no longer able to pay school fees.
In the primary school, the approximate expenses per student are around 1000 pesos per year (50 US dollars). For the secondary school, it is about 2000 pesos (100 US dollars). For both schools, this includes registration, school supplies, uniforms and school collaborations. For many families, in which at least one of the parents has a stable job, this amount of money does not represent a problem. However, in more unstable family situations, paying that amount of money can be complicated, especially considering that in most cases there is more than one child per family.
I always say that every day is an emotional roller coaster. There are moments of joy, sadness, frustration and inspiration. Sometimes, submerged in the routine of my day to day life in Juluchuca, I find it hard to see the impact of the work being done. The only thing I really know with certainty is that I feel very grateful for being able to do what I do.
teaching English would transform into something much bigger than language lessons
When I arrived to Mexico, I identified as an English teacher, yet now that label feels incomplete. It is true that most of my work revolves around English, but every time I feel more clearly that English is a vehicle in which we travel together, allowing us to learn about life and ourselves. In this vehicle we forge connections and bonds, learning to be vulnerable, how to listen, and what we have in common.
In English classes, we have addressed topics ranging from environmental problems to gender roles. We have talked about geography and nature and learned to play collaborative rather than competitive games. Oftentimes grammar lessons turn into philosophical discussions or workshops on emotional awareness and communication where we talk about what we can do to be better human beings.
While I initially felt uncomfortable abandoning the lesson to explore some of these vital issues, over time I have realized the importance of slowing down, reflecting, and questioning. What is really important in life? What are we educating for? Oftentimes these questions go unasked in conventional schooling environments.
Juluchuca, where farm animals roam free and the kids tackle you with hugs
For me, the answer is always the same: the purpose of education is to instill the importance of love, human relationships, and our interaction with the environment. If a class in English, Math, or History is not open to incorporating those elements, it may lack essence and meaning.
In Juluchuca, it all started with English class. From there, the roots of our efforts expanded and interlaced. We have come a long way since we started in October 2018. Many volunteers have supported the education project, incorporating yoga, crafts, art, marine biology and conservation science. We had the opportunity to see humpback whales and spotted dolphins in the open ocean with the NGO Ballenas de Guerrero. With the support of Johnny and Playa Viva, we were able to create a youth soccer team, incorporating over 35 kids from the community, and a week ago, the children scored their first official league goal.
Playa Viva’s investment in education has served to create a renewed relationship with the community. The primary school students have visited the hotel on several occasions, including Earth Day, when we cleaned up the beach and ended the day with games in the sand and water.
The exchange goes both ways: Playa Viva guests have also visited the schools, sharing their talents as musicians, yoga instructors or photographers. Others come into town for recess to play “cops and robbers.” Through these excursions and exchanges, the community of Juluchuca is beginning to understand why we say that Playa Viva is much more than just a hotel.
Learning English is very important. It is a tool that can open many doors. What I never imagined is that English could be a seed which contains the possibility of a new world. By having a constant presence in the schools of Juluchuca, we can know in greater depth the needs of the community and the initiatives that they want to carry out. After all, education does not only involve children. It takes a whole village, with education as our shared path toward a thriving, collective future.
Ariel Arguedas Fernandez grew up in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. He is an educator, dreamer, and avid nature lover. He has been volunteering with Playa Viva since October 2018.
Juan Carlos Solís, affectionately known as Johnny, has been part of the Playa Viva team almost since inception in 2009. Known for his big smile and infectious laugh, Johnny always seems to be on the move, whether at Playa Viva or in his hometown of Juluchuca. From creative mixologist to excursions leader extraordinaire to budding entrepreneur, Johnny somehow finds time for it all – work, community, family and friends.
