Grupo Orión
Formed in 2012 by Margarita Valencia, Esperanza Chacón and Edgar Espinosa in response to parents’ needs to promote conscious ways of relating with their children with mutual respect. Their educational proposal is based on a vision that integrates the evolutionary processes of human beings, and of life itself. Its fundamental pilar is love and respect between people, and towards nature.
Trajectory
Grupo Orión finds its roots in the Pestalozzi Educational Foundation in Ecuador, (also called the “Pesta”) where they were parents as well as educators/tutors. It was founded by Rebeca and Mauricio Wild.
When the school closed after 30 years of operation, Margarita, Esperanza and Edgar began a journey together through different parts of the world to share what they had learned, a new way of education. This is how they spent more than 25 years working with different projects, educational communities, and parent groups. It was during this period that they created Grupo Orión, whose initial purpose was to accompany families who practiced education at home. Grupo Orión supported the families in communication processes, and to help them implement prepared and relaxed environments. This was carried out in Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina, and especially in Brazil.
During this time, they were invited to do a workshop in Costa Rica for some parents of La Ecovilla who were looking to develop an alternative school for their children. From that encounter, Casa Sulà was born.
Mar Valencia
A mother of two children and a graduate in Pedagogy-Educational Sciences, from the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, Margarita Valencia has been working with children for more than 30 years.
She worked and collaborated at the Pestalozzi Educational Foundation (FEP) for 14 years, where she worked in every aspect of the project, she was a companion/tutor in preschool, elementary school, and high school. She designing materials for the environment, as well as worked in the administrative area as Director of the Pestalozzi Experimental Center until the 2005.
In 2009, together with her husband and youngest son, she moved to Brazil, where she founded the Inkiri School (BH) and later began work as a pioneer in the principles of active education in Brazil, aimed at parents (Sao Paulo, Santa Catherina, Curitiva, Bahia and Minas Gerais), giving lectures and experiential workshops on child development and conscious attention.
Back in Ecuador, she was Professor of Developmental Psychology at La Universidad en la Selva 2011 with the Ashuar (Shuin Mamus) people. In 2012 she co-founded Grupo Orión.
In 2016 she and her family moved to Costa Rica where she, together with Grupo Orión and La Ecovilla, co-founded Casa Sulà.
Mar is in charge of Semillero 1 for children ages 3 to 7 years old.
Esperanza Chacón
After working with indigenous communities and in popular sectors in Ecuador, Esperanza Chacón became involved in pedagogy when seeking an innovative form of education for her own daughter.
In 1988, she became part of the Educational Foundation Pestalozzi, actively participating in educational and administrative teams for 25 years; a path that has led her to research and deepen on new educational approaches and the nature of the self-taught human being.
In this context she promoted the use of complementary currencies and co-created the intentional community called “Leon Dormido-Pild.” Her motivation has been to promote new paradigms that respect life.
At a broad social level, she participated in the diagnosis and design of educational proposal for the Shuar Arutam people in the Ecuadorian Amazon, and also in the implementation of the Centers for Autonomous Activities CEPAS in ten provinces of Ecuador.
In 2012, she co-founded Grupo Orión with Margarita and Edgar, with whom they later founded Casa Sulà together with La Ecovilla in 2016.
Espe is in charge of Semillero 2 for children ages 7 to 13 years old.
Edgar Espinosa
Edgar worked in Andean ancestral communities of the Ecuadorian Amazon implementing an educational practice with innovative pedagogical approaches; creating environments for the development of people, and also designing and developing didactic material for learning mathematics and language. He published a Mathematics’ Manual in 1993.
Edgar contributed to the creation of Centers for Autonomous Activities “CEPAS,” an educational project carried out by the Pestalozzi Foundation. Edgar is a passionate facilitator for the education of children, youth and adults.
He also runs workshops on sound as a form of self-healing and shares his passion in creating musical instruments.
He co-founded Grupo Orión in 2012 and contributed to the creation of a network of support for families who practice homeschooling in Brazil, Ecuador and Argentina.
Edgar is in charge of Semillero 3 for young adults ages 13 to 18 years old.
Pedagogical team
Our team is made up of educators with vocation and experience. They have always innovated and set the standard in the development of cutting-edge education.
Companion S1
Companion S1
Companion S1
Companion S2 y S3
Companion S2 y S3