About Us

A travel company on a mission to make the world a better place.

Hi! I’m Cynthia,

founder of Ecovillage Tours.

Do you dream of traveling to ecovillages? Eager to visit thriving intentional communities?

Now you can experience the world’s best examples of regenerative community living during a meticulously designed, all-inclusive, small-group tour.

After a decade of travel to hundreds of communities, I decided to partnered with these amazing places so that you too can have a transformation adventure.

…Minus all the logistical headaches and stress of visiting communities solo! We’ve taken care of the hard stuff, so you can simply enjoy the experience.

Can’t wait to journey with you,

—Cynthia

JOIN AN UPCOMING TOUR

Unlike any other travel experience

Access to Ecovillages

Each Ecovillage Tour opens doors to communities beyond the reach of regular travelers.

Engage directly with pioneering founders for invaluable insights into creating your own sustainable project, network with like-minded individuals passionate about regenerative living, or even discover a community that you may one day call home.

Life-Changing Itineraries

We craft each tour to be a transformative experience.

Expect balanced itineraries that include volunteer opportunities, educational sessions, ample downtime for personal reflection, and plenty of fun. More than the communities you visit, you’ll find that the connections made within your group of travel companions becomes the most treasured community experience of all.

Values-Driven Travel

It’s time for a vacation that aligns with your values.

Sustainability doesn’t mean the end of travel, it just means making every trip count. Journey to inspirational centers for sustainable community living in stunningly beautiful locations — like Costa Rica, Slovenia, India, Vermont, North Carolina, and more.

Reviews

Learn why past participants are raving about their tour experience.

One of the greatest experiences I have ever had. A completely unique journey to some wondrous ecovillage projects, full of inspirational humans. To share the tours with others with similar visions was enriching and a real privilige. I left feeling fulfilled and educated.

— Adam Bates

It is an experience worth paying for. You get to know places and people who are on the real hands on effort for bringing change and make local ecosystems more resilient.

— Edward Bryce

Best summer camp ever! A must see!! People, food and lodging were more than I could have hoped for in a travel experience like this!! Definitely will be back.

—Megan Zimmerman

Ecovillage Tours has put something really special together. The amount of research and care they have put into this trip is impressive in and of itself and have helped facilitate meaningful connections both within the tour group and with the communities hosting us. This eye opening experience has the potential to change your life by exploring more unique paradigms.

— Nathan Oxenfeld

See All Participant Reviews

Meet Our Team

Our passionate team is helping you discover intentional communities.

FOUNDER & CEO

Cynthia founded Ecovillage Tours because she wanted more people to travel with her to ecovillages, experiencing ways of living that are both sustainable and fun! She has visited more than 150 intentional communities around the world, including the Vermont ecovillage where she lives in her self-built passive solar home.
When not global-trotting to ecovillages with interesting groups of people, Cynthia works as the “community matchmaker” and director of CommunityFinders, offering programs to help people join and start intentional communities.
Formerly the co-director, Cynthia is now a spokesperson and educator with the Foundation for Intentional Community. She's a former trustee of the Global Ecovillage Network and former director of the youth ecovillage network, NextGEN North America. She holds a degree in Sustainability from Goddard College, as well as certificates in Permaculture and Ecovillage Design, and Yoga Teacher Training.

Jess recently joined Ecovillage Tours, drawn by their mission to promote conscious living through visiting intentional communities worldwide. With almost 20 years of experience in international education, including 10 years of guiding cross-cultural service-learning projects for college students across Latin America with Peacework, Jess brings a wealth of expertise.
Prior to Peacework she worked at Manna Project International in Guatemala and The School for Field Studies in Costa Rica overseeing student and volunteer-driven community development initiatives. Jess holds a Master's in Intercultural Service, Leadership, and Management and has worked with various grassroots organizations across Latin America.
Travel has always been integral to her life journey, evolving from external exploration to internal introspection, where she discovered yoga, meditation, and indigenous wisdom. This quest has led her to seek out conscious communities worldwide. Presently based in Mexico with her partner and daughter, she is eager to continue her work connecting individuals with transformative centers for sustainable community living through Ecovillage Tours.

