Our Story

It began with a tree…two giant Ceiba trees, rooted deep in the El Encanto jungle, to be exact.

Back in 2006, a coalition of Californians came together to forge a new kind of community for sustainable living inspired by the confluence of people and place. They founded El Encanto del Sur on Nicaragua’s Emerald Coast. A decade later, searching for place to build a small retreat and community volunteering space, they came upon the magnificent twins. The Ceibas—considered most sacred in Mesoamerican tradition for energetically connecting the cosmos, earth and world below—inspired greater aspiration for the original project.

The Ceibas became our compass and anchor, rooted in the majestic jungle and dedicated to forming deeper, fuller connections between the natural environment and the people who would come to build, create and experience life in Nicaragua.

These trees now house a three-level tree lounge and form the very heart of TreeCasa.

Tree Visioning
1 of
Three-Story Tree Platform
2 of
Tree Platform Lounge
3 of
View From the Trees
4 of

Our Pillars

Sustainability

TreeCasa thrives with a firm understanding that any built environment is an inextricable part of a wider  ecosystem. We take great care to honor this relationship in all we do—from landscape design to resource conservation, land stewardship and community health. Here are just a few ways we actualize our vision for a more sustainable world.

Wellness

Wellness is a dynamic process of change and growth encompassing physical, mental and social well-being and fulfillment. TreeCasa promotes the many facets of wellness from healthy eating, to connective mind- body-spirit experiences, healing, and opportunities to roll up your sleeves and get involved.

Exploration & Discovery

We believe in the power of play, discovery and astonishment. Unique adventures connect us more deeply to the world around us, and rich perceptual experiences shape the way we see and move through the world. We hope, with more fiber and affection. Experience, exploration and discovery form the core of TreeCasa.

Community

TreeCasa is part of a vibrant community that’s building enduring relationships to the environment, people and place. We foster a culture of dynamic collaboration with local and international communities to promote a network of continual learning and growth. Our goal is to connect diverse experiences, energy and resources to support a healthy, robust ecosystem. Our collaborative programs focus on the fundamental aspects of growing a sustainable community through connective experiences.

Stay Awhile

Stay Awhile

TreeCasa lives inside the 450 acres of our sister property, the residential community of El Encanto del Sur. If you love TreeCasa when you visit, ask for a look around El Encanto where lots start at $19,000 USD and view homes with lot from $199,000 USD.

Our People

We’re a passionate community of doers, makers, artists, builders, innovators, service professionals, gardeners, chefs, students, educators, environmentalists, wizards, storytellers, experience architects and more! We’re dedicated to building a sustainable platform for meaningful experiences and enduring social change. How? Translate the TreeCasa vision in everything we do, and have fun doing it. Meet the family.

Grand Poobah

Douglas Jackson

"Some see things as they are and ask why, I dream things that never were and ask why not? (and then I ask... "can we make that bigger?)". - Doug Jackson. Doug is the driving force behind TreeCasa, creating a cauldron of collaboration where all voices are heard and crazy ideas are called for. His passion for building dynamic, inspirational and just FUN! communities is what TreeCasa is all about.

Maker: Media

Megan Hewitt

Megan Hewitt and Garna Raditya are AmongOthers, a video content creator team based in Oakland, California. The duo stayed with us in the early days of opening and caught much of that pioneering spirit in stills and video.

Mr Green

Simon Farmer

Always out and about, and often up in tree, Simon and the Two Crows gang out of NorCal brought the tree houses to TreeCasa AND designed the organic farm and food forest that are core to our sustainability charter. When in Nicaragua Simon can often be spotted in the early AM in the "clown car" with surfboard on top, iso tasty waves. When up North he snowboards (not that we hold it against him).

Snake charmer

Orion Comstock

Our resident naturalist and skate punk, Orion is another California dreamer now plying his many trades for us. From turtle ponds to hummingbird villages and monkey bridges he makes green living a reality at TreeCasa.

Guest Chef

Alana Joy Eckhart

Alana is an accomplished chef with stints at the French Laundry, among other fancy top-shelf eateries. She's also a big-time animal advocate and leader of the goat-yoga program at Goatlandia in Northern California. We were lucky enough to have her and Deborah Blum inaugurate our guest chef program, and look forward to working with the two of them in California, Nicaragua and beyond to promote the health benefits and insane tastiness of plant based eating. When not eating her veggies, Alana survives on donuts and milk (organic of course).

Organic Garden Manager

Carlos Reyes

Carlos runs the day-to-day operations of our organic vegetable gardens and orchards, keeping the bugs at bay with a clever array of homemade organic sprays and with other local and California-bred organic farming techniques. He's usually found in the garden, directing traffic, giving tours to guests and local school groups, and spreading the word on organics throughout the community.

Chief Marketeer and Community Connector

Claudia Silva

Claudia is passionate about the business of travel and how to integrate it with the communities it relies on. She has done pioneering work in Nicaragua connecting guests to local experiences, and continues on with that quest now with us up in the trees. A lifelong Latina, Claudia has perfected the dramatic eye roll.. so be careful what you say around her.

Guest Chef

Deborah Blum

Apart from owning some of our favorite restaurants in San Francisco (Berretta & more...) , Deb is a pilot, art-car builder and all-around doer of things good and creative. She spends much of her time now running Goatlandia, a farm animal sanctuary in California, and promoting the benefits of plant-based eating by making stunning gourmet meals there. Deb and Alana were our very first guest chefs, and we can't wait to have them back!

Story Spinner

Trang Cao

A sorceress among storytellers, Trang is responsible for many of the words written about us, weaving narratives that inspire other creative and dynamic sorts to come find us in the jungle and add another layer to the TreeCasa story themselves. She also organized the first wave of the [email protected] volunteer brigade and helped create the ethos of that program, which is at the core of the TreeCasa mission. All that, and she can whip up some righteous Vietnamese victuals.

Zen Master

Vanessa Pattison

Vanessa brings the Zen to TreeCasa, her vision for yoga and wellness at TreeCasa quite literally expanding the scope of operations, with 70+ person teacher trainings from our friends at Moksha Yoga and others requiring big open spaces where the mind and body can breathe. But when class is done and the kids are down, just don't get in the way of her and her chardonnay.

Operation Manager

Valeria Calero

Valeria keeps the hotel running, often speaking on 2 phones at once, one in English and one in Spanish. While a native of Nicaragua, she tends to favor heavy metal over reggaeton (unless Daddy Yankee is on the mic).

Queen Maker

Kelsey Coleman

Kelsey heads the [email protected] program, recruiting artists, chefs, and makers of all stripes to come down and Make their Mark. Rarely caught without a smile on her face, she breathes the optimism and positivity that power the TreeCasa experience.

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