Pueblo Verde
Living in Nature – and letting nature live
Imagine living in a second home in a tropical forest with the peaceful Pacific Ocean only minutes away for a sunset swim. Clear mountain streams criss-cross your land. Howler monkeys, the avain pair of turquoise flecked Mots, and the spectacular Blue Morpho butterflies are visible from your deck as you enjoy morning coffee.

You’re at Pueblo Verde, Spanish for “green village”. This special home is one of 12 on 25-acres of land in Paraiso, Costa Rica. The surrounding 500-acres is an ecological project of protected native tree species, plants and wildlife. (see Design and Build a Green Home and Garden in the Tropics).

Pueblo Verde is a residential development designed for the lowest possible impact on the environment. (Pueblo Verde Vision Statement and Design Principles and Goals.) Several of the homes are planned for off-the-grid, trail access sites; others are clustered more closely in proximity to the community fruit tree grove and vegetable gardens where flocks of chickens and a herd of goats forage. Year round and in season, residents will have their choice of fresh mangos, papaya, banana, tomatoes, as well as poultry, eggs, milk and cheese produced for the community on site.

Natural cooling systems, back-up solar power, and ecological water supply and treatment systems are included in community design and are available to home owners as well as various green building options. Wood from pochote and gmelina trees, planted 20 years ago, will be harvested on site and can be used in home construction. The forests are then replanted with native species such as guanacaste, nispero and ojoche to restore healthy forest diversity and keep our monkeys happy. Half of the Pueblo Verde land is reserved for restored wildlife habitat, sustainable agriculture, and water infiltration zones. 

Based on ten years of research from nearby El Centro Verde, a sustainable farm and agro-forestry research facility and demonstration institute, Pueblo Verde is a roadmap for the future. A future that is less dependent on oil as the source of power. Where smaller, efficient living spaces replace the cavernous, energy-guzzling homes of today. Where foreigners and locals aren’t separated by gated developments. 

We are convinced that small, environmentally smart and economically self-sufficient communities will be a growing trend in the 21st century. Pueblo Verde will be one of the first of what we hope are many such eco-villages in Central America. Here at Pueblo Verde, the wisdom of the small, self-sustaining and integrated community abounds.

For more information on available sites and plans at Pueblo Verde, Contact Us.