Below can be found all of our past apprentice Bios going back to 2016

2025 Apprentices

AAron

Aaron Patrick Wilson was born and raised in a small coastal town, in California, called Half Moon Bay. Being steps away from the beach his love and appreciation for Mother Nature began very early in life. He has been hiking mountains and going on camping adventures since as long as he can remember with family and eventually through the Boy Scouts of America. To which he did earn the rank of Eagle Scout. He also spent a significant portion of his life participating in various sports including: Soccer, Gymnastics, Cross-Country & Track, and Wrestling. He took wrestling all the way to the collegiate level, first at Cal State Fullerton then to San Francisco State where he earned his Bachelors of Science degree in Hospitality & Tourism Management. After that he spent several years working in restaurants doing a little bit of everything from cooking to management. Since then he took a detour from his professional career to help his father who started his own business in high-end residential audiovisual work. He had a natural talent for this type of work since he grew up around it and always had a passion for making things work and enjoys high quality sound when listening to music or watching a film. 

In the last several years he and his family have taken an interest in learning and unlearning about topics like alternative/natural health, consuming a proper human diet, regenerative agriculture, homesteading and natural building. And this is what led him to discovering Rancho Mastatal and decided to take the leap into this new adventure as an apprentice. Lastly, he loves to travel. He has already visited Central America several times and absolutely loves being surrounded by lush jungle and the life that it contains. One day he hopes to have his own piece of land practicing and teaching the ways of sustainable living that he will learn here at the Ranch. 

Aquino

I was born in Germany but raised in Belgium, in the picturesque village of Hakendover. Art was ever-present at home: my father restored paintings and sculptures, and my mother enjoyed creative crafts. The mentality of "what you make yourself, you do better" was deeply ingrained in our upbringing.

After high school, my best friend Taede and I embarked on a three-month trek across the Pyrenees and along the Camino del Norte in Spain. This journey sparked my fascination with stories and landscapes. Back in Belgium, I worked as a woodworker, gaining experience in metalwork and construction. My love for landscapes eventually led me to pursue a bachelor’s degree in Landscape and Garden Design. Alongside the coursework, I was fortunate to be surrounded by people who worked closely with nature, which introduced me to agroforestry and permaculture.

In 2023, Taede and I traveled through Central America for six months. I attended the natural building course in Rancho Mastal, which sparked my passion for creating and building once again. We also participated in construction projects in Guatemala, including a children’s playhouse and an art studio. After returning to Belgium, I worked with natural building materials, including lime, clay and completed some small renovation projects with tadelakt, while also developing a passion for cooking as a chef.

Throughout these experiences, I've always felt a strong calling to create, design, and understand how systems function and influence one another. The layered dimensions and interconnectedness of systems continue to inspire me just as the social aspect of it. How stories change, influence and create culture and spirit of place and space.

My first visit to the ranch in 2023 made such a profound impression on me that I knew deep in my heart I would return one day. When I found out I was able to return for the 2025 apprenticeship, I felt the excitement and gratitude rush through my body. I am fully committed to this opportunity and determined to absorb as much knowledge as possible so that I can contribute to a more sustainable world and inspire others by passion and joy.

Brendan

Hello, my name is Brendan and I am 24 years old. I grew up mainly living in Nashville, TN but have been living in Chattanooga, TN for the past few years. 

My passions lie in nature and music. I always try to spend my free time rock climbing/camping or playing guitar and mandolin. 

I have been working towards a degree in Environmental Science for the past few years but am yearning for a hands on experience beyond the traditional college education. I feel incredibly lucky to have this opportunity to live and learn at Rancho Mastatal and am looking forward to everything the land and it’s inhabitants have to offer!

Maivy 

Hi! My name is Maivy Xuan Nguyen and I am from the San Francisco Bay Area, currently residing in Oakland, CA. My parents are Vietnamese refugees and immigrants, so I am part of the first generation born in the US. Throughout my life, the stories and journeys of my family have set a strong foundation for me from which I have been able to explore and forge my own pathways. I am forever grateful.

My hobbies, interests and passions are mainly in the realm of making, creating, and building. Whether that is sewing some pants, building a sculpture, or sharing a meal we’ve cooked together with friends---I enjoy the entire process from ideation, to making, to appreciation and even a good critique session.

I am thrilled to be able to spend dedicated and immersive time towards learning many new skills at Rancho Mastatal and humbled by the opportunity. Looking forward to this expansive year!

Thea

Hello everyone. I was born in New Zealand but moved to the UK at 6 months old, and have spent the majority of my life in England. I have spent some time volunteering at workaways and WOOFing projects, and this is where I met some of the wonderful communities living life a little differently. I have also stayed at Buddhist temples, mediation centres, permaculture farms, and visited off-grid communities in the UK and Portugal; which would seem all-the-more idyllic whenI found myself staring at the white-washed walls of my student accommodation in the city of Leeds during lockdown.

After a brief visit to higher education, I proceeded to spend the next 3 years working as an outdoor instructor. During this time, I found myself in a variety of living situations from playing out my Vanlife fantasy in my old but surprisingly reliable transit; moving between campsites; indulging in the facilities at nearby hostels (which felt even more luxurious after a few arduous days wild-camping); or briefly unpacking at staff residential sites. I have thoroughly enjoyed hiking, climbing and canoeing some of the UK’s and Europe’s hidden gems and natural wonders; and have come to appreciate its concrete tower blocks and brutalist architecture from a safe distance. In my spare time, when I manage to tear myself away from the climbing wall, I enjoy painting and playing around with film and photography. Without these creative practices, I feel more stressed, cram too much into my schedule, and lose my patience quickly. I am very much looking forward to slowing the pace down in the rainforest, as well as having the opportunity to be hands-on and create within a larger project...and hopefully avoid getting stuck up in a tree I thought I could climb. 

Travis 

My name is Travis! I grew up in the mountains and valleys of upstate New York. I have my own small business removing invasive plants from my local area. I do a lot of restoration and native planting. I love gardening and growing my own food. So much that I made a business out of it. I love helping others plan and manage their own gardens. I’m an artist who loves hiking and camping. I’ve hiked the highest peaks in New York State! I love long boarding and fishing. I love to travel and experience other cultures. I’m excited to learn more and expand my knowledge at the Ranch!

Throughout my life I went from job to job never feeling like anything made me happy. I’ve worked in kitchens, carpentry and painting, construction, hardscape, and even spent some time in the textile industry. But I always felt like I didn’t fit in, like I wasn’t “normal”. I definitely learned a lot but never quite found something that I really enjoyed. Now that I’m older I have realized that my normal doesn’t align with what society deems normal. My values and aspirations more closely resemble those of our ancestors. I appreciate the simple, small things that make life wonderful. I wish to be more closely connected with nature and the universe. To build my own home. To live in harmony with the planet. To be more self-reliant and above all, to help others learn this also. 

In my work I often have clients who want a more mindfully designed garden. There are a lot of people out there who want a permaculture garden but don’t know where to start. I would love to be able to bring that knowledge to them and help them create their dream garden.

I’m so excited to get to the Ranch and start immersing myself in everything it has to offer!

2024 Apprentices

Allura

Hello! My name is Allura and I grew up on the “island” of Cape Cod where I was raised homeschooled and blessed to have the forest as one of my greatest teachers, library, and playground. Through my connection with the plant and animal kingdom I have always been drawn to the elements of living sustainably and honoring the earth. A deep joy of mine is reflecting the beauty of the world that surrounds us through art and movement- most specifically creative writing, watercolor painting and yoga practicing and teaching.

Most of my work these days involves being in nature or with children. I have been a naturalist hiking guide for kids along with a workshop leader for them in the realm of yoga. I currently work as an assistant guide at a Montessori preschool and spend my weekends on an organic farm where I am the “seed” girl— I like to help things grow! Other interests of mine include, permaculture/indigenous agriculture (of course, and all things in the realm of sustainable living found in this apprenticeship) herbalism, reading, music & the creation of it in circle, hiking and travel.

I am so thrilled to be diving deep into this learning journey with all of you!!! Thank you!

Brooklyn 

Hello! My name is Brooklyn (you can call me B!)

Words cannot explain how excited and grateful I am about the opportunity to come live, learn, work, and play at the Ranch.

I am originally from a small town in Michigan but have done a lot of wandering and lived all over. I am currently coming over from just outside of Dallas, TX. After my time at the Ranch, I plan on starting to think more seriously about where I’d like to put down roots.

As for my background, I originally went to school to study Nutrition Science and had a practice for several years as a Holistic Nutritionist and Yoga Instructor studying and working with everything from meditation and breathwork to ayurvedic nutrition / lifestyle interventions.  The time I spent in this field has dramatically changed my outlook on the world and how I live my life. Even further, it inspired me to deepen my understanding of and connection to nature. I started thinking and learning about sustainability and our relationship to the planet as well as how our environments and lifestyles affect our health and happiness. These ponderings are what eventually lead me to the career change I am making now.

Currently, I am working on my master’s degree in architecture with a personal focus on sustainable residential and community design. I decided to take a year off from my program to pursue this opportunity at the Ranch to gain real world experience of how a sustainable community can exist and operate outside of my conceptual studies. My long-term goal is to utilize what I learn about permaculture, architecture, natural building, and community dynamics to work with and contribute to healthier, happier, more sustainable communities (starting with intentionally re-designing my own lifestyle).

Outside of my studies, I am a working Artist and Muralist. I love to paint, cook, read, dance, garden, hike, climb rocks, and just about anything active / outdoors! I’ve dabbled in aerial arts and acrobatics and would eventually love to weave these kinds of things back into my life. I find that dancing, climbing, tumbling etc. really keeps the child in me alive!

