Roots – Education Centre

In my healing work and mentoring (with adults), I draw on a wide array of techniques and tools — from my own experience recovering from chronic health conditions, as well as study of energy healing practices, craniosacral therapy, Mayan medicine and shamanism since moving to Costa Rica in 2020. You can find more info on this website about my services (in holistic health) as well as about my personal health journey You can also find reviews of my holistic health work on my site here.

Alex is a black belt in the Hung Gar style of Kung Fu, derived from the Southern Shaolin Temple in China. He trained under Sifu Kautzman in Canada at the Canadian Hung Kuen Association, and has five years of experience teaching kids/youth Kung Fu classes (both at his Sifu’s school in Canada, and since early 2023 in Costa Rica teaching both kids and adults). The Hung Gar style of Kung Fu is rooted deeply in tradition: it incorporates subtle Qi gong and Tai chi elements as well as more energetic martial practice, and is a rounded discipline for mind, body and spirit.

The Vision for our Land

Our mission is to create and facilitate healing & educational spaces where visitors can also come to reconnect with the simple pleasures in life. A place to enjoy fresh organic food, clean water, and the soothing music of jungle song. A place to nurture the mind, body, heart and soul, and feel a sense of tribe and belonging with the Earth and all her creatures. In this safe and sacred sanctuary, visitors can be nourished by the land – whilst receiving our services and classes.

We primarily envision this land as an educational centre for youth to learn about a new way of life, gain practical experience and skills (in ecological construction, permaculture and herbalism), and have time to connect with themselves and nature in order to find the path they wish to walk in life. They can participate in programs incorporating mentoring sessions & Kung Fu classes.

A key principle we have is to teach not only through classes, but through our own embodiment of a healthy lifestyle: inviting others into our home and to our land, where we have begun growing medicinal plants and have built our own home through ecological methods. We love to share the knowledge we have learnt: from our own journeys with health, the struggles we’ve overcome, as well as the wide variety of training we have undertaken.

Through integrated programs, visitors can learn about topics ranging from spiritual & meditation practices, healthy & nutritious cooking, plants & plant medicines, and construction. Additionally, after many years teaching youth at his Sifu’s school in Canada, Alex has now established his own Hung Gar Kung Fu school and offers lessons from our home (and select venues in the area).

Work so far… and further support we need!

Since acquiring land in late 2022 we have, with the support of family:

• connected public water and electricity services, as well as fibre optic internet
• conducted land-management work to prevent further erosion caused by neighbouring property/road drainage
• planted fruit trees & are in the early stages of cultivating a herb garden
• built a multi-purpose deck (Kung Fu/yoga/meditation space); and
• built our home.

In order to grow the project and develop more infrastructure and educational facilities, we need hands-on support as well as funding. We are open to collaborate with individuals who can offer services (specifically, in permaculture design or ecological construction). We are also looking for an on-site caretaker (for general land work and maintenance as well as ongoing presence at the property throughout the year).

Finally, if you are a wellness practitioner and are interested to collaborate with us by hosting an event, workshop or retreat at our land, please get in touch! We already have permanent facilities in place to host events, but please note that accommodation is camping only.

Core Values and Pledge to Gaia (Mother Earth)

A sense of family and community is at the heart of this project, as well as harmonious, ecological living, protecting the jungle lands that we steward.

We believe that health, wellness & education are universal human rights and so we want to be able to offer visits/retreats, attendance at events, and our practitioner services, at inclusive & accessible prices. To do so, given the scale of infrastructure work done so far, we need further support and funding.

We are committed to sustainable development, with ecological building and land management practices. On our land, we protect an area of the jungle and the creek with potable water that flows through it.

My passion for protecting the Earth was developed from a legal perspective when studying environmental law at university. Alongside my studies, I was involved pro bono in preparing the scientific evidence base for an environmental case against the UK government before the European Court of Justice, concerning England’s failure to implement the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive in the context of agricultural development. My article discussing the case, Semi-natural grassland decline: the failings of environmental impact assessment in England was published by Lawtext in the journal Environmental Law and Management, Volume 28 (2016) issue 5.

Alex has been a climate change activist himself and shares my values for fiercely protecting Mother Earth and seeking sustainable solutions for humanity’s survival and growth, symbiotically with the harmonious functioning of the planet’s ecosystems.