Gwendy Obando Corella

Legal Director, Cofounder

Gwendy is not your average lawyer. Raised on a farm in ​​Los Chiles, Costa Rica, near the border with Nicaragua, she developed a great appreciation for nature and indigenous culture. In addition to playing sports, she learned many survival skills, water dowsing, and herbal medicine.

At 17 years old, Gwendy moved to San José to study and practice law. She specialized in corporate law, contracts, franchises, and construction. The latter led her to learning more about natural building and sustainable landscape design. She eventually discovered her passion for helping individuals and communities to live in greater harmony with nature.

While she continues to practice law today, she also practices a wide range of sustainable living skills. Since 2016, she has been developing a beautiful farm, where she maintains a greenhouse and a small food forest and applies permaculture principles to cultivate medicinal plants, fruit trees, and native edibles. After years of experimenting with soap-making, she launched her brand, AWA Natural. Sheusing all-natural local, organic, biodegradable ingredients to craft products for personal hygiene, home cleaning, and cosmetics. In 2021, she co-founded the Perma Vida Foundation to cultivate thriving communities, both locally and globally.

Gwendy serves as Legal Director and hosts foundation headquarters at her family farm in Matapalo. She is excited to grow our shared vision of health and freedom for all
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She also enjoys dancing, hiking in the mountains, going to the beach, exploring rivers and waterfalls, crafting with macramé and natural dyes, sewing, preserving foods, making vegan cheese, writing, and so much more… Viva la Perma Vida!