Gratitude Costa Rica Retreat Vision
Last updated: May 2026
In brief
Gratitude Costa Rica is an emerging regenerative retreat and learning centre in development.
The land has not yet been chosen, and the centre is not yet open for bookings.
This page shares the long-term vision, values and direction of the project as it begins to take shape.
The intention is to create a low-impact, nature-led space for restoration, learning, creativity, human connection and long-term land stewardship.
At a glance
Area | Current Direction |
|---|---|
What this builds on | The Gratitude Vietnam retreat legacy and Naomi’s wider work through Gratitude Worldwide. |
Core principles | Care for people, care for land, consent-led facilitation, ecological responsibility and slow, thoughtful development. |
Possible future experiences | Personal restoration retreats, educator and leadership retreats, creative residencies, wellbeing retreats, facilitator partnerships and land-based learning. |
Long-term vision | A regenerative retreat and learning centre rooted in nature, wellbeing, education and land stewardship. |
Booking status | Not open for bookings. |
Current stage | Early development. Land has not yet been chosen. |
A regenerative retreat and learning centre in development
A low-impact, nature-led space for restoration, learning, creativity, human connection and long-term land stewardship.
Gratitude Costa Rica is an emerging vision for a regenerative retreat and learning centre rooted in care for people, care for the land and care for the future.
The intention is to create a peaceful, increasingly self-sufficient space where people can slow down, reconnect with nature, restore their energy and take part in meaningful learning experiences. The centre will bring together nature-based wellbeing, education, leadership development, creative practice, consent-led facilitation and responsible land stewardship.
This is not a retreat centre built around escape.
It is a place being imagined around return: return to the body, return to the land, return to community, return to purpose and return to what matters.
Do it with care. Do it together.
Gratitude Costa Rica is currently in its early development phase. The land has not yet been chosen, and the centre is not yet open for bookings.
The vision
Restore people. Regenerate land. Strengthen community. Build for the long term.
Gratitude Costa Rica is being developed as a regenerative, low-impact retreat and learning centre in Costa Rica.
The long-term vision is to create a beautiful, grounded and financially sustainable space that supports restoration, learning, creativity and wider human development.
The centre will be designed around:
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nature-based rest and restoration
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trauma-aware wellbeing practices
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sound healing, reiki, meditation and reflective practice
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education and leadership retreats
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creative and professional renewal
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responsible tourism
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local community connection
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permaculture and food-growing
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renewable energy and water-conscious design
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biodiversity, soil health and long-term land stewardship
The aim is for the centre to become increasingly self-sufficient over time, with careful attention to solar energy, water use, food-growing, ecological restoration and climate resilience.
This is not about imposing a fixed model onto the land. The vision is to listen first. The right place, the right community, the right rhythm and the right ecological conditions all matter.
The ripple effect
Gratitude Costa Rica is being shaped around a simple belief: when people are properly supported, the benefits do not stop with them.
A period of rest, reflection, nature connection or careful facilitation can change how someone returns to their work, family, community or creative life. Small forms of support can have a much larger impact when they reach people who are already holding space for others.
The centre is being designed for educators, leaders, carers, practitioners, facilitators, creatives and people navigating transition: people whose own restoration can create a wider ripple of care, clarity and resilience.
This is part of the deeper purpose of Gratitude Costa Rica.
It is not only a place to retreat from the world. It is a place to restore capacity for meaningful participation in it.
The long-term aim is to create a regenerative model of mutual benefit: land that is cared for, people who are restored, local relationships that are respected, and programmes that support wider communities beyond the centre itself.
Why Costa Rica?
Costa Rica offers a powerful context for this work: biodiversity, community, resilience, simplicity and a more spacious relationship with time.
For Gratitude Costa Rica, the aim is not to create an imported retreat model that could exist anywhere. The aim is to build slowly and respectfully in response to the land, the local community and the realities of living in Costa Rica.
The centre will grow through listening, relationship-building and care. It will be shaped by local knowledge, local expertise and the practical wisdom of the place itself.
What the centre may offer
The retreat centre will be developed in phases. Over time, the intention is to offer a mix of personal retreats, facilitated programmes, learning experiences and collaborative residencies.
Personal restoration retreats
Quiet, reflective stays for people needing space to pause, rest, make sense of life changes and reconnect with themselves in a safe, gentle environment.
Creative and reflective residencies
Space for writers, artists, educators, researchers and practitioners to step away from noise and work on meaningful projects in a peaceful setting.
Wellbeing and sound healing retreats
Small group retreats using sound healing, reiki, meditation, guided imagery, reflective journalling and nature-based practice.
Regenerative living and land-based learning
Practical learning around food-growing, low-impact living, land care, community resilience and sustainable retreat development.
Education and leadership retreats
Retreats for educators, leaders, facilitators and changemakers who want to think more deeply, lead more humanely and reconnect with purpose.
Facilitator partnerships
Opportunities for aligned facilitators to host small, thoughtful retreats in a setting designed around care, depth and integrity.
A place for restoration, not performance
Many people are carrying too much.
Educators, leaders, carers, practitioners, creatives and people in helping roles are often expected to keep giving, producing, adapting and holding space for others without enough space to restore themselves.
Gratitude Costa Rica is being created for people who need something deeper than a holiday.
It is for people who want to breathe again.
