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About us
Everything started in 2016...
...when Aurora’s founders, Nicolò and Giulia, left Italy for Panama with three friends. The plan was simple: build a small refuge where they could grow food and live at a slower pace. On a hillside near Santa Fe we created Mycena, a pocket-sized farm that became a testing ground for nearly everything a self-reliant life requires: soil care, crop rotation, orcharding, animal husbandry, seed saving, carpentry, metalwork, food preservation, soap making, off-grid power, water harvesting, waste management, plumbing, electrical wiring, and more.
We blended into the small community of El Pito and helped launch an off-grid, community-run market garden. By 2019 we began asking a new question: could we give the same opportunity to more people? The answer eventually became Aurora.
The core idea was to create an autonomous living and growing space for up to six families, deeply integrated with nature and committed to having a positive impact on the broader community of Santa Fe.
But we soon had to face a difficult truth: any residential complex, even when labeled “green” or “sustainable”, can still leave a large negative footprint for decades. Grey and black water mismanagement, oversized electricity consumption, disruption of local ecosystems, and a constant stream of maintenance waste are all common pitfalls.
Our aim is to shrink or eliminate that impact at every step, and to use our good fortune to push past the usual limits.
We blended into the small community of El Pito and helped launch an off-grid, community-run market garden. By 2019 we began asking a new question: could we give the same opportunity to more people? The answer eventually became Aurora.
The core idea was to create an autonomous living and growing space for up to six families, deeply integrated with nature and committed to having a positive impact on the broader community of Santa Fe.
But we soon had to face a difficult truth: any residential complex, even when labeled “green” or “sustainable”, can still leave a large negative footprint for decades. Grey and black water mismanagement, oversized electricity consumption, disruption of local ecosystems, and a constant stream of maintenance waste are all common pitfalls.
Our aim is to shrink or eliminate that impact at every step, and to use our good fortune to push past the usual limits.
This kind of work requires serious private funding, so we decided to turn everything into an NGO. This choice allows every dollar to do three jobs at once: support our open-source experiments, contribute to beneficial projects that redistribute wealth within the Santa Fe community, and help share our experience, including lessons learned and past mistakes, with the people who come to learn from us.
Today Aurora is run day to day by Nicolò and Giulia together with a small crew of local and foreign friends.
One important reflection: across many cultures, the belief that doing good must be accompanied by hardship has deep religious roots. For centuries, moral worth was tied to self denial, sacrifice, and visible struggle. As a result, even today there is often quiet suspicion toward those who do good with joy, efficiency, or without embracing material deprivation. We still see a lingering expectation that meaningful work must feel heavy or that an ethical life must be austere.
We believe it is time to rethink this legacy. Hard work, and sometimes pain, is essential, but it can also be energizing and joyful, fully compatible with a life lived with dignity.
The happier, more beautiful and more useful a project becomes, the more people will want to borrow ideas and contribute positively in their own way.
We are not offering a flawless template. Most people do not share our starting advantages, and we have made plenty of mistakes. Our goal is simply to uncover approaches that others can adapt, anywhere, without repeating those missteps.
This journey has changed us, and we hope others will join, or at least take the parts that resonate and make them their own.
Today Aurora is run day to day by Nicolò and Giulia together with a small crew of local and foreign friends.
One important reflection: across many cultures, the belief that doing good must be accompanied by hardship has deep religious roots. For centuries, moral worth was tied to self denial, sacrifice, and visible struggle. As a result, even today there is often quiet suspicion toward those who do good with joy, efficiency, or without embracing material deprivation. We still see a lingering expectation that meaningful work must feel heavy or that an ethical life must be austere.
We believe it is time to rethink this legacy. Hard work, and sometimes pain, is essential, but it can also be energizing and joyful, fully compatible with a life lived with dignity.
The happier, more beautiful and more useful a project becomes, the more people will want to borrow ideas and contribute positively in their own way.
We are not offering a flawless template. Most people do not share our starting advantages, and we have made plenty of mistakes. Our goal is simply to uncover approaches that others can adapt, anywhere, without repeating those missteps.
This journey has changed us, and we hope others will join, or at least take the parts that resonate and make them their own.