The story of how Johnny first got his job at Playa Viva is iconic. “When I first got back to Mexico, I wasn’t sure where I was going to get a job,” explains Johnny. “I had been bugging a friend who worked at Playa Viva to see if he could get me a job there. He said there were no openings. Then one day I was outside working on my truck, covered in sweat and grease, when I saw David, the owner of Playa Viva driving by on his way to Playa Viva. I stopped him and said, “Hey! When are you going to give me a job?’ He looked at me and said, ‘Who are you?’ I told him I was Johnny and I wanted to work for him. A few days later, I came in for an interview and started part time at Playa Viva and then full time and it’s been 10 years.”
As of April of 2019, Johnny is no longer working for Playa Viva. He is working for himself.
Playa Viva sees its support of Johnny as part of its core values and mission to promote economic development in the community. “The goal of Playa Viva has never been to own the horses for horseback riding excursion but to partner with local entrepreneurs who can make more money renting horses for an hour than they can in a day of farming or ranching, thus proving how sustainable tourism can be lucrative for the local community and economy,” said David Leventhal, founder of Playa Viva, “by supporting Johnny in spinning off his own excursions and transportation company, we are accomplishing that mission for Playa Viva.”
He founded Johnny Adventure as a travel, tours and transportation business. Playa Viva hires Johnny who is now in charge of all Excursions for Playa Viva. He is also in charge of airport ground transport (currently just to the airport but as he grows, he will handle more of our transportation needs and those of the local community).
Spinning off his own company solved a few problems that Playa Viva and Johnny were having. Playa Viva was not able to obtain tour guide license due to the ownership and business charter of the hotel, this meant that we were having a hard time with regulations related to transporting guests and leading excursions. Johnny was not able to expand to meet his demand to create more value for himself and his family. Creating Johnny Adventures was a stroke of genius for all.
As more hospitality ventures come to the area (we know of a surf hotel that will break ground soon), Johnny can expand to offer his services to hotels beyond just Playa Viva. Johnny is also excited about bringing guests from Ixtapa and Zihuatanejo, more traditional tourism destinations, to come visit Playa Viva and his town of Juluchuca, by offering local tours, which are becoming more and more popular with tourists. As ever, Johnny, the entrepreneur, hard working, creative family man, we wish you well in this new endeavor!
You’ve just started your own tour business. Tell me about it.
“David has always helped me from the very beginning. This time around, he came to me and told me it was time to start a new company. He offered to help with paperwork, orientation to the business world, and accounting in order to make this new business a reality. Thanks to God, it has become a reality. Right now Johnny Adventure Community Tours is an eco-tourism and transport company. I’m focused on tours in the municipalities of Zihuatanejo and Petatlan. I talk a lot about communities because I want people to get to know my hometown and all the beautiful places nearby. We have beaches, mountains, history and culture. I also want people to get to know the schools, meet the kids, and find ways to give back.”
When you’re not working, where can we find you?
“Apart from fishing, which is my main hobby, you can find me on my dad’s land. It’s a little over 2 hectares, right outside Juluchuca, and there we have cocos and mangos. I spent a lot of time there. Besides that, I’m also often with my family just spending time together or running errands around town.”
I always see you doing things in Juluchuca. What projects are you involved in? How do you give back?
“I think it’s important to be involved in town. I play on the adult soccer team and help organize it. I’m also helping to coach the youth soccer team with kids ages 7-11. Apart from soccer, I organize meetings with local landowners to talk about land management and how to resolve any conflicts that come up. Right now I’m also working with Ariel and some local Juluchucans to fix the lower basketball court. It’s fallen into disrepair and we are finally getting it fixed up. We’re all doing our part to make the community great.”
When booking your flights to Playa Viva, you might find that the best connections are via Mexico City and even those connections can require taking a dreaded “redeye” or an extra long layover. Rather than suffering through terrible flight options, we have developed a partnership which provides our guests with an opportunity to take advantage of a Mexico City Layover. As a result, we and have partnered with Las Alcobas Hotel – A Luxury Collection Hotel – on a set of fabulous custom tours.
Mexico City has become a real cool, hip and happening destination these days especially for the opportunity to enjoy the real culture, food and drink, art and architecture as well as the warm and welcoming culture and history of the real Mexico City, now referred to as CDMX (Ciudad de México).