I am so looking forward to 2024 as a year of immersing myself into life at Rancho Mastatal and deepening my relationships with myself, community, and Mama Earth.  

Felipe 

Hello dear family from Rancho Mastatal, my name is Felipe Jimenez Rodriguez, and I am from Chile, I am a Civil Industrial Engineer by profession. For much of my life, I dedicated myself to advancing in the realm of formal education, following the conventional path, of earning a degree, then a master's degree, finding a job in a multinational corporation, and climbing the ladder to become a "successful" person in life. This led me to experience a very empty life, as I realized I was living a life to show the world that I was good and enough. I poured myself into my work, I lived a life full of stress and a lot of anxiety to meet the expectations of the external world, forgetting about my desires and interests. So, I decided to quit my job and reconnect with myself, traveling through Europe, Africa, and Asia for almost two years, until the pandemic arrived. This trip was full of learning and beautiful experiences, which completely transformed me, with the objective of aligning my purpose in life with my personal interests, directing me to begin a new path in my life, where I could learn about sustainability, reconnect with nature, and contribute with my energy to live a life in balance with the environment, to contribute to the preservation and conservation of this beautiful planet.

This is how I intended that new opportunities would begin to come into my life, to get closer and closer to natural cycles and learn from our great teacher, nature. I entered the world of medicinal plants, conscious eating, changing my consumption patterns, looking for options to learn regenerative agriculture in a practical way, etc. That's how a few months ago, while I was traveling through Central America, I did a volunteer program at Fundación Corcovado, and heard about the Ranch's apprenticeship program. When I heard about this incredible place, my eyes shone with excitement, this is the perfect place for me, both to learn sustainability techniques and tools, but also to be part of a conscious community for a long time and learn how to live in a community, a dream come true.

One of my great passions is traveling, getting to know different cultures around the world and different natural paradises to connect with nature. I love hiking which I practice in the mountains of my country and in different countries that I have visited. Furthermore, I am very attracted to exploring interpersonal relationships with people from different parts of the world. I practice meditation and yoga for my own internal balance.

Finally, I want to express that I am very happy and very excited to have obtained a place in this program, to begin this fantastic journey, in this magical community.

Julia 

Hi, my name is Julia, I'm 33 years old and grew up in the beautiful city of Vienna in Austria.

I discovered drawing and painting as my passion very early on and learned a profession in which I can express myself visually. As a graphic designer I worked in various agencies for years, but was increasingly frustrated by the mostly digital work on the computer, the competitive pressure and the fast life in the city. I was drawn into nature towards a simple life on the countryside, which is why I have worked on different farms to see if this life fulfills me more. During this time I came into contact with permaculture and was enthusiastic about the holistic solutions that I discovered there right from the start. My desire to learn more about it and later pass my knowledge on to others led me to study "Environmental Education and Advisory", which gave me a theoretical and academic framework for how I would like to live and teach sustainable lifestyles.

My vision is to founding or helping to build a living and learning center for permaculture, sustainable solutions, intentional community and healing of people's hearts with the aid of nature, fulfilling manual labour and artistic expression.

Being part of a community where this has been successfully lived for years is a dream that is coming true and the next step towards my vision.

My passions include creating art in various media, spending time in nature, wildlife watching, growing/collecting and processing agricultural produce and wild plants, hiking, reading, yoga, discovering new countries, cultures and ways of life.

I am very much looking forward to immersing myself even more in what has lived in my heart for a long time - a simple, holistic, handmade life in harmony with nature, which (hopefully) draws wide circles, inspires others and invites them into the more beautiful world that our hearts know.

I am overjoyed to co-create this world together with you!

Rabbit 

Greetings!

My name is Rabbit, and I am from Cape Cod Massachusetts. I have spent the better part of the last decade becoming a jack of all and I believe apprenticing here at Rancho Mastatal will be a beautiful way to round that out and hopefully initiate the process of becoming a master of…a few! I love learning about my passions, and with my main passion being for life, with all of its abstractions and simplicities, my pool of interests remains incredibly broad in the most fantastic of ways. I’m cracking a grateful smile just typing this now!



I have dipped my toes in many lines of work from fixing computers to roasting coffee, and I am currently a self employed handyman. I spend a couple of weeks a month learning and working under my stepfather as a carpenter in the northeast. Throughout all of my jobs, the aspect that keeps me around or keeps me searching for a new one is the process of creation. It started as repair, and while I still get great satisfaction from fixing things I feel a strong calling to start building my abilities to create through many mediums, construction, farming, writing, woodworking, and clothing to name a few. 


My laborious enjoyments stretch into my human relationships as well. Many an hour have I spent listening and working with friends and strangers over their lives, troubles, pleasures, wonderings and many an hour I have spent feeling my purpose being fulfilled in this life. I know I am here to discover and witness the potential of myself for myself but equally as important, to share with others that they are so incredibly capable of greatness within their own lives. I am here, like the rest of us, to mirror the greatness we are all capable of. As loving, kind, patient, growing, learning, beautiful creatures.



Thank you to the Rancho team for considering, and accepting myself and my wonderful partner Allura into this program. We hope to make you, and ourselves proud!

Yalan 

I was born in Santa Monica, CA. I was always drawn to art for as long as I can remember. Drawing the cartoons I watched as a child, and to this day still enjoy coloring and drawing in my free time. I went to Moorpark Community College, to study art. While there, I practiced painting, figure drawing and sculpture. During this time, I would come to find my love of community, I hosted art shows and open mics at my home. I soon got a job working for a painting contractor out of Santa Monica. While the work was good, I knew I wanted to do something more in-line with my interest in the arts. I put contracting painting on hold and I took up work with a carpenter and a muralist. Painting large works and assisting with the production and installment of cabinetry. Going to art galleries and seeing live music was the way I spent my weekends during that time.

Permaculture was always there in the background of my life, my late father planted native fruit trees and compost, but that was just the start. My mother eventually put a cob structure in our backyard, along with a compost toilet and outdoor kitchen and shower. I was naturally an outdoorsy person, hikes with friends would turn into adventures up a mountain. I was curious about a lifestyle closer to earth. During the pandemic I visited multiple permaculture sites out in Joshua Tree to see alternative ways of living. I knew I wanted to combine my tool belt I acquired from working in the city, with my love of nature. After my mother moved out to Costa Rica, I took it as an opportunity to explore. I found Rancho Mastatal and was hooked. I kept returning for classes. I took a natural building course along with a PDC and WFR certification. Now I’m back for the year long apprenticeship, and I’m excited to be taking these steps into a green new world.

2023 Apprentices

Elya Justina

Hello, my name is Elya, I’m 32 and from Ontario, Canada.  Moving to Costa Rica for this apprenticeship is the fulfillment of many years of dreaming.  I have travelled to many places throughout my twenties, and am grateful for those memorable experiences, but I have been desiring to live immersed in a completely new culture and have my daily activities profoundly shape me.

Being connected to Mother Nature in every step of the process to work, cook, sleep and be is going to be so rich and exciting!! I can’t wait for all the new sights, sounds and flavours this year will bring.

To give you a little insight into who I am, I currently work at a flower farm, planting and harvesting as well as creating bouquets and assisting with floral pieces for weddings (my favourite!).  I am trained as a massage therapist but have been on a soul-searching journey this year as I reconnect with my passion for the arts.  I love to paint, make jewelry, write poetry, dance, and do creative photoshoots.  Earlier this year I took some silversmithing workshops and I’m really excited to continue learning this craft.  One of my goals is to publish a book of my poems one day...sometimes the inspiration comes to me on a walk, while I’m working or even driving (and I pull over to write it down!)

I guess you could say that everything about the coming year - the beauty in the food, the planting, havesting and building - feels like a big art project that I will get to do with a team of amazing people!  I’m especially looking forward to all the new connections and what we can learn from each other.

Emme Nederbrock

Hello! My name is Emme (she/they) and I’m so excited to be a 2023 apprentice at Mastatal. I was born in the states, and spent my toddler years in Minnesota until my parents moved us to a small town in the Appalachian mountains in North Carolina. Living in NC I learned what it was to be myself. I like exercise, art, and animals. Specifically handstands/climbing/snowboarding, ceramics/jewelry making, and dogs. After graduating high school in 2018, I quickly turned around and got my CrossFit coaching license, and became certified to coach high school lacrosse and those two jobs have absolutely filled my heart! Ceramics has also wiggled a spot in my heart. I first learned in high school and have been growing my skills and personality with the medium for a few years now. I hope that I’ll be able to contribute another artistic mind to the ranch while I’m there.

I first learned about Rancho Mastatal through my partner, Sebastian. The more I learned about the program, the more I realized it aligned with values and skills that I wished to grow for myself. I look forward to gaining knowledge to improve and grow my life as a human and support my sweet pup while I’m away. I know that this experience will help me learn more about how to care for our earth too, which I’m excited for as well. Ive spent a lot of my life trying hard to care for others, and I’m excited to participate in this experience that will be for me.

I think it would be hard to fit EVERYTHING I’d want to say about myself in a short, readable excerpt, but I’m happy with what’s written now. All that’s left to say is that I’m so happy to gain this experience and share all my acquired knowledge someday!! Peace and love! (Wybie is the yellow dog)

Grant Munro 

I'm Grant and have spent the last 10  years working as a chiropractor in the UK,  prior to which working in construction as a scaffolder for 5 years.

I first heard of the Ranch's apprenticeship during a recent 6 month sabbatical - taken to deal with a developing burnout from work and city living , re-evalute values and life goals while simultaneously holding the intention to establish a deeper connection to the Earth and elements.