Photo Timeline
March 2021 → July 2025
The general vibe around here
We work hard and we love what we do. We are always looking for improvements, and there's almost nothing that we take for granted. We love to work with independent and passionate people, but we also enjoy silence and tranquility.
Santa Fe de Veraguas
We are located a 5-minute walk from the town center, just past the fairgrounds. Follow the main road until you see our farm on the left.
Our inspirations
The best way to get into our minds is to explore the following subjects. Click on the items to read more.
The Safe and Just Place for Humanity
Envisions a world where resources are shared equitably, ecosystems remain healthy, and communities thrive within sustainable boundaries, ensuring a prosperous future for all.
Envisions a world where resources are shared equitably, ecosystems remain healthy, and communities thrive within sustainable boundaries, ensuring a prosperous future for all.
Sociocracy 3.0
Offers a flexible, principle-based governance system that fosters inclusivity, transparency, and continuous improvement. Also, consent > consensus.
Offers a flexible, principle-based governance system that fosters inclusivity, transparency, and continuous improvement. Also, consent > consensus.
Effective Altruism
Advocates using reason and evidence to identify the most impactful ways to help others, guiding resources and efforts to maximize positive outcomes for all living beings.
Advocates using reason and evidence to identify the most impactful ways to help others, guiding resources and efforts to maximize positive outcomes for all living beings.
Naturalism
Centers on understanding reality through scientific inquiry and empirical evidence, holding that all phenomena arise from natural causes without reliance on supernatural explanations.
Centers on understanding reality through scientific inquiry and empirical evidence, holding that all phenomena arise from natural causes without reliance on supernatural explanations.
Permaculture
Focuses on designing regenerative ecosystems and communities that harmonize with nature, promoting sustainable agriculture, resource management, and self-reliance for long-term resilience.
Focuses on designing regenerative ecosystems and communities that harmonize with nature, promoting sustainable agriculture, resource management, and self-reliance for long-term resilience.
Rationality - The Sequence
Presents a collection of insights and methodologies aimed at refining critical thinking, overcoming cognitive biases, and making more effective decisions in everyday life.
Presents a collection of insights and methodologies aimed at refining critical thinking, overcoming cognitive biases, and making more effective decisions in everyday life.
Secular Humanism
Emphasizes human values, reason, and ethical principles independent of religious or supernatural beliefs, advocating for personal responsibility and a compassionate, equitable society.
Emphasizes human values, reason, and ethical principles independent of religious or supernatural beliefs, advocating for personal responsibility and a compassionate, equitable society.
Six Degrees of Separation
We live in a "Small World", and we strive to create shortcuts between people who would never meet each other. We (jokingly) call Aurora a "shortcut facilitator".
We live in a "Small World", and we strive to create shortcuts between people who would never meet each other. We (jokingly) call Aurora a "shortcut facilitator".
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of paying full, nonjudgmental attention to the present moment, cultivating clarity, calm awareness, and a grounded connection to thoughts, sensations, and surroundings.
Mindfulness is the practice of paying full, nonjudgmental attention to the present moment, cultivating clarity, calm awareness, and a grounded connection to thoughts, sensations, and surroundings.
Giving What We Can
Giving What We Can is an initiative that encourages people to donate a meaningful portion of their income to the most effective charities, using evidence and careful reasoning to maximize positive impact on others.
Giving What We Can is an initiative that encourages people to donate a meaningful portion of their income to the most effective charities, using evidence and careful reasoning to maximize positive impact on others.
Science Over Story
We've farmed organically for over a decade. We also believe the 'organic' label is largely a marketing construct, one we fell for. We farm the way we do to protect our local tropical ecosystem, but we don't hate "conventional farming".
We've farmed organically for over a decade. We also believe the 'organic' label is largely a marketing construct, one we fell for. We farm the way we do to protect our local tropical ecosystem, but we don't hate "conventional farming".
Open Source Initiative
The principle that knowledge shared freely grows faster than knowledge kept closed. Transparency and collaboration, applied to software, science, and culture, consistently outperform secrecy and competition.
The principle that knowledge shared freely grows faster than knowledge kept closed. Transparency and collaboration, applied to software, science, and culture, consistently outperform secrecy and competition.
The Safe and Just Place for Humanity
"Central to pursuing sustainable development is the imperative of eradicating poverty, so that all people lead lives free of deprivation. This depends in good part on ensuring that humanity’s collective use of natural resources remains within sustainable limits. [...]
