The people we support are looking for land in rural Costa Rica, prioritizing abundant clean water, healthy soil plants and habitats, surrounded by cooperative and resilient communities.
We approach the process of matching these vital lands with their next ecological stewards using a strategic sustainability process to ensure the ideal property is found, the pricing and purchase terms are reflective of the ecological intentions of the buyers, and the local environment and community are all positively impacted by our collaboration together.
We support our clients by coordinating and easing every step of the property search and evaluation, negotiations and contracting and legal coordination, to the post-purchase design and ecological development of the infrastructure and buildings.
Our collaboration begins with a thorough questionnaire and follow up discovery session to clarify the project goals and ensure we are the right match to support. We do not help developers intending conventional land lots, and prioritize projects with a core value of improving the environments and communities with which they are integrating.
If our early evaluations indicate we're a good match to work together, your property search and purchase and all subsequent development needs will have the full support of Upward Spirals' co-founder Eric Baudry and our broad network of sustainability focused support services and contractors. We become an extension of your team during our time working together, and we define success by delivering unparalleled results.
We typically show our clients their favorite property within 3 visits together, and regularly negotiate favorable purchase terms for the projects we believe in. Our comprehensive due diligence review starts with working with one of the best real estate lawyers in Costa Rica, assessing a range of legal and technical details to ensure the property is as it appears and identify issues to negotiate and resolve with the seller. Since Costa Rica property purchases don't benefit from Title insurance it is especially important to carefully review all public records, and subsequently research any question marks that arise. Buying large rural lands in Costa Rica involves a range of common issues, which typically have reasonable solutions when correctly understood and addressed during purchase, but which cause a range of problems if only discovered post purchase. There are a range of environmental policies effecting how properties can be developed like setbacks from water and protection of trees, which often have significant impacts on how a land owner can use their property. Understanding the setback areas and distances, discerning building areas from protected ones, and ensuring a property will qualify for the building permits and zoning desired are all important to evaluate together during purchase. With the lawyer we'll also ensure the current owners have the full rights to sell the property, and evaluate the impact of any possible encumbrances and easements.
Our due diligence significantly extends upon the typical items mentioned above, as we conduct a thorough sustainability analysis on each property, evaluating the suitability and challenges for accomplishing the client's land goals. During this assessment we educate the client about the factors we're evaluating, and prepare reports on our observations and recommendations. When land is being bought for groups we provide example land use maps for how a given project or community can be laid out. We provide calculated estimates of development costs, from the core infrastructure of roads, power, water systems, as well as food systems development, reforestation, and natural building.



Customized services include: Budget and cash flow forecast for buying and developing; Strategies and guidelines for finding sustainable land; Transition planning tours, Property search and evaluation; Market analysis and best price negotiation; Request for proposals from top contractors, and more.
- Transition planning tour / Sustainable Living Expedition (Visit to sustainable farms, permaculture projects, wellness and education centers, and eco-social projects)
- Guidelines for evaluating a property’s sustainability
- Costa Rica regional analysis and sustainability assessment (Natural resources, community, economy)
- Property search and evaluation for homesteads, ecovillages, wellness centers, and conservation projects
- Tours conducted in person or via custom videos and video chat meetings
- Budget and Cash Flow Forecast for buying land and developing ecologically
- Ecovillage community development plan (Structure, systems, community models, economic models, governance models)
- Design & plan a Wellness and Education Center (Strategy, Finance, Marketing/Sales, Operations, Development)
- Develop an ecovillage founders circle, mission, vision, and objectives
- Design an ecological homestead (infrastructure, buildings, food, water, power, water)
- Market analysis and best price negotiation
- Requests for proposals from top contractors
- Project management for ecological development
- Introductions to active community organizations, supply chain, and best service providers (Southern zone Costa Rica only)
- Develop systems, processes, programs, services for ecovillages and wellness and education centers
Here are some pictures from recent Transition Tours and Sustainable Living Expeditions


































Some examples of exceptionally high quality ecological lands we connected with their next stewards:
~85 hectares (~210 acres) of mostly primary forest, 10 springs and multiple rivers, complete tranquility, upon which several thousand trees will be reforested to convert the pastures to secondary and regenerate the rivers and increase wildlife habitat along the Paso de la Danta wildlife corridor.
~45 hectares (~120 acres) of a mix of advanced secondary forest, patches of primary forest, and several pastured areas ideal for building ecological houses. Over 1km of rivers crossing the land, with multiple year round springs, in an area with a strong network of sustainability focused expats and Costa Ricans, near an organic market, and with an ideal growing climate for a range of tropical fruits and vegetables. This special land seems likely to become a wellness center with small residential community, with permaculture gardens, food forests, solar and micro hydro power, overlooking the pacific ocean and Dominical's beaches.
~8 hectares (~20 acres) where the total tranquility are so restorative it's hard to believe it's less than 20 minutes on a 2-wheel drive road to the Tinamastes organic farmers' market. A few building sites tucked into advanced secondary forest adjacent to a vast reserve of almost 1,000 hectares, with a wide range of fruit trees in the ground and sustainable infrastructure systems like spring-fed ponds for irrigating the organic tropical fruit forest.
~1 hectare (~2.5 acres) of lush ornamentals, dozens of fruit trees, and broad towering trees bringing an unparalleled range of bird species. Alongside 200 meters (~650ft.) of river with swimming holes, 3 homes already built for a client needing turnkey in a hurry. A main 2-story house with gorgeous hardwoods overlooking the river, with many artistic touches and careful design considerations in the materials and styles used. A second medium sized house perfect for client's mother with reduced mobility, level entry into a porch overflowing with tropical flowers, hummingbirds and butterflies with the hum of the river behind. Finally a rental cabina up front for work exchanges or rental income, with each home well-separated with thoughtful layout and landscaping.
We hold ourselves to high standards in representing our clients goals, protecting vital ecosystems, and supporting new community members as they integrate into these special areas we love.
Appreciation from our clients:
“Now, I really must congratulate you and HappE for the extraordinary work you are doing for us, providing us with solid comparatives and very valuable information. It really gives us a much clearer picture of the situation and conditions regarding the land purchase, by elaborating all the key elements that will allow us to really negotiate intelligently the best purchase price with the owner.
I am impressed with the quality and pertinence of the data that you share with us, and I am extremely grateful to you and your team at Upward Spirals, as well as entirely support your vision and mission.”
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"As a family looking to relocate to Costa Rica, we heard about Upward Spirals through their Organic Directory. Searching into their website, we found a quite unique range of services matching our needs. After a couple of emails, we had a wonderful online session with Eric Baudry, founder and CEO of Upward Spirals, where he took the time to learn more about us, our project and our philosophy. After understanding our needs, explaining to us his work and team, we started to work together.
Specialized in transition planning and social enterprise development, Upward Spirals already created for us a great detailed financial plan for our project for 5 years helping us to stay focus on our goal and showing us how to adapt our strategy. The tool is easy to use and saves us a lot of time, also we can change step by step the data to have more and more precise estimates.
Eric also organized for us a complete custom Sustainable Living Expedition of 7 days this December 2018, for discovering similar ideas and projects already successful in Costa Rica. We are thrilled to embark on this adventure in December, discovering with Eric and his team local communities, creating contacts, talking with specialists, and much more…"
Pascal, Marina, and Philippe-Abraham Barone, Switzerland
Connect with us if we can support your transition to a more sustainable and regenerative lifestyle.