Spending the first month in Sri Lanka working at an Ayuvedic retreat I realised just how disconnected from nature I had become - even though I spent many weekends of the year hiking, camping and starting to surf during my down time in the UK.  I was starting to affirm my belief that much of the conditions I was seeing in practice were as the result of being disconnected not only from ourselves and our own values but from the elements that we are made from, our natural rhythms and not having strong community.

Observing the identities I had built for myself to survive in the western world dissolve over the next 6 months as a healer and athlete,  I knew returning to the city was not really an option and a series of serendipitous events introduced me to Rancho Mastatal.

Permaculture and sustainable living was something that kept popping up during the time in Central America and after reading and sitting with the ethos of the Ranch I felt the next step was to jump in feet first.

My goals over the next 12 months are to learn and develop the skills to not only live a more sustainable lifestyle myself, but be able to promote and pass this information and skill-set on to others, create and develop other projects while understanding more deeply what it takes to live and contribute in community.

Looking forward to the coming year!

Michelle Häuptli

Growing up between Switzerland and the Philippines has immersed me in two vastly different cultures, allowing me to broaden my understanding of various social/economic and cultural values. Much of my life has been spent travelling and it was during my solo-travels through Central America, India and South East Asia I really started to observe my environment with a different perspective. I began to question myself: where does my ‘waste’ end up or where does the water I drink come from etc.? The answers to these questions came along beautiful motorbike rides through the jungle passing degraded barren landscapes or diving along pristine coral reefs fishing out the occasional diaper and plastic wrappings.

The first time I came in touch with permaculture was at a water-temple in Indonesia. That is when my interest in permaculture began and I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. I believe that the principles of permaculture aren’t only applicable in nature or agriculture but also in social or economic systems and are in interdependent relation to each other.

After several years as a social worker and dealing with all kinds of homo sapiens, time has come to integrate focus on to the most crucial planetary framework. It’s time for me to synergize the social components with the ecological aspects, as they have never been separated from each other.

I’m excited to immerse myself into an environment of regenerative agri- and human culture, creating resilient interconnections, acquiring new skills and improving the old ones while generating a profound understanding of the cosmos of the very creature we walk on.

Sebastian Wittwer 

Hey, I’m Seb from Bavaria, Germany where I graduated from high school a few years ago. Being left with so many choices thereafter, I had to recognize that I didn’t have a clue of what to do at that point in life. Since dreams, reality and correlating ideas of the own future seemed to be changing a lot over time for me, I decided to take it slow and easy though I didn’t want to be couchpotatoing.

So I decided on a voluntary social year at the ambulance service, teaching first aid and going on ambulance missions. After dreams of traveling around the world have been crushed by covid I opted for eleven months of voluntary military service at an infantry regiment at the German army. I learned a lot in those two years though both wasn’t what I desired to do more of.

On a three week trip to a well-known community in Costa Rica I was introduced to the concept of permaculture within a farming course which grabbed me by the throat and pushed my next move to go work and travel on farms, in communities and soon also on sites of friends in Costa Rica and Nicaragua for half a year, seeking knowledge and skills within the world of permaculture. During this time I met up with a very good friend to do a PDC at Rancho Mastatal.

I was astonished by their way to be and the community mood especially since climate change on the contrary is often sold as an almost lost battle. Well then one thing led to another and schwups I’m an Apprentice.

Ever since then I was able to narrow down my interest in the complex of permaculture to mainly syntropic foresting, but also natural building, community building and maybe farm to table^^. Increasingly learning more about those, I aim at being able to use my knowledge and skills to come up with lasting solutions not only for the countryside but also for urban and suburban areas to help people around the globe at working with nature instead of working against it.

Sebastian Evans

Hello Folks! My name is Sebastian, I was born and raised in North Carolina surrounded by the Appalachian mountains. I love climbing, skiing, hiking, critters of all types, my small hodge-podge garden here in the states, and free time in the outdoors. Of course I won't be able to practice all of these things during my time in Mastatal, but the opportunity to explore new skills to build a foundation in sustainable living is incredibly exciting to me.

I graduated high school just two years ago in 2020, my senior year being cut short in mid-spring due to the pandemic. I went to Appalachian State University for a year immediately afterwards, but found myself struggling more than ever to thrive and seek engagement in academics considering the changes that Covid brought to schools. It was actually during my schooling here that a family member reached out to me and told me about Rancho Mastatal! It was immediately a tantalizing potential project, but amid school and relationships and the worldwide throes of plague, it fell back in my mind and I didn't act on it immediately. After the school year I returned home and enrolled in a local community college studying welding, which I also practiced for a year (and hope to more in the future!). Spring came again and suddenly the Ranch was almost all I could think about. One thing led to another and here I am, preparing to share this journey with my partner Emme and a handful of new people.

Costa Rica is not entirely new to me, although living there semi-permanently in a communal, agricultural space will be. I visited the country several times during my adolescence for short trips, staying with host families and following more experienced travelers on some wonderful adventures. During high school I also organized a trip here for myself in which I stayed with a wonderful family for some weeks and volunteered at Proyecto Asis, an animal sanctuary nestled in the jungle near La Fortuna. This was an incredible time and I cannot wait to return at some point. I got to see and help all kinds of jungle beasts, doing what I could to enrich their lives in preparation for the wilds. The experience was transformative and made me friends that I hope will last me a lifetime - and I was only there for a little less than two months! A year is a whole different game. I already know that I love the flora and fauna of this beautiful region on Earth and am so glad that I can start spending some serious time here.

Though I have a little experience with woodworking, gardening, and using my hands I know that I have not yet used these skills in long term practical applications. Natural building, sustainable agriculture, and existing as a real part of a community are all skills that I cannot wait to start building for the betterment of my life and others'.

Sedona Lewis

Hello all - I'm Sedona. I was born and raised in rural Colorado, where I spent my childhood in the garden with my Mom. From a young age, I learned to appreciate the value of nourishing food and healthy living. A love of biology and an increased awareness of our current food systems lead me to study Horticulture and Food Crop Science at Colorado State University, from where I graduated in 2021. Since finishing school, I’ve been traveling and working within the non-profit sector. 

I applied to the apprenticeship program at the Ranch because I am in search of a meaningful cultural education surrounding the way in which we relate to the natural world, as both individuals and communities. 

In my free time, I love to practice yoga, read, cook, and swim in natural bodies of water." 

2022 Apprentices

AJ Nolan

Over the past couple of years I have come to realize that I feel my

best when I’m surrounded by a tight-knit community, fresh food, and working with nature. Costa Rica was the first country I had ever been to on my own and I fell in love with the culture, food, and wildlife.

After this experience I began studying Latin American history and I knew that I wanted to be in this region of the world. I have always been an advocate for the environment, which led me to study Environmental Engineering. However, after many classes I couldn’t help but look back and see that most of what I learned was how to fight against nature, instead of working with it. I wanted more answers so I turned to the land. I got involved in food forest design, a CSA farm, and social justice activism in college. I travelled to Southeast Asia and worked on various farms, cementing in my brain that permaculture is the answer.

I’m currently working on an organic farm in Upstate New York where I have been eating my weight in fresh apples, bathing in the river, and studying herbalism. It is here at this place where I have come to question most things about the current world that we live in and the societal constructs that we have placed ourselves in. I believe that the only way to continue to live on this planet is to begin living more sustainably, regenerate nature through permaculture practices, and eat good food with good people. I am stoked to have the opportunity to learn these skills at the Ranch. I love to cook. I love to dance. I love to play, hike, read, and do handstands. I know that I will thrive at the Ranch and I cannot wait to establish roots here…and maybe even some rhizomes :)

Chive on.

-AJ

Aoife Barry

Telling my fellow Irish citizens that I am moving to the Costa Rican rainforest for a year definitely gets me a reaction.

Some find the concept of Rancho Mastatal fascinating. Some are super excited for the adventures awaiting me. Others find the idea bizarre, irresponsible, unrelatable and slightly scary!

The truth is that my whole life, a place like the Ranch has existed in my imagination. You can imagine what thoughts went through my head when I discovered that such a place existed in reality. I had to come here!

My name is Aoife and I am a 27 year old from the south of Ireland. My BA was in Human Rights with English and French which saw me travel to France, Nepal and Africa for my studies. I then went on to pursue my Masters in Primary Education and completed my first year teaching in Ireland during the Covid pandemic. More so than letting my academic background define me, let me share with you that I love learning. Learning about cultures, ideas, history, languages, traditions, nature, arts and crafts…anything that I can collect! Yoga brings me close the peace and stillness that I believe is my highest good.

Life can be uncertain. However, there are a few things of which I am sure. I know for sure that I desire to build a deeper connection the earth, the earth of which I was born. I want to learn how to plant and care for the food I consume in a sustainable way. I want to learn how to build from the elements which surround us. I want to learn from my fellow species that come from all four corners of the globe. I want to do all of the above in a community which is founded in respect and ideals.

As we say in my native Gaeilge, “Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine”; we shade each other from the sun, or in other words, we depend on each other and on the earth, for the possibility of living in peace and prosperity!

Connor Gilmartin

Hello all!

My name is Connor. I am a lover of the outdoors, an active gardener, and a music enthusiast. I care about doing meaningful work that has a positive impact on our shared environment and community.

I was born and raised in Northern California and have been living, learning, and working in Chico, California for the last seven years. I work at CSU, Chico’s 7,835-acre Ecological Reserve, and help as a farmhand at a friend’s small-scale organic farm.  I graduated from CSU, Chico in 2019 with a bachelor's degree in Natural Resource Management and Event Management. Since graduating, I’ve spent my free time backpacking around the Sierra Nevada’s, gardening, and enjoying the wonderful community here in Chico.