At the centre of the image is a space of critical human deprivations – such as hunger, illiteracy, poverty, and voicelessness. The first priority must be to ensure that all people are free from such deprivations, and are empowered with the rights and resources needed to provide a social foundation for leading lives of dignity, opportunity, and fulfilment.
At the same time, sustainable development requires that humanity’s use of natural resources remains within environmental limits. This means recognising that many Earthsystems have critical natural thresholds or gradients of increasing risk – such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and land use change – which must not be crossed if the Earth is to remain in its current stable state, known as the Holocene, which has enabled many human civilizations to arise, develop, and thrive.5
Between a social foundation that protects against critical human deprivations, and an environmental ceiling that avoids critical natural thresholds, lies a safe and just space for humanity – shaped like a doughnut (or, if you prefer, a tyre, a bagel, or a life saver). This is the space where both human well-being and planetary well-being are assured, and their interdependence is respected."
At the centre of the image is a space of critical human deprivations – such as hunger, illiteracy, poverty, and voicelessness. The first priority must be to ensure that all people are free from such deprivations, and are empowered with the rights and resources needed to provide a social foundation for leading lives of dignity, opportunity, and fulfilment.
At the same time, sustainable development requires that humanity’s use of natural resources remains within environmental limits. This means recognising that many Earthsystems have critical natural thresholds or gradients of increasing risk – such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and land use change – which must not be crossed if the Earth is to remain in its current stable state, known as the Holocene, which has enabled many human civilizations to arise, develop, and thrive.5
Between a social foundation that protects against critical human deprivations, and an environmental ceiling that avoids critical natural thresholds, lies a safe and just space for humanity – shaped like a doughnut (or, if you prefer, a tyre, a bagel, or a life saver). This is the space where both human well-being and planetary well-being are assured, and their interdependence is respected."
Sociocracy 3.0
"The literal meaning of the term sociocracy is “rule of the companions”: socio — from Latin socius — means “companion”, or “friend”, and the suffix -cracy — from Ancient Greek κράτος (krátos) — means “power”, or “rule”.
The word sociocracy can be traced back to 1851, when Auguste Comte suggested applying a scientific approach to society: states would be governed by a body of scientists who are experts on society (which he termed “sociologists”). In his opinion, this future, although not yet achievable, would be inevitable.
A few decades later, Lester Frank Ward, used the word ‘sociocracy’ to describe the rule of people with relations with each other. Instead of having sociologists at the center, he wanted to give more authority and responsibility to the individual, he imagined sociologists in a role as researchers and consultants.
In 1926, the Dutch reformist educator and Quaker Kees Boeke, established a residential school based on the principle of consent. Staff and students were treated as equal participants in the governance of the school, all decisions needed to be acceptable to everyone. He built this version of sociocracy on Quaker principles and practices, and described sociocracy as an evolution of democracy in his 1945 essay “Democracy as it might be”."
The word sociocracy can be traced back to 1851, when Auguste Comte suggested applying a scientific approach to society: states would be governed by a body of scientists who are experts on society (which he termed “sociologists”). In his opinion, this future, although not yet achievable, would be inevitable.
A few decades later, Lester Frank Ward, used the word ‘sociocracy’ to describe the rule of people with relations with each other. Instead of having sociologists at the center, he wanted to give more authority and responsibility to the individual, he imagined sociologists in a role as researchers and consultants.
In 1926, the Dutch reformist educator and Quaker Kees Boeke, established a residential school based on the principle of consent. Staff and students were treated as equal participants in the governance of the school, all decisions needed to be acceptable to everyone. He built this version of sociocracy on Quaker principles and practices, and described sociocracy as an evolution of democracy in his 1945 essay “Democracy as it might be”."
Effective Altruism
"Effective altruism is a project that aims to find the best ways to help others, and put them into practice.
It’s both a research field, which aims to identify the world’s most pressing problems and the best solutions to them, and a practical community that aims to use those findings to do good.
This project matters because, while many attempts to do good fail, some are enormously effective. For instance, some charities help 100 or even 1,000 times as many people as others, when given the same amount of resources.
This means that by thinking carefully about the best ways to help, we can do far more to tackle the world’s biggest problems.
