Colombia’s Mayu ‘marroca5‘ Roca Uribehas been on a heater lately. A week ago, he won the PokerStars Thursday Thrillfor $51,000, his eighth largest cash all-time. Two days later, he hit $4 million in career online tournament scores, only the sixth player this year to pass that mark. However, 2016 and beyond could mean big changes to this successful player’s schedule.

Before jumping into his potential change in focus, Uribe took a moment to bask in the $4 million limelight. “It was great,” he said with a grin. “It was an achievement that felt very rewarding after working on my game lately and after a substantial downswing. I felt truly blessed to get out of the downswing with the Thursday Thrill win and the $4 million badge.”

Now, it’s time for some education. Renewability, sustainability, and self-sufficiency. Those three words define permaculture, a word Uribe will take to heart in 2016. And to say the subject has plenty of applicability is a titanic-sized understatement.

“I think I’m just like any other person trying to find fulfillment in life, and for me poker has always been more of a means to an end than an end in itself,” Uribe confessed. “I am still fortunately enjoying poker, but my focus has shifted to what is becoming my main goal for the future, which is to develop a permaculture project that will take a lot of my time in both the short-term and long-term.”

Permaculture can apply to agricultural and human systems, for example, but any way you slice it, the name of the game is sustainability. “I’ve been trying to find my passion and balance my life, and slowly but surely I think I have been progressing,” he explained. “I have been trying to nourish various physical and intellectual interests, and right now I’m making that transition to dedicate more time to permaculture and sustainability.”

His family owns a plot of land in Colombia that will serve as the epicenter of his project, which he expects to start soon. “The plan is to integrate a productive, self-sufficient, and sustainable agricultural system that has a variety of production,” he commented. “I’ll implement different techniques to capture clean energy and clean water efficiently, use sustainable tools and technology, employ sustainable construction techniques, and create an educational platform to invite different groups in the future.”

Talk about changing the world, or at least leaving it better than he found it. “I believe in what permaculture represents, which is a need for our society to turn to more sustainable practices in our individual lives, both physically and mentally, in order to preserve our health and the health of our planet as a whole,” he said of the project’s purpose. “Plus, it’s very cool to learn how nature works and how to work with it, so it’s very fun too.”

Uribe’s permaculture endeavor would not be possible without his success in poker, as he is using some of his earnings from the game as seed money. However, as he cautioned, his bankroll won’t be a crutch because “the whole point is to show that the project can be replicated at a low cost.”

While he’s busy tilling his land in Colombia, he’ll still be firing up online poker tables, just not at the grueling pace he has been. “I really like the game, I’m enjoying it still, and I have many valuable friends in the poker community,” he pointed out. “But, I will probably start playing less as I get more into the project and other things that interest me.”

He has two six-figure scores to his credit; both came in 2014 in COOP events. He also has victories in the Full Tilt Sunday Brawl, Full Tilt Sunday Mulligan, PokerStars Sunday 500, and PokerStars $109 Rebuy, just to name a few. He’s the #2 ranked player in his native Colombia.

How has Uribe had this much time and interest in non-poker activities while he has been crushing the game over the last few years? “I got interested in it by observing the state of affairs in the world and trying to understand the reasons for poverty, inequality, suffering, and various imbalances in people and societies,” he recalled. “I feel like I have a better grasp of this now and one thing led to another for me to find permaculture and get involved. Now, I consider it the right way for me to contribute in a significant way.”

His father influenced Uribe to value nature more and, to no surprise, he is rallying friends and family to the cause as well. “I’m getting family and friends involved as much as I can, just mentioning the importance of it all,” he said. “I’m very grateful for them.”

There are almost 400 registered PocketFivers from Colombia, a country with 48 million residents. The nation is extremely biodiverse and ranks near the top of the world in many categories like the number of species of plants and birds. “We are more mindful of the environment in general, but only because we have so much nature and biodiversity in a short distance, so that naturally makes us more aware,” Uribe contended.

However, in Colombia’s cities, like the capital of Bogota, Uribe charged that residents live similarly to the rest of the world. “People live their lives with what the market provides and don’t try to understand the impact of their actions,” he said. “They don’t pressure society to change. In places like Colombia where there is so much poverty, many people don’t have time to think about this because they have to survive and get by each month, so I think people like me who are more privileged need to contribute in some way to make a difference.”