I first heard about Rancho Mastatal in February of 2020 while working as a staff member at Envision Festival in Uvita, Costa Rica. At that point in time, I knew I wanted to further my education beyond my bachelor’s degree, but the thought of applying to and participating in a “traditional” master’s program didn’t sound ideal. Fast forward 550 days (give or take) and now I’m preparing for the opportunity of a lifetime!

I am enthusiastically interested in regenerative land management, creative event production, as well as the social and ecological aspects of permaculture. I am deeply excited to learn more about the macro-planning aspects of designing a space with regeneration, soil health, and diversity in mind. I see this apprenticeship as a phenomenal opportunity that will help me grow towards my career goals – which include but are not limited to: Doing meaningful ecological work that provides people the opportunity to connect with each other and the natural environment through learning opportunities, work-play, and artistically-focused participation.

I am so excited about this opportunity and cannot wait to live and learn with the Rancho Mastatal team! Somos el cambio!

“Without love in the dream it will never come true” – Robert Hunter / Jerry Garcia

Josh Wright

I'm a surfer, sailor, and nature lover. For as long as I can remember I've held a vision of living of the Grid. For the last 8 years I've been working on boats saving as I go to get me closer to this dream. Between trips I would often go woofing. Through this I was introduced to Cob building and ignited a passion for natural building that I never knew I had.

I found out about Rancho Mastatal through Googles ads, the algorithm getting it right. And the more I read about it the more it felt like the place to be. Here the aim is to develop the skills, knowledge and confidence required to start building my own house and projects over the next few years.

I really look forward to working in a tight community of like minded people strengthening our connections to each other and with nature.

 Lucas Babinec

 “The moral covenant of reciprocity calls us to honor our responsibilities for all we have been given, for all we have taken. It's our turn now, long overdue....Whatever our gift, we are called to give it and to dance for the renewal of the world” (Robin Wall Kimmerer – Braiding Sweetgrass).

Hey there, I'm Lucas (he/him). I grew up in Silver Spring ~ Takoma Park, Maryland near Washington DC, playing sports, practicing instruments, and being quite academically minded. An introduction to meditation on a high school field trip to a Buddhist temple opened me up to an experience of life beyond anxiousness, low self-esteem, and disconnection. My time at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Minnesota featured disparate lives as an economics student, baseball player, inebriated partyer, and spiritual aspirant. A transformative semester abroad in Granada, Spain led to the commitment to live more intentionally and heartfully. After graduating from university in 2015, I spent a year in IT at a massive healthcare software company and learned that this work did not fill my soul's cup. I left to go on an international baseball odyssey, with the goal of improving enough to play professionally back home.

For a few years I chased summer: hopping between hemispheres, working odd part-time jobs, coaching baseball, teaching mindfulness meditation to athletes, and throwing 1000s of pitches. Baseball communities in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, and Germany took me in and made me one of their own. In 2020, I was ready to return and try out for a minor league team. Then, covid happened and plans were derailed. With path and purpose taken away, I felt lost, disassembled, and began searching for new ways forward. Fortunately, a passion that had been growing slowly for years started to really sprout up with enthusiasm. A movement into a different story: being in co-creative, healing relationship with earth, land, and all of the web of life.

2021 brought a dive into a 200hr yoga teacher training where I gained clarity about my next chapter. Through some auspicious serendipity, I became aware of Rancho Mastatal. On the road to greater and deeper authentic, heartful living, this apprenticeship will be/is my most worthwhile and audacious adventure yet.

“el muchacho se sumergió en el Alma del Mundo y vio que el Alma del Mundo era parte del Alma de Dios, y vio que el Alma de Dios era su propia alma. Y que podía, por lo tanto, realizar milagros”

(Paulo Coelho – El alquimista).

2021 Apprentices

Abbey cmiel

I feel most alive when admiring the intricate petals of a flower, teaching a yoga class for friends, digging my toes in the soil while weeding, or cooking a meal with fresh-from-the-garden veggies for people I love. More and more, I see the only way forward is to connect to community and develop deep relationships with one another and the Earth. 

I graduated from University of North Carolina in 2019 with a major in Global Studies and a focus on Latin American political movements. Throughout college, I learned from my peers and professors about the history of social, racial, and ecological justice and dove into food, housing, education, and environmental advocacy. Most formatively, I spent two summers in Colombia working with small-scale farmers with integrated rainforest systems. I learned to savor the sweet taste of fresh picked mandarins, the cool breezes of the morning mist, and the joy of afternoon coffee with friends. Working on the stunning farms taught me how important protecting the natural world is not only to our survival, but to our daily happiness. 

I have since apprenticed at the Eco Institute in Chapel Hill, NC and the Occidental Arts and Ecology Center in Occidental, CA. Each internship has strengthened my love and knowledge of working with plants, people and the natural world. I am passionate about herbalism, cooking delicious meals, wildcrafting, painting, and learning and sharing ideas every chance I get. 

If the human project is to continue, we must learn to radically respect and work with the water, land, plants, and beings that feed, clothe, shelter, and inspire us. I plan to continue using healing and activism practices, such as farming, yoga, protest, and art to shape a world where all of us can thrive, and can’t wait to learn from the many adventures in learning at Rancho Mastatal!

ADRIAAN VAN DUUREN

Hi, I'm Adriaan. I'm 20 years old and born and raised in the Flemish part of Belgium. I am a leader in my local “Sea Scouts” and am very engaged in creating events. I helped as a paid assistant for the first time this summer in a surf camp abroad In France that I used to go to as a child for summer camp. It took me a while to get that summer job. I was doing a woodwork apprenticeship for one year until the Belgian lockdown forced me to stop. I was driving to work every day at 7, with my lunch packet and finished every day at around 5 but didn’t learn as much as I was hoping to do. I did build a hydraulic machine starting from scratch for a company as a last year high school project and I scored a good result. I had a small vegetable garden with potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and some other vegetables in my parents greenhouse. I went for 2 months to Hossegor in France last summer, on my own, to learn French and worked in a restaurant on the beach to pay for it all. My two months in France last summer were a great reality check. Arriving in a completely foreign place, not speaking French and with no contacts, friends or family around was a tough one. I did enjoy that challenge though and the camping in my tent, living with very little and finding a place to work in that small town was an eye opener for the years to come. I always rather clean up the garden and make a fire in the garden with my younger brother, rather than playing video games inside. I was given a survival course by my granddad for my 16th birthday once, as my bible was the SAS survival guide, that I’ve read more then I can count. I just know that living in nature and learning how to live off-grid and sustainable is the way I will take!

Cameron conklin

Hi! My name is Cam. I am 28, from the United States, and currently bouncing between the redwoods of Humboldt County, CA and the douglas fir of Portland, OR.

My sustainability education began with the study of the renewable energy industry in South Africa. There I learned and taught other students about ocean energy production. This set me on a course to believe in the power of alternative solutions to solve our world’s problems, and pushed me to more deeply consider how we use Earth’s resources and relate to our environment. I later went on to study international political economy, communication, and architecture at Tulane University in New Orleans. My studies there focused on the relationship between policy, the built environment, and community--looking at how our social systems can use sustainable solutions to better react to environmental impacts, specifically, natural disasters.

My career then led me into the food industry, working for a protein drink company in Los Angeles. In 2017, I took a sabbatical and returned to my education on the ocean, spending nine months diving and working on coral reef restoration with the Tropical Research and Conservation Center (TRACC) in Sabah, Malaysia. This is where I had my first taste of living full-time in a rural, purpose based community setting. Inspired by my time at TRACC, I returned to my job armed with ideas and tools to help shift our practices into more sustainable alternatives. Yet, the more I learned about the ingredients and how they were made, the more I realized how little transparency existed in the industry. After years of investigating, I still couldn’t fully see into the supply chain and make the changes I had hoped to make. Working in the U.S. natural foods industry opened a window to the disconnection between consumers and producers in our food systems. This insight has inspired me to dedicate my life to resolving that disconnect.

I now feel called to shift my focus from making small changes on a macro level, to a holistic systems approach on a micro level. I want to learn how to tighten my consumption and production cycles through growing my own resources and integrating my waste into those systems. From my time at TRACC, I also feel called to live in a close community with others working towards these ends, and foster that social structure. This apprenticeship is my next big step in a lifelong educational journey to figure out how I can most joyfully make my life and our culture a more closed loop. I hope to use the skills l learn at El Rancho to help others actualize their passions and interests in this way.

I am a cook, climber, dancer, diver, and seeker of visual delights. I just finished a year long U.S. road trip in my van, and can’t wait to begin this next phase of life - shifting from a period of exploration, into a period of cultivation.

Please reach out if you’d like to chat about the Apprenticeship (or anything at all!) I would love to connect.

Email: cconklin524@gmail.com

constantin demuth

Hello, I was born and raised in Berlin, Germany but left soon after I graduated from High School. I went travelling to India and Nepal, continued in South East Asia and realized that the life away from home does good to me. I moved to the Netherlands, where I studied Human Geography and Planning. Now I have graduated, still super keen to learn but not in the academic sense of learning. This (and some random clicks in the internet) brought me to Rancho Mastatal, where it feels like my dream is coming true.

A big part of my thoughts and desires surround the question of providing good, clean and healthy living circumstances and resources to the ever-increasing number of us on this planet. Instead of trying to change the world upside down I truly believe nature has provided us with the all the tools necessary to solve these issues, it is up to us to learn, understand and appreciate the bounty of goods we are surrounded by.

I realize more and more that living in cities makes it difficult to comprehend these opportunities (I very much include myself here). At Rancho Mastatal I will put all my focus on realizing these opportunities, understanding the processes behind them, add tools to my little toolbox and then continue my journey: Preventing more damage from happening and creating more chances to grow; together as a society, the rural and the urban side by side.

dewey

I am a teacher. An anthropologist, an environmentalist, an artist. A yogi, friend, and fellow earthling. I am an eater of plants and lover of books. A self-proclaimed stoic optimist, amateur film photographer and writer. I am an intentional living and sustainability advocate who believes our world is in need of a shift.