Effective altruism was formalized by scholars at Oxford University, but has now spread around the world, and is being applied by tens of thousands of people in more than 70 countries.
People inspired by effective altruism have worked on projects that range from funding the distribution of 200 million malaria nets, to academic research on the future of AI, to campaigning for policies to prevent the next pandemic.
They’re not united by any particular solution to the world’s problems, but by a way of thinking. They try to find unusually good ways of helping, so that a given amount of effort goes an unusually long way."
It’s both a research field, which aims to identify the world’s most pressing problems and the best solutions to them, and a practical community that aims to use those findings to do good.
This project matters because, while many attempts to do good fail, some are enormously effective. For instance, some charities help 100 or even 1,000 times as many people as others, when given the same amount of resources.
This means that by thinking carefully about the best ways to help, we can do far more to tackle the world’s biggest problems.
Effective altruism was formalized by scholars at Oxford University, but has now spread around the world, and is being applied by tens of thousands of people in more than 70 countries.
People inspired by effective altruism have worked on projects that range from funding the distribution of 200 million malaria nets, to academic research on the future of AI, to campaigning for policies to prevent the next pandemic.
They’re not united by any particular solution to the world’s problems, but by a way of thinking. They try to find unusually good ways of helping, so that a given amount of effort goes an unusually long way."
Naturalism
"There’s a saying I like a lot, which goes: “A man with one watch knows what time it is; a man with two is never sure.”
(When I first heard this, I needed to pause for a moment, to let it sink in. It helped me to actually visualize wearing a watch on each wrist, then checking the time.)
The reason I like this saying is that it reminds me to be confused, in an appropriate fashion. “Confused” might even be too weak of a word—it’s almost like it reminds me to be scared, in an appropriate fashion.
I mean, sure—for most things, I don’t have to know what time it actually is, with sufficient precision that the off-ness of my watch makes a meaningful difference. The claim here is not that absolute clarity is required at all times.
But there is indeed an unfortunate property of having-a-watch, which is that it provides me with an answer to the question “what time is it?”
It provides that answer clearly, and specifically, and unambiguously. It provides that answer with more confidence than it ought to, like a calculation that doesn’t attend to significant digits. And if I’m not careful, then with my watch right in front of me, it’s very easy to lose track of the fact that I do not, in fact, know exactly what time it is. To forget that what I really know is what time it almost is."
(When I first heard this, I needed to pause for a moment, to let it sink in. It helped me to actually visualize wearing a watch on each wrist, then checking the time.)
The reason I like this saying is that it reminds me to be confused, in an appropriate fashion. “Confused” might even be too weak of a word—it’s almost like it reminds me to be scared, in an appropriate fashion.
I mean, sure—for most things, I don’t have to know what time it actually is, with sufficient precision that the off-ness of my watch makes a meaningful difference. The claim here is not that absolute clarity is required at all times.
But there is indeed an unfortunate property of having-a-watch, which is that it provides me with an answer to the question “what time is it?”
It provides that answer clearly, and specifically, and unambiguously. It provides that answer with more confidence than it ought to, like a calculation that doesn’t attend to significant digits. And if I’m not careful, then with my watch right in front of me, it’s very easy to lose track of the fact that I do not, in fact, know exactly what time it is. To forget that what I really know is what time it almost is."
Permaculture
"Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principles in fields such as regenerative agriculture, town planning, rewilding, and community resilience. The term was coined in 1978 by Bill Mollison and David Holmgren, who formulated the concept in opposition to modern industrialized methods, instead adopting a more traditional or "natural" approach to agriculture.
Multiple thinkers in the early and mid-20th century explored no-dig gardening, no-till farming, and the concept of "permanent agriculture", which were early inspirations for the field of permaculture. Mollison and Holmgren's work from the 1970s and 1980s led to several books, starting with Permaculture One in 1978, and to the development of the "Permaculture Design Course" which has been one of the main methods of diffusion of permacultural ideas. Starting from a focus on land usage in Southern Australia, permaculture has since spread in scope to include other regions and other topics, such as appropriate technology and intentional community design."
