ABOUT US

Buena Fortuna a place where nature, culture, and community come together in harmony.

OUR STORY

Nestled in La Ribera, Baja California Sur—just 45 minutes from Los Cabos and minutes from the Sea of Cortez—Buena Fortuna Gardens is an 11-acre botanical sanctuary, living seed bank, and cultural refuge dedicated to the preservation of plant knowledge, ecological harmony, and community resilience.Founded in 1999, Buena Fortuna Gardens has grown into a thriving ecosystem of more than 2,500 plant species sourced from around the world. Each plant carries a story—of nourishment, medicine, ceremony, and survival—carefully cultivated as part of a long-term commitment to biodiversity, education, and regeneration.

At the heart of the gardens is Cozina Botanika, a seed-to-palate restaurant where the harvest informs the menu and food becomes an expression of place. The Nursery and Online Store extend the gardens beyond their borders, offering rare seeds, plants, and botanicals to growers, educators, and stewards worldwide. Through Wisdom Roots Academy, Buena Fortuna shares ancestral gardening practices, permaculture principles, and hands-on learning through workshops, tours, and apprenticeships rooted in lived experience.

Beyond cultivation, Buena Fortuna is a space for connection and creativity. The gardens host intimate gatherings, retreats, holistic weddings, educational programs, seasonal markets, and cultural events—where art, music, storytelling, and wellness unfold naturally beneath open skies. Daily life here is shaped by rhythm: planting, harvesting, teaching, listening, and restoring.

Co-founded by legendary botanist Gabriel Howearth and earth steward Kitzia Kokopelmana, Buena Fortuna Gardens is more than a destination—it is a living legacy. For over two decades, it has stood as a quiet yet powerful example of what is possible when land is treated not as a resource to extract from, but as a partner to learn from.

Buena Fortuna Gardens exists to protect the past, cultivate the present, and seed the future—one plant, one story, and one community at a time.

MISSION STATEMENT

Buena Fortuna Gardens exists to cultivate a world that honors and protects the interconnectedness of all life. Rooted in biodiversity, ancestral knowledge, and regenerative land stewardship, we use culinary and botanical experiences as living pathways to delight, educate, and enlighten.

Through the preservation of rare and useful plant species, hands-on education, seed-to-plate cuisine, and immersive community experiences, we foster a deeper understanding of humanity’s relationship with the natural world. Every garden bed, shared meal, workshop, and gathering is designed to reconnect people with the origins of nourishment, the wisdom of the land, and the responsibility we carry as stewards of the Earth.

Our mission is to safeguard botanical heritage while inspiring practical, meaningful action—encouraging individuals and communities to live with intention, resilience, and respect for the ecosystems that sustain us. By bridging culture, ecology, and creativity, Buena Fortuna Gardens serves as a living seed bank not only for plants, but for ideas, traditions, and a more harmonious future.

Kitzia Kokopelmana
Co-Owner & Founder | Seed Steward & Regenerative Landscape Designer

Kitzia is the co-owner and founder of Buena Fortuna Gardens, a living seed bank and regenerative botanical sanctuary rooted in biodiversity, food sovereignty, and long-term care for the land. With more than 25 years of hands-on experience working with plants and ecosystems, her life’s work has been shaped by a deep respect for nature, traditional knowledge, and the quiet intelligence of living systems.

Her approach to regenerative and ecological landscape design brings together native, edible, medicinal, and heritage plant species into landscapes that are both functional and resilient. Rather than imposing design onto the land, Kitzia works in dialogue with it—observing, listening, and responding over time. At Buena Fortuna Gardens, this philosophy has guided the creation of an evolving ecosystem that supports wildlife, protects genetic diversity, and provides nourishment, medicine, and learning for those who engage with it.

Central to her work is seed stewardship. Preserving, saving, and sharing seeds is not only a practical act, but a cultural and ethical one—ensuring that plant knowledge and biodiversity remain accessible to future generations. Through Buena Fortuna Gardens, seeds are treated as living ancestors, carrying memory, adaptation, and responsibility forward.

Kitzia’s work extends beyond cultivation and design into education and community engagement. She shares her knowledge through hands-on guidance, mentorship, and lived example, emphasizing direct relationship with plants and land over rigid systems or trends. Her presence in the garden is constant and embodied, grounded in daily care, observation, and stewardship.

Buena Fortuna Gardens is not simply a place she founded, but a living expression of her values and her relationship with the land—one rooted in patience, reverence, and the belief that tending biodiversity today is an act of care for generations yet to come.