For the past few years I have called the quirky city of New Orleans home, but I was raised with sand on my feet and the sun on my skin in Tampa, Florida. When I was a much younger tomboy with messy blonde ringlets, I spent my summers in the adirondack mountains, where I learned how to build a fire, work as a farmhand, and live in connection with the wilderness around me.

In 2015 I graduated with two degrees from Florida State University, one in Anthropology and the other in Interdisciplinary Humanities. I purposefully rooted my undergraduate studies in both cognitive and geographic exploration. On the road and inside my head, it was never answers that I found, only more questions. Regardless, being able to view the world through an anthropological lens is the greatest of many gifts that my undergraduate education gave to me.

After graduation, I uprooted pretty much everything concrete in my life and threw myself into the great big mystery of the world that lay beyond the horizon of my hometown. Throughout that time I have had the opportunity to explore, live, and volunteer in over forty countries. I have lifted up the corners of far away places and whether I was studying in London, excavating archaeological sites in Spain and Dubai, teaching geometry in Thailand, developing humanitarian aid projects in Tanzania, running an outdoor recreation program in Ontario, living in a van traveling around my home country, or planting roots and working with the youth of New Orleans, the question of sustainability within the context of each of these societies persisted.

My partner Matthew and I have centered our life and partnership together around reducing our impact, living in deep community/connection, and rethinking larger systems we are complicit in. We have sought out Rancho because we hope to go deeper and eventually create a similar corner of the universe where we can learn and teach and grow with others. In the learning and unlearning I have done throughout my life, I have found that once you understand that the rules aren’t absolute you can learn to live beyond the limits. And that is what I intend to create throughout my time and work at the ranch: jotting down a few answers, discovering even more questions, and developing a better understanding of a life beyond the limits.

Hannah Knudson

As a Phoenix native I have spent a majority of my life in the Sonoran desert. I have always found solace in nature and my passion for caring for the earth has grown out of that. I have deep ties to my community in Arizona and my life course is continually shaped by my experiences there.  After obtaining a degree in Social Work and working various years in the field it became very clear to me that so many of the systemic issues that my own community and so many others face are rooted in limited access and education about the natural world. It was at our urban community farm where I began to see a different path to social justice, one that began in the soil. Since then it has been my passion to combine social work and agriculture as a framework to create sustainable change.  Now with a new degree in Sustainable agriculture I have the ability to do just that. The passion for both the fields is what has drawn me to Rancho Mastatal. 

I have a love and drive for traveling and adventure and this has taken me to many parts of Latin America. Through that Costa Rica quickly came to hold a special place in my heart. I have a deep love and connection to this magical country. It was the first place I traveled to alone and was where I grew a deeper understanding of the importance on a global scale of being a good steward of the earth. One of my long-term dreams is having space to live a life in deep connection with my community and with the earth and I am excited to join the Rancho team who already live out these values. 

matthew rayBon

My name is Matthew Raybon. I am a maker, designer and human. I love making stuff. All sorts of stuff.  Over the years I have worked as a florist, a carpenter and most recently as an architect. Each brings its own mysteries, challenges, and rewards. I make homes for real humans, cafes for coffee, and furniture for both friends and strangers. I believe that creative problem solving through collaborative processes is the key to creating a more sustainable future. In my work as an architect I’ve come to know intimately a system for creating shelter and building community that is broken and out of touch with the needs and health of our communities and the earth. This is what first started me on my path to Rancho Mastatal.

I am a brother and a partner, a son and a sailor. I spent the first part of my life in coastal New Jersey and the second part in the mystifying city of New Orleans which basically just means I used to say yous guys and now I say y’all. Beginning when I was a little kid and continuously throughout my life I have spent a great deal of time sailing small fast boats. This experience has provided me with a deep reverence for the power and mystery of nature and a fascination with simple man made systems for passively using that power. Living and working in New Orleans taught me many things but above all it showed me what an urban community can look like. It reminds me every single day of the value of uninhibited creativity and ritual.

Over the past few years my partner Dewey and I have unified our lives and embarked on a journey of unlearning and growth in order to seek a more sustainable life for ourselves and our community. It is our hope that our time spent at Rancho will provide us a foundation in creating a life that is in alignment with our values and in harmony with our environment. I am reaching back to relearn time tested methods for fostering community and looking forward wondering how those techniques can integrate into the world resulting in slow gradual cultural shifts away from fast fast fast, profit profit profit and towards slow slow slow connect connect connect.

Anyway, here’s a short list of things I get really excited about: finding surprising connections between seemingly unrelated things; space, light and perception; the interplay of social creatures and physical space; beautiful pieces of wood; yummy food with friends and family; and DANCING! Lots of dancing!

2020 APprentices

Anthony traina

Growing up in Florida, I took an early interest in tropical plants and gardening. Later as an adult, curiosity lead me to explore the botany of the tropical forests in Colombia and Costa Rica for 8 years. In this region, there are very similar plants to what can be found in South Florida, yet the diversity is through the roof. The colors and shapes of the flora are astounding, at times overwhelming. Getting involved with various ecologically-based projects, such as community seed banks, university herbaria, and coffee farms, I eventually found my way to the world of forestry and natural building --- two wings of a beautiful bird. Using forest resources in a sustainable way to build simple and elegant structures has become the goal, and that which has brought me to the Rancho.

 Practicing permaculture, natural building, organic food preparation, and generally living in a self-reliant way have become the vision with which I aim to direct my efforts, and am very happy to be able to learn and work side-by-side with the team at the Rancho, folks that have years and years of tropical homesteading experience.

Danielle Renee Felgenhauer

I love to create, to build.

I come from Wisconsin where I spent a lot of time exploring the outdoors, summers in the lakes, winters in the snow. My mom always used to tell us to take it outside! We’d build forts and make things out of whatever we could find. I loved making mud paints. These often ended up all over the house, possibly to my parents’ dismay. It’s time to go back to the mud and get down and dirty again.

I studied visual arts at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where I continued to create. I feel a lot of inspiration from the natural world and creepiest and crawliest of things. Alongside visual arts, I studied people-environment geography where I learned to view the world through a social environmental lens. Since then I have had the privilege to teach and live in different places around the world. This has given me the opportunity to see how different people from different walks of life, landscapes, and cultures interact and connect with the environments they are a part of. There are so many people doing so many great things! I have also seen, and at times, felt a lot of disconnect as well. I think a prime example is in food systems. 

I have a passion for food, growing it, preparing it, cooking it, baking it, fermenting it, experimenting with it, creating with it, and especially sharing it! Food is the center of any community, and as we become further removed from our food sources, it affects us deeply, both human communities, and the greater habitats we share with other species. I feel very motivated by the many people trying to make changes in our food system. I want to go back to the basics and work hard to develop the knowledge and skills to nourish that connection deeply again. I hope to develop the tools to help others do the same. 

I am a teacher some days and a learner every day. I am stoked to learn about natural building and regenerative agriculture and use some of my artistic talents in a more sustainable way. When I am not creating in the kitchen, I enjoy creating shapes in yoga, marks on paper, and smiles on faces. :)

Kara Anderson 

Kara grew up in Ontario, before making the rainy West Coast of British Columbia home nearly a decade ago. She studied Architecture and Urban Design in university, with a focus on sustainable design practices. Since graduating she has worked across many different fields, including software implementation, publishing, and architectural drafting. Between these different paths, Kara’s interests have been drawn back to natural building, sustainable practices, ecological restoration, and community led design. 

She was first introduced to natural building in a workshop with the Mudgirls Building Collective in BC, and is keen get her hands dirty and practice her skills in her year at Rancho Mastatal. As a designer and as an artist, she fell in love with the possibilities of natural building. 

Kara has a deep love of the outdoors and adventure, and is always looking for opportunities to experience unique parts of the world. From hiking the Inca Trail in Peru, the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal, to the stunning rainforest trails of the Pacific Northwest, Kara feels most alive when she’s out in nature. 

The other love of Kara’s life is books. She can most often be found with a book (or three) in hand, immersed in every kind of fiction, and everything else from histories, memoir, and popular science. She is also a writer, and is fascinated by how the stories we tell define the places we inhabit. 

Marco Young

Hi, I'm Marco. I'm an Italian-English mix that was born in Italy and grew up in England.

Since leaving school I've spent a lot of time traveling, exploring new cultures and picking up work and life experiences along the way - and even more time deliberating on worthwhile ways to direct my life. I went through the insecurities and existential uncertainties that seem typical to the 'quarter-life crises' generation, and made it through to the other side (bring on the mid-life!). During these years I've met incredible people, learnt invaluable skills and had unforgettable experiences that shaped the person I am today.

I fell into English teaching in 2013 because I was good at it and I could do it anywhere in the world. I was teaching for 6 years - 2 in Europe and 4 in Hanoi - but I still felt that something was missing. This is when I was introduced to El Rancho by a friend who knew me well and thought, correctly, that it would be a suitable avenue for me to pursue.

Longing for a deeper connection to nature, a return to education and the acquisition of useful, practical skills in an area I feel passionate about, the ranch seems to tick all the boxes. The ethos of El Rancho coupled with the lifestyle and learning-teaching methodology is what I've been yearning for and I'm itching to get my hands and feet stuck in!

Though I may not have so much relevant experience for the apprenticeship, I certainly make up for it in enthusiasm and determination. I'm ready to throw myself in the deep end and dedicate my life to the pursuit of a more sustainable and naturally harmonious lifestyle - and hopefully use my skills as a teacher to pay the lessons forward. 