Multiple thinkers in the early and mid-20th century explored no-dig gardening, no-till farming, and the concept of "permanent agriculture", which were early inspirations for the field of permaculture. Mollison and Holmgren's work from the 1970s and 1980s led to several books, starting with Permaculture One in 1978, and to the development of the "Permaculture Design Course" which has been one of the main methods of diffusion of permacultural ideas. Starting from a focus on land usage in Southern Australia, permaculture has since spread in scope to include other regions and other topics, such as appropriate technology and intentional community design."
Rationality - The Sequence
"There is a certain valuable way of thinking, which is not yet taught in schools, in this present day. This certain way of thinking is not taught systematically at all. It is just absorbed by people who grow up reading books like Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman or who have an unusually great teacher in high school.
Most famously, this certain way of thinking has to do with science, and with the experimental method. The part of science where you go out and look at the universe instead of just making things up. The part where you say “Oops” and give up on a bad theory when the experiments don’t support it.
But this certain way of thinking extends beyond that. It is deeper and more universal than a pair of goggles you put on when you enter a laboratory and take off when you leave. It applies to daily life, though this part is subtler and more difficult. But if you can’t say “Oops” and give up when it looks like something isn’t working, you have no choice but to keep shooting yourself in the foot. You have to keep reloading the shotgun and you have to keep pulling the trigger. You know people like this. And somewhere, someplace in your life you’d rather not think about, you are people like this. It would be nice if there was a certain way of thinking that could help us stop doing that."
Most famously, this certain way of thinking has to do with science, and with the experimental method. The part of science where you go out and look at the universe instead of just making things up. The part where you say “Oops” and give up on a bad theory when the experiments don’t support it.
But this certain way of thinking extends beyond that. It is deeper and more universal than a pair of goggles you put on when you enter a laboratory and take off when you leave. It applies to daily life, though this part is subtler and more difficult. But if you can’t say “Oops” and give up when it looks like something isn’t working, you have no choice but to keep shooting yourself in the foot. You have to keep reloading the shotgun and you have to keep pulling the trigger. You know people like this. And somewhere, someplace in your life you’d rather not think about, you are people like this. It would be nice if there was a certain way of thinking that could help us stop doing that."
Secular Humanism
"Secular humanism is a philosophy, belief system, or life stance that embraces human reason, logic, secular ethics, and philosophical naturalism, while specifically rejecting religious dogma, supernaturalism, and superstition as the basis of morality and decision-making.
Secular humanism posits that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or belief in a deity. It does not, however, assume that humans are either inherently good or evil, nor does it present humans as being superior to nature. Rather, the humanist life stance emphasizes the unique responsibility facing humanity and the ethical consequences of human decisions. Fundamental to the concept of secular humanism is the strongly held viewpoint that ideology—be it religious or political—must be thoroughly examined by each individual and not simply accepted or rejected on faith. Along with this, an essential part of secular humanism is a continually adapting search for truth, primarily through science and philosophy. Many secular humanists derive their moral codes from a philosophy of utilitarianism, ethical naturalism, or evolutionary ethics, and some advocate a science of morality."
Secular humanism posits that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion or belief in a deity. It does not, however, assume that humans are either inherently good or evil, nor does it present humans as being superior to nature. Rather, the humanist life stance emphasizes the unique responsibility facing humanity and the ethical consequences of human decisions. Fundamental to the concept of secular humanism is the strongly held viewpoint that ideology—be it religious or political—must be thoroughly examined by each individual and not simply accepted or rejected on faith. Along with this, an essential part of secular humanism is a continually adapting search for truth, primarily through science and philosophy. Many secular humanists derive their moral codes from a philosophy of utilitarianism, ethical naturalism, or evolutionary ethics, and some advocate a science of morality."
Six Degrees of Separation
"Six degrees of separation is the idea that all people are six or fewer social connections away from each other. As a result, a chain of "friend of a friend" statements can be made to connect any two people in a maximum of six steps. It is also known as the six handshakes rule. Mathematically it means that a person shaking hands with 30 people, and then those 30 shaking hands with 30 other people, would after repeating this six times allow every person in a population as large as the United States to have shaken hands (seven times for the whole world).
The concept was originally set out in a 1929 short story by Frigyes Karinthy, in which a group of people play a game of trying to connect any person in the world to themselves by a chain of five others. It was popularized in John Guare's 1990 play Six Degrees of Separation.
