Sustainable, Green Developing in Samara, Costa Rica
Montana Samara ocean view development started in late 2004. We were fortunate to find a couple of beautiful family owned farms covered with majestic trees and with spectacular ocean views. These were surrounded by land that had been clear cut for pastures. From the start we knew we wanted to develop it with mother earth in mind, trying to make it better than we found it. We plotted our roads and lots to help preserve all of the old growth trees and forests that were left. We work very hard to reclaim most of the forest that had been cut for pastures and help nature recover these lands. We planted thousands of beautiful native trees and ornamentals, including many varieties of fruit trees. Even this effort was done in a very calculated, ecological sound method. No insecticides or pesticides have ever been used on Montana.
Permaculture Practices
Montana Samara uses permaculture methods. Permaculture is a creative cultivation method that looks at the ecosystem and cultivation process holistically; using the idea that the whole is more than merely the sum of its parts. We approach this guided by ethics and effect design principals ensuring each part is properly balanced as they would normally be found in nature.
Using nature first ethics and applying these values in our development and our day-to-day operations, we strive to go from being dependent consumers to being responsible producers. This also gives you a beautiful place for you to have the option to live that way as well. Practicing this type of living helps build skills that will allow us and our community to be more resilient and be prepared for the changing future with less available resources and thrive even with a break in the commercial food supply chain.
Water is limited resource, and in many areas a scarce one. We work to keep our abundant source of water on the land, soaking in rather than speeding off to the ocean. This permaculture system will guarantee our future water and food production. There is a tone of information on this at www.geofflawton.com. Our property manager, grounds keepers and developer have completed his permaculture course and have learned a lot about soils and water conservation. We are committed to this.
Analog Forestry Practices on Our Properties in Samara, Costa Rica
International Analog Forestry Network defines analog forestry as an approach to ecological restoration which uses natural forests as guides to create ecologically stable and socio-economically productive landscapes.
Montana Samara focuses on “natural silviculture”, which is a process for planting trees that used organic fertilizers like compost, compost teas, bokashi or worm castings, but also adds the essential minerals a cultivation needs to be successful, without necessarily contaminating the environment.
One process that is simple to implement is rather than burning falling trees and cleared brush and contaminating the environment we cut it up and lay it around fruit trees letting it decay naturally and become fertilizer. We work hard to copy local eco-systems in their design and function, ensuring to mix in species that can be cultivated and helps support the wide variety of native wildlife.
Green, Effective, Aquaponics Farming
Aquaponics is a method of combined fish and vegetable farming that requires no soil. The farmer cultivates freshwater fish (aquaculture) and plants (hydroponics) in a recirculating water system that exchanges nutrients between the two.
We are now building our aquaponic garden system to grow our own non GMO organic produce. We like and have been studying the system designed by Murray Hallam at https://murrayhallam.com. He gets excellent results.
Conserving The Soil With Straw Bale Cultivation
We are also implementing straw bale and compost soil gardens. Alan Windham, a professor of plant pathology with the University of Tennessee Extension has found many advantages of using straw bales instead of soil.
We have so many herbs growing and are continually bringing more in. We have many mature moringa trees, neem, ginger , curcumin, jack fruit, jocote, plantain, chiquisque, lemon, plantano, plantain orange, coconut, banana, pineapple, ginger, avocado, guava, cacao, mandarin, and some others I can’t even identify.
Natural Remedies Right From Your Property or Garden
If you have a stomach ache or other minor problems, one of our workers will go out with his machete and bring back something that will cure it! All natural, directly from our property; teas, extracts and ground herbs. Montana has one of nature’s best pharmacies and is getting better every year.
Donny, our resident naturalist horticulturalist, is setting up the gardens and aquaponics on Montana. He is well versed in many areas of alternative healing from magnetic therapy to herbal healing, cleansing, yoga, acupressure, massage, and even diet control. He loves to help people.
There is a saying that if you stick a broom handle in the ground in Costa Rica it will grow. Of course, this is a little humor about an old expression, but you will notice all over Costa Rica the growing fence lines are made from tree branches placed in the ground and growing into trees.
We welcome residents to get involved in this if they so choose. If not, the produce will be made available to them anyway.
Minimizing Our Foot Print
When Montana is complete we anticipate less than a maximum of a .5 % foot print including homes, roads and infrastructure. This leaves 99.5 % of the land for trees, flowers vegetables fruits, ponds, monkeys, birds, butterflies. Parrots, Toucans and endless other tropical species.
Sustainable, Green Energy
Costa Rica has recently approved feeding ones privately generated power back into the grid for credit against your bill. You can design your solar system so that you have the advantage of the grid with no monthly costs and zero carbon footprint. With the new improvements in alternative energy systems, this is a great option.
Since Montana is much higher than the nearby beach 15 minutes away, it is much cooler and offers fantastic ocean views and breezes. This will help you use much less electricity than in the US to stay cool. With temperate weather, you will not get your normal $500 a month heating bill either!
It really is a nice place to live. You owe it to yourselves to take a look. Watch out for the blue morpho butterflies; they’ll carry you away!
Call now to see our properties for sale in Samara, Costa Rica and see our sustainability efforts first hand.
Expecting the worst, as we came down the mountain and pulled into town, I was amazed! This little beach paradise seemed exactly like I had left it years earlier. Noticeably, there were a few more nice restaurants, but no unsightly high rises and realtor signs everywhere. There were still horses grazing along the streets and a few street vendors selling souvenirs, hammocks, and fruit. There was a new hardware store and pharmacy, so it had gone through some growth, though there were still lots of locals on bicycles and casually walking around town. You could still hear the monkeys in the mango trees communicating back and forth.
Another interesting thing about Samara is that much of the ocean view land is owned by a few entities that were not development oriented. The general understanding is that Samara will make a stand to hold its low density development and natural setting. One large property (hundreds of acres) overlooking Samara is owned still by a local family that will not sell their “family history and heritage”. Another few hundred acres above the gorgeous nearby Carrillo beach, is owned by Mr.Hitachi, the owner of Hitachi Ltd. and I have been told he loves it as is and will not sell nor develop it.
There is so much to do here, and its not hard to find people with common interests to do it with. The fishing is spectacular. The annual world sail fishing tournament is often held in Samara. There is excellent snorkeling, diving, surfing, kayaking and other water sports. One can go hiking swimming in pools below water falls, horseback riding, and quadracycle excursions.