Mathew patillo

My name is Mathew Pattillo, and I am a real human being with 25 years of experience living on Planet Mother Earth.

In that time, I've grown to love the Earth above all else, through experiences hiking, camping, and backpacking. I studied environmental science at Duke University, and have worked in the construction industry as a project manager since graduating in 2017. While this has been mentally stimulating, I've felt a tugging from the heart to pursue work more in line with my passion for the health and future of our Planet.

My journey to El Rancho Mastatal represents a shift in my path back towards the Earth, and what feels like the beginning of a great journey, to learn how to build, grow, and maintain a community that works with, and thrives with, the Earth, rather than exploits it. I hope to someday start my own community for sustainable living, and help to build others all over the USA and the world.

I have a lot of hope for the future of the world when I'm surrounding by those working to build that future, and am extremely excited and grateful for places like El Rancho Mastatal.

You might also like to know that in my free time, I love to draw, paint, take photographs, and make music, as well as crack jokes and tell stories to anyone who will listen. I love the beach, the mountains, and the full moon, and you can challenge me to a dance off anytime. I also love to wrestle and grapple, and play “futbol” or frisbee on a nice sunny day. My favorite dessert is a Brownie Sundae, although Frozen Key Lime Pie has made a strong comeback this year.

Trivia Games and/or Karaoke Night tremble before me, and I can play video or board games long past a healthy bed time. Finally, you should know that I'm very much an Empath, so if you've got something you need to get off your chest, I'm here for you with open ears and a warm hug.

If you'd like to know more, check out my visual diary on Instagram @datmatpat , or email me directly at mathewx1@gmail.com. Genuine human connection makes me happier than anything else!

Moanna Quynh Nguyen 

I was brought up in a city in Denmark with no connection to land as a second generation Vietnamese refugee, and growing up was most about integrating the western culture while respecting where my parents come from. I was grateful for the privileges of education and stability, and sought to give back to a society that had given me so much. Freedom and equity has always been fueled my activistic spirit.

When I went to travel to Vietnam I discovered that what I expected to be beautiful, untouched natural places, was polluted and filled with plastic. That’s when I started gaining more awareness about our impact on the environment. Not long after it was hard for me to unsee the destruction behind just a simple takeaway coffee. Half a year later this heightened sensitivity to all life made me feel all the consequences in the production and disposal of our commodities, which led me into apathy and despair. I was completely frozen and didn’t feel my life did any justice to the impact I made.

After many cries and lots of anxiety from feeling the devastating consequences in the production and disposal of what sustained my city life, my mom said, “the world won’t be a better place if you’re miserable”. I changed my travel goals with sustainable as the keyword, followed my heart, kept it open to learn about how to live sustainable and discovered permaculture in December 2019. I was on the right path as only a week after I bumped into a permaculture teacher and ended up at Tom Kendall’s permaculture farm. This city girl fell in love with the land. I spent 6 months milking cows, feeding biodigestors, having dirt between my toes, connecting with other permies on their journey and an amazing community. I felt so alive, knowing that I could not only avoid destroying but actually make space for nature to heal, and knew that humans belong and are one with nature.

Rancho Mastatal is a Dream coming true. I need a deeper connection with the land, a better understanding of ecology and all the resilient, social and practical skills to deal with climate change!

Nicolas avalos

Hello. I am Nicolas, a student in Civil Engineering in Belgium at the Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve (UCLouvain). For the last few years I’ve been more and more concerned about the sustainability of our current lifestyle. I believe that part of the solution is to start building houses more connected to our environment through eco construction and alternative building techniques such as natural plasters, cob, etc. I did my bachelor’s degree in Construction with an option in environment and development and was part of the CPME program in entrepreneurship at UCLouvain for my master’s degree. I took every opportunity I got to learn more about permaculture and sustainable living, and I’ve been looking for internships and apprenticeship all around the globe to get hands on experience about this field. I'm currently finishing an internship in Critical Concrete, a non-lucrative organization promoting social and sustainable architecture in Porto, Portugal. My plan for the next couple years is to get as much hands-on experience and knowledge as possible about sustainable construction techniques in order to start building small ecological houses as a profession. In this perspective, being accepted for the Rancho's apprenticeship was one of the most exciting news of this year. I am so thrilled to start this enriching and amazing adventure in Costa Rica.

  2019 APprentices

Abby Kuchar 

I have been drawn to the permaculture mindset for a long time now. In high school, I discovered the concept of permaculture when writing a thesis paper on small-scale agriculture. This idea of living a lifestyle in harmony with other natural systems felt highly intuitive and excited me. I pursued this interest and worked with different smalls farms in my area. While those experiences were valuable and educational, I was frustrated with the conventional practices. I did not yet have the experience or language to explain that there was a better way. While attending University, I curated my education to include both a Fine Arts degree and a strong foundation in environmental science and sustainable food systems. By exploring these different fields concurrently, I gained skills in conveying complex environmental issues visually and the core tenants of good design. My junior year, I was appointed Assistant Manager of the five-acre permaculture farm on my campus. This position allowed me the autonomy to look at the land in a creative way and cemented my commitment to this design theory.

Additionally, I have a deep appreciation and passion for all things hand-crafted and homemade. I enjoying growing my own food, fermenting fruits and vegetables, making medicinal teas and tinctures, crocheting and dyeing fibers, weaving baskets, and foraging for wild foods. In general, I enjoy working with my hands and creating. While I do have farming experience, I feel as though my greatest asset to the Ranch will be my creativity and sense of intentional design. 

Amy Dodds 

Kia ora, I’m Amy Dodds, a 28-year-old from Aotearoa (New Zealand).

Like a typical New Zealander, I grew up camping in the bush, hiking in the forest, swimming in rivers and the ocean, and dancing around a bonfire. This is what made me the adventurous, nature-loving person I am today and given me the desire to protect the wilderness that belongs to the enviromental world.

I graduated in 2014 with a Bachelors in Anthropology and Media Studies and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Book Publishing. Anthropology fuelled my curiosity for what we can learn from other cultures and made me challenge our norms. Interested in how we communicate our cultural stories, I worked for four years in the book publishing industry, honing my critical lens and ability to look at detail.

Then…

A few years ago, I put my career in books on the shelf to pursue a journey into self-discovery. I travelled to Thailand and India, and within my own country, visiting permaculture farms and studying yoga and meditation. This experience allowed me to see the connection between permaculture and mindfulness: they encouraged me to take the time to be still, to observe, interact and ultimately appreciate that we are inseparable from nature.

My travels reinforced community living as a long-term project. Two years ago, I helped create a communal home, where I lived with 10 like-minded friends. Here I have experienced the power that a sense of belonging has on personal growth. At Rancho Mastatal I hope to explore and experience new ways of living in a loving community.

I have come to Rancho Mastatal to pull the threads of my learnings and weave them together. I want to live in harmony with the environment and respect its limits. I am hoping to absorb new knowledge and experiences to become a change-maker in my own community.

Benjamin Behrend 

It has always been a dream to dive deep into the Permaculture Flower with all the sustainable systems and ideology that Rancho Mastatal encompasses. Having such a facility and faculty on hand creates opportunities always hoped for. In the past I’ve put a toe or foot into some of these skill sets, yet often doing so in short spurts of time along with limited guidance in work/trade situations. This lead to a wide range of experiences. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin with a BA in English Literature, I’ve had the opportunity of weaving travel and farm life in the last eight years, being colorful and fruitful in many ways. I come from the land of cheese, also known as Wisconsin, growing up and living there until 2010. It’s not easy being cheesy. I definitely cherish all the love and compassion my family embodies with supportive, kind, caring parents, along with two amazing brothers. Music has always played a big part in my life and I enjoy a wide spectrum of it from all over the world. Music, a universal language that can be shared across the globe brings people together in somewhat similar nature as food does. I love all walks of life, to hear people’s stories, ambitions, dreams, beliefs, new discoveries, and innovative ideas. To share simple pleasures such as a smile and a sunset, admiring what surrounds us, taking into account the small details while musing over the big picture. I love the vast variety of artists whose expressions give unique scope, altering perceptions and emotions whether it be writing, painting, music, movies etc. Really just about anything done outside away from the concrete jungle makes me a happy camper.

Diana Dagash 

My name is Diana, i was born in Israel.

Since the age of 5 i was traveling with my family, we lived in Canada,Ukraine,Poland and Holand and did roadtrips to many other other countries. We lived an adventurous lifestyle, camping out in the wilderness, exploring the beauties of the world.

Since i remember myself i loved adventures, nature and the plants . I feel that is is embeded in me to keep traveling since i finished high school for the past 5 years Ive been backpacking, hitchhiking, staying open to spontanious connections with indigenous tribes and local healers that opened their doors to me to stay with them , learn from from their living and healing traditions. I have been learning from my grandmother who is a herbalist and self sufficient homesteader herself.

Seeing various tribes loose their ability to sustain themselves, trying to keep up with modernization, i felt a strong urge to learn how we could live in a way that everyones basic needs for clean water, food and shelter are met and sustained in harmony with nature. As well as to preserve the ancient knowlegde and traditions that reconnect us to nature and provides understanding of our responsibilities as humans on Earth.

I am passionate about plant medicine, healthy living , creating a space for education on sustainable living.

That's why chose to live in Rancho Mastatal doing the year long apprenticeship to learn all the essential skills for these matters

I am looking forward to have a educationally transforming year in Rancho Mastatal, to continue self discovery of my passions and learn how to bring benefit to the environment with the skills that I'll learn.

Mike Paladino 

Mike comes to Rancho Mastatal beaming with enthusiasm for the opportunity to broaden and deepen his knowledge and skills with the hope that he can help usher in a more just and regenerative planet. 

