Community

Building and developing a sense of community is important. As an extranjero, I accept that I’m a visitor in Santa Catalina and in Panama. But to make a village feel like home..to be a part of the lives of the people who are from Santa Catalina makes the experience of living consciously in Santa Catalina very rewarding. Many of the folks who are not from Santa Catalina work to manifest and create community cohesion. Not only in adding to employment opportunities, furthering education and relationship building, we also connect through community events. Some of these include beach clean ups, enviro education to the local school, birthday parties, church events, movie nights, recycling programs, dive-site clean ups, dances, raffles and funding initiatives in general.

The chill village vibe of Santa Catalina is reflective of its remote location and has been crafted through the contentious efforts of those that have chosen to make Catalina home from afar and a general acceptance and openness from the locals. Maintaining mutual respect, connectivity and appreciating one another’s unique character makes for a special kind of place. Yes the backdrop and area is full of amazing surf, vistas, beaches and nature but it’s really the people that make Catalina feel like home away from home, and truly a form of paradise. Go out for a stroll in town, smile at some of the folks, slow down a little, hang by the store or town beach at sunset and introduce yourself to someone new or lend a hand to a clean up or initiative, or make a donation when you can..and please pick up a little extra plastic and help us lead by example with respect, humility and stewardship. Just a few words of Spanish and a smile go a long way...