NOTE:  This text was started before my trip to Lima but finished a couple of weeks later.  

Ok  guys, time is passing by, my trip to Peru is approaching, so let’s get this overview of what was accomplished and what was not during our visit to Costa Rica.  I’ll try to be succinct, but there are a few topics to deal with.

MINAE

This is a very important one.  Put it simply, we will not truly own the land until we have this issue settled.  To recapitulate, when we bought the land with Cristobal, we hired the services of Alex Hernandez, a topographer contacted by Cristobal, to have a new map of the land made and presented to the government agency of the IDA for approval, and to register it in the Catastro Nacional.  This was all done and accomplished under the name of La Ceiba, which is the name of the corporation that originally Albo and I were part of.  When we bought the land from Don Asdrubal, the maps were under his name.  Also to recapitulate, it’s very rare to find property in Osa that has been titled.  According to law, in Costa Rica one is able to claim the land if there has been peaceful occupation of it for more than 10 years.  However, it is possible to buy the rights of ownership from some one, which is what is normally done in the area.  After this, the next step is to have the Mapa Catastrados issued under the name of the new owner.

Upon splitting with Cristobal, we hired Alex to make a new map that will reflect the percentage of the land that belonged to Five Wisdoms.  This was done 2 years ago, in 2007.  Since originally the land bought from don Asdrubal was comprised of 2 properties, one on each side of the road, we agreed with Cristobal that Five Wisdoms will keep the 5 hectare one across the road, and we will split the 21 hectare one on the other side of the road.  Well, this was done by Alex., and new maps were presented to the MINAE.  Now, when we bought the land the government agency in charge of it was the IDA, but because of accusation of corruption this agency was closed and it’s rights given to the Minae.  Once the Minae received the maps, it sent 2 inspectors to corroborate their accuracy.  This was done also while I was there 1 year ago, and after that the Minae should have approved and issued the new maps.  However a year passed and nothing happened.  It seems that before final approval, there is a man called Carlos Polanco who works in the Puerto Jimenez office of the Minae that should have sent a report to the Golfito office.  Well, after a lot of insistence on Alex\s part, he found out that Polanco had lost the report, so new copies of the Maps had to be presented again this year.  I had to this myself, as Alex’s was without a car, so I went to the office of the Minae in Golfito and met with a very nice lady called Wendy.  She had our file handy and was aware of the whole situation, and was very happy to see one of the owners going instead of a topographer.  Well, a presented all the documents again.  However the law has changed and now in order to present the documents, I had to demonstrate that I had the right to represent Five Wisdoms and also present company’s documents.  Just by accident I had a copy of the constitution of the company with me and a copy of our cedula juridica, so I was able to do this.  Wendy gave me her contact information to keep on top of this and also asked me to contact Polanco, which I have not been able to do yet.  Alex told me that Mr. Polanco accepts bribes in order to expedite the process, but told me he didn’t do that.  But I think that if we can get everything moving faster, we should do it.

Also, when I picked up the maps that Alex sent me, I was surprised to learn that I had to leave $50 for expenses in order to pick them up.  Alex had not mentioned this when we had spoken.  I also learn, upon reviewing the documents, that there was no new map of the smaller lot.  When I talk to Alex about this, he says he had no idea he was supposed to do this, which of course, it’s not true.  So I asked him to present also this map for a change of name from La Ceiba to Five Wisdoms. 

So you see, I think that this on its own is a big and complex issue that needs full attention in order to be properly solved.  We can’t leave it to Cristobal, as nothing got done, and nothing will get done unless we stay on top of it.  I know, that some of us have expressed in the past the desire to stay in the background of the development of the community, but to be honest, this is not what was presented originally to anyone, and everyone that got involved in Five Wisdoms did it knowingly of the commitment it represented.  Bottom line: if we want to see this Project develops and proper we ALL have to get involved.  There is no other way. 

ALFREDO

I have mention some of this in prior email, but the care taker has developed into a major concern in the development of the project.  I never had very high hopes in Alfredo, and upon arriving to San Jose I met with Alvaro who told me that very little works had been done in the land, Alfredo had been renting the land to people that wanted to keep their horses there, and nothing had been planted.  Well, basically this was all true.  When we arrived we realized that the grounds around the house had not been properly up kept, and that at least half of the property had not been cleaned.  We only found one horse that didn’t belong to us, but it seemed that the rest had been taken out not very long ago.  The amount of horse shit in the property couldn’t have been produced by two horses. 