After completing his degree in Anthropology from Georgia State University in Atlanta, he spent two years working as an English instructor in Costa Rica and Chile. Upon the completion of his contract and the abundant growth of many a wild hair, he decided to spend six months wearing all of his belongings on his back and wove his way from Chile to Colombia, speckling the trip with volunteer experiences on various sustainability-related projects — from designing mandala gardens to reforesting native trees to building earthbag homes — in every country he visited. It was during this transformative voyage that he first came into contact with permaculture as an embodied way of living. 

Following his return to the states, he worked two seasons as a farm hand on one of the oldest organic vegetable farms in Colorado. Beyond developing a profound appreciation for the growers across the globe who nurture the land whilst nourishing their local communities, he was reassured daily of the urgent need to transform our industrial food system as well as the deep fulfillment brought about by working in accord with nature. The abundance of exquisite produce also encouraged him to be more experimental in the kitchen — an impulse he looks forward to being surrounded by during his time in Mastatal. 

With a long-term goal of owning property in the tropics, Mike plans to get his hands dirty in as many of the Ranch’s projects in motion as possible. He sees much promise in the ethics of permaculture and greatly looks forward to hopping on board and learning alongside the team in Mastatal. If he isn’t whistling while he’s working, one may see him roving under the canopy with an unwavering smile, devouring books across subjects far and wide, trying to get one of his two left feet to act right, or doing something he hasn’t quite thought of yet. 

PJ Barton 

I'm PJ from England. I've been traveling around the world finding home where my feet take me. I developed a deep love for the ocean and revolved my life around it. After living in Tasmania I started to practice self sufficiency  living off the ocean mostly and what was growing in the garden. I started to understand the cycle. I  was looking to direct my life, channelling my time into something with purpose and a feeling of change. Feeling that self-sufficiency as a means of freedom allowed me to feel empowered and not reliant on the social structure. So here I am living in Mastatal excited for a new adventure channelling my energy into something so positive. 

Take it easy 

Ryan Roberts 

Ryan grew up hiking, biking and camping in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Business Sustainability and a minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation from Western Washington University, out of his home base in Bellingham. Ryan works as a sustainability consultant with Kulshan Services to help organizations and communities adopt more sustainable practices, with a focus on circularity and closed-loop systems.

 In his leisure time, Ryan is an avid board and card gamer, cyclist and mountain biker, budding mycologist and cook. He loves to spend time making meals and dancing with his close-knit community of friends.

2018 Appentices

Denise McKeown

My story begins in the small often misunderstood city of Belfast. I started out young, hopeful and keen to contribute to society in the ways I saw most fitting. 

I went to university where I studied biology and ecology. Realizing I was most happy when working with others, I took the path into teaching which lead me to Mexico teaching science for a couple years.

I went back to university to study for a Masters. Choosing to focus on something a bit more sustainable this time. Through that search I found Mastatal and its fair to say I couldn't believe my luck. I came here somewhat stumbling (as others can attest) and already I’ve been humbled and inspired by my experiences so far, the patience of the team and the thought and energy that has gone into the program. I look forward with excitement and curiosity to the year ahead which I hope will allow me to see a bit more clearly the bigger picture. 

Kate Williams

Kate arrives at Rancho Mastatal with a deep curiosity and desire to gain the knowledge and skills to live a life aligned with her values. 

Prior to landing in Costa Rica Kate worked in the field of international development. Blending human centered design with the disciplines of sociology, psychology, and education theory, Kate designed and operationalized non-formal education and employment programs for youth, women and marginalized groups. Over the past 8 years, Kate has lived and worked with communities across Australaisa, South and South East Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, East Africa, and North and South America. In addition to working alongside both grass-roots and international NGOs, in 2013 Kate also founded an Australian based not-for-profit, The Global Women’s Project. 

Kate’s long term ambition is to create a project-model property in Kalavan, a mountain village in Armenia that she co-owns with 6 Armenian and diasporan women. Through her apprenticeship, Kate hopes to be better equipped to work alongside the Kalavan community to find ways to build equitable eco-systems, strengthen food-systems, and revive local community through profitable small-holder farming enterprises.

Hailing from Adelaide, Australia, Kate considers herself a feminist, a part-time Philomath, a contrarian, a pursuer of improbable ideas, and an apprentice to the art of asking questions. Central to her core being is the love of adventure, appreciation of wilderness, and searching for new frontiers.

To learn about Kate’s philosophy and approach to social design, click here.

To learn about Kate’s work and education background, click here. 

Marissa Taylor

Marissa Taylor comes to Rancho Mastatal as an apprentice with a varied background and rich life history. She has gone from a barber in Hamilton, Ontario in Canada to an international development professional for the world’s largest NGO working with and/or living in more than 30 countries. As a barber and young mother she learned the value of building diverse skills sets, as well as, developing a deep curiosity of people and their stories (she has heard some crazy ones!). After a few years, and as her son got older she decided to go to McMaster University to get her Masters, as she had always been interested in Health and International Development. There she learned about the social determinants of health and the causal relationship they have to infectious and chronic illness. It was here her passion for alternative medicine was born, during her Master’s she co-author a textbook chapter with her professors and mentors on Complementary and Alternative Medicine. However, it was her first internship in India working for and international NGO that brought her fully into the world of international development. She later became a Project Designer, Partnering and Resource Development Specialist mainly working in Africa and Asia. On her last assignment based in Cambodia, her desire to once again submerge herself into a new experience of a natural medicine, healing through food and more generally a new way of living more environmentally conscious. This brought her to leave her job and join the Mastatal Team. As an apprentice she is keen to learn more about Permaculture Design, Food Processing and building a sustainable community environment. So far, she has found the ranch to be a place that provides a great course structure, encourages group and independent learning, as well as, a living ethos that balances work, rest and play.  

Matthew Livingston

Hi, my name's Matt Livingston. I'm 26 years old and I come from the UK/South Africa, although I don't really feel "from" anywhere in particular as I've moved around a lot and am quite used to change!

Not too long ago I was a software engineer working for a top tech firm in London, and I've recently started my transition away from that world (at least for now) via a masters degree in Environmental Sustainability at the University of Edinburgh. My primary motivation for this shift was the disconnect I felt between what I was contributing to and what some of the world's major issues are - I am aiming to find more alignment between my values, work and way of life and Rancho Mastatal seems to be a rife source of inspiration for this journey. 

My main goals for this year are to develop my practical skills alongside my theoretical knowledge, as well as good lifestyle habits to be an effective and happy human being. I'm particularly interested in Permaculture, woodworking, Regenerative Agriculture and other solutions aiming to reverse climate change and strengthen local communities, we well as for the health and enjoyment of those who practice them!

I also enjoy birdwatching, hiking, practicing yoga and reading, amongst many other things... variety is the spice of life. I hope to share as much as I am able about my experience at mattliving.com and mattliving on Instagram. Cheers!

Nadav Shelley

My name is Nadav Shelly, I grew up in Israel.

In the last few years I’ve been exploring the areas of outdoor-environmental education, sustainable agriculture and music production.

After traveling for a while in Latin America, I felt a need to find a place that would allow me to develop skills and to find my niche within the sustainable living world. 

Moreover, I felt the need to find a community where I could develop my understanding of group dynamics built on strong human relationships.

I found Rancho Mastatal as a warm, diverse, motivating home that gives me the tools to make our world a little bit better.

Niles Fairman

A friend of nature, Niles Fairman exhibits a profound favor for ecological justice. He is often observed with his mates making weekly visitations to the pseudo-wilds of abandoned transient camps. This tight-knit gang of hearty, Eco-friendly, look-to-do volunteers descends with clearing power of locusts under the auspices of the well coordinated San Diego River Park Foundation. And this is no pleasure boat (though some of these warriors display the humors of a cruise vacationer). Often, volumes exceed a 8x8x20 tamped dumpster, thousands of pounds of flood fanned fancilessness are hauled up meandering trail systems by nobley lathered arms of retirees, haunting hypodermic paraphernalia lurk under leaf where the comparatively elegant rattlesnakes had at one time heralded, unnatural toxins make up the mayo and mustard of a nature sandwich. Thus the motley crew in myrmecophilous mindset march through the cross-crossing vectors of disintegrating, marginally civil detritus and shifting cavernous tunnels of thickening invasive coagulation and, as such have been recognized and awarded by the highest office of San Diego with the key to the city. Raise a glass, "Ching Ching!"

Samantha Olvera

I grew up in Colorado where I fostered a love of the outdoors and sports of all kinds. At Rice University in Houston, I studied Bioengineering with a focus on Global Health Technologies. This involved designing and prototyping medical devices that are suited to environments with limited resources. After graduating I moved to Malawi in southeast Africa and began working for the Rice 360° Institute for Global Health, implementing a country-wide scale up of a medical device for newborns. Over my few years in Malawi, it occurred to me that many of the challenges I faced in my work and daily experience --everything from health outcomes to electricity shortages-- could be traced back to environmental issues.  

Inspired by my new interest in sustainability and a lifelong desire to be outside as much as possible, I came to Rancho Mastatal to learn new hands-on skills. I hope to find my career niche at the intersection of my Hispanic roots, social justice, my engineering background, and sustainability. In my free time I enjoy trail running, acrobatic yoga, and pretty much any outdoor activity. When I’m not running around outside, I am most often buried in a book. I’m excited for a year of active learning and becoming a part of the Mastatal community. 

2017 APprentices

Connor Harron

Connor Harron was born on a small organic farm in the heart of Cascadia (Pacific Northwest) USA. Although currently working on his PhD at the University of California-Irvine in Social Ecology, Connor has spent much of his adult life living abroad, working as a farm hand, cook, bartender, and activist in countries around the world. He is a lover of all things outdoors. Whether it is hiking or backpacking, mountain biking or bike touring, diving or surfing, Frisbee or slackline, Connor is always ready for an adventure or just goofing around.

