THE LIVING ECOSYSTEM
This place is organized like a living system.
Each space has a role.
Each role has meaning.
Together, they form a village.
Our cosmovisión
At Balsa Nueva, life isn’t one thing. It’s a small ecosystem shaped by land, people, and the everyday rhythm of living here.
Alma Tierra Café is where we gather to eat.
Here, food is prepared with intention, using what the land offers, and served as an invitation to slow down and share a meal.
Much of what we serve begins in El Jardín de Pacha, our greenhouse and garden, where vegetables, fruit trees, and regional root crops are grown in tune with the seasons.
Nearby, La Botica de Mama is home to medicinal plants used for infusions, tinctures, balms, and natural remedies — plants that have long been part of daily life and care.
La Casa de la Maga is our small market, where what we grow and make by hand is shared: bread, preserves, remedies, and goods crafted with patience and care.
Separate from the café, El Fogón de María offers a deeply personal experience.
In her home kitchen, María cooks traditional Costa Rican food over a wood-fired stove, using ingredients from the land and the farm. It is simple, generous cooking, rooted in tradition and everyday life.
Nothing here stands alone. Each space has its place and its purpose.
This is how we live and work at Balsa Nueva —
guided by the land, by tradition, and by the simple joy of sharing food.
El Jardín de Pacha
Where food is grown
Where soil, water, sun, and patience meet
The source
El Jardín de Pacha is our greenhouse and food garden, where vegetables are grown alongside fruit trees and root crops typical of our region. This is where much of our daily nourishment begins — cultivated with care, seasonality, and respect for the land that sustains us— the very foundation of what we eat.
From leafy greens to roots pulled straight from the soil, the garden reflects the rhythms of this place and provides fresh ingredients for our kitchen and table.
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La Botica de Mama
Where healing plants live. Where leaves, roots, and flowers become remedies. Where care is cultivated.
La Botica de Mama is our medicinal herb garden, home to plants traditionally used for healing, nourishment, and everyday wellness. Here we grow herbs used in infusions, tinctures, balms, and natural remedies, as well as fresh plants incorporated into our food and smoothies.
This living apothecary honors ancestral wisdom — offering plant-based support for body, spirit, and daily life.
La Casa de la Maga— our market & handmade goods space
Alimentos vivos · Huerta · Pan · Remedios
Where goods are made with hands and care.
Where intention becomes form.
La Casa de la Maga is our small market, where food and goods are made by hand and shared with care. It is part of daily life at Balsa Nueva — a place where what comes from the land can be taken with you.
Here we offer bread, pastries, preserves, and plant-based remedies, prepared slowly using traditional methods and ingredients from the garden and farm whenever possible.
The work here follows the rhythm of the land and the seasons. Time, patience, and attention are part of every step.
La Casa de la Maga is not about producing more, but about doing things well.
About respecting the ingredients, the hands that prepare them, and the people who receive them.
Everything that leaves this house carries care and a piece of this place.