Nevertheless, without any sense of guilt, Alfredo started from the beginning to complain about not having received his end of the year bonus, and his vacation pay.  Since I had no knowledge of Costa Rican labor law, I told him that we would pay him everything he was entitled to by law, but that I needed to talk to our lawyer first in order to find out exactly what the law said.  He didn’t take this very well, as he thought this was just an excuse not to pay him.  Also, it was very difficult to make him understand (I don’t think he ever did) that the agreed salary was 130,000 colones and not 150,000.  What we had agreed last March with Carlos is that his salary would be 130,000, but that we will pay for him to but insurance as a self employed, and that we will also pay 12,000 for the person that stayed taking care of the Finca the 4 days a month that Alfredo goes out.  Alfredo is entitled to 1 free day a week and because of the difficulty and expense of going out, he puts together the 4 days and goes out once a month.  He was convinced (or wanted to be) that he was still paying the extra help from his own money!  So needless to say, he wanted the bonus and vacation pay calculated over 150,000 and not 130,000.

Now, it was obvious that he didn’t work very hard during the year, and when we arrive it means work, serious business for a short period of time.  Well, he wanted to take off from the beginning, and eventually did.  In his small mind, he is convinced that he is just getting paid to look over the house and property but no to do any actual work!  He even told me that he was helping us build for free!

We had a strong exchange of words before he left for 4 days, which was totally unwarranted and inappropriate, so upon his return I decided to fire him.  In the mean time I started the search for the new care taker. Unfortunately none of the candidates would have worked for us.  It is almost funny to find out that almost everyone wanted the job once the word was out that we were looking for a care taker.  Even don Concho from Poor Man's Paradise offered his services!  Obviously, he was thinking in his own interests.  His is always in the lookout of more grazing lands for his horses, and what an ideal scenario it would be to get paid instead of having to pay to have his horses in our land.  Christine talked to Ronald, who used to be Jonathan’s right hand for almost 5 years and he was very interested.  He wanted a little more money than Alfredo, 180,000 but was not willing to live in Alfredo's quarters.  He wanted to live in our house while he built his own.  Albo and I were both very interested in having Ronald in the land, but the prospect of giving him total autonomy over the land without any of us being there was not a good idea.  In order to have someone like Ronald we need to have a more developed infrastructure, a permanent water system and a better care taker house.  I have taken pictures of Alfredo's house and it is really a shack and we should include in our future projects to build a better house for the care taker, especially if we would like to have a family living there, which would be a good idea.  Isolation is not really healthy for anyone.

There was another couple who looked very promising and was highly recommended by Jimmy, and American neighbor, Carlos and his wife, but they have three girls and Alfredo's house was not adequate.  Also I learned that Carlos owns cattle in Los Planes, so there was a likelihood that our land would have ended up being used for that.  And he wanted $700 a month!

Don Jose, our neighbor on the other side of Rio Claro was interested as was one of his cousins.  Again, the downside is that it was highly unlikely that any of them would actually live in the land, which will leave the property alone most of the time.

There was a very young kid recommended by Danny, Alexis, whom I almost hired, but I learned that he had not done a good job in his prior care taking job; his family owned horses and lived close by, so again, most likely he wouldn't live in the land.  Gusano also wanted the job, but we already fired him once (through Alvaro) back in 2007 because of his drinking habits.  Danny was the last to offer his services, but fortunately I had already rehired Alfredo.  Danny is a very good worker, but a difficult man and an alcoholic.  I have to say that I didn't see him drunk this time, and his family visited us often, which strengthen our relationship, but I personally don't want to deal with the possibility of having a drunken man living in our land.

So having only a few days left before departure I rehired ALfredo, who asked for a second chance, excuse himself for his out of line behavior and showed a good work attitude during the last few days.  He offered to leave without compensation if next year we are not happy with his work.  And he signed a one year contract.

