About La Floresta
We are a family-operated permaculture farm and ecological sanctuary in Costa Rica, dedicated to regenerative living, biodiversity, and community. Founded with a vision of harmony between people and nature, we invite you to be part of this thriving eco-system.
La Floresta is a regenerative farm and forest sanctuary located in southern Costa Rica, near La Amistad International Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Once degraded by cattle pasture, the land now integrates chemical-free agroforestry with a permanently protected native forest, offering a working example of how food production and ecosystem restoration can exist in balance.
We cultivate a diverse range of tropical fruits using permaculture techniques that rebuild soil health, improve water retention, and strengthen biological resilience. By eliminating synthetic inputs, the land has experienced a visible return of butterflies, insects, birds, and other wildlife — clear indicators of ecological recovery.
Nearly eighty percent of the property remains untouched primary and secondary forest, protected in perpetuity as the heart of La Floresta. This forest supports regional biodiversity, climate stability, and water cycles, while allowing wildlife to move freely between wild and cultivated spaces.
Powered by solar energy and guided by low-impact practices that prioritize reuse, recycling, and waste reduction, La Floresta functions as a sanctuary, a working landscape, and a long-term legacy. We measure success not only by what the land produces, but by the life it supports.
Our Team
Rio Tattersall
Co-Founder & Farm Manager
I am a trained permaculture practitioner with over ten years of hands-on experience in the field. My education has been rooted in direct practice, mentorship, and extensive study of permaculture literature.
I first became interested in farming while volunteering at an organic farm in B.C. Canada in 2013. I later joined WWOOF (world wide opportunities on organic farms). Between 2014-2015 I rode a bicycle from California to Costa Rica stopping on farms all along the way. Notable mentions are Pangea Unite in Rosarito, Mexico; Teopantli Kalpuli outside Guadalajara, Mexico; Quiche Organicos in San Bartolomé, Guatemala; Finca Jalapa in Cojutepeque, El Salvador; and La Biosfera in Jinotega, Nicaragua.
For six years, I managed a permaculture farm in southern Costa Rica, Finca Sylvatica, where I developed a wide range of practical skills and trained one-on-one under the farm’s founder, Scott Bernadino Elliot. During this time, I gained deep experience in transforming degraded land into productive, resilient systems.
When La Floresta was founded five years ago, I had the opportunity to apply this knowledge on a new site. The land was an old cow pasture—essentially a blank canvas—with the goal of transforming it into a thriving food forest. Drawing on the methods and lessons learned at Finca Sylvatica, which had undergone a similar regeneration process, I approached the immense challenge with clarity and confidence. Today, that vision is well underway.
Heydi Guillén
Lead Herbalist & Farm Steward
I grew up close to the countryside, surrounded by a family of farmers and traders, in an environment where land, work, and community were part of everyday life. From an early age, I developed a deep connection with nature and my roots.
In 2018, that bond with the land reawakened strongly as I began visiting organic farms and permaculture-based projects, along with spaces dedicated to ancestral healing. These experiences marked a turning point in my life, guiding me toward a simpler and more conscious way of living, where self-care and honoring Mother Earth go hand in hand.
Since then, my path has been shaped through conscious travel across Costa Rica and Nicaragua, actively participating in various agricultural projects as a horticulturist and farmer. I have supported the planting and harvesting of vegetables, rice, corn, and beans, and contributed to transforming dry, degraded land into greener, more vibrant, and productive ecosystems. Through this journey, I deepened my hands-on learning in regenerative agriculture and permaculture.
Today, at La Floresta, I integrate agroforestry, horticulture, herbalism, and creativity to cultivate food, natural medicines, and spaces of harmony. My work is guided by respect for nature, diversity, and a vision of sustainable abundance rooted in the conscious care of the land and all life.
Gale Tattersall
Founder & Farm Steward
After a lifetime spent moving through cultures, landscapes, and film sets across the world, I came to understand how fragile both human and natural systems truly are. My work as a cinematographer on major film and television productions — including long-running series such as House M.D. and feature films such as The Commitments — along with decades of travel and close observation, fostered a deep attentiveness to how places shape the people who inhabit them, and how easily those places can be diminished or lost.
Over time, this awareness grew into a conviction that we have drifted too far from our roots. A life built on constant consumption and short-term gain leaves little behind for those who follow. If we are to offer our children and their children a viable future, we must learn again to live more lightly — to reduce our footprint, protect what remains, and recognize that healthy, vibrant land is the most precious resource there is.
La Floresta was established as a deliberate act of preservation and renewal: a choice to safeguard living forest and soil, and to demonstrate that care, restraint, and long-term thinking can create real resilience. The project exists to support family, community, and future generations through thoughtful stewardship of land, water, and forest systems.
My role at La Floresta is foundational rather than operational. I provide long-term oversight and protection of the land, and support those working within it, ensuring the forest is able to regenerate, evolve, and remain healthy over time. La Floresta is shaped by continuity, care, and responsibility — and by a quiet optimism that, through conscious choices and shared effort, we can restore balance and leave the land stronger than we found it.
Also Part of Our Team
Titles are honorary. Snacks are mandatory.
Luca
Expert Berry Picker
He's been picking berries since he was barely two years old. He knows where to find them, and you're lucky if he shares.
Tonantzin
Seed Dispersal Specialist
She'll eat half a fruit and throw the seeds out into the garden, just to run back into the kitchen for another one. We have no idea how many seeds have germinated this way, but it's a lot.
Amiga
Chief of Security
She's been a farm dog ever since being rescued when she was a pup, ten years ago. She's seen a lot, and her battle scars prove she's done more than just look pretty.
Lali
Border Patrol
She's also a rescue who was found by the side of the road in mid-2024. She fit into our security pack right away and quickly climbed the ranks. Her resounding bark could scare off a grown man!
Melvino
Security Dispatcher
He was the pup of a neighborhood dog who started coming around and never left. He's not too intimidating but he'll yap at a leaf falling in the forest. Most of the time it's nothing to worry about, but he'll raly the whole team to the scene just in case.
Lobo
Security Intern
By far the youngest member of our team, and the only one who was born at La Floresta. Back in October 2025 he was just the size of a small hamster, but he's been growing quick. He's already bigger than Melvino and the others have been teaching him the ropes.