The idea is sometimes generalized to the average social distance being logarithmic in the size of the population."
The concept was originally set out in a 1929 short story by Frigyes Karinthy, in which a group of people play a game of trying to connect any person in the world to themselves by a chain of five others. It was popularized in John Guare's 1990 play Six Degrees of Separation.
The idea is sometimes generalized to the average social distance being logarithmic in the size of the population."
What if the 1% gave 10%?
"At its best, philanthropy saves and empowers millions of lives.
This isn’t just a hope, but a matter of historical fact. Take the American agronomist Norman Borlaug. Enabled by funding from the Rockefeller Foundation in the 1940s, Borlaug spent years researching how to improve crop yields in difficult conditions amidst a global food production crisis. His research led to new disease-resistant crops, and he worked in partnership with the Mexican government to kick-start the ‘Green revolution’. Global cereal production tripled within fifty years, and entire countries were brought back from the brink of famine, saving hundreds of millions of lives.
Or take the philanthropically funded Pugwash Conferences, inaugurated in 1957. These meetings helped build the trust and understanding necessary to form agreements such as the Limited Test Ban Treaty and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which limited the proliferation of nuclear weapons at a deeply dangerous time for the world.
Or consider the March of Dimes Foundation, supported by donations from 80 million Americans, which funded the development of the polio vaccine by Dr. Jonas Salk in the 1950s. Or Katherine McCormick, the suffragette, biologist, and philanthropist who funded the development of the first oral contraceptive pill.
Today, the world is just as full of opportunities for making radical improvements which might otherwise be neglected by governments or markets. In fact, in what could be humanity’s most dangerous and most consequential century yet, we may need ambitious philanthropy more than ever."
This isn’t just a hope, but a matter of historical fact. Take the American agronomist Norman Borlaug. Enabled by funding from the Rockefeller Foundation in the 1940s, Borlaug spent years researching how to improve crop yields in difficult conditions amidst a global food production crisis. His research led to new disease-resistant crops, and he worked in partnership with the Mexican government to kick-start the ‘Green revolution’. Global cereal production tripled within fifty years, and entire countries were brought back from the brink of famine, saving hundreds of millions of lives.
Or take the philanthropically funded Pugwash Conferences, inaugurated in 1957. These meetings helped build the trust and understanding necessary to form agreements such as the Limited Test Ban Treaty and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which limited the proliferation of nuclear weapons at a deeply dangerous time for the world.
Or consider the March of Dimes Foundation, supported by donations from 80 million Americans, which funded the development of the polio vaccine by Dr. Jonas Salk in the 1950s. Or Katherine McCormick, the suffragette, biologist, and philanthropist who funded the development of the first oral contraceptive pill.
Today, the world is just as full of opportunities for making radical improvements which might otherwise be neglected by governments or markets. In fact, in what could be humanity’s most dangerous and most consequential century yet, we may need ambitious philanthropy more than ever."
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the deliberate practice of directing attention to present moment experience — thoughts, sensations, and emotions — without being automatically driven by them. The untrained mind spends the majority of its time elsewhere: processing the past, simulating the future, running background narratives that go largely unnoticed. This mental noise is not neutral. It shapes decisions, reactions, and perception in ways we rarely examine.
Training attention changes this. By consistently returning focus to direct experience, what is actually happening right now, you develop the capacity to observe your own mental activity rather than simply be it. A thought is noticed as a thought. An impulse is recognized before it becomes an action. The emotional charge of a situation is felt without immediately dictating a response. This is not suppression; it is clarity.
The connection to the present moment is not incidental; it is the whole point. Effective thinking requires working with accurate, current information. But a mind that is habitually elsewhere is, by definition, operating on incomplete input. Presence is not a soft concept; it is a cognitive baseline. When attention is actually here, perception sharpens, reactivity decreases, and the gap between stimulus and response, where judgment lives, widens.
The practical result is a more deliberate relationship with your own mind: less automaticity, better signal to noise ratio, and a greater capacity to engage with what is actually in front of you rather than a mental simulation of it.
Training attention changes this. By consistently returning focus to direct experience, what is actually happening right now, you develop the capacity to observe your own mental activity rather than simply be it. A thought is noticed as a thought. An impulse is recognized before it becomes an action. The emotional charge of a situation is felt without immediately dictating a response. This is not suppression; it is clarity.
