Project Quebrada Ganado “Green Living”

The 12.8-hectare property sits in the heart of the small town of Quebrada Ganado and on walking distance in town. The land is only an hour and 15-minute drive from the central valley and international airport. The property ‘s location will be commercially located near the new future airport of Orotina and will create more commercial value of the property. Located only two minutes from the main coastal highway, half the property overlooks the ocean and Quebrada Ganado and has beautiful sunset views; with the future Carara Bay Marina & Resort of Punta Leona right in front. Also, the farm is located 5 minutes from Punta Leona and nearby the beaches of Agujas and Bochinche. Close by only 15 minutes, to the bilingual school “Las Nubes”, half an hour from Los Suenos.

The property is located of the coastal mountain slopes about 200 to 300 meters high and the high parts of the property has a clear view on the Pacific Ocean and the gulf of Nicoya. The mountains surrounding Quebrada Ganado, there are some projects under planning and nature is exuberant in the area and lots of waterfalls and flora and fauna. Since the land was used for cattle farming and grazing horses in the past, it shows only shrubbery and an early beginning of secondary rain forest, leaving no obstructions for a future development. The area is very well suited for horse back since neighbor is willing to access his 350 Ha farm.
The feeling when you walk through is that it is a dead property with no energy and no flora and fauna.

A gorgeous and unspoiled river Aguja runs right over the property, which indicates the need for a bridge but also yields a high level of security and privacy.
Also, locals use the river for their recreational use and small swimming pools could be created for the residents also up in the back of the property where a spring is located. An access from the other side of the property without needing to cross the river is being planned for. This will create what we call “calle publica” and will have more lots and productivity of the farm. Public road access, a guard house, water, and electricity are all present. It is estimated that half the property is buildable. A gate was built two month ago for more privacy.

Vision

Create an auto sustainable ecological village dedicated to best practices in regenerative.
Design under a profit sharing with community and house owners, while merging entrepreneurial endeavors that educate us children nurture our elders and enrich the lives of all who live there.

While still early in the visioning phase, we hope to create an ecologically sustainable and auto sufficient based self-sufficient community of 40 homes on 1000-meter lots, with a shared clubhouse and common areas. I see my project as a signature model in sustainable living.

• Aquaponics in artificial lakes with langoustines growing an organic commercial product and snook for a cashflow profit sharing to the owners of the houses, and according to permaculture principles. Developer will give a percentage of dividend to the house owners on a share type of structure to give back to the residents and to the community.
• A boutique Hotel (sustainable CST program) with 30 rooms of a two-floor type of building, organic food restaurant and conference area, low density, and great ocean view from the first terrace, with treatment plants/grease traps /grey water recycling or biodigester.
• Condos on the highest terrace 10 units penthouse style.
• Tiki village with glamping or Tiki huts for rental income.
• The 40-, two- and three-bedroom houses, with green roofs, which we will be developing and building ourselves using sustainable building techniques while improving the ecological capacity of the land and providing each house site with the beginnings of a food forest. Building certificates like Edge and LEED. Radiant cooling or AC and integrated water filtration systems like grey water recycle systems, black water recycle systems for compost even with the possibility for an integrated compost toilet. Also, auto sufficient electricity by solar and own water supply by well or rainwater capture and we wish for the development to reach the highest standards of sustainability. We will finance ourselves. Developer will give a percentage of dividend to the house owners on a share type of structure to give back to the residents and to the community. Punta Leona membership included in the sale of the land and house.
• Other land-use goals are to increase and restore wildlife habitat.
• A restaurant in Jaco or Garabito, where the langoustines will be the main ingredient. All food distributed from our farm.
• Transportation will be by electrical cars, parking on the access where zone 1
• Dude farm with farm animals, Horse stables, geese, and goats
• Medicinal gardens. Botanical gardens and communal gardens, where we work with the most of regional and local plants and to maintain the knowledge of the past and Indigenous.
• Parking area, down on the property, Zone 1
• Cacao farm for chocolate production & Tourism activities
• Tourism activities, cacao tour, horseback, tours for sustainable development, volunteer programs.
• We will cater this project to the local middle class Costa Ricans Families, who want to change of life and the middle-class Europeans and American Market, also the family market.
• Common areas, swimming pool salt water, yoga area, natural swimming pools,

