JOSE PABLO

Jose Pablo Fernandez is Costa Rican most grounded permaculture and eco-activist. He is the president and founder of an environmental NGO called "Guardianes del Bosque" (Guardians of the Forest) in the South Caribbean of Costa Rica. They promote ecological restoration, regenerative development, solidarity economy, and environmental education. His personal Permaculture design initiative, Holograma Permaculture, has been implementing and promoting ecologically and socially harmonious systems for over 10 years. 

At the age of 17, he began studying Natural Medicine at the Gaia Holistic Institute. This practice awakened a passion for the natural world and its beings, leading him to become certified as a naturalist tour guide in 2004. Since then, he has been working to provide environmental education to visiting tourists in the national parks of Costa Rica. He participated in sustainability departments and lived in eco-lodges and educational ecological centers like Hotel Arenas del Mar by Kayuga Sustainable Hospitality.

Being a nature guide evolved into leading community service projects and agroecological tourism, which required a special social sensitivity to work with rural communities and school children and engage with the world of sustainable agricultural production. Along this path, he studied organic agriculture at INA, Natural Resources Management and Protection at UNED, and landscape design at the Universidad Creativa in San Jose. This led him into the world of ecological landscaping and working with environmental NGOs such as UESPRA and landscaping firms like Enchanted Gardens in upstate New York

Then, in 2009, he found exactly what he was looking for when he became certified as a Permaculture Designer at the Lost Valley Eco-Village in Eugene, Oregon, and later as a Permaculture Instructor with the New Mexico Permaculture Institute. He lived in various Permaculture centers, managing projects, leading educational processes, and facilitating volunteer programs. Some of these centers include Finca Agroecologica La Flor, Punta Mona Center, Posada Natura, and Finca Paraíso Verde.

To further integrate tools, he adopted Analog Forestry as a method for designing edible forests and ecosystem restoration. He actively participates in the International Analog Forestry Network as an accredited trainer and designer. He also explored other branches of Permaculture focused more on community life and social management, such as Sociocracy, collaborative project design, and group facilitation.

Today, He is the president and founder of an environmental NGO called "Guardianes del Bosque" (Guardians of the Forest) in the South Caribbean of Costa Rica. We promote ecological restoration, regenerative development, solidarity economy, and environmental education.