This palm is native to Madagascar and can grow to 39 ft in height. Although it is now a common house and ornamental plant, it was once an endangered species. It is also one of the best pollutant absorning plants in the world, removing NO2, formaldehyde, SO2, acetone, xylene, formaldehyde, and toluene. In Feng Shui, the areca palm plant is considered lucky as it brings peace and prosperity to the house, and removes negative energy and attracting positivity.

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Areca Palm

Dvarapala, as they are known in the Sanskrit language, are door or gate guardians. They often have a fearsome look and are portrayed as warriors armed with a weapon, commonly a gada (mace). The Dvarapala statue is a common architectural element at Hindu temples. In Bali, they were in the past only found at entrances to temples and royal homes but today are quite commonly seen in front of a lot of homes. 

Part of the mission of Siva Ashram is to celebrate the Hindu diaspora and the entrance to the gardens and the first shrine is a celebration of Balinese Hinduism. In Bali, these guards are called Bedogol. There will be two guardians statues - one standing on either side of the Balinese Entrance Gateway. 

These statues are 1 meter in height and were carved specifically for Siva Ashram out of black Balinese stone. The carving is complete and both statues are awaiting shipment to Costa Rica.

Line drawing courtesy of Manish Prajapati, @artbymanish.

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Gate Guardians

As part of the Hindu diaspora that Siva Ashram will celebrate, at the entrance of our gardens, our very own gamelan (a traditional instrumental ensemble of Bali, Indonesia) will welcome our visitors. 

Considered the soul of the gamelan, the gong ageng is the most important instrument in this orchestra, they are often offered on rituals alongside flowers and food to appease the spirits in the area. Its focused pitch is used on auspicious and important occasions, like closing a business deal or receiving a very important guest. This musician will be very busy at Siva Ashram clashing his gong every time a new visitor arrives.

The statue, based on a traditional Balinese design, has been carved in Bali exclusively for Siva Ashram and is awaiting shipment to Costa Rica to be installed on the grounds of our gardens. It is one of nine statues of musicians gracing the entrance to our gardens in celebration of life and the spiritual path.

Line drawing courtesy of Manish Prajapati, @artbymanish.

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Gong musician

As part of the Hindu diaspora that Siva Ashram will celebrate, at the entrance of our gardens, our very own gamelan (a traditional instrumental ensemble of Bali, Indonesia) will welcome our visitors. 

The kecer consists of a pair of small cymbals set inside a rancak. This rancak is similar in design to that of a saron, except less wide. The bottom cymbals are permanently fixed in the rack, while the top is attached by a cord to the bottom ones. They are used in the accompaniment of wayang.

The statue, based on a traditional Balinese design, has been carved in Bali exclusively for Siva Ashram and is awaiting shipment to Costa Rica to be installed on the grounds of our gardens. It is one of nine statues of musicians gracing the entrance to our gardens in celebration of life and the spiritual path.

Line drawing courtesy of Manish Prajapati, @artbymanish.

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Kecer musician

As part of the Hindu diaspora that Siva Ashram will celebrate, at the entrance of our gardens, our very own gamelan (a traditional instrumental ensemble of Bali, Indonesia) will welcome our visitors. 

This drummer will keep the tempo while marking the pace for the musical transitions. Traditionally, the people in Bali made the instrument from the wood of a jackfruit or coconut tree, and place leather skin or rattan strings, which are tightened to change the pitch of the heads. The thinner the leather, the sharper the sound.

The statue, based on a traditional Balinese design, has been carved in Bali exclusively for Siva Ashram and is awaiting shipment to Costa Rica to be installed on the grounds of our gardens. It is one of nine statues of musicians gracing the entrance to our gardens in celebration of life and the spiritual path.

Line drawing courtesy of Manish Prajapati, @artbymanish.

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Kendang musician

As part of the Hindu diaspora that Siva Ashram will celebrate, at the entrance of our gardens, our very own gamelan (a traditional instrumental ensemble of Bali, Indonesia) will welcome our visitors. 

