TEDx Jungle Adventure: Off the Grid with Kalu Yala

The Panama rainforest. An environment alive with vibrant flora, diverse fauna, bubbling Rios, and….hundreds of entrepreneurs?

 That was the case between Dec 28th and Jan. 1st, when TEDx teamed up with Kalu Yala to bring over 100 visionaries into the jungle to connect, share, and create. 

TED is a global series of conferences devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading.”    Each event assembles the world’s most remarkable thought leaders, providing a platform on which they can inform and inspire. It’s offspring, TEDx, enables organizations to bring their own TED-like events to the local community.



This year, that organization was Kalu Yala.

Kalu Yala is a sustainable settlement nestled within a spectacular natural clearing of rainforest dubbed “The Valley.” It’s a self-described “eco-playground…where entrepreneurs and tropical cowboys are busy building the ultimate sustainable lifestyle.”


For Jimmy Stice, Founder and CEO of Kalu Yala, TEDx Jungle Adventures provided the perfect opportunity for outsiders to experience the transformative effect the Valley has on those who enter it.



“It’s vital,” says Stice, “for people to know that we’re constructing an economically functional alternative to present day reality- that a truly sustainable community can and does exist.

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The Kalu Yala mentality is well aligned with TEDx’s penchant for actionable innovation, making the Valley the perfect backdrop for this avant-garde event. Attendees reveled in the opportunity to spend 3 days “off the grid,” participating in hands-on workshops that ranged from sustainable agriculture to eco-friendly infrastructure. Evenings were reserved for TEDx talks, which included dialogues on topics as diverse as social entrepreneurism and neuroscience.



When asked what the most important takeaway of the event was, Jimmy had to suppress a modest laugh. “I was really humbled by the turnout,” he said, “and amazed by how deeply people from all over the world connected to what Kalu Yala is about. People who are major heavyweights where they’re from were blown away by the hospitality we could provide… we had executives from New York and San Francisco complimenting the quality of our food!”



“It was an important and gratifying reminder that what we’re doing out here really is possible.”   

As for the future, Kalu Yala and TEDx already have plans to join forces again in 2014, with more than one event on the horizon. Kalu Yala’s internship program is growing, as is its level of global investment interest. 

As a former intern for Kalu Yala, I can attest to both the ambitious magnitude of the project as well as the astounding capabilities of the people behind it. It is with an eager and admiring affection that I look forward to watching Kalu Yala bloom in the coming years.



To stay up to date on future events, visit KaluYala.com or facebook.com/KaluYala. Anyone interested in learning more about the internship program is invited to email Alice at: alice@alicebeth.com.