As rainforest worldwide disappears at an alarming rate, those places where it still exists beg for caring and protection.  And as Globalization and Technology modernize former third world areas, businesses in those places must assume leadership during the transition.  Within these two areas of responsibility, Rancho Pacifico has established its own set of priorities and initiatives.

 

 

 

 

 

B A C K G R O U N D
Twenty years ago, Costa Rica went on a campaign to save the little remaining rainforest it had left - and to
nurture the regrowth of areas where 500 year old trees once stood.  The policies that emerged from this
decision created new national parks and revolutionized Costa Rica tourism - producing an eco-tourism
business model for other countries to follow.

​

Unfortunately, creating national parks wasn't enough.
Thousands of acres of pristine land were to fall in the hands of private investors - hungry to cash in on the
Costa Rica development push.  Their lack of experience, questionable morality and unquestionable greed --
coupled with the country's lack of enforcement has led to the clearcutting of  many priceless tracts of
rainforest throughout the country.

​

The owners purchased the 50 acres for Rancho Pacifico in 2003.  They loved the wildness of their land - and
the adjacent expanse of rainforest that backed it.  They immediately pledged to develop Rancho Pacifico with
the strictest adherence to environmental common sense - and new "green" building models and standards.

 

​

E N V I R O N M E N T
The first decision was to limit  the cutting of trees.
Each of 11 buildings was placed in the trees - even the designs were altered in a few cases to fit the space. 
We carefully transplanted hundreds of palms, ferns , and flowers  to form our beautiful natural gardens.  We
created entries that conformed with the terrain.  We even dug building sites and pools by hand - choosing to
minimize the use of heavy machinery - practically to "0".  We carefully avoided creating runoff paths for water
that could eventually taint local water supplies in the village below.

 

The next move was to round up the few landowners of the adjoining primary rainforest in the hopes that
they would agree to place - along with ours - a portion of land for preservation.  The result is a 250 acre
private rainforest preserve - teeming with wildlife, birds, reptiles, waterfalls,  and thousands of plant
species, for us to feel good about and enjoy.

​

O U R   D E V E L O P M E N T
With farm-raised wood in short supply - and natural, local wood out of the question, we decided to focus on
building with steel and concrete.  We incorporated beautiful wood beams (molina) in a few areas which were
purchased from a tree farm - good for the economy.  The decision to use heavy materials provided large
challenges based on our "up the mountain" location - but we did it anyway.  Rancho Pacifico has won design
awards and we feel good about the minimal impact  our development plan has had.

Concrete was sealed with natural stucco and painted with toxic free paints.
We collected natural stone finishes from all over South and Central America - which grace all of the buildings,
both outside and in.  We use natural fertilizers, organic insecticides (sparingly), and pump water without
motors 400 feet uphill from our natural springs.

Basically RP was constructed by 10 guys with hand tools and a lot of energy.  They lived and worked on the
property for 3 years and applied their well-honed skills to compliment Garrison's designs.  It was (and still
is) a labor of love all around.

​

C O M M U N I T Y
The third area of ecological importance to Rancho Pacifico has to do with the financial condition of the
relatively undeveloped area around Uvita.  It has been a peaceful if not prosperous area.  Few opportunities
for gainful employment existed in the past nor did the motivation for higher education.  We saw this situation
changing as development moved in - and were pioneers in providing training and financial promise to locals.

Rancho Pacifico now employs 15 native Costa Ricans who have learned how to apply their innate hospitality to
a quality hospitality business.  Their financial reach spreads out to a large extended sphere of individuals
positively impacted by both management and the generosity of RP's guests.  RP has been cited as a pioneer
in the establishment of the growing luxury sector of tourism in Costa Rica.  Economists favor this type of
development because it benefits every citizen of this unique country.

In addition, scores of local entrepreneurs benefit from taking RP's guests to the hotel, on horseback rides,
mangrove tours and snorkel trips and providing us with food, furniture and building materials....and on and
on.  We are Uvita's largest employer and are proud to see the quality of life improve for the growing RP family.

We also have stood up for sustainable and low impact development methods as a way to demonstrate the
practicality of "doing well by doing good".  We have built relationships with local people in an attempt to help
stave off  ill feelings toward North Americans who have simply moved in oblivious to the culture and
traditional ways. Recently we have participated in the building of safe sidewalks for school-children in Uvita
to help insure their safety and security.   We operate as grateful guests - determined to leave the place
better than we found it.

​
Simply, we love Costa Rica - and are doing what we can to help it sustain its magic despite the unavoidable
intrusion of the modern world.