March 1.2.3
arrive the day before
leave the day after
VISTA HERMOSA
A community of Mexican farmers welcomes us back to a land whispering abundance through its multitude of fruit trees, bamboo, sacred waters & infinite flowers...
Vista Hermosa is a finca of 109 dense jungly hectares, near the town of Pluma Hidalgo, inhabited by a multi-generational community.
The finca has has been in the family of Rodolfo (The owner) since 1945. It developed to focus its efforts on coffee cultivation, as many of the other farms in the region did when coffee had yet to become an industrialized
crop in the global market.
Despite its paradise vibes we may feel when we are there, the farm has undergone many difficult transitions over the years as a result of globalization, and more recently natural disaster.
Through globalization and unfair exploiting circumstances in the coffee industry, the coffee farms of the region that were once flourishing have gone bankrupt in the past few decades, including Vista Hermosa.
In Mexico where there is no social security net, this meant for many people loosing their jobs, homes, and overall livelihoods.
At Vista Hermosa, many families were able to stay thanks to the humble heart of the owner who works in Mexico City to support the
basic needs of the families.
As it isn't sustainable for one man to support a whole farm, there has been increased effort to diversify its income streams so that the people on the land can have a better quality of life.
Through shared visions, expansive heart networks, and pure synchronicities, there has been a lot of effort from outside entities to bring
more financial abundance to the farm.
Over the last year, this looks like the involvement of Vision Del Corazon,
and La Presencia Festival.
This past May, 3 months after the first edition of La Presencia, Pluma Hidalgo was devastated by Hurricane Agatha.
The land of Vista Hermosa took a huge hit. An estimated 1,000 trees damaged or fell. 99% of the 24,000 banana plants were destroyed, 50% of the 240,000 coffee plants, and 100s of Cacao trees that were just planted were buried by landslides.
All the sudden, with the loss of the banana crop income, they could no longer pay the coffee production workers. This led to many families leaving
to seek other opportunities.
Now, only a few families remain on the farm, either because they had no other options, or because they truly feel dedicated to and hopeful for a better
future for Finca Vista Hermosa.
Visión Del Corazón, the non-profit entity that has been actively working with Vista Hermosa since before La Presencia has stuck with the farm through all of these ever evolving conditions, and continues to evolve its action plan accordingly to best support the needs of the people on the land.
Before, their plan was to create a healing retreat center as their main source of funds.
Now, the plan has evolved to focus on the lands potential for
Regenerative Agroforestry for funding.
This plan emphasizes and expands the amazingly resilient plant power of the land , as well as the already-existing wisdom of the farmers to make things grow.
Visión Del Corazón has partnered with ___ , an organization that empowers farming community in Latin America through education and network expansion to become more independently sustainable. To make the most of the abundant land, their knowledge of the the land, and their solid work ethic, they just need innovative ideas that have a place in the modern market.
The goal of it all is to create a better quality of life for these people through the abundance of the land. Lives that thrive. Lives that that are well-nourished, warm & comfortable. Lives rich with opportunity for expansion & connection. Lives with ample space for pleasure & creativity.
We believe its all possible. La Presencia is also a huge prayer for this increased quality of life. However, the abundance it brings as a festival looks less like cacao trees, and more like 400 happy dancing humans from all over the world…
**This video is from before Vista Hermosa was hit with the hurricane and still had plans to be a retreat center.
While the action plan has changed, you can still get a sense of the land and the community through this video.