TOUR OPERATIONS DIRECTOR

HAWAII TOUR GUIDE

Katrina Zavalney is a community organizer with 25 years of experience in community development, sustainability, event management, and nonprofits. She often leads strategic planning, facilitation and organization development consulting with a Masters in Organization Development. Katrina is dedicated to creating sustainable livelihood on a global scale. She has been at the forefront of the sustainability movement, including greening Disney, writing environmental policies that went company-wide, and developed into one of Disney’s most influential environmental policies. She is a systems thinker and network weaver, with an ability to authentically connect; building high impact collaborative programs and community-oriented solutions. Additionally, as a professional facilitator, she has an ability to work through seemingly impossible interpersonal challenges to achieve win/win lasting results. Katrina is a self-starter and founded a nonprofit, Aranya Solutions, to support communities to be self-sustaining developing programs, training, skill building, and resilience. She is one of the leads for the Kona Resilience HUB in Hawai'i, Big Island. She partnered with Rotary International multiplying funds to increase impact. Serving 40,000 people internationally directly + thousands more indirectly, with 3 villages in Nepal and 3 schools in Uganda. Katrina is ready to further collaborate with the world’s most impactful and inspiring leaders to develop transformational sustainability initiatives, climate resilience, and elevate world class culture. She now lives in Hawai’i in Kona with the goal of developing a Sustainability Center that will host educational workshops on natural building, growing food year round, and retreats. She also trains youth on conflict resolution and mediation skills with the West Hawai’i Mediation Center as she is passionate about human development and emotional intelligence. Her nonprofit, Aranya Solutions, website is https://aranyasolutions.com. Katrina is delighted to be here and has a passion for emotional intelligence and healthy communication.
At Project Regeneration, Juliana leads a research team developing the Nexus database, a comprehensive resource for governments, philanthropists and investors that evaluates climate action strategies and makes recommendations to maximize agency and impact.
Juliana recently studied as a Climatebase Fellow, and holds a Masters degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology. She is multilingual, having lived and worked in Brazil, Costa Rica, Europe, Japan, and Nepal, and is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area of California.

SLOVENIA GUIDE

Nara crisscrossed Slovenia many times and knows a thousand charming nooks of this vibrant land. He is a co-founder and resident of Sunny Hills of Istria community. When he’s not at Sunny Hill, he’s supporting sustainable projects around the world, visiting communities, teaching--and, of course, being a guide for Ecovillage Tours!
Nara speaks numerous languages and what’s more, he speaks the cultures of the whole rugged but flamboyant Balkan peninsula. When he brings you to his favorite places, he brings you to his friends, wholehearted and genuine.
Nara is a bestselling author of several books in Slovene and the new English edition of Human: Instructions for Use. Despite having travelled around the world, he’s lived barefoot for over a decade and uses only chewing sticks to brush his teeth.
He was instrumental in organizing a nationwide clean up movement in Slovenia and is active in the World Cleanup Day. He was a council member and research officer in ECOLISE, a European coalition of sustainability organizations. He supported CLIPS, the community learning incubator program for sustainability. You can learn more about Nara at narapetrovic.com.

Jason is the founder of Regeneration Nation Costa Rica, a podcast exploring who's doing what to bring Costa Rica toward environmental and social well-being. As a permaculturist with a background in business, he bridges ecologically-focused entrepreneurs with the 21st-century tools and business practices he’s found useful in his own endeavors.
After a decade of traveling, visiting intentional communities and permaculture projects all around North and Central America, Jason settled on Costa Rica as his home. In 2009, he co-founded Finca Fruition, a permaculture education center and homestead in CR. During his dozen years dedicated to that project, he hosted hundreds of guests, volunteers, interns, and students, produced events, taught a little, and learned a lot.
Jason’s been a dedicated earth steward for more than 20 years. His current mission is to promote & network regenerative projects throughout CR, hoping to enhance their potential to make their intended impact and thrive.