If you look through a list of green building techniques or LEED certification requirements, you’ll see how few of them apply in the beach areas of Costa Rica. There are many reasons for this, but it’s primarily due to the fact that construction techniques are quite different.

Building green doesn’t just mean solar power and windmills on the roof – it also is about low maintenance, and using local know-how for construction and repairs, the idea being to keep your money in your community, rather than hiring outside contractors. Also, the climate here is doubly harsh in that it’s tropical and rainy half the year and desert-dry the other half. Your house has to withstand both seasons.

Looking online, you will find very little information out there about how to “build green” in the “dry tropical forest” of the pacific coast of Costa Rica, where much of the construction is going on now. We are trailblazing the way, helping to provide information for others to follow.

Please enjoy this webpage – we hope it will help you with your house, and we welcome your comments and suggestions, so we can continually update and improve this information.