About Machuca Homes

Our families both moved to the Machuca Valley at a similar time. We got to know each other, became friends, and found we had the same story to tell: how hard it had been to find a home here. Soon enough the thoughts started to flow, and not long after, an idea to serve the community along these lines began to take shape.

We realised that first and foremost we had to make it easier to find a home — and easier for home owners to manage their rentals.

Machuca Homes arises from the need for a practical, simple and transparent way to find a place to stay in our precious Machuca Valley.

The valley is growing at a fast pace, with ecologically conscious communities opening and drawing people from Costa Rica and around the world. The surrounding neighbourhoods are growing too, with a rental market slowly taking shape.

In time, we wish to support local Costa Rican and expat businesses on our platform, opening new avenues for growth.

Glancing at the homepage, you can see every property right there in full view, with the prices below. We feel this is an important step towards a fair and transparent marketplace, where hosts get a good sense of how to price their home fairly.

There was a time when we were finding homes through WhatsApp groups, or using Airbnb against their own rules by slipping phone numbers into messages. Sam once walked through the park in San Mateo asking locals who was renting a home.

We hope those days are long gone.

We value connection. It is why we came here — in search of a conscious way of living, in close relationship with nature, in regenerative communities. We love to share the values of kindness, harmony and respect for the world and for all living beings, as we do here in the valley.

That is why we believe this is more than a rental platform. Machuca Homes is an invitation to cross the bridge to conscious community living, to help restore the local economy in an overly globalised world, and ultimately to reconnect us with what makes us human.

The real estate market can be extractive. Income can be made on rental properties with no way of giving back to the place that produced it, and we are very aware that Machuca Homes operates in a sensitive ecological corridor that needs care.

So a share of what is spent here, and of what we earn, returns to the communities of the valley as a Community Contribution — funding ecological, social and infrastructure projects as these communities grow.

The exact amounts, and everything else we charge, are set out on Our fees.

Our broader vision is to offer this platform not only to home owners but to everyone in the community: an open invitation for local business owners to show their work and reach the right audience.

To welcome new folks by helping them navigate the complexities of settling in Costa Rica, so it is easier to root in and integrate.

And to invite people to stay in places longer — to be able to meet and explore a place before the listings. A sense of belonging takes time, and a longer stay is what gives it the room. That is the direction we want to take next.

Join us on the journey.