El Centro Verde Research and Demonstration Center

With 15 years of hands on experience in all aspects of sustainable land use in our area, El Centro Verde (ECV) is the perfect neighbor for Pueblo Verde. The reference library, seed bank, nursery, courses, etc. will all be available to Pueblo Verde residents. We expect that student volunteers and interns will continue to be involved in different aspects of the project including design, installation and maintenance of individual landscapes.

Welcome Center

Our interface with the outside world is the multi-purpose Welcome Center on the road in front of ECV. The roadside location makes it ideal for distributing information about local community, economic and environmental issues. It also serves as a sales point for local produce and the information center for Pueblo Verde. Future plans are to provide an open-air meeting space for classes, meetings or just sipping an espresso and perusing some literature while overlooking the ECV display and test gardens.

Sawmill and Workshop

If you are enchanted by wood, Pueblo Verde is a dream. The plantations need selective harvest and regeneration, occasionally a hardwood tree falls from the wind and there are bits and pieces of native precious hardwoods like cocobolo, ronron and pochote left over from the original clearing a half century ago. To make the dream a reality we will have a small workshop for processing wood and also for individual projects. The workshop will be designed to evolve in order to serve the needs of the community.

Community Gardens and Orchards

An acre of fertile floodplain and seasonal wetland is the dominant landscape feature as you enter Pueblo Verde. This lot will be dedicated in perpetuity to serving as a source of abundant water and local food for the community. The first earthworks to slow runoff and harvest nutrient-rich sediment are completed, planted and bearing fruit. More are planned both to protect our neighbors from seasonal flooding and to better achieve our twin goals of water conservation and food production.

Water System

Pueblo Verde has the advantage of potable water supplied from the nearby town of Paraiso. Our own well will supply a separate system for irrigation. Our experience is that a back up system is seldom needed but, at times, extremely convenient. We recommend water storage and/or rainwater harvesting tanks on individual lots, for irrigation, emergencies or for integral cooling systems in homes.

Monkey-Safe Electrical Lines

Every year hundreds of monkeys are electricuted from climing on uninsulated power lines in Costa Rica. Pueblo Verde is the first development in all of Costa Rica to offer Monkey-safe electrical lines all throughout the property, allowing the troupes of Howler monkeys that live within the property to travel in safety. 

Internet

Pueblo Verde will offer high speed Internet to all lots. We are evaluating two options: connect to the fiber optic cable planned for our area or locate a base station for broadband within the project.

Community Center and Swimming Pool

A bit of water can go a long way during our hotter months of March and April. Just ask anyone who has cooled off in one of the shaded swimming holes in the nearby Nandamojo River. Pueblo Verde has an ideal site for a naturally filtered swimming hole on our community lot, on a shaded site next to the stream. A community center built with bamboo and local wood will provide a hospitable gathering space. The community center, natural swimming pool and surrounding landscape will be part of a “rustic elegant” design perspective that fits into the Pueblo Verde values and sustainability goals.