Shade Structure for Growing Vegetables
Updated March 6, 2015 This project we consider to be a big failure!!! It works great in dry season, but the problem was that in the rainy season, the mesh lets in all the rain, but not enough light or sun. This led to extremely humid conditions that most plants could not tolerate. Fungus […]
Recycled Bottle Gardens
Next to Rancho Delicioso is the area’s recycling center, most of which currently comes from the town of Montezuma, but also from Santa Teresa and Malpais. We can use plastic bottles from the center to build cool and innovative gardening projects. We’re hoping to find an inspired genius to build something remarkable to show the […]
White paint roof cooling experiment
I’m currently living in a recycled house that we call Villa Delicioso, and it has been extremely hot inside, even with 4-inch fiberglass insulation, an overhanging roof, an attic space, and all the windows open. Years ago, an architect here told me that ONLY bright white paint will keep a metal roof cool, and our […]
Volunteer House
The volunteer house has two wings, featuring: – Two sleeping lofts, and two single bed/sofas, so a total of 6 people can sleep here. – Two toilets – Two showers – Each wing has its own kitchen, so meals can be prepared in one, while volunteers work in the other kitchen on projects such as […]
Living Structures Project
Ever since I moved to Costa Rica and learned that with many tree species, you can cut off a branch, stick it in the ground, and it will grow into a new tree, I had the idea to try this here with some of the popular local trees, such as Melina or Madera Negro, both […]
The Costa Rica Adobe Project
Currently we’re focused on organic farming and permaculture, but we are planning for three sustainable construction projects in the future once we have enough volunteers: Adobe Technology Re-Invention For hundreds of years, people built in Costa Rica using adobe. There are still old churches made with this material around the country, but this great eco-friendly […]
Living Shade Garden Unit
When I discovered that “grillos” (grasshoppers) were killing our baby tomatoe seedlings, I needed to think up a solution fast, so we built this “living shade structure” in one day. The result was this structure, which uses the following materials: 8 sheets of corrogated tin (3.6m) 9 madera negro living fenceposts (3 meters) […]
Casa Deliciosa For Sale
We currently live in Casa Deliciosa, which is a “recycled house” remodeled from a designer-style real estate office that was on the farm when we bought it. This ultra-modern shape was designed by a local Costa Rican architect. We took it upon ourselves to make this structure into a tropical dream-house, and the results have […]