Connor first fell in love with Costa Rica in 2010 while studying tropical conservation as part of an 8-week immersion service-learning program through Western Washington University. He has been seeking ways to make it back ever since. Today, Connor’s work focuses on better understanding the potential for permaculture to help rebuild local food sheds and on utilizing sustainable agricultural practices to empower vulnerable communities with the skills needed to meet their nutritional and economics needs.

He envisions permaculture practices and biodynamic farming as potential pathways out of severe poverty for the over 500 million small farmers struggling to make ends meet around the world. Connor plans to help the ranch wherever needed and to learn as much as possible about homesteading and sustainable living during his time in Costa Rica. He plans to take the knowledge gained and incorporate it into the sustainable garden education programs he is currently supporting in California, Mexico, Uganda, and Swaziland.

If he’s not rummaging around in the garden, Connor can be found playing a game of ultimate Frisbee, cooking/fermenting the local produce, enjoying a fresh pot of coffee, or organizing the crew for a weekend adventure. 

Juan Gonazalez

Hi, I’m Juan, I’m an anthropologist from Bogotá, Colombia, where I spend most of my time working with indigenous communities in projects related to intercultural health systems, food security and ecosystem management. I’ve always been passionate about understanding the relationship between people and nature and I’m interested in helping communities learn from each other and make decisions that contribute to the wellbeing of their families and the ecosystems they depend on.

I hope that the experience of being an apprentice at Rancho Mastatal allows me to have a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities for living sustainably that are available today, so that eventually I’ll be able to adapt them for myself and others in a way that promotes ways of life that are more respectful of people and nature. I love growing plants, trying new foods and taking long hikes in the forest, so I’m looking forward to exploring Mastatal and learning as much as I can from the jungles and people of Costa Rica.

Kelley Govan

Kelley was born and raised in Washington State, USA, where she has lived in both Seattle and more remote areas. She studied environmental science and English literature at the University of Washington, which has led her into a career of various, dynamic jobs in the environmental field. Kelley is coming to the Ranch after working for 3.5 years at a salmon recovery nonprofit in WA, where her primary role was to facilitate lessons for youth & adults about water quality, habitat restoration, macroinvertebrates, ecology, plants, stormwater, salmon, low-impact development, and more. She also worked for many years at a YMCA camp where she ran an equestrian program and taught environmental education, worked on the Elwha River re-vegetation project, taught marine science on a boat, was part of an Olympic National Park trail crew, and moonlighted as a cocktail waitress on a charter boat in Seattle.

Kelley first came to the Ranch on a study abroad trip in college, and is very excited to return almost a decade later as part of the 2017 apprentice team. It has been a life goal of hers to work on a permaculture farm and to also live in Central America for at least a year; she cannot be more thrilled for this amazing opportunity! She is excited for every aspect of living at the Ranch (even the bugs!), and is looking forward to taking a break from teaching and experience being a student herself again. Kelley loves the abundance of tropical fruit at the Ranch, all the critters, reading books in hammocks, and hiking the myriad of trails surrounding the Ranch. 

Léon Couturier

Leon is a young adventure ecologist with an entrepreneurship degree. He discovered permaculture in 2015 and it changed his life. He loves nature and life.  Every time that he sees destruction or an animal go extinct by human development, he suffers and wants to do something to stop it.

Leon imagines a way of living with balance between animals, nature and humans. When he found permaculture he was able to answer all his questions and doubts about the way we have been developing in the planet and how we can change it. He believes that all change starts with ourselves.

He doesn’t believe in the system.  He wants to be part of a change where we can apply permaculture and interact with nature in a harmonious way.

Prior to coming to Mastatal he was living in a sustainable community called Los Guayabos at Guadalajara Jalisco.

Leon took the Rex 5 at Sierra Gorda, a PDC at East End Eden and participated in a Sustainable Living Tour in California in 2016.  His next stop is Rancho Mastatal.

He loves to play ultimate Frisbee, learn new things, cook, sharing with others, and getting to know new people.   

Marissa Weitzman

Marissa is fascinated by regenerative agriculture, natural building, ecology and anthropology.  Her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science led her to study her inner and outer landscapes in Guatemala where she pursued a PDC from the Institute of Mesoamerican Permaculture (IMAP) and a 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training.  For the last 3 years, Marissa was a Garden and Sustainability Educator at Alta Vista School in San Francisco. There, she facilitated hands-on projects with her students including a living roof, earth benches, seed library, and a natural built playground structure.  It brings her a lot of joy to participate and inspire others to be involved in the seed-to-table process because it cultivates a strong relationship with the earth’s cycles. 

Not only does Marissa enjoy growing plants, but she also is a creative flavor wizard in the kitchen and loves to cook, bake, ferment and make chocolate for her community! She discovered her interest in building when she used power tools for the first time at AVS and felt empowered to build with available resources, rather than buy conventional products.   

Additionally, Marissa has visited many eco-villages and sustainable demonstration centers around the world, which has inspired her to live a regenerative lifestyle at Rancho Mastal.  During her apprenticeship, she intends to soak up knowledge and develop skills in farming for small scale production, natural building, permaculture design, seed saving, and managing a sustainability education center because she want to offer these skills to regenerative land-based projects.

Peter Giordano

Peter is originally from Syracuse, NY and holds a degree in Economics from Johns Hopkins University. Peter has spent six years working in healthcare IT on hospital software implementations. Feeling unsatisfied in office life, Peter hopes the ranch is the first step on the path to a more fulfilling existence. He is excited to live in harmony with nature in an environment focused on health and sustainability. Peter believes in learning by doing and is looking forward to getting his hands dirty on the farm.

In his spare time, Peter enjoys skiing, backpacking, travel, yoga, cooking, and just about anything outdoors. Along with all the growing, building, and fermenting, Peter hopes to learn how to surf and work on Spanish over the course of the year.  

2016 Apprentices

Ashley Chow

Ashley Chow is an oncology nurse with a degree from the University of Florida. Born and raised in Miami, Florida she loves the beach, marine life, and tropical weather. To her nothing is better than having your toes in the sand. Her special interest in holistic wellness and sustainable culture brought her to the ranch believing the mind and body must work together to achieve wellness. She is passionate about roller derby and roller disco; while she is taking a small disco break at the Ranch she still enjoys dancing on and off skates.

Daniel Kay

Dan Kay is from New Jersey USA and has earned a living as a Wedding Emcee/Dj for the past 12 years.  He loves the outdoors whether it is mountain biking, building trails (one of his favorite), hiking, cliff jumping, slacklining and anything that keeps him on the go.  Dan fell in love with Costa Rica when he was 16 and the raw compassion he continued to experience during the 6 weeks he had spent there.  Dan wants to raise a family somewhere that people care about what they are feeding their children, live in a more community type atmosphere, and be surrounded by nature and people that are compassionate about living a healthy life.  Dan plans to help the Ranch further their progress,  to help whereever needed, absorb as much knowledge as he can and start or join a sustainable community in Costa Rica after completing  his apprenticeship.  He will be joining the apprentice team with his wife Jessica as their first step in creating a life for themselves and their future family in Costa Rica. Dan loves getting his hands dirty, learning new skills, teaching those skills to others and talking with anyone who wants to take the time to talk to him.  

Dorothy farrell

Dorothy is a young ecologist, yogi, and budding artist. During the summer before her junior year at University, she stumbled across the term "permaculture" and was immediately hooked. Finding her stride in chaos's opportunities, Dorothy proceeded to work in agriculture at BU Acres Farm, ZigZag Farm in Oregon, and finally Rancho Mastatal. With a degree in ecological sciences, and an unbridled curiosity for the natural world, Dorothy plans to use the principles of ecosystems and humanity's need for resources to facilitate stronger, more beneficial relationships between the two. At Rancho Mastatal, she is delving into the science, study, and practice of apiculture with both African Honeybees and stingless bees. The 2016 honey harvest is sure to reflect a plethora of newly planted Asteraceae and Meliaceae-- if proof can indeed be found in the flavor. If she's not hanging out with bees, Dorothy can be found playing ultimate frisbee, painting, free-styling, or running the trails of La Cangreja. 

Jessica Garvin

Jessica Kay is from New Jersey, USA where she practices as a Licensed Massage Therapist, and on the weekends she is her husband’s disc jockey in their wedding entertainment company.  Jessica has a BA in psychology from Western Connecticut State University where she also played forward on the college’s women’s basketball team from 2005-2007. Jessica and her husband Dan will both be part of Rancho Mastatal’s 2016 apprentice group with the intention to gain the knowledge and experience it will take to create an ecovillage in Costa Rica with like-minded people.  Jessica would love to have the ability and opportunity to bring awareness and educate others to live a more health conscious and sustainable life.  She is passionate about yoga, nutrition, DIY projects, animals, music, and being adventurous and trying new things! Jessica is very much looking forward to learning about fermentation and making her favorite beverage, Kombucha. 

Lydia Blocksidge

Hi I’m Lydia, the Australian! My background is in Horticulture & Landscape Architecture. In “The Alchemist” Paulo Coelho sums up my passion, “If we improve on the present, what comes later will also be better”. I want to help people eat better for themselves and for our environment by linking public spaces with food production for a healthy, conscious, connected food future. I’d love to assist people and organizations to reduce their environmental impact because a healthy environment supports healthy people and visa versa. Rancho Mastatal is the next step in my journey and I can’t wait to learn amongst other passionate individuals. I love the outdoors (especially hiking and the ocean), writing and experimenting in the kitchen. A quirk of mine is waving with the peace sign!