For people navigating change.
For people who need quiet.
For people who are ready to reconnect with their body, their creativity, their values and the natural world.
For people who want to remember who they are beneath the pressure.
The work will be gentle, grounded and invitational. Nothing will be forced. Choice, consent and emotional safety will sit at the heart of the retreat culture.
Built with the land, not over it
Gratitude Costa Rica will be developed with a strong commitment to ecological care.
The intention is to work with the land rather than dominate it. This means making careful choices about where and how to build, how water is gathered and used, how food is grown, how energy is generated and how the surrounding ecosystem is protected.
The long-term vision includes:
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low-impact buildings
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solar energy where possible
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water-conscious systems
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edible gardens and permaculture principles
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tree planting and habitat protection
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composting and soil regeneration
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local materials where appropriate
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partnerships with local craftspeople, growers and suppliers
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careful visitor numbers to protect peace, privacy and ecological balance
Self-sufficiency is not being treated as a slogan. It is a direction of travel.
The aim is to build a centre that becomes more resilient, more rooted and more responsible over time.
Trauma-aware, consent-led and human
Gratitude Costa Rica will be shaped by trauma-aware, consent-led principles.
The retreat centre will not offer therapy, counselling, psychotherapy, medical treatment or mental health care, and it is not intended to replace support from qualified professionals. Although some experiences may feel restorative, reflective or personally meaningful, they are offered as wellbeing, learning and nature-based practices rather than clinical services.
The culture of the space will be built around safety, choice, consent, clarity, compassion and respect.
People arrive with different stories, nervous systems, needs and thresholds. A genuinely restorative space must honour that.
The retreat culture will prioritise:
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emotional safety
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clear boundaries
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choice and consent
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gentle facilitation
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inclusive language
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respect for difference
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quiet spaces
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nervous-system awareness
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non-performative spirituality
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grounded, practical care
The intention is to create a space where people feel welcomed as they are, without needing to explain, perform or become someone else.
Rooted in Gratitude Worldwide
Gratitude Costa Rica is part of the wider Gratitude Worldwide vision.
Gratitude Worldwide brings together education, wellbeing, leadership, creativity and human-centred change. Its work is grounded in the belief that meaningful transformation happens through care, clarity, relationship and practical action.
Founder Naomi Rowan’s background spans global education consultancy, digital learning, assessment transformation, leadership development and wellbeing facilitation. She previously founded and ran Gratitude Vietnam, a retreat and wellbeing space that brought together community, mindfulness, sound healing, reflective practice and responsible tourism.
Gratitude Costa Rica builds on that experience while allowing something new to emerge: a slower, more land-based, more self-sufficient and more regenerative expression of the work.
Previous work: the Gratitude Vietnam legacy
Gratitude Costa Rica builds on lived experience.
Before this vision began in Costa Rica, Naomi founded and ran Gratitude Vietnam in Hoi An: a retreat and wellbeing space shaped by community, mindfulness, sound healing, reflective practice, responsible tourism and thoughtful guest care.
Gratitude Vietnam was not only a place to stay. It became a place of connection, restoration and belonging for people moving through travel, transition, creativity and change.
Guests described Gratitude Vietnam as nurturing, welcoming, professionally held and deeply restorative.
Thoughtful facilitation
“Naomi runs thoughtful and insightful workshops. Her approach is subtle and always gentle, allowing you to determine your own boundaries.”
Danielle Cleak
Gratitude Vietnam guest
Nurturing community
“It was a very nurturing and loving home, where everyone was welcome.”
Lauren Cash
Gratitude Vietnam guest
Facilitator confidence
“As a retreat leader I was so well treated and looked after in every way.”
RJ Noble
Retreat Leader and Singing Bowl Master
That experience now informs Gratitude Costa Rica. This new project is not a copy of Vietnam. It is a slower, wiser and more land-based evolution of the same deeper thread: creating spaces where people can breathe, connect, restore and remember what matters.
A careful beginning
Gratitude Costa Rica is currently in its early development phase.
The land has not yet been chosen, and the retreat centre is not yet open for bookings. This page shares the vision, direction and values behind the project as it begins to take shape.
This is a careful beginning, not a rushed launch.
The aim is to build something that can last.
For advisors, partners and mission-aligned investors
Gratitude Costa Rica is open to values-aligned conversations with people who understand that small, well-placed forms of support can create long-term value.
At this stage, the most useful support may include advice, principled challenge, introductions, land expertise, sustainability guidance, retreat development experience, partnership, patient capital or practical knowledge of building regenerative spaces.
For people considering a more serious conversation, the Partnership Brief offers a fuller overview of the opportunity, current stage, development approach, potential revenue pathways, risk awareness and partnership principles.
The project may resonate with people interested in regenerative land use, human development, education, wellbeing, climate resilience, sustainable retreat models, responsible investment and practical models of reciprocity.
If you feel there may be alignment, please get in touch with a brief note about your background and the kind of conversation you would like to explore.
Follow the journey
Gratitude Costa Rica is beginning slowly and intentionally.
There will be land visits, design decisions, practical questions, moments of uncertainty and moments of deep possibility. The process matters as much as the final centre.
This is a journey of listening, learning and building with care.
If you would like to follow the development of Gratitude Costa Rica, collaborate, offer expertise or explore a values-aligned conversation, please get in touch.