This musician, carved out of limestone, plays the ceng ceng kepyak, an instrument shaped like 2 pieces of cymbals made of metal, jackfruit wood, and red tassels. The hit and the air between them produce a “ceng-ceng” sound, as the name implies, and the louder the hit, the louder the sound. This traditional Balinese instrument can produce a variety of dynamic sound effects, adding a strong excitement to the music on the stage.

The statue, based on a traditional Balinese design, has been carved in Bali exclusively for Siva Ashram and is awaiting shipment to Costa Rica to be installed on the grounds of our gardens. It is one of nine statues of musicians gracing the entrance to our gardens in celebration of life and the spiritual path.

Line drawing courtesy of Manish Prajapati, @artbymanish.

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Kepyak musician

As part of the Hindu diaspora that Siva Ashram will celebrate, at the entrance of our gardens, our very own gamelan (a traditional instrumental ensemble of Bali, Indonesia) will welcome our visitors. 

Our musician is holding a klenang, a single bossed gong suspended by a small string on a small wooden frame. With a single wooden mallet, the musician will strike the gong. This klenang is part of the percussion ensemble of the gamelan that plays fixed interlocking patterns.

The statue, based on a traditional Balinese design, has been carved in Bali exclusively for Siva Ashram and is awaiting shipment to Costa Rica to be installed on the grounds of our gardens. It is one of nine statues of musicians gracing the entrance to our gardens in celebration of life and the spiritual path.

Line drawing courtesy of Manish Prajapati, @artbymanish.

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Klenang musician

As part of the Hindu diaspora that Siva Ashram will celebrate, at the entrance of our gardens, our very own gamelan (a traditional instrumental ensemble of Bali, Indonesia) will welcome our visitors. 

Also known as “Saron Panerus”, our musician here is playing a peking, the smallest saron in the family. Its metal bars are in an arch shape, in which each bar has a flat bottom and an archtop. As the pitch rises, the arch of the bar also rises. Similar to other sarons, the peking needs a mallet to be played, and a buffalo horn is a right choice since it helps to produce a bright and piercing sound that brightens the work of the orchestra. 

The statue, based on a traditional Balinese design, has been carved in Bali exclusively for Siva Ashram and is awaiting shipment to Costa Rica to be installed on the grounds of our gardens. It is one of nine statues of musicians gracing the entrance to our gardens in celebration of life and the spiritual path.

Line drawing courtesy of Manish Prajapati, @artbymanish.

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Peking musician

As part of the Hindu diaspora that Siva Ashram will celebrate, at the entrance of our gardens, our very own gamelan (a traditional instrumental ensemble of Bali, Indonesia) will welcome our visitors. 

This musician is ready to play the saron, a bronze bars instrument placed on top of a resonating frame. This instrument is struck with a tabuh in an angled form to produce a fuller sound. Whilst one hand controls the tabuh, with the other hand he dampens the previous note by grasping the key, in order to prevent a muddy sound. On repeated notes, the note is usually dampened half a beat before it is struck again.

The statue, based on a traditional Balinese design, has been carved in Bali exclusively for Siva Ashram and is awaiting shipment to Costa Rica to be installed on the grounds of our gardens. It is one of nine statues of musicians gracing the entrance to our gardens in celebration of life and the spiritual path.

Line drawing courtesy of Manish Prajapati, @artbymanish.

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Saron musician

As part of the Hindu diaspora that Siva Ashram will celebrate, at the entrance of our gardens, our very own gamelan (a traditional instrumental ensemble of Bali, Indonesia) will welcome our visitors. 

Suling is a flute made of a long bamboo tube and it has a mouthpiece circled with a thin band made of rattan. The suling is an essential instrument for every gamelan, no wonder why is here in our gardens, and it is necessary that the performers use a circular breathing technique to create a highly-strung sense of constancy that continues at all moments, especially around the dramatic turn points produced by the percussion instruments.

The statue, based on a traditional Balinese design, has been carved in Bali exclusively for Siva Ashram and is awaiting shipment to Costa Rica to be installed on the grounds of our gardens. It is one of nine statues of musicians gracing the entrance to our gardens in celebration of life and the spiritual path.

