About Us

Welcome to rural Costa Rica

Pip Kelly Aussie-Tica

Pip is an enthusiastic football player, a great mum, an educator and passionate about community development. Pip grew up in rural Australia on a sheep farm near Albury-Wodonga. When she was 16, her family moved to Thailand. This experience opened her eyes to living in the tropics and sharing with people from other cultures. Pip studied Geography and Environmental/Development Studies at University in Melbourne later studies educaiton. One summer during her studies, Pip volunteered on a project in Bijagua Costa Rica and also with the Maleku indigenous community in Tonjibe.. Pip returned to Australia and completed her studies and became a high school teacher. In 2006 returned to Central America as part of a futsal tour and moved to Costa Rica in 2007.

Casitas Tenorio - a home, a farm and a business

Casitas Tenorio B&B happened by chance. Pip fell in love with the area when she was a volunteer and the plan was never to go into the tourism business! The property has been divided into two sections – one for tourism and habitat, and one for farming. This means we can combine our passions – sustainable farming and sustainable tourism. We handmilk eight cows twice a day and sell about 30 litres of milk in the local cheese cooperative. We grow lots of our own fruit and vegetables and practice permaculture and organic farming methods. We churn our own butter, bake our own bread and make delicious jam from seasonal tropical fruits. We have about thirty chickens, some rabbits, a bunch of guinea pigs, a horse and two dogs, Whisky and Dingo.

Ten years later, we are incredibly grateful, proud and inspired. Casitas Tenorio is a sustainable family project which reflects our values, we work with a dedicated team of staff and are deeply involved in our community. We have welcomed hundreds of guests into our local community and many have become friends and made lasting connections in our community. We live a fulfilled and happy life and can’t wait to share it with you.

Mission

Casitas Tenorio is dedicated to delivering high quality, authentic travel experiences for tourists who seek to become engaged in rural community tourism in Costa Rica. We endeavour to deliver high quality personalized service and authentic experiences based on sustainable travel practices. We seek to encourage positive relationships between rural community development, tourism and conservation. Our aim is to share with our guests various aspects of rural Costa Rican life in a manner that enhances their vacation expectations and cultural curiosity which will lead to long lasting memories and relationships for both the visitor and the hosts at Casitas Tenorio and our local community.

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Vision

Casitas Tenorio will be a leading provider of sustainable rural community tourism in Costa Rica. Our employees, guests, neighbours and our environment will be well cared for and enriched by our business and our stewardship of the land.

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Values

Family is very important to Costa Ricans and to us and at Casitas Tenorio. We work as a team and consider each of our team members a part of our extended family. We not only provide work opportunities for members of the local community but aid them in their journey to have a better life. Our values include demonstrating our commitment to valuing our natural environment which leads us to environmentally sustainable practices and healthy social and economic growth in our everyday lives and our everyday work. We strive to make sure there are opportunities for community members to be involved with our efforts. We love having our guests become involved with our community which gives them an authentic Costa Rican experience and allows them to better appreciate the wonderful place where we live. We value our relationships with our guests and always hope to make those relationships meaningful. We continue to learn from our guests and our community to help us improve.

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Our logo is circular, like life, with the new leaf buds growing each end -a state of constant change and involving. We’ve used the colors of the nature that surrounds us, the deep green of the forest and the blue of the rain and the magical Rio Celeste. The cows, chickens and the corn crops are our farm, loving cared for by Donald, the cowboy. The tall tree, the birds in flight, the hummingbird and the toucan represent the rainforest which surrounds us. The hibiscus flower could be picked straight from our garden, where they grow in abundance. The sloth is one of our favorite animals and this is why it takes it’s position up front and centre! The text, ‘The Authentic Costa Rica’, is a reminder of what drives us every day to do what we do here. We really wanted a logo that represented us and the whole project of Casitas Tenorio B&B. It took us many hours to develop the concept -how could we possibly combine all the elements of or project into one single logo? It took a lot of work, but we’re pretty satisfied in the outcome!