The aim is to empower local community members and create skills that will foster a healthy independence from economic fluctuations. At the same time the project serves as a case study for future developers – showing that the cleanest water comes from the sky and the most reliable energy source is independent.

A practical demonstration that aside from the obvious securities of living ‘off grid,’ the best development, and consequently the best long term investment, is one that invests in the local people and community.

Click the video below for a virtual tour of sustainable development at work in Nicaragua:

We’d love to take you on a tour of this project. Just contact us to set this up.

Brooke Rundle

Scoring another first for the region, she’s also been working hand-in-hand with developer Tim Kelly on building an Earthship – an innovative green home built almost entirely out of recycled materials.

A green real estate momentum is rapidly building here in Nicaragua. Just last month, the Association of Nicaraguan Investors and Developers (ANID) hosted its first green real estate seminar in Managua. The turnout was huge and the excitement contagious.

Reporter Blake Schmidt was at the event and wrote an article for the Nica Times on what he heard. It was there that he met Brooke Rundle and learned about our green real estate tours showcasing the very best in green investment opportunities in the country.

The green agenda is one of the most important issues or “waves” of the day. History tells us that it’s the truly great investors, in any field, who learn how to identify, respect and leverage waves such as this one.

Greg McAdoo, Partner at Sequoia Capital a venture capital firm that has invested in Cisco, Google, Apple, Yahoo, PayPal, YouTube and many others, uses a surfing metaphor: “A great surfer could not exist without a great wave.” Surfers realize that they can’t change the direction of the wave but the best ones pick the right surfboard, and the right moment to ride the wave somewhere special.

A tipping point

We’re reaching a tipping point – where a critical mass of people understand that green investing is the most competitive thing they can do. Here in Nicaragua, we’re still at the beginning of this green trend. But if you want to know where things are headed, just stand on the southern coast of Nicaragua and look south.

You’ll see Costa Rica pointing far out to sea – the text book example of investors putting their money into “eco-sensitive”, “earth friendly”, “low impact”, “green” real estate.

A special three day private tour with innovative insider access

We’ve designed a three day, dedicated green real estate tour where we showcase five remarkable projects painted in different shades of green and all offering the kind of investment and lifestyle opportunities smart buyers want to be a part of. Rock solid projects where you can invest in a way that helps produce a healthy, livable world for you and your family.

We think you’ll like what you see.

That’s why we’ll cover all in-country expenses over the three days, with no obligation whatsoever.

Can real estate investors “do well” while “doing good”? Can local communities in Nicaragua benefit from the massive growth in real estate investing in the country? Is there a sweet spot where charitable initiatives increase investment return and social welfare at the same time?

These thorny questions get at the heart of what responsible property investing is all about. Investing that creates value in society and the environment while at the same time being financially profitable. This is the sort of “win–win” situation that everyone likes to be part of.

Community REfund, an initiative launched in 2007, is offering the simple solution to achieving just that. The REfund model encourages every participant in a real estate transaction to contribute funds at the time of closing. There are at least 5 participants in a standard transaction: the buyer, the seller, the real estate agent, the title insurance company and the legal firm. Add a bit of peer pressure and you have all the ingredients for a powerful funding mechanism.

“As a foreigner who both benefits and contributes to the rapid real estate development of Nicaragua, I believe it is my responsibility to support programs which serve to provide opportunities for the mutual advancement among local communities.” Brooke Rundle, Coldwell Banker Nicaragua Real Estate.

“We are proud to offer our services pro-bono to Community REfund, an initiative vital to the long term sustainability of Nicaragua’s real estate and tourism sector.” Terencio Garcia, Managing Partner, Garcia & Bodan.

To ensure that contributions make a real difference on the ground, Community REfund has two main programs – the Savings Start program supporting small business owners and micro-enterprise development and Community Bridge targeting community led projects in key real estate investing areas.

At the heart of these programs is an asset based approach to alleviating poverty and encouraging community development. Assets such as an education, a property or a successful business increase self sufficiency on an individual and family level, while adding to the economic stability of the community in general. This thinking links logically back to the REfund funding driver – a real estate transaction – fundamentally, an asset building activity in itself.

“The Association of Nicaraguan Investors and Developers has chosen Community REfund to be its core charitable program. We encourage our members to support the program to ensure that local communities benefit from real estate development activity.