This September will be an epic month for us all of at Spirit Mountain. We are excited to welcome a new member of the team, Marcos Lanfranco, a Doulos Discovery School alumni! Marcos will be working under Krista as the on-site director of our Hospitality and Guest Experience. Estancia Natura has formed a strategic partnership with Sagra Farms, which will help take our guest experience on the farm to a completely new level! Our team at Root Architecture and Development has finished the design work on our A-Frames and the first three are SOLD with construction scheduled to start towards the end of the year. We anticipate receiving our environmental license in September, for the overfall development of Estancia Natura. The harvest is complete and Spirit Mountain coffee is ready to export to our partners in the US. Katheryn is down on the farm this fall working with our local team to improve the coffee tour experience at Spirit Mountain. While in country, Kate is consulting with Spirit Mountain’s newest strategic partnership, La Campangna, the DR’s premier bakery / bistro. Owner and good friend, Modesto Arosregui will be elevating the coffee service at La Campagna and has chosen Spirit Mountain and Farm to Cup Consulting. The permitting process with the Ministry of the Environment is almost complete. Mountain biking season is in full swing with camping and farm visits at an all-time high. It’s an exciting time for all of us as we are pushing the dream forward across many fronts!
I will be meeting one of our longest coffee roasting partners this fall to spend some time reviewing our farm practices in hopes to further improve the quality of our Coffee. Shannon Neffendorf visited out Farm in the mid 2000’s with his family and we look forward to hosting Shannon again. Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters is one of the most respected coffee roasters in the world and we are thankful for Shannon’s ongoing partnership, his commitment to coffee farmers around the world and his continued collaboration with Spirit Mountain.
For the Dominican Mountain Bike community, excitement has never been higher. The team here at the farm has been working tirelessly over the last 6 months preparing for Round 3 of the DES (Dominican Endure Series), rehabilitating existing trails and building new ones. Tri-Mountain MTB Park at Spirit Mountain, which was conceived in 2013, has become a new HUB for this rapidly growing sport. We are grateful for the collaborative partnership with DES organizer, Waldo de la Mota for his hard work and vision. Anyone who knows me knows that EPIC is my middle name. The race scheduled for September 9th is two years in the making and what we’ve created together surpasses my wildest imagination!! The mountain biking action over the past month reminds me of what I would expect to see at a Mountain Bike Park in North America! I’m so proud of our growing MTB community!
The fall season will be busy as our Design / Build team prepares to break ground on the first Estancia Eco-Lodge A Frames. Root Architecture Principal, Zeke Freeman, will be visiting the DR in November with his entire family to spend some time at the farm and check on the progress of his A-Frame. Having been involved in the architectural design work and business planning of La Estancia Eco-Lodge, Zeke is excited to break ground on his personal Estancia Eco Lodge A Fame and see the project begin to take shape.
Earlier this summer, we gathered to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Doulos Discovery School. We took advantage of everyone being in the DR together and headed up to the farm to explore with our daughter’s and their husbands, specifically so they could choose lot where they will someday build a home along the upper ridge of Spirit Mountain. Keren and Grant chose a lot along the North ridge, looking back across the farm to the South. Kate and Doug chose the opposite side, looking North. All four were excited to begin dreaming together of a future on the Farm. Krista and I have yet to decide! With so many amazing options, it’s difficult to make a choice.
As our owner’s representative, Katheryn Lake has been busy coordinating conversations with everyone who shows interest in becoming a part of the Estancia Natura community. We have an Open House at Spirit Mountain scheduled for the 9th of September, which will coincide with the DES enduro mountain bike competition. We have a special Estancia Founder’s Club offer for another three units. Three are SOLD, and we are extending the discount offer to the next three who commit to an A-Frame during that weekend. The current introductory prices being offered are incredible. No-where on the island can you get such an exclusive product. Estancia Natura at Spirit Mountain is so unique and much more than a residential project; it’s a destination unto itself. Once the first 6 units are built, we anticipate the price of the next group of 6 to increase. So take advantage of this opportunity, get in touch with Kate to lock in your discount and become a forever member of the Estancia Eco Lodge Founder’s Club.
Stay tuned for more updates…coming soon!!
Un Fuerte Abrazo,
Chad
