Land History

The long-term inhabitants of this Sacred land are the Chorotega people, who arrived from Mexico and Nicaragua around the 5th century. They fish, hunt and had sophisticated agricultural practices, growing corn, cassava, beans, pumpkins, cotton, chile, tobacco and cacao, as well as fruit trees.

They were a polytheistic people, worshipping three primary gods: Tipotani (Creator god), and the Divine couple, the god Nenbithia (Sun) and the goddess Nenguitamali (Moon). Their priests are renowned experts in astronomy and mathematics.

The Chorotega people also make famous pottery. Collecting clay from surrounding mountains, craftsman load it onto a wagon pulled by oxen, in accordance with ancestral methods. Shelled with a wood mortar and filtered through a sieve (canvas), the clay is then mixed with sand called "iguana sand". Then, as tradition dictates, with shovels and precise gestures, it is trampled on by the potter. It is then kneaded and rolled until it can be modeled. Indigenous artisans polish their works with "zukias", stones used as grindstones. the cooking takes place outdoors at low temperatures in a dome-shaped oven called "borno". Finally, decorative motifs are traced on the partially dry ceramic using entirely natural materials. Sponges and brushes are guided by precise fingers to form totemic animal drawings. This process makes the Chorotega pottery absolutely unique.

The Chorotega represent 2.4% of the Costa Rican population as of 2021. 35.5% of them live below the poverty line. One of the longterm ambitions of Dharma San Juan is to reduce this 35.5% number to zero.

In the late 1990s, Southern Californians Terry and Diane Kennedy had the vision to create a spectacular property up the mountain overlooking Nosara, on the San Juan ridge. Initially coming up the mountain by ox & cart, and bringing electricity up from Nosara old town himself, they created Finca San Juan, arguably the most magical and beautiful property in the Nosara area.

In 2021, another David Langer moved into one of the existing houses on the land and felt something very special about the energy there. He started bring the community of Nosara to enjoy the magical property. Later that year, he did a cactus ceremony on the ridge due south with a roadman named Whitewolf. During this ceremony communing with what has now become the Dharma San Juan ridge, a vision was born to create a conscious community on it, where people would work on their dharma and raise families in harmony. The land also said that if we looked after it, it would look after us.

Synchronously, Langer’s friend and now co-founder Jesse Fairbank was on a 3-week pilgrimage himself in the Sacred Valley of Peru. When he heard what the land had communicated to Langer and visited the Dharma ridge upon his return home to Nosara he immediately felt a full yes to the land, vision, and project.

Over the coming months, Langer and Jesse worked with Terry to purchase 32 acres on the Dharma ridge opposite the original Finca San Juan properties, and the rest is history…

Grizel has lived on this mountain her entire life and can tell you what every plant here is called, and how it functions. Her father was one of the main medicine men on this mountain for decades and her family embody the soul of this land. Grizel is typically found out on the land with her machete, burning her quad bike down the mountain to pick up supplies and is a bridge between Dharma San Juan and the longstanding local community of the area.