I don't know if I am repeating myself but it is now very important to pay his social security medical care.  So far we have given him money for s self employed medical insurance, but Miguel Saenz, our lawyer, was very emphatic in the fact that in case of a major accident or death, this will not protect us legally in case of being sued by a family member or himself, as it is the law to pay for an employee soc. sec.  I have asked Miguel to do all necessary paper work, but haven't heard back from him.

PLANTINGS

As I said before, very little has been planted in the land, and not very efficiently.  The pineapples were planted without preparing the land and they will not yield any pineapples.  Alfredo planted a lot of trees from branches without making them ready and they didn't survive.  50 amarillones (wood trees) are growing in a hill close to his house.  They seem doing well, but the location is not great.  But most fruit trees take about 8 years to grow and give fruit, so if we want to enjoy them in the future we need to start planting today.  Alfredo is not the right person to do this, so we need to hire someone else, and also we need to buy the tress and ornamental plants from a plant nursery.  And we need to budget this, as we presently don't have the money. Johnaton has offered to make a land design and buy plants for us, and direct the planting.  Johnaton is knowledgeable and has some permaculture studies, and to hire him for this will strengthen our relationship which tends to be rocky.  Danny and family could be hired for the planting, they are good at tha5t.  Danny has also offered to plant trees in our land.

JOHNATON

Johnaton, the owner of Guaria de OSa, the retreat center Christine and Peggy work with, told me that he could keep an eye on our land for us if we let him keep his 4 horses part time in our smaller lot.  I agreed as we are not really planting there at the moment, and I told Alfredo that Johnaton is the only person authorized to bring horses to the land.  In exchange, Johnaton will let us know if there are other animals in the land or if he sees any suspicious activity.

However, Miguel, our lawyer, recommended that we write a rental contract with Johnaton and having him pay us something, even if it's just $1 a month, as otherwise he could gain rights over our land.  I have not done this yet.  If Jeffrey is going to the land soon, maybe he could take care of this.

WHAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED

During our stay we accomplished the following:

Front Patio

Construction part of showers

Screening of the storage

Painting of the house

Partial treatment of the wood

Building of a compost toilet unit

Roofing of the water well

Temporary installation of a water pump

Purchase of a second sun panel

Purchase of all basic necessary power tools for future projects

Installation of outdoor zinc

We need to:

Permanently install the water pump and all plumbing

Screen all bedrooms

Also, we need to buy another battery for the solar system, and permanently install the system

It will also be good to buy a smaller generator that would be installed outdoors, to feed the water pump.  This will allow year round use of the system.

Kitchen cabinets and counter

Furniture

FUTURE PROJECTS

As you see we have almost reached the end of this first stage of development agreed when we purchase the land.  All remaining projects are small compared to what has already been achieved.

This will free us of the commitment to have to put labor time every year in site.  I propose that some projects in the future are proposed as individual projects.  For example, I would like to build a small bungalow near the main house for my family.  The house is too small for several families to share the space at the same time, so it would be great for example to have the house for the children and separate bedrooms/cottages for the adults.  The construction of these will not necessarily be a group project/commitment.  Just an idea. The interesting side of this idea is that we could develop a kind of small village that will allow us to bring groups to the land in the future.  Let's not forget that one of our goals is to make this project self sustaining.

COMPENSATION

Last year we had in the land a long discussion in how to compensate the members that will do work in the land that other couldn’t do or didn’t have the time to do.  We agreed to pay me $80 a day. We also agreed that members that could not come this year will pay a certain amount to compensate for the work they were not able to put into the project.  This year, so far, only Albo and I were able to work in the land.  Albo worked for two weeks and I did for three and a half, approximately. 

Now, last year was a special case because I was the only partner able to stay to build the house, and in order to do so I had to extend my stay in OSA, so we agreed that 5 Wisdoms will pay me.  After careful consideration, I don’t really this is the best way to go if more than one member is able to work.  I suggest that we estimate the investment that the actual work represents and then this investment is matched by all members in money.  So instead of paying the members that were able to go and work (in this case Albo and me) the rest invests an equivalent amount in money into the project.

