Buen Vivir is an inspiring social philosophy in Central and South America where people are stewards of the earth and it’s resources. I came first across this principle during a talk of Susanna Rostas during my participation in the Cambridge Sustainability Residency in July 2016. The term Buen Vivir would litterally be translated as ‘Good living’, but differs hugely from our western concept of living a good life. It means living in harmony with yourself and your surroundings. Individuals do not own the commons. ‘It’s a way of doing things that is community-centric, ecologically-balanced and culturally-sensitive.’[3] The individu does not play an important role, but is placed in the social context of their community and in the environmental situation. Buen Vivir is a lifestyle that comes close to a sustainable way of living according to Susanna Rostas, an antropologist from Cambridge who studied a maya indian community in Chiapas, Mexico.[4] This model is an alternative paradigm of the western capitalistic model where individual rights, economic growth and consumerism are leading. I felt really inspired by her talks and I would like to investigate this lifestyle during my travels in the south of Mexico and Guatemala. For Buen Vivir small communities are ideal. Buen Vivir goes hand in hand with the principle of ‘act global, think local’. It helps us to see the limits of current capitalistic model and it allows us to dream of alternatives that until now have been difficult to fulfil.  It could play an important role in the transformation that is necessary to make our planet more sustainable for the future.