"How would our neighborhoods be different if they were owned by the people who lived in them"? Jimmy Stice. Coe. Kalu Yala.

Second Installment: Modern Day Ecotopia

Caroline Duncan

December, 7, 2016

[ here is the link to my first installment: https://envirojpo.blogspot.com/2016/11/1st-installment.html#comment-form ]

If some of you did not get to look at my first installment I have been following this newly developed city titled Kalu Yala, a completely self-sustainable community built in the jungles of Panama. The idea of this city started back in 2006 and has gradually increased. The central concepts and ideas of this community are very close to those of Ecotopia, which is why I decided to do my final report on this. As for Nick, who commented on my last post, bellow me is a picture of where Kalu Yala is located. (The Valley) It was hard to get a clear picture so I hope this one works well...if not, you can easily google it :) 

As for my second installment, I really just wanted to focus on the making of Kalu Yala, as to why it was designed and the inspiration that came to the founder, named Jimmy Stice. I wish I had come across this place much sooner and had time to get in touch with some of the co-founders, because Kalu Yala is still so new, it seems like making a connection with some of these people could definitely be available. I mean as of right now, one could just friend request Jimmy on Facebook personally! (which I just figured out...hehe) So maybe as time continues and Kalu Yala develops, I might think about sending Jimmy a message, and who knows I might even pay 50$ a day and fly out for the weekend to catch this incredible community! And possibly see some of you all there. 

The story of Kalu Yala begin really when Jimmy was 12-years old boy, playing Sim City and dreaming of the perfect place to live. His father was a real estate executive, and Stice really did not know much about his dads business.  "Instead of following the traditional real estate track — establishing himself in the industry and "making a bunch of rich men a lot richer" — Stice ended up doing his own market research in Panama, which pointed him to a 575-acre piece of land in May 2007. Perfect for urban development in terms of topography, watersheds and a climate conducive to going off the grid completely, it became the future site of Kalu Yala" (maskable.com). 

"Kalu Yala, which means "sacred village" in the indigenous Kuna language, comprises two entities — a development company and an increasingly hands-on internship program — that work closely with local villages, support locally owned businesses and responsibly tap into the area's natural resources. The goal is to transcend traditional real estate by bringing together people who seek inspiration, and giving them part ownership of where they live" (mashable.com).

In 2006, the idea of Kalu Yala was put into place by founder Jimmy Stice, with the help of a few of his close friends. June through December of 2006, Jimmy and his friends spent most of their time in Panama, touring the country, collecting data, and making connections to find the perfect land for their new home, ideas and way of live. In March of 2007, by coincidental chances, Jimmy runs into a park ranger who knows of  this 'hidden land', deep in the valley that many people do not know about. (some people believe in coincidence, i do not). But anyways, throughout the rest of 2007, Jimmy and his friends spent months hiking these lands, making friends with the families who have lived there and used much of the land for generations upon generations. It was extremely important to the finders of Kalu Yala that they did not just build a new community without understanding and being in touch with the surrounding villages, (especially those families who as lived there forever).  In August of 2008 till about 2010, Kalu Yala sat on the blackburn waiting to be finalized, taking into much consideration how this new project would affect the families and small towns already living off this land. Much of the backward and finalizing of Kalu Yala was done in New York City.

In 2010 the blueprint has been set into in progress. By 2011, the Kalu Yala institute had opened their doors and ideas in San Miguel, the closest town to Kalu Yala. It was important for Jimmy to have approval of the neighboring regions and to gain as much knowledge as possible about living out in this land. When 2012 comes along, word about Kalu Yala begins to spread beyond just Panama. Google offers to host meetings from New York about Kalu Yala, helping the idea spread. In this year (2012), Jimmy speaker at his first Tedx In Mexico, asking a simple question, "How would our neighborhoods be different if they were owned by the people who lived in them?" This question leads to one of the main key concepts of Kalu Yala and that is localized ownership, something I  believe to be very important.

2013 brings together artist, entrepreneurs, chiefs, farmers, students and interns from around the world to gather at Kalu Yala. Experiencing the off the grid, jungle like, simplistic living life style..

"Biology interns were the first to set up camp in the jungle, analyzing the environmental challenges and, essentially, learning how to survive. They made every decision, composed all research and pitched projects, such as building composting toilets and running water showers. They built "ranchos" — two-level structures made from milled fallen wood and thatched roofing — sleeping on the top level and working below".- Kalu Yala.

As 2014 and 2015 roll along Kalu Yala has continued to grow, exponentially. Stice really only plans to build no more than twenty houses a year. Keeping the community small, but also growing. The blueprint is coming to life. Designed to house institute dorms, hotels, 2 bars, a fancy restaurants, hostel etc. Kalu Yala has also started their first farm-to-table culinary program, but instituting its first company, Kalu Yala Farms (where the first product was called Ambiente, a lemongrass and cranberry hibiscus tea. Tea is very important to the Kalu Yala individuals, medicinal gardens are planted in many areas on the land.

As you can see Kalu Yala started off as an idea and has grown into something that I have only imagined about, and I believe something that many of us have imagined about. Especially those like us, who have taken a class like Environmental Ethics. Kalu Yala follows a lot of the same ideas that Ecotopia had described, and a community that many of us dream about. I wonder if Jimmy has read Ecotopia, (i'll have to ask, if and when I decide to Facebook message him one day).  Coming into this class, Environmental Ethics was not something I seemed very aware about, although I never once disregarded that the way humans are living on this earth right now has an extremely negative impact on our environment and for the future generations to come. Believing this way in the beginning of the semester, I believe was because I did not see how change was going to be made. But, something I have learned is that change does not just happen over night, it is a process, just like everything else in life. As college students we know that change is not easy, but yet we strive for change in so many different aspects of our lives. The comfortability that we live in day to day is something we take deep pride in as humans. I could not imagine a world that was stripped down, left to where we are defending for ourselves, and that view saddens me deeply. Seeing the disconnect of humanity in this day in age, especially with the rise of so much technology many of our focuses are so inward instead of looking outward (where we need to be looking). We need people like Jimmy Stice, a leader and not just a dreamer, someone to stand up and take stance in what they believe and to lead others with them, to the life we want to live. I can honestly say that because of this class I am now much more consciously aware of the environment, and will play my part day by day to be the best that I can to our mother earth.

**Here is a youtube vide of 2014 summer interns here at Kalu Yala. Keep in mind (as I posted in my first blog post), Kalu Yala can visited 50$ a day. **


"You arrive in panama not being able to predict how your passions will fit into the big picture, but quickly you realize that it's really more about passion itself. The Kaly Yala organization believes that if you love an idea and show that is can be impactful in some way, then together we can figure out how to turn it into a project that you are proud of" (goabroadblog.com).

If we all dream big together, and put these dreams into practice, we have no choice but to change the world in which we live.

Works Cited:
Facebook.com/JimmyStice
Goabroad.com. A Day In the Life of a Kalu Yala Business Man. 2014.
Kaluyala.com. About- Kalu Yala
Vimeo.com. Building a New World in the Panamanian Jungle. 2015
Maskable.com. Building the Worlds Most Sustainable City 2014
google.com/images/Kalu-Yala


Comments on others installments: 
https://envirojpo.blogspot.com/2016/12/before-flood-discussion-pt-1.html Madeline
https://envirojpo.blogspot.com/2016/11/my-first-installment-i-will-be.html Erika