Instructor Profiles
The guides who walk with you
Permaculture designers, yoga teachers, freediving instructors, healers, meditation guides, tea and cacao ceremony space holders, spearfishing instructors and survival mentors — the people who make Kalinawan a living school.
How We Teach
Teaching as tending
01
Learn by Doing
No lecture halls. Every skill is taught hands-on — in the soil, on the water, at the workbench — because the hands remember what slides cannot teach.
02
Meet People Where They Are
From first-time gardeners to certified divers, every guest gets instruction matched to their experience. No one is left behind, and no one is held back.
03
Rooted in Place
Our instructors are of this land and sea. They teach Filipino techniques and indigenous knowledge alongside international certifications.
The Team
Meet your teachers
David Seiffert Diaz
Co-Founder | Freedive Instructor | Carpenter | Spearfisher | Permaculture Designer
A German-South American co-founder and one of the driving forces behind Camp Kalinawan, David was raised between two cultures — an upbringing that gave him an open-minded perspective, creative problem-solving skills, and a deep appreciation for nature. A passionate freediver and spearfisher, David draws inspiration from the deep ocean. As a carpenter and permaculture designer, he brings that same curiosity and creativity onto the land — turning ideas into structures, systems, and regenerative solutions. Together with his partner, Lany, David is helping transform Camp Kalinawan into a living haven where ocean, forest, food, craftsmanship, and community come together. His vision is simple but powerful: create a place where people can reconnect with nature while learning how to live more sustainably and regenerate the land they depend on.
Helanie Lanante (Lany)
Co-Founder | Meditation Guide | Spaceholder | Permaculture Designer | Wellness Facilitator
Lany is a local woman born and raised in the village of Tagaytay, where she was brought up by a rice farmer before leaving her rural roots to study in a strict Catholic school and later nursing in the city. Life, however, led her on a very different path. Her journey took her to Germany for six years and across different parts of the world, where she explored diverse cultures, philosophies, and ways of living. She spent years practicing Vipassana meditation, lived within Buddhist monastic communities for a total of one year, and explored different approaches to healing, wellness, and self-development. Today, Lany is a certified meditation practitioner, yoga practitioner, spaceholder, permaculture designer, relationship workshop facilitator, and certified naturopathy practitioner. Her recent travels have centered around healing and wellness retreats, conscious communities, and spaces dedicated to personal growth. Her greatest passion is creating safe spaces where people can slow down, reconnect with themselves, and discover their own capacity for healing. Drawing from years of self-reflection, meditation, and personal healing, Lany believes that the deepest healing often begins when we learn to listen to ourselves. Together with David, she is shaping Camp Kalinawan into more than an agritourism destination — a place where regeneration of the land meets regeneration of the human spirit.
Napoleon Lanante
Organic Farmer | Community Leader | Spearfisher | Former Seafarer
Napoleon Lanante spent years as a seafarer, traveling the world by sea and meeting people from different countries, cultures, languages, and backgrounds. Those experiences gave him a broad understanding of the world while deepening his connection to the ocean. Today, Napoleon has returned to the land, dedicating himself to his own abundant organic farm. Passionate about organic agriculture, he currently serves as a leader among the farmers in his village, sharing his experience and advocating for sustainable ways of growing food. The ocean remains an important part of his life — in his spare time, Napoleon goes spearfishing to provide food for his family and share the catch with the community. His years at sea gave him an exceptional understanding of ocean conditions, depths, currents, and marine environments, skills that have made him one of the most experienced spearfishers in the area. From crossing oceans to cultivating the soil, Napoleon embodies the connection between land, sea, food, and community that lies at the heart of Camp Kalinawan.
Reyneil Lanante
Off-Grid & Survival Mentor
Reyneil is a true-blooded local who spends most of his time here on this island. He assists his father in the jungle and catches fish at sea with neighbors at night. He can build a shelter, catch a fish, and light a fire in the rain — skills he learned before electricity reached his village. A bamboo craftsman, he teaches self-reliance as an act of devotion to the land.
