Blog Entries

Panning for Gold in the Baby Boom

tom@puebloverde.org — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 17:00:00 +0100

"The hunt begins for the foreign retiree"-Headline, La Republica

In mid-February, at the national level, Costa Rica launched a high profile initiative. To the fanfare of articles in national papers, a special government edict, web articles and enthusiastic reverberations through the real estate blogosphere, a plan was unveiled to promote retirement communities for some of the 60 million baby boomers who are starting to sail off into their golden [...]

Costa Rica Declares Baby Boomers To Be A National Priority

tom@puebloverde.org — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 17:00:00 +0100

The President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias is expected to sign an Executive Decree which will make the attraction of foreign retirees to Costa Rica a National Priority.

By implementing this policy the government can then provide incentives to the baby boomers that want to retire in Costa Rica. The government will also be able to provide incentives and streamline the permitting process for companies that build retirement communities for the Baby Boomer [...]

On Pyramids and Pura Vida

tom@puebloverde.org — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:00:00 +0100

The greatest force in the universe is the power of compound interest--Einstein

Call it Blowback.'

I recently read a piece on US foreign policy where an analyst used the term to describe what's happening in the Middle East. He boiled it down to the nitty gritty.

After more than a half-century of treating a whole [...]

The Tropics: A Two-step Transition

tom@puebloverde.org — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:00:00 +0100

The past is still here; it's just not widely distributed

As someone who has spent the past quarter of his life in the lower latitudes, the fancy footwork and the tropical rhythms still present a bit of a challenge on the dance floor.

All the same, when I see my peak oil-aware brethren struggling to define and implement [...]

Cloning Winnie

tom@puebloverde.org — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:00:00 +0100

If you want to change the world, change yourself--Ghandi

A good friend recently wrote me that she had gone to see the new film on global warming by Al Gore. Her reaction was succinct "we're screwed-the world, that is..."

The next week she and her husband flew across the US to attend a wedding-and back. Depending on the type of aircraft and th [...]

Who Stopped the Rain?

tom@puebloverde.org — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 17:00:00 +0100

Truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch; nay, you may kick it about all day like a football, and it will be round and full at evening. (Oliver Wendell Holmes)

The truth is that it is not raining much this year in Guanacaste. Depending on your area, perspective or source of data, we may be 80% below last year. Recent national forecasts say we'll get something substantial in September and October. Maybe corn farmers will have b [...]

Just One of Those Days

tom@puebloverde.org — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 17:00:00 +0100

When something can go wrong, it will.
Murphy's Law

Now I know how investors feel. You watch it going down, down, down. A feeling of complete impotency. You're suddenly at the mercy of forces beyond your control. It all happens so fast. Later comes the comprehension, the "what if we had only..." Then you pick up the pieces and move on. Fortunately no one was hurt.

For me, it [...]

Wired for Transition

tom@puebloverde.org — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 17:00:00 +0100

Well I bet you I'm gonna' be a big star,

Might win an Oscar you can never tell...

I suppose they're called tricks of the trade.'

On a recent weekend I was working with some visitors on a documentary film about sustainable communities. They had shot footage of different techniques for water conservation, organic food production, the monkeys in the trees and the fish in the pond. Now it was time for the bright lights, th [...]

Surfing the Crash

tom@puebloverde.org — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:00:00 +0100

Two riders were approaching, and the wind begins to howl.....

The howling winds of February visited many parts of Guanacaste with a level of damage that made you sit up and take note. One neighbor lost a temporary house. Branches and whole trees were down everywhere and green mangoes literally carpeted the yards and streets. In the next town an elderly gent had his morning routine interrupted when the outhouse blew away from around the throne.

For me it has been a windfall of sort [...]

Why I Became a Developer

tom@puebloverde.org — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:00:00 +0100

If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem

Last month I recounted a lifelong odyssey of environmental learning that led to putting down roots in Guanacaste. (Environmentalist to developer-an Eco-logical Progression, The Howler.......) The surprise in store was the speed at which the sprawling development I thought I had [...]

Back to the Future�Building with Wood

tom@puebloverde.org — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:00:00 +0100

You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters. Saint Bernard

At the age of 104, Clemente Campos is less of a threat to the womenfolk of Guanacaste than in the good old days. His son Gregorio recounts how, with the harvest stored away, his dad would mount up and ride off for months at a time [...]

Rx for the Malaise of Development

tom@puebloverde.org — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 17:00:00 +0100

Learning to think like a watershed

Admit it. Rumors can be a great source of local information.

As soon as the fancy hotel in Papagayo was closed for soiling its own nest, the Gold Coast Grapevine served up a tasty and hilarious morsel last week. It seems that the recent closure was temporary. They [...]

Ruminations on Cattle Culture

tom@puebloverde.org — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 17:00:00 +0100

The earth turns to gold in the hands of the wise-Rumi, Persian mystic

My intent was to write a piece on the changing seasons. After all, it is a great time to see how your land survived the 10 feet of rain, decide whether you really want to water all those plants all summer long and begin to plan for the next possible deluge.