Marcelo Valansi
Founder
Marcelo Valansi is an entrepreneur focused on innovation, dedicated to the design, development, and implementation of regenerative self-sustainable projects and communities.
Marcelo has extensive experience in developing residential and commercial developments of different scales throughout many countries, such as Argentina, the United States, Panama, and Costa Rica.
He is also experienced in the fields of economy and finance.
His focus is set in developing projects in a new way, regenerating the area surrounding the project itself, creating communities with a positive impact while also being affordable, replicable, and profitable, generating a new model of regenerative developments sustainable over time.
His last project to date is located in Costa Rica, where he currently lives with his family is called La Ecovilla.
Setting a clear example of how living in harmony with nature without leaving comfort behind is a real possibility.
Marcelo’s passions include sailing, diving, traveling, exploring, adventuring, learning from many different cultures, and meeting new teachers and role models from all over the world.
Some of Marcelo Valansi's talks
the project
La Ecovilla
La Ecovilla is a community located in San Mateo, in the Alajuela province, in Costa Rica.
Like almost everything else, La Ecovilla started out as a dream and a conversation; just as an idea of a visionary: Marcelo Valansi, who decided to put his dream of living in harmony with the environment into action, and “simply” make it come true.
La Ecovilla takes into many sustainability measures, among which we can find fully sustainable use of water, recollection and utilization of rainwater, communal orchards, ponds destined to raise fish and shellfish, recycled plastic roads, generation of electricity from renewable sources, and a biodigester; an advanced system destined to recycle and cleanse both grey and black water while also generating methane gas, utilized to cook or to produce electricity via underground wiring, turning La Ecovilla into the first neighbourhood in the zone to have access to such technology and to an individual connection of optic fibre.
Since the land was originally used to raise cattle, most of the area was completely deforested; to counter this, fruit trees and edible plants were planted while the streets and shared spaces came together.
As time went by, La Ecovilla grew in size as 43 families from all over the world built their houses and turned them into their homes inside the neighborhood; some more rustic looking, others more modern looking, but all of them in harmony with nature.
La Ecovilla was developed on 17 hectares or 42 acres. 70% of that are green shared spaces, while the remaining 30% was divided into 43 lots. Each lot has a footprint (buildable area) of 25%; making La Ecovilla a place deeply in touch with nature, with more than 90% of green areas, where humans can coexist with the environment in a respect-based relationship.
The Machuca River runs through the entire land on its east side and brings a magical sensation with it.
The weather is outstanding; warm during the day and refreshing during the night, turning La Ecovilla into a perfect spot for permaculture for that very reason; it’s right next to “The Fruit town” after all!
Hectares
In Total
Hectares
of shared green spaces.
Hectares
of private green spaces.
Hectares
allowed construction capacity.
With all the experience brought by building La Ecovilla, a new development began construction in 2020: Ecovilla San Mateo, a new ecovillage close to the first one. And although both are located in San Mateo, they are very different.
Ecovilla San Mateo is a big neighborhood focused on more intrapersonal development. With this in mind, Ecovilla San Mateo is made of 8 communities, each with its own identity, along with its own orchard, yoga deck, swimming pool, and rancho. while also counting on unique trails designed to travel the more than 100 hectares of the development either by walking or riding a bike.
Also bordered by the Machuca River on its northwest side, Ecovilla San Mateo innovates by bringing condominiums, coworking spaces, senior living buildings, while also respecting the core concepts of La Ecovilla; living in harmony with nature, with each other, and with oneself.
Soon, more Ecovillas will come around and more families will be able to co-construct this unique lifestyle. Some families asked for Ecovillas in Costa Rica closer to the sea, in colder regions, or even in countries we wouldn’t have dreamed of… but just like almost everything, it all starts with a dream. Let us know where you think is a good place for an Ecovilla!
Our Values
Harmony
Harmony with each other and with the environment
Nature
Respecting and taking care of nature, protecting our planet.
Gratitude
Not taking any moment for granted, to be grateful for every new day.
Love
Everything we do is done with passion and with love.
Intentional Living
We live our lives purposefully and with intention. Life is a conscious choice.
looking forward
Our Vision
Our Vision is to become a role model community for Costa Rica and the entire world