If we use the $80 a day as guideline, 3 weeks will represent $1,200 (let’s say five days a week).  So I put $1,200 in work and Albo did $800.  So far Jaime has given me an extra $500 as compensation for the work he couldn’t do.  So he has paid $1,500 instead of $1,000 like the rest of us.

Carlos remembers that we had agreed that the members that couldn’t come will pay an extra $1,000 instead.  I don’t remember this but maybe Krista has it in his last year’s notes.  Please let me know if this is the case.

I suggest we estimate the $800 of Albo´s investment as a guideline.  The extra $400 that I put in work could be a credit that I have pending against next years´ investment.

We need to reach an agreement regarding this.  If we all agree in the $800, then Jeffrey and Carlos will owe an extra $800, and Jaime $300 more.  We need to reach a prompt agreement on this, as we only have about $1,000 left in the account at this time.  I have received $1,000 from Carlos here in Lima, and I have $500 from Jaime.  It would be better to put all the money together and sent it in one wire to CR, but we need to have it in the next one or two months.  Since I will be in Spain, Albo or Jeffrey could wire the money.  I can send Jaime and Carlos money to one of them once we are all ready.

Last Conversation with Alfredo on March 30

I had a telephone conversation with Alfredo last Monday when he called Carlos here in Lima.  There is a couple of bad news.  The first is that someone started a small fire in the land while Alfredo was away.  I think the Danny’s family put the fire out.  We don’t know who started it and why.  I don’t think anyone has anything against us, but someone might have something against Alfredo.  Maybe someone is not happy that we rehired him, I don’t know.  Fortunately only a small extension of grass was burnt.  Monica, Johnaton´s girlfriend took some pictures, but I have not received them.  I will write Johnaton asking for them and also it he knows anything about it.

The other bad news is that the water well has dried out.  It seems this was an intense summer and we had very little rain.  The water level was already coming down while we were there.  Rains have started again, and I am sure the water will again flow into the well, but I am now certain that we need to deepen it, at least two meters in case we have another dry season next summer.  Alfredo is going to hire someone to deepen it at least one meter before it fills again.  But eventually we should go down 4 to 6 meters.  This is CRUCIAL for everything we are doing.  Alfredo is for the time being forced to bring water from the river.

As you know, it is very difficult to talk to Alfredo on the phone, unfortunately.  When I left, he asked me to receive 180,000 colones instead of the 150,000 he was receiving.  As you know, by contract his salary is only 140,000 so the rest of the money is send as payment for other expenses, to lower our liability.  I told him I will raise it to 160,000 to compensate for the increase of cost of living, but I needed to bring his request to the whole group.  As it has taken me forever to gather the necessary strength to write this report, I have not done it so far.  I will send him 180,000 this month, as he wants to buy some wood he has been offered that he will use to raise the water tank.  Let’s see, it is good that he takes the initiative to advance our project on his own, by raising the water tank and deepening the well.  So I will send the extra 20,000 to pay for this, but I need to hear your opinions in order to make this permanent.  One part of me wants to say no, as his last year’s performance was poor and it would be like giving him a prize he doesn’t deserve.  But on the other hand we need him to be happy until next year.  So I am all ears.

Well friends, I hope you have the strength to get to the end of this report.  I am no in Peru, and should have surgery in the next few days, so I anted to send this out before that.  After the surgery I will be out of the loop for a week or so, but please start the exchange among you.

Blessings to all,

Abelardo

 New Balance

Abelardo Oquendo

1. Member participation.  It seems to be that is increasingly difficult to coordinate activities and responsibilities with all members.  I need to remind you that all of us bought into a communal effort and that effort is needed for the success of the project.  I can't do it all and your lack of participation puts the whole project at risk.  It's been particularly difficult to keep in touch with Carlos, who still owes money from last year.
2. Current situation with the MINAE and the title of the land.
3. Alfredo.  Our care taker is giving us a lot of trouble.  I fired him but was forced to rehire him.  We have now a contract in place but I have been forced to learn a lot about Costarican employment law.  You all need to be updated on this and there are important decisions to be made for the near future.  I must emphasize that we could be liable for a lot of money if we don't manage this issue properly.
4. Partnership with Jonhaton for horses and supervision of Alfredo's work.
5. Plantings.
   

no logro colgar mi texto Logo, aver si me das apoyo técnico