Sustainable Features at Pueblo Verde

The goal of Pueblo Verde is to serve as a model of “smart water strategies,” and to have a positive impact on the water balance of our valley.nGuanacaste is located in the wet-dry tropics—six months of rain and six months of “summer.” Our strategy is to capture and infiltrate rainfall during the rainy season and practice conservation in the dry season. The water conservation landscape at Pueblo Verde features small dams, sediment traps, infiltration ponds and other techniques which are pleasing to the eye and healthy for our future. We are modeling water-smart development.

Local food

We hope your first impression of Pueblo Verde is a lasting one. The entrance parallels a series of sculpted water gardens that trap runoff and replenish our well. The first citrus and bananas are already producing as we expand to summer vegetables and animal husbandry with help from our neighbors. The community gardens adjoin our goat corrals and wood storage, making this area a focus of cooperative activity—with friends, neighbors and nature. Our efforts at future food security also extend to the choice of species for reforestation. The hills and valleys of Pueblo Verde have already been planted with native fruit and nut trees—both for us and our fine-feathered friends. The nursery is filling up for next season’s planting, at Pueblo Verde and throughout the valley.

Energy 

Costa Rica has the most sustainable mix of electricity generation on earth—water, wind and geo-thermal. Pueblo Verde will offer the service provided by ICE—the national power company—and collaborate with one of its engineers in an integrated strategy for how to implement a community power system with efficiency, alternative generation and eventual feed into the national grid.

Ours is a walkable community: Two minutes to the paved highway with public transport, five minutes on a bike lane to shopping in Paraiso and a short drive ( or 15 min bike ride) to several area beaches.

“Pacas” are made onsite and laid along contour lines to counter the impact of erosion during the rainy season

Reforestation 

We have conducted a forest inventory and plan to collaborate with owners to implement forest management on individual lots. The goals are:

1. Keep the forest intact with no indiscriminate clearing of the understory that provides habitat for deer, coatimundi, armadillos and the myriad songbirds that also make their home in Pueblo Verde. We also provide flowering and fruiting “monkey trees” near home-sites so that residents can regularly commune with their graceful, tree dwelling friends.
2. Sustainable harvest of mature trees to provide building materials for homes and to constantly rejuvenate and enrich the forest. Fast growing Bamboo groves are just one of the options for scenic beauty, building materials and atmospheric carbon uptake.
3. The forested hills and valleys in Pueblo Verde represent the owners’ commitment to act locally and globally. Forests help restore the local water cycle and by reforesting with native species we increase the storage of carbon dioxide and do our part in mitigating global warming.
4. When you visit Pueblo Verde you may notice piles of brush here and there on different lots. We rarely burn forest refuse, preferring to arrange it along contours for water control and let it decompose over time or use it for “bio-char.” This technique of buried charcoal enhances soil fertility and “locks up” CO2 from the atmosphere for centuries. Another example of thinking local, global and long term.

Community Engagement (Activities)

In biological terms, a community is a group of interacting organisms sharing an environment. Pueblo Verde will promote interaction around productive pursuits grounded in our shared values and vision. Our intention is to provide residences for a few selected local families. In part to integrate the wealth of local farming and forest knowledge within Pueblo Verde and in part to build bridges and not just gates.