These all start with you being met at the airport by a driver who meets you at the airport with a sign with your name, who speaks English, whisks you in comfort to your Las Alcobas in a “Black Car.” Once at the hotel, enjoy the excellent service, great design, free gifts of famous Mexican handcrafted candies plus selection of tequilas and mezcales in your room. We have worked with the Concierge at Las Alcobas to come up with a few select tours based on your interests (culture or food/art or anthropology) so you don’t have to waste time finding out what to do, where to go and who to guide you to enjoy all that makes Mexico City really special. We have curated a list of nearby restaurants (and street food) to satiate the palate of the “foodie” in you. And when it’s all done (depending on if you spend one night, two or three), you hop into your black car and off to the airport in style, rested, relaxed, filled with the best of CDMX and ready for immersion into the natural luxury of Playa Viva.
Las Alcobas is not a Regenerative Resort, and while they are working on improving their sustainability practices, they are definitely a beautiful property, run by a great team and very well located for you to completely enjoy a day or more in CDMX before being on your way to Playa Viva.
These days it’s pretty common to “celebrate” Cinco de Mayo with a “Mexican” adult beverage likely produced by a major international corporation. This year, if you feel like celebrating, why not do it with a real margarita that’s really from Mexico.
It’s not too tart or too sweet, but it’s just right. It’s so just right, that it’s too good, if that’s possible, so don’t celebrate too much!
The key is not only “the mix” but, in this case, “the ingredients”; and that’s why you need fresh lime, organic basil, agave nectar and an organic tequila of your choice. Then finish it off with Sal Viva which is harvested down the road in the salt flats. The rest is up to your ability to meet Johnny’s original challenge, mix up the perfect margarita.
Playa Viva’s Organic Basil Margarita:
Ingredients:
· 4 leaves of organic basil
· 1 lime
· 1 ½ oz of 4 Copas organic tequila (or other organic tequila)
· 1 teaspoon of agave nectar (agave honey – “Miel de Agave”)
· 5 large cubes of ice
· Thin layer of Sal Viva in a dish (for rimming glass)
Tools of the trade:
· Blender
· Shaker Glass
· Plate for salt to rim glass
· Glass
Blending the drink:
· Start with the four leaves of organic basil. Place them in a blender, then squeeze in juice from lime, add the tequila and blend (without ice)
· Once blended, pour the blended mix into a shaker glass with the ice and add the agave nectar
· Margarita should be shaken (not stirred)
· Take the remaining lime and rim the mouth of the glass to add moisture so when you dip the glass in a plate with Sal Viva, the salt sticks to the rim
· Pour in the shaken mix into a glass for the perfect Playa Viva Organic Basil Margarita.
Playa Viva opened in 2009 and had set up a set of core values and mission to promote and implement a positive impact on the local community and ecosystem. However, the team never did a true baseline study from which to measure the impact the work of the hotel would have in the community and on the local ecosystem. While the hotel invested in bringing in a part time permaculture specialist and brought in volunteers and volunteer coordinators to promote work in the community, Playa Viva had no way of measuring its impact.
…so what has Playa Viva actually done in this community?
From September 2016 to September 2018, I served as Playa Viva’s first official “Social and Environmental Impact Manager”. I began and ended my time there with a long list of priorities to do lis, but my main responsibility was to understand, track and promote Playa Viva’s impact in the community and on the environment (hence the job title), ensuring the hotel was on the right track to achieving its social and environmental goals.
…Playa Viva had no way of measuring its impact.
During my two years at Playa Viva, I focused my efforts on the social aspect of this endeavor. With the help of Playa Viva’s founders, staff and various talented volunteers at Playa Viva (not to mention the willingness of the community!), I designed and carried out a social impact evaluation that was to answer the question, “so what has Playa Viva actually done in this community?”
Included in this question were a few more specific inquiries:
What impact has Playa Viva had on environmental attitudes?
What impact has Playa Viva had on economic well-being? On community vitality?
