Help Marcos and Jenny rebuild Finca Siempre Verde
Donation protected
Hola chicos y chicas,
Many of us have heard this greeting from Marcos while enjoying Jenny’s cooking around the tables at Finca Siempre Verde. Maybe you can recall your first evening in Mastatal, sitting on the yoga platform of the dorms listening to Marcos and Jenny sharing stories about their beloved farm, forests, and country, with the night air warm, humid, and filled with the new and strange sounds of the rainforest in the darkness just beyond.
Many of us have helped Marcos and Jenny with their project at Finca Siempre Verde. We have built, painted, sculpted, dug, planted, harvested, cleaned, and cooked. All of us have learned about the life, culture, and nature of Mastatal and Costa Rica. We have explored the forest day and night, learned about plants, birds, insects, and what was making those strange night sounds (at least a few of them). We have swum in waterfalls, eaten at the soda, played soccer, learned Spanish, made cheese, milked cows, and ridden horses.
Whether it was for school or for life, we all arrived at Siempre Verde to learn and to experience something new and different. Many of us had to leave before we were ready, some of us have even returned, but all of us were better humans – changed – for our time at Siempre Verde.
Like many, Marcos and Jenny have been deeply impacted by the pandemic. Tourism dropped to zero in a matter of weeks. All student programs, their primary source of income, were cancelled in 2020, and have been cancelled again this year (2021). They are hopeful, as we all are, that things have begun to return to normal, and that soon new guests at Siempre Verde will be able to enjoy the same experiences as us.
Shortly before the pandemic hit, Marcos and Jenny had just begun a new phase at Siempre Verde. Marcos’ parents had begun to transfer ownership of the land to Marcos and Jenny; an amazing gesture of support. As part of the transfer, they had begun to rebuild the dorms and add some small cabinas, and to formally get the title registered in their name.
Unfortunately, the loss of groups and guiding programs due to the pandemic has forced them to stop construction, leaving them without accommodations for future groups. They can’t afford to finish the new buildings without groups but can’t host groups until they finish the new buildings.
We have created this GoFundMe® account to help Marcos and Jenny complete the new projects at Finca Siempre Verde. Our goal is to raise $15,000. This represents only about 75% of the total projected costs, but would be enough to get them to the point of being able to host groups again. They will use the money to purchase materials, pay for labor, designs, and permits. They already have groups scheduling for early 2022 and are eager to get back to doing what they love.
GoFundMe® does not allow deposits to Costa Rican bank accounts. Accordingly, we have opened an account at KeyBank in Tacoma, WA, which will be managed by Robert Tournay. 100% of the donations to this account will be wired to Marcos and Jenny.
Despite these circumstances, Marcos and Jenny wanted us to share that they have much to be thankful for. They are healthy and happy, and enjoying time with their daughter, Brisa, who was born in November 2019. You can visit their website at https://fincamastatal.com/ or find them on Facebook.
Gracias y Saludos,
From the friends, students, and professors of Finca Siempre Verde
The lovely Jenny, Brisa, and Marcos in their guide outfits
The sign by the road leading up to their place, reading Finca Siempre Verde
The view looking out from the back of their house
The path leading to the current dorms
An open air hang out spot we all loved
One of the many, many animals we got to see up close on our walks
Many of us have heard this greeting from Marcos while enjoying Jenny’s cooking around the tables at Finca Siempre Verde. Maybe you can recall your first evening in Mastatal, sitting on the yoga platform of the dorms listening to Marcos and Jenny sharing stories about their beloved farm, forests, and country, with the night air warm, humid, and filled with the new and strange sounds of the rainforest in the darkness just beyond.
Many of us have helped Marcos and Jenny with their project at Finca Siempre Verde. We have built, painted, sculpted, dug, planted, harvested, cleaned, and cooked. All of us have learned about the life, culture, and nature of Mastatal and Costa Rica. We have explored the forest day and night, learned about plants, birds, insects, and what was making those strange night sounds (at least a few of them). We have swum in waterfalls, eaten at the soda, played soccer, learned Spanish, made cheese, milked cows, and ridden horses.
Whether it was for school or for life, we all arrived at Siempre Verde to learn and to experience something new and different. Many of us had to leave before we were ready, some of us have even returned, but all of us were better humans – changed – for our time at Siempre Verde.
Like many, Marcos and Jenny have been deeply impacted by the pandemic. Tourism dropped to zero in a matter of weeks. All student programs, their primary source of income, were cancelled in 2020, and have been cancelled again this year (2021). They are hopeful, as we all are, that things have begun to return to normal, and that soon new guests at Siempre Verde will be able to enjoy the same experiences as us.
Shortly before the pandemic hit, Marcos and Jenny had just begun a new phase at Siempre Verde. Marcos’ parents had begun to transfer ownership of the land to Marcos and Jenny; an amazing gesture of support. As part of the transfer, they had begun to rebuild the dorms and add some small cabinas, and to formally get the title registered in their name.
Unfortunately, the loss of groups and guiding programs due to the pandemic has forced them to stop construction, leaving them without accommodations for future groups. They can’t afford to finish the new buildings without groups but can’t host groups until they finish the new buildings.
We have created this GoFundMe® account to help Marcos and Jenny complete the new projects at Finca Siempre Verde. Our goal is to raise $15,000. This represents only about 75% of the total projected costs, but would be enough to get them to the point of being able to host groups again. They will use the money to purchase materials, pay for labor, designs, and permits. They already have groups scheduling for early 2022 and are eager to get back to doing what they love.
GoFundMe® does not allow deposits to Costa Rican bank accounts. Accordingly, we have opened an account at KeyBank in Tacoma, WA, which will be managed by Robert Tournay. 100% of the donations to this account will be wired to Marcos and Jenny.
Despite these circumstances, Marcos and Jenny wanted us to share that they have much to be thankful for. They are healthy and happy, and enjoying time with their daughter, Brisa, who was born in November 2019. You can visit their website at https://fincamastatal.com/ or find them on Facebook.
Gracias y Saludos,
From the friends, students, and professors of Finca Siempre Verde
The lovely Jenny, Brisa, and Marcos in their guide outfitsThe sign by the road leading up to their place, reading Finca Siempre VerdeThe view looking out from the back of their houseThe path leading to the current dormsAn open air hang out spot we all lovedOne of the many, many animals we got to see up close on our walksCo-organizers (3)
Heather Harvey
Organizer
Seattle, WA
Robert Tournay
Beneficiary
Georgia Coleman
Co-organizer