CORCOVADO V1
A MAN IN THE WOODS
The Corcovado Project was created by Dave Erasmus after a mind-altering trip to Costa Rica's Corcovado Rainforest in which he spent time under the same canopy as 2.5% of the world's biodiversity. In just a few short weeks, the frenzy of modern day life evaporated and Dave felt a resounding sense of peace that fuelled a deep level of creative thinking. The impact of both the Corcovado Rainforest and the culture of the Costa Rican people and their lifestyle (Google 'pura vida') inspired Dave to recreate a similar environment closer to home.
So in 2016, Dave set out on a personal experiment to get back to basics and learn from nature: he ventured into the woods in Sussex, England with no goals or agenda, living in a simple shepherds hut, and spent a year observing, writing, reflecting and simply being.
Dave began to document his experiences on camera and shared his videos weekly on his YouTube channel. His 50+ vlog series soon gained popularity online, with more than 2 million views from over 150 countries, and before he knew it, people from across the globe were connecting with his story, offering tips for outdoor living and even sending over tools and equipment to assist him.
Aside from the video series, Dave also produced the Corcovado Handbook and a short film, Once Around The Sun.
What started as a personal journey in V1 soon evolved into a social experiment as the Corcovado Project began to connect people across the world through the values of community, connectedness, nature and creativity. It was towards the end of V1 that the next chapter of Corcovado emerged...
V1 VIDEO SERIES
THE CORCOVADO HANDBOOK
"The purpose of this handbook is to help create awareness and a little inspiration. The tools are devised to help us peel back the assumptions baked into our lives. This comes from a belief that maturity isn’t found in building walls around our beliefs and barricading behind our doctrines but rather questioning them and beginning to look at them from as many angles as possible, to see them as tools which help us to grow along our path. The aim is to help us to navigate life and be empowered to continually reflect and see the ways in which we separate and box ourselves in."
- Dave Erasmus
The Corcovado Handbook is a collection of thinking from Dave’s 10 years experience of leading businesses and his time spent in the Sussex woodland, brought to life in collaboration with illustrators, photographers, musicians, designers and printers from within the CorcoCommunity.
Dave explores seven different elements and their metaphorical counterparts (Sun - Corcovado; Moon - The Unknown; River - Flow; Earth - Risk; Hut - Home; Deer - 'Other'; Butterfly - Dance), weaving theory, tools, and creative thinking into his explorational narrative. Each element encourages a fresh perspective, helping you to look at the world through different lenses using alternative ways of thinking, experiencing and engaging.