Welcome to OlaBrisa and Rudi’s Cafe

Rudi’s cafe is one of the places where the morning begins at OlaBrisa – serving up mango smoothies, English breakfast tea, and plenty of fresh-brewed coffee.   It is also a place where the afternoon transitions into evening -- a place to find out what interesting conversations / projects / excursions / workshops people have been involved in during the day -- and to see (and suggest) what might be happening this evening, either here at OlaBrisa or in Todos Santos.  All the while enjoying a delicious fresh juice, margarita, or cold cerveza.

OlaBrisa is intended to provide a special kind of experience -- enabling us to get a ongoing "boost" from the time we spend here. It is especially designed to enable us get the most of our "bonus years" -- the extra 20 years from age 60 to 80 that we have been gifted as a generation.

The experience of OlaBrisa will combine the sense of freedom, excitement and new learning that we can all remember from our first year at college, our first time exploring San Francisco, Florence, Rio or Singapore, with the deeper appreciation of life that only decades of productive living can bring.

OlaBrisa delivers a new synthesis a higher quality of life that is also much more environmentally and economically sustainable while also enabling a higher level of positive social relationships and connections.

We believe that OlaBrisa is a place to be proud of.  A place with the potential to become even more special, as the physical beauty of its location, the unique feel of Baja California, and the town of Todos Santos meld with the special qualities of the people who choose to become members of  the OlaBrisa community.

OlaBrisa by design is limited to 32 units. During the long planing and permit submission process, we have kept a low profile. Now that all the major permits have been approved, however, we have begun to reconnect with the people who have expressed an ongoing interest, as well as to starting to broaden public awareness of the project.

If OlaBrisa feels like a place that could provide a re-occuring boost to your life, please first review the information here on the OlaBrisa website, and then contact us at Info@OlaBrisa.com.  

Who is Attracted to OlaBrisa?

In many respects, it is impossible to characterize the people who are drawn to OlaBrisa – each of us is unique and brings our wealth of experiences and diverse talents with us.    At the same time, we do share a number of common interests and values.

First and foremost, we like Baja California, and we like Mexico.  We like the warmth of both the climate and the people.  We like hearing the sound of the Pacific Ocean and knowing that a pristine walking beach is a mere three minute stroll away.

We like the feel of the quaint, small town of Todos Santos.  We like its artistic bent, as well as the small selection of high quality restaurants, and the fact that we become “regulars” very quickly.

We share a strong value of respect –for each other, for the environment, and for the Mexican culture.

We understand and believe in the idea of being good neighbors – both to each other at OlaBrisa, and to our neighbors in Todos Santos.  We understand that is an ongoing process and requires tolerance, humor, and work.

We understand and appreciate the importance of significantly reducing our ecological and carbon footprint, and believe that we can do that while, in fact, enhancing the quality of our lives.

We are proud that OlaBrisa is designed to be highly ecologically sustainable – that each unit is designed to have minimal air conditioning, that we recycle all of our water, that we are on a path where all of our electricity will come from renewable sources, and that we all, as a part of our dues -- offset the carbon emissions from our plane flights to and from Baja.

We are proud that we are “walking the talk” with regard to sustainability – that OlaBrisa is designed to collect data that we will use to measure our environmental footprints and to hopefully, find ways to become more sustainable over time.

We like talking and doing things with interesting people – especially people who in turn support us in the projects and things we find exciting and to which we are committed.

We like that OlaBrisa includes a workshop center, which will bring small groups of interesting people to conferences and workshops so we can meet new people and learn new information and expand our minds.

We like the idea that the design of OlaBrisa enables these workshops to take place without us feeling impacted by having to deal with a group of strangers – until and unless we decide we would like to join the discussions.

We like the fact that the homes at OlaBrisa meld indoor and outdoor living on a single level, and that they are elegant and spacious without looking like the Mac Mansions of Cabo.

We like the fact that every condo unit has a second bedroom with its own bath and its own outside entrance. This allows us flexibility to have friends visit and stay in a lovely guestroom, or we can rent the room to workshop participants, and still maintain our privacy and our own routines.

We appreciate that the guest rooms rentals are handled for us, and that we have all agreed that rooms at OlaBrisa are not rented to the general public, but are only rented to people who have come for workshops or to friends of members, and thus, when we see a new person on the pedestrian walkway that runs through OlaBrisa, that we know there is already a connection with them.

We like the idea that the landscaping for OlaBrisa is over 80% edible or medicinal, and that we are supporting Gabriel Howearth, the founder of Seeds of Change (who helped with the design and plant selection, and who provided us with many of the original plants) in his efforts to protect and preserve the genetic diversity of plants worldwide.

We especially like the fact that we know and like our fellow members at OlaBrisa, and that because the design of OlaBrisa is based on the experience of cohousing projects in the United States and Europe, it enhances our sense of connection and safety, while at the same time respecting and supporting our individual privacy.

We like the idea that when we leave OlaBrisa, we don’t worry about the security of our homes while we are gone, and know that the staff will take care of all the maintenance and upkeep, will watch out for us,  and that our seaside home will be waiting for us just as we left it when we return – which we plan to do on a regular basis for years to come – anticipating with each return the boost in our alterness and energy levels that comes with the shift to Baja as well as the chance to take a deep breath, to relax, and to re-take our seat at Rudi’s cafe – sharing ideas and news and re-connecting with friends.

Again, if OlaBrisa feels like a place that could provide a re-occuring boost to your life, please first review the information here on the OlaBrisa website, and then contact us at Info@OlaBrisa.com.