Sacred Sueños Reforestation Project: Off-Grid and Off-Road in the Andes - EcoJustice Radio

Purpose & guest background

• Eve Zender shares his nearly two-decade journey living off-grid, off-road, and “offline” while stewarding and regenerating degraded lands in Ecuador.
• He founded Sacred Sueños (est. 2004) near Vilcabamba in the Andes of southern Ecuador, aiming to create a home/ecosystem defined by:
  • Regeneration
  • Biodiversity
  • Soil fertility
  • Abundant wildlife

How he got into this life (backstory)

• Environmental studies in university felt depressing—it highlighted problems but didn’t teach solutions.
• A life shift began through:
  • Volunteering on organic farms
  • Visiting permaculture farms/communities
• He then traveled around Latin America, hitchhiking and learning directly from land stewards.
• He chose Ecuador because it felt both beautiful and accessible, and realistic to pursue land ownership without relying on northern-country wealth.

Cultural/ancestral framing

• The show emphasizes honoring local Indigenous peoples and supporting Indigenous lifeways wherever listeners live.
• Eve discusses the Saraguros (Quechua/Incan related settlers) and the tragedy/erasure of past nomadic peoples due to colonial disruption and disease.
• He notes a wish to connect with “pre” history more directly (especially the Paltas mentioned by the host).

Key lessons from real “off-grid” living

• The reality was harder than the romantic ideal:
  • Forgetting supplies can mean hours of hiking back and forth.
  • Early mistakes were frequent, especially because volunteers had to learn through trial and error.
• Volunteers/community mattered early:
  • People made mistakes repeatedly, teaching patience and resilience.
  • The community evolved in phases (early residents → larger volunteer periods → peak permanent group), and conflicts later contributed to its dissolution.

Deep ecology & agroecology—how he defines them

Deep ecology (vs. typical environmentalism)

• Treats humans as part of ecology, not separate.
• Emphasizes mutual influence:
  • What happens to the land affects us—and vice versa.

Agroecology

• Not just “organic agriculture” (he notes the terms are often incorrectly conflated).
• Applies ecological principles to farming:
  • Biodiversity and ecosystem complexity
  • Understanding soil and the soil biome
  • Avoiding “war against nature” (even “natural pesticides” are still framed as fighting)
• He connects agroecology/regenerative thinking to systems that support living ecosystems rather than replacing them.

“Romanticizing” back-to-the-land

• Returning to rural life can be difficult because:
  • People may not be used to manual labor
  • Some “back-to-land” lifestyles rely on paid labor, undermining the claimed simplicity/connection
• He critiques the idea of disengaging from your own labor as it disconnects you from life itself.
• He contrasts:
  • Voluntary Simplicity (a humble, practical stance)
  • vs. “life as a problem to solve” through purely technological fixes (e.g., aerosol fantasies, artificial tree offsets)

Activism philosophy

• He argues the most critical activism can be living differently—aligning daily behavior with stated values.
• He describes earlier high-anger activism and later realization that personal consumption directly connects people to what they oppose.

Why the land was degraded (local history & causes)

• He describes a shift from cloud forest to degraded mountains through:
  • Land redistribution leaving poor families with steep hillsides and limited options
  • Slash-and-burn over generations (sometimes sustainable in longer rotation, but erosion accumulated when done annually)
  • Replacement of diverse ecosystems with cattle grazing
• By the time he bought the land, much of the mountain was described as black/fern-dominated, with biodiversity concentrated in riparian zones.

Regeneration methods & the “process” of recovery

• His practices align with permaculture/analog forestry, including:
  • Heavy pruning and using cut biomass as mulch
  • Focusing on native “volunteer” species rather than overly relying on purchased seeds
  • Observing soil profile changes and the root/mineral strategies of native plants
• Timeline expectations:
  • First 2 years: doubt; cutting and regrowth repeated
  • By ~Year 2 (mid): volunteers begin to take hold
  • Around years 4–5: becomes semi-productive
• Soil fertility and biodiversity increased gradually rather than instantly.