Line drawing courtesy of Manish Prajapati, @artbymanish.

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Suling musician

This small tropical tree is originary to Yucatán and usually stays around 6.6-9.8 ft in height. It produces fruit in the form of bright red drupes no more than 1.18 in in diameter which are extremely rich in antioxidants and vitamin C, and also contain nutrients like vitamins A, B1, B2 and B3.

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Acerola Cherry

The African tulip tree, as its name states, is native to the forests of Africa. It can grow up to 82 ft tall and is grown as an ornamental tree throughout the tropics due to its very showy crimson or reddish-orange campanulate flowers.

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African Tulip

Persea americana is a tree native to Mexico and Central America that can grow up to 66 ft tall. There's multiple local Costa Rican varieties of this tree, with fruits of different sizes and colors but they all share the delicious buttery texture.

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Avocado

Black sapote is an evergreen tree native Mexico, Central America, and Colombia, to that can grow to over 82 ft. Its soft edible fruit's white pulp is inedible when unripe but then assumes the color, flavor and texture of chocolate pudding when ripe. 

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Black Sapote

and is eaten halved by scooping its flesh and chilled when served, sometimes with ice cream and a a couple of drops of lime juice to intensify its delicious flavor.

Brazilian cherry

Lowland cherimoyas are native to El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. This bush can reach 13 ft and provide the delicious lowland cherimoya fruit which has a mango-like flavor

This extraordinary deciduous tree has a native span from Central America to southern Brazil. This sun-loving tree ornamental and shade tree is known due to being quite fast-growing (can grow to 9ft in just one year) and can reach a height of 131 ft. After losing its leaves, it displays thousands of bright yellow nectar-producing flowers.

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Brazilian Fire Tree

One of our favorite trees! The Brazilian firetree has a native span from Central America to southern Brazil and is notable for its fast growth (up to 9ft per year). This sun-loving tree can reach 98 ft in height and blooms with numerous bright golden yellow bee-attracting flowers. An extract from its leaves is used to produce an antidote to some types of snake venom!

This beautiful flowering tree, in the mulberry and jackfruit family, can grow to 85 ft and is native to New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippines. Its fruit can be eaten ripe and unripe, roasted, baked, fried or boiled - and the taste is described as similar to potato or freshly baked bread, hence its name.

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Bread Fruit

This tree loves tropical environments and is an ancestor of breadfruit and can grow up to 115 ft. It is endemic to New Guinea, the Maluku Islands, and the Philippines. The breadnut spiny fruit is edible when cooked and seeds can also be roasted and eaten. It has an amazing sweet taste and aroma!

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Breadnut

Theobroma cacao is known as the cacao tree. It is a small evergreen tree that can grow up to 26 ft, native to the deep tropical regions of Mesoamerica. Cacao beans constituted both a ritual beverage and a major currency system in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations. Nowadays, cacao beans, are used to make chocolate liquor, cacao butter and, of course, chocolate!

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Cacao

This tropical evergreen grows quite rapidly and can reach 20 ft in height. It is native to the Greater Antilles and the West Indies and its fruit, the star apple, is a purple-skined globe about 2-3 inches in diameter that is often used as a sweet fresh dessert fruit, served chilled. The name comes from the star pattern visible in its pulp. 

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Caimito Star Apple

We have 12 varieties of citrus trees including mandarin oranges, lemons, limes, tangerines and more.

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Calamandi

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Carnauba Palm

Cashew trees are native to Northeastern Brazil. These evergreens can reach 46 ft in height and are known for both the cashew seed and its apple pseudofruit, a pear-shaped structure. Although it's usually called a nut, the kidney-shaped drupe that grows at the end of the apple is in fact a fruit and quite a delicious one!

Tree & Item Sponsorship

Creating a spiritual sanctuary to last 300-years and more is no easy feat. It requires a vast amount of resources from trees, statues, pots, garden supplies and equipment, raw materials and more. Your gift is greatly appreciated and will make a significant difference towards manifesting Siva Ashram.