On health, on wellness? Has there been any adverse, negative, or unintended impacts?
Finally, the fruits of all our hard work have been published.If you are curious about not just the nuts and bolts, but the juicy bits too, I encourage you to read the full report … all 149 pages… Buttt, if that’s too much (I promise I won’t be offended), I recommend reading at least the executive summary (only a few pages) — much more manageable, right?
It was a truly transformative experience, and for that, I am grateful.
If I could sum up what I learned in just a few sentences, I’d say this: while Playa Viva doesn’t seem to have caused any serious negative impacts (trust me, this is a big deal in the development world!), the economic impact of the hotel in the community has been rather small/neutral. It has helped a handful of families (i.e. the ones employed at the hotel; unfortunately the hotel can employ only so many), but the Playa Viva project will need a more strategic, sustained and better-funded effort in community development if it wants to see the regenerative change it seeks (i.e. improved livelihoods, health and wellbeing, and more robust economic development).
Finally, the fruits of all our hard work have been published.
Working with Playa Viva and living in Juluchuca was an incredible experience personally and professionally. I learned immensely about myself, about others, learned to truly appreciate differences, and learned how resilient I could be in an often challenging environment.
I also learned when it was okay to say “no” and that I could not possibly do or fix everything. I learned when it’s okay to throw in the towel, and through that process came to better understand myself and the limits of my energy.
Playa Viva represents a special chapter where I met a lot of wonderful people who still continue to play leading roles in my life. It was a truly transformative experience, and for that, I am grateful.
At Playa Viva, we look at the guest experience not as a single element but as a continuation and as a whole system. What do I mean by this? Well you can see this best in what I call “the concentric circles of caring for the guest.”
Experiential Travel…what does that really mean?
The guest who comes to Playa Viva is very different than guests at so many other hotels or resorts. The hotel will show off their minibar, TV, in room coffee maker…order a massage to your room, have a pillow butler accommodate your resting needs, take a Jacuzzi bath and tune in to 100’s of channels and thousands of movies and never, ever, ever leave your room. To us, that’s like a child, who is the center of the universe, unaware that they are part of a larger connected world of all existence. They only care about ordering up room service and living in their womb, their cocoon, and hide from engaging in reality.
Meals with your holistic host
At Playa Viva, everything we do is to allow you the chance to experience your environment and the people who inhabit it, in a deeper and more profound way. We often hear term, Experiential Travel, bantered around. But what does that really mean? At Playa Viva, that starts with the role of the Holistic Host. The role of the Holistic Host is to integrate the guest into the Playa Viva experience. They are usually one of the first to greet you upon arrival. They will join you at meals, engaging you with guests who have been on property for a while, and answer questions you have about excursions and other activities, as well as what’s happening around Playa Viva. They’ll be your guide to help you find the experiences and activities that will be most profound and memorable for you during your stay.
move farther and farther away from your room and deeper and deeper into the landscape and local community
The Holistic Host may also introduce you to two very key members of the Playa Viva team – Colleen and Amanda – who manage Social/Environmental Impact and Permaculture respectively. If you engage with these two talent women, they will expose you even further into the landscape. Amanda’s nature walks and tour of the Playa Viva farm have become one of the most popular activities at Playa Viva. Colleen will hopefully get you off the 200 acres and into the local community or out on a 4×4 ATV on a Night Patrol with the Turtles Sanctuary volunteers to assist with Sea Turtle Egg collections (another rising star activity in the list of excursions).
Rescue Turtle eggs on a night beach patrol
Learn about permaculture on a tour of the grounds and farm
As you can see the trend, the Playa Viva guest engagement strategy is to have you move farther and farther away from your room and deeper and deeper into the landscape and local community, engaging with nature and the people who live here. You are moving further and further out the rings or concentric circles.
