Selvatorium is a living laboratory and autonomous sanatorium located in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia. We are an urban family that has chosen as a healing practice the voluntary migration from the city to the country side (which in the case of Selvatorium is actually a jungle). We call this type of migration “positive displacement”. Our objective is to learn how to live in a way that is less dependent on the monetary system and its networks of services. In an exercise of conscious consumption, efficient construction and transport we aim to balance our needs for western comforts and the sustainability of available resources.

Since 2019 our main focus is an alternative basic education project for children that runs every day. We have a created a web page for Selvatorium where all the most recent information is available, please visit:

www.selvatorium.co (only Spanish)

We are located on Palomino river, one hour walking distance from the Palomino village in the Guajira department of Colombia.

The land was bought by Intermundos in 2009 and has since been in a process of recuperation and habilitation. Most of its 15 hectares forest was cut down in the 80s to make way for illegal crop cultivation and today what exists is a low jungle habitat of young trees. We are now located inside the Kogui indigenous reserve and in front to the Arahuaco indigenous reserve.

In 2010, the first kioske “El Jaguar” was constructed, but it was not until 2013 that we developed the infrastructure necessary to host guests; constructing two more kiosks; “El Zaino” and ” El Colibri”, installing running water and solar energy, gas stoves and other comforts.

Several other families have also lived and helped to form Selvatorium and in 2013 Adam Rague was born in the first house we constructed.  Since 2014 we have also hosted volunteers as well as artists, musicians and other creators through our artist residency program. We have organized several events and launched projects for the larger community such as Mango Jam.