The Dream: That people live in an environment of plenty while minimizing us negative environmental impacts, regenerating, and revitalizing the world around us, and educating and inspiring our guests and our community on the benefits of self-sustained living and permaculture principles. We believe that we can show people that there are ways to luxuriate in amazing places while also leaving a positive footprint upon the world around us. After looking around at many of the self-described eco-villages in this part of the world, we see a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate that these experiences are possible via practices and designs that regenerate and rejuvenate the limited natural resources we have left without sacrificing the comforts humanity has come to expect. We have come up with a beautiful design that manages its own interior environments, grows its own food, deals with its own waste, reuses it water time and again, and generates its own electricity. The planet is dying, but cacao ceremonies and composting toilets are not getting many people excited about changing the way, they live, let alone the way they travel. At our farm we will show people that by living sustainably and sustainable accommodation can be elegant and luxurious, as well as delicious and nutritious, all the while having a positive and regenerative impact on the world around them. We will be producing as many of our needs as we responsibly can, which is a huge percentage, while also supporting the local community for those needs, we responsibly should not. We will profit share part of our businesses to the house owners. We are enlisting local talent for the build, showing them and the community around us the ideas and designs that make it work so they can design more sustainably. We are going to bring in local artisans to help furnish the spaces and train the locals, creating a future revenue stream and minimizing build expense. Most of all, we are going to keep a list of everything we buy on a regular basis and we will constantly evaluate that list in search of things that we can and should produce ourselves, while also relying on the supporting community for the things we should not.

Some challenges include building and maintaining road access on steep slopes, a large minimum lot size, and waterlogged soils in the lower areas. Food streets and food forests in specific parts of the property, medicinal gardens, and botanical gardens. The Rio Agujas crosses the land and while the river can be forded, it will require a bridge to gain year-round vehicle and some hanging bridges near the spring with waterfall and common areas. Communal gardens where people from the community will work on the fields. A common area is being planned for yoga and meditation near the spring with a different microclimate then the rest of the property. Aquaponic farm with langoustines

A “Public Private profit-sharing owner ship” is set up for with revenues being generated to the people of Quebrado Ganado and a museum is planned for in town. A trust is being planned and Community gardens to create food access to the town.

Community

The town of Quebrada Ganado has 3000 habitants and is supplying the labor force of Punta Leona. My project is located just in the center of the village with all on walking distance. The property is the first hill over Quebrada Ganado as one of the local artists states the property looks like, the “Copa de Oro”, since the property looks like the world cup on a distance. Also, the labor force is living right in town and is on walking distance.
No cars will be allowed and only to be parked right in the zone I street access and transportation by electric cars or golf cars is promoted. About 40 to 60 people is projected to work on the property especially at the Hotel and Tiki or dome glamping sites. Communal orchards are to be promoted were people from the community work for food on the land. Clean the watershed of the Aguja River with the local municipality of Garabito; the people are poisoning the watersheds and take out the shrimp. Maybe the blue flag program.

Joint venture with the INA (National Institute of Education) to set up training and community programs with the aquaponics program to create labor opportunities. The government has not any aquaponics project knowledge and people have to be sent to Mexico and Brazil for training.

A museum is being planned for the town of Quebrada Ganado where artisan woodworks from a local artisan is presented and the history of the town. We will work together with the local municipality of Garabito to help and support a local zoning plan.

Zoning 1 to 5

Zone 1

• Low zone street access, Second access on other side.
• Chickens and eggs recollection, bees, solar dehydrators, worm bin, chicken rooster boxes, seed collection.
• Self-sustainable food service with Aquaponics with 4000 kg of fish) per year with future expansion to 8000 kg, laboratory for larvae control and production, guapote, langoustine, Mojare, Berro
• Water pluvial catchment system
• Dude ranch with cows, goats, chicken, horses
• Cacao plantation and chocolate factory
• Compost area and Biochar
• Katuk /Moringa, Moringa, hibusces jamaica
• Mandela community gardens
• Medicinal gardens especially herbs from the region.
• Biochar production
• Pitaya production
• Caretakers green home
• Nursery and green house
• Storerooms
• Parking area for 20 cars
• Horse stables for 4 horses/ compost
• Toolshed and workshop
• Small Tropical Beer production

Zone 2

• Food forests
• Chinampas
• Food streets/food forests
• Sustainable development with 40 Integrated green homes with green roofs, treatment plants, with grey water filtration, compost toilets, solar for energy reduction, pluvial reception, Radial cooled homes or Solar
• Electrical subterraneous and fiber optics, with the ICE
• Hanging bridge over the agujas
• Social areas ranchos

Zone 3

• Food forest
• Streets and infrastructure
• Electrical subterraneous and fiber optics, with the ICE
• Storm water collection in the ditches/ swales.
• Picnic areas
• Condo area zone 1 with land movements.
• Hotel Area 30 rooms Social area, Ocean View terrace, swimming pool, restaurant, club house
• Ridge of Tiki hut village/glamping/domes as rental business

Zone 4

• Food forest
• Wood available from the farm, Melina or Pochote
• Yoga area

Zone 5

• Agroforestry
• Spring and captive tank
• Natural swimming pools
• Picnic spaces in zone 5 near the spring and roads, near fruit forest to appreciate monkeys and wildlife/birds.
• Reforestation native trees, islands of native trees for seed distribution.
• Trails
• Retreat area
• Tree houses