The work we do at Playa Viva is to have our guests and our team go deeper into community. Amanda (permaculture) recently visited local recycling center to track the path of our waste streams. Nick Wolfe, with Gente Viva, works with local farmers to enable them to produce Organic products that then becomes Tahini dressing for guests salads. All this is not to say, that if you want to just go hang in a hammock, listen to the waves and leave the world behind, you can’t do that.
There’s still plenty of hammock time
You absolutely can, and should, take time to do that, and you will still have freshly made Tahini dressing on your salad when you get up. But Playa Viva is not just about your treehouse, or the 200 acres, or the farm tour up the watershed, or tracking our waste streams – it is the entirety of this experience that makes it so rewarding, even if you only catch a sliver of it all.
The volunteers at Juluchuca Limpio’s first beach cleanup
In February a group of college students from the local university (UT) in Petatlan approached Playa Viva saying that they wanted to do community engagement and conservation work with La Tortuga Viva. Adriana, one of the students, is a local resident of Juluchuca and she proposed to her classmates to do a trash awareness project in her community.
Of the 65 volunteers, most were children
We organized a day of beach cleanup to also include a tour of the Turtle sanctuary and a chance to release baby turtles with Valentine, the coordinator of La Tortuga Viva.
We had an incredible turnout of about 65 people come to Playa Viva, walk down to the turtle sanctuary, collect trash, learn about the work of the turtle sanctuary and release baby turtles. Of the 65 volunteers, most were children, so afterwards they came back and played on the beach outside the hotel. The kids had a rewarding experience and learned a lot about conservation.
the next generation of Juluchucans will be more aware of how to manage trash.
They are already putting that knowledge to great use. The cleanup was so successful that it has led to the formation of a new group called “Juluchuca Limpio” which has already held weekly cleanups in several other locations. The students leading the project have cleaned up trash throughout the town of Juluchuca and the nearby lagoon and river. They have been engaging the community, especially the schools, to participate in the effort, meaning that the next generation of Juluchucans will be more aware of how to manage trash.
DCIM100MEDIADJI_0118.JPG
Thanks to Playa Viva guest Steve Shea for many of the great photographs documenting this inspirational community initiative!
Molly Stevens here. First, thank you for such a lovely place to sit, breathe and grow. We have been at Playa Viva since Monday and we love it. Everyone is so kind. Ashlee and I are forever grateful for this place. I’m a musician out of Nashville TN and I went over to the local school to play some music for the kids and just wanted to share. It’s been the highlight of my time here. If there is ever a way I can continue to help all of you please let me know.
I wanted to leave my guitar here for all of you. I bought this on an excursion with Johnny the other day. I intentionally left my guitar back home to detach from work. But music is healing and inside me and all around me and I found myself searching for it yet again. This guitar over the past week here at Playa Viva has helped heal some broken pieces to my soul. It’s helped me navigate through feelings and emotions I didn’t even know I had. It belongs here. With all of you. With the children in the schools. With nature. With other guests. With the staff. Continue creating beautiful melodies and memories and know that I’m forever grateful for this life changing experience. Be well. And thank you. Sending love and light to all of you.
While this might be an oversimplification of a long and arduous process, the stakeholders involved need to take a few key steps to make sustainable fisheries a reality. Fishermen in a community need to unite and agree to take action, at least a super majority, as you will always have a few naysayers (who will block anything and everything for their own selfish purposes). The fishermen need to get together and agree on which locations are key areas to protect. As more experienced voices told us, the fishermen know which areas there are, they can sit down as a group, circle them on a map. Then they need to set these areas up as marine protected areas (MAP’s). Fishermen will fish right up to the edges of these zones but at least they will be protected. Protection is key and work with local authorities (of all types) to insure these “no-take” zones are respected. Then teach the fishermen how to SCUBA dive so they can go down and do the counts of fish and, again, see for themselves, the positive results of such MAPs and no-take zones. Then they need to evaluate those zones on a regular (annual) basis and agree which need continued, expanded or cancelled protection. Finally, hoteliers, restaurants and retailers of fish need to be involved in the process to understand the reasons, process and eventual positive results for them and their customers.
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