In this episode, we speak with Ian-Michael Hébert, one of the founders of Holos, a private retreat center and community specializing in holistic living and transformational experiences.
In our conversation, he discusses the genesis of Holos, their vision for a sustainable and resilient community, and the importance of focusing on reciprocity and honoring the indigenous people of the land. Ian-Michael also emphasizes the importance of preserving the natural beauty of the Diamante Valley and their commitment to stewardship.
Among other details of the community’s infrastructure, he describes their design for conserving a quarter of the property while reforesting most of the already denatured zones. They also have plans for a macaw reintroduction initiative.
Ian-Michael reflects on challenges they’ve faced in getting set up with elements such as water management, communication breakdowns with the municipality, and bridging the gap between foreigners and locals.
As we discuss the importance of supporting the local community, paying fair wages, and engaging with local service providers, Ian-Michael affirms Holos’s goal to continue reassessing their programming to focus more on community relations and neighborhood development.
Other topics we touched on include developing a clear vision, team building, project financing, and embracing the wisdom of not knowing.
I appreciate the degree to which Holos works to cultivate reciprocity with surrounding humans and the natural world. As important as it is, it can be challenging to keep such delicate subtleties at the forefront while in the development phase and when juggling the needs of investors and push-back from the municipality, but it’s the path worth walking.
Setting space aside to develop housing and other infrastructure for the Costa Rican and indigenous Boruca people, who compile much of their labor force, is a significant investment. I’ve been happy to see this practice implemented among some of the other ecovillage projects I’ve been investigating, as well. It’s a valuable step in honoring the needs of their workforce while holding space for the local culture and providing stability for the project.
Another element I’ve found attractive among the ecovillages I’ve been looking into is the effort to lay out a portion of the community infrastructure kept open for the use of the regional community, which is also represented in Holos’s design.
Something that echoed strongly for me in this interview is that it can be difficult to handle people’s projections when operating a project of this size. Gossip can be plentiful, and the most altruistically intending projects are often the easiest targets for it by those who are doing less, feeling like a project of that size should be able to do it all. I’m glad that Ian-Miachael plans to hold more events to bring the local community in to see more of what’s happening there.
Another detail that stuck out for me was Ian-Michael’s share of finding the right team. This topic often comes up with other landowners and entrepreneurs I work with. When looking for your team, it’s essential to identify your strengths, clearly describe your needs, make a humble ask out to your community, and have patience as it comes together.
Before letting you go, I’d like to address a housekeeping detail regarding working with a team. About 2/3rds into the interview, there's a moment where I descr
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