Biodiversity outcomes

• He reports a major biodiversity jump:
  • From roughly a dozen early species
  • To 100+ identified species, with many more photographed but not fully identified
• He also mentions new discoveries over time, including new orchids, butterflies, and a new hummingbird appearing.

Land protection & stewardship vs development

• He bought an initial ~10 hectares (25 acres) with a commitment it would never be sold (tied to a waterfall).
• A philanthropist later obtained additional land after seeing the project; Eve lives as a steward on the larger mission land.
• He emphasizes ongoing caretaking:
  • Keeping cows out
  • Protecting from fire
  • Representing/defending the area against road/house development
• He notes that “protected forever” isn’t guaranteed in practice (example: a cell tower built within a bio reserve).

“Roadless” terrain and ongoing threats

• He values steep, hard-to-access terrain because it limits destructive development.
• He observes encroaching change:
  • Roads built in nearby valleys
  • Neighbors trying to build access routes
  • Ongoing fire cycles connected to grazing practices

Place-based belonging & the “Great Exodus” critique

• He supports the search for roots/belonging but worries about migration trends:
  • People can end up suburbanizing rural areas
  • Overdevelopment can replace “wildness” with oversized homes and shallow land connection
• He argues “getting back to the land” should mean humble participation and giving up certain conveniences—not just relocating.

Community integration as an outsider

• At first, he was treated as potentially “rich” because he’s a white/foreign-looking person.
• Early challenges included being robbed.
• Acceptance improved through relationship-building and reciprocity:
  • Helping search for cattle
  • Small acts of care (e.g., raincoats for neighbors)
  • Sharing daily life practices (he’s joked to live “more Ecuadorian” than locals)

Parenting & screens (with his children)

• He says he wants happiness, not imposing his lifestyle on his children.
• He initially restricted screens, then softened the stance:
  • His daughter uses small learning games
  • He avoids full Wi‑Fi isolation while hoping she reconnects with foundational nature/roots
• He reflects on his own childhood, when farming/home life felt “best,” compared with later industrial bread/more urban priorities driven by necessity and pressure.

Stewardship vs “manicured” nature

• He distinguishes:
  • Stewardship: minimal-trace, ecology-informed work where ecosystems function with minimal disturbance
  • Manicure/landscaping aesthetics: orderly, artistic designs that can be beautiful but may reduce ecological wildness
• He admits market-scale production may require more “managed” methods (manicure) for productivity.
• His reconnection guidance often starts with observation and species recognition, not just pretty landscaping.

Teaching plans & urban regeneration

• He’s building:
  • A short podcast course
  • Followed by webinars
  • Plus consulting/support through questions and engagement via his platforms
• His urban motivation:
  • Help people reconnect with nature where they live, especially where cities create disconnection
• He studies solutions for soil toxicity near oil fields, freeways, and ports, including:
  • Testing soil for contaminants
  • Approaches like keeping soil neutral-to-alkaline
  • Growing plants less prone to heavy-metal uptake
  • Using raised beds where contamination is high
• He emphasizes microbiome/soil-based methods can help, but doesn’t frame it as “just throw carrots in.”

Notable locations / products / speakers

Guest

• Eve Zender (Sacred Sueños Reforestation Project)

Project & places

• Sacred Sueños, Vilcabamba, Andes Mountains, southern Ecuador
• Near a local waterfall
• Discussion includes Tongva lands (where the show is broadcast from) and the broader Turtle Island context
• References to a cell tower built within a bio reserve

Organizations / people referenced

• EcoJustice Radio (program)
• Jeff Lawton (permaculture teacher)
• Stephen Jenkinson (Die Wise)
• Rachel Carson (Silent Spring)
• Gandhi (quote about becoming the change)
• Khalil Gibran (poem/ideas about children)

Concepts / tools mentioned

• Off-grid/off-road/offline living
• Composting toilets
• Permaculture/analog forestry
• Agroecology
• Deep ecology
• Voluntary simplicity
• Regenerative/soil microbiome approaches