Projects

What it was meant to be

The first village. Homes in nature, a shared coworking space, and a community of entrepreneurs, with roads planned around the trees.

What happened

We built a bridge and an access road with a neighbour, and four homes were finished: two villas, Casa Pochote and one more finished recently. Three more stopped halfway when their funding ran out. We replanned North from 42 lots to 21 larger lots, about 5,000 square metres each on average, to keep as much of the forest as we could. Today Yoko North is one of the most beautiful developments out there, and the greenest, most ecological development in Santa Teresa. During COVID, building costs rose about three times, which nobody expected. A neighbour disputed the public road, approved by the municipality, only after it was built, and I moved most buyers to a larger site. North later got its permits, and individual titles came through in 2024.

The first North buyers came in very early, took a bigger risk, and got a very fair price. They paid between a half and a quarter of the market price, and some have since sold at a profit of two to three times what they paid.

We gave lots to the employees who played the biggest role. The vision was always for the team to get land too, not only wealthy investors from overseas.

I'm very proud of this project, even though I couldn't finish it exactly as I planned.

Where it stands today

Yoko North is in good standing today. Owners have their homes there, and some plan to stay.

What it was meant to be

A retreat and event space beside the North bridge, on land next to Yoko North. It was planned as part of the Yoko Village North amenities, with free access for North members. A place of peace, with glamping in a style we designed ourselves. Unfortunately it became private property, because we couldn't afford to keep the original vision.

What happened

We built 15 fully furnished bungalows as part of the North community space. It hosted talks, workshops and gatherings, and it is where we did our landscape restoration work.

How we built them.

Where it stands today

Sangha later became a separate company when Yoko ran short of money.

What it was meant to be

We only ever meant to build North. When it looked like North would not get its permits, buyers moved to a new site at the entrance to town, Yoko South. The first South site was about 30 hectares, and we completed a $3.5M payment to the owner. Its access crossed a neighbour's land, which caused legal problems, so we bought the land next to it, Slow Living, to create access. Slow Living added about 100 hectares. Together they became one project, Yoko South, of about 136 hectares, planned as 216 parcels. All the Yoko companies operated under the name Rosenfeld, after my grandmother. I was born Liran Jakob and added Rosenfeld. Yoko South was the Rosenfeld company.

What happened

Work at South went beyond what was permitted, and it caused real anger. Permits were later obtained, which did not settle every claim about that work. In 2022 I turned down a $16M offer to buy South, because the buyer planned far more homes and would have harmed the nature there. Selling would have made me a millionaire. I now see refusing it as a major mistake. Individual titles came through in 2024. A few weeks later, the new mayor filed a claim and annotated every title at Yoko South. The titles were not blocked, but the annotation made the lots much harder to sell.

Where it stands today

South is stuck. I brought several developers to look at taking it on. None of them went ahead, and I have stepped back.

What it was meant to be

Neighbouring land, much bigger than the first South site, bought to create access into South.

What happened

It became part of the South project.

Where it stands today

It is stuck along with South.