The connection to the present moment is not incidental; it is the whole point. Effective thinking requires working with accurate, current information. But a mind that is habitually elsewhere is, by definition, operating on incomplete input. Presence is not a soft concept; it is a cognitive baseline. When attention is actually here, perception sharpens, reactivity decreases, and the gap between stimulus and response, where judgment lives, widens.
The practical result is a more deliberate relationship with your own mind: less automaticity, better signal to noise ratio, and a greater capacity to engage with what is actually in front of you rather than a mental simulation of it.
Giving What We Can
"Giving What We Can is working to create a world without extreme poverty, animal suffering, and existential risk — a world where everyone can flourish. We believe charity is both underrated and deeply impactful, and we work to make giving effectively and significantly a cultural norm.
We carry out our mission in three main ways:
We carry out our mission in three main ways:
- Education & outreach about the vast differences in charity effectiveness and the incredible power of strategic philanthropy — along with guidance on where donations can do the most good.
- A donation platform that makes it easy to give tax-deductibly to high-impact programs across a wide range of causes and geographies.
- Public giving pledges that challenge conventional norms and empower people — especially in high-income countries — to turn their resources into meaningful, lasting change."
Science Over Story
We have farmed organically for over a decade, and we believe it was the right choice — for our tropical ecosystem, our soil, our pollinators. But we have grown uncomfortable with the ideology that often surrounds it.
The science is clear: organic farming does not use fewer pesticides, and cannot feed the world without consuming significantly more land. The "organic" label is, to a large extent, a marketing construct, one built on the assumption that natural equals safe and synthetic equals harmful (also know as the "appeal to nature" fallacy). Neither is true. Rotenone, a natural pesticide approved for organic use, is neurotoxic. Copper sulphate, widely used in organic orchards, is toxic to soil life. Meanwhile, conventional pesticides, applied responsibly, leave residues well within safety margins that decades of research have confirmed to be harmless to consumers.
We practice organic farming as a local, personal choice, not as a universal prescription. We think the difference matters. The evidence below helped us think more clearly about it.
You can read more here:
The science is clear: organic farming does not use fewer pesticides, and cannot feed the world without consuming significantly more land. The "organic" label is, to a large extent, a marketing construct, one built on the assumption that natural equals safe and synthetic equals harmful (also know as the "appeal to nature" fallacy). Neither is true. Rotenone, a natural pesticide approved for organic use, is neurotoxic. Copper sulphate, widely used in organic orchards, is toxic to soil life. Meanwhile, conventional pesticides, applied responsibly, leave residues well within safety margins that decades of research have confirmed to be harmless to consumers.
We practice organic farming as a local, personal choice, not as a universal prescription. We think the difference matters. The evidence below helped us think more clearly about it.
You can read more here:
- https://scienceinsights.org/is-organic-a-scam-what-the-science-actually-shows/
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/science-sushi/httpblogsscientificamericancomscience-sushi20110718mythbusting-101-organic-farming-conventional-agriculture/
- https://academics-review.bonuseventus.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Academics-Review_Organic-Marketing-Report1.pdf
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-12622-7
Open Source Initiative
"The open-source software movement is a social movement that supports the use of open-source licenses for some or all software, as part of the broader notion of open collaboration. The movement emerged to promote the development and adoption of open-source software.
Programmers participating in the open-source movement contribute to software development through voluntary collaboration and code sharing. Open-source licenses typically require that source code be made available without restrictions on modification or redistribution, and prohibit discrimination against individuals or groups. Under this development model, anyone can obtain, modify, and redistribute open-source code. Modifications are typically shared with the broader community, creating a collaborative development process where contributions are tracked and attributed. This collaborative approach differs from proprietary software development models in its emphasis on transparency and community participation."
Programmers participating in the open-source movement contribute to software development through voluntary collaboration and code sharing. Open-source licenses typically require that source code be made available without restrictions on modification or redistribution, and prohibit discrimination against individuals or groups. Under this development model, anyone can obtain, modify, and redistribute open-source code. Modifications are typically shared with the broader community, creating a collaborative development process where contributions are tracked and attributed. This collaborative approach differs from proprietary software development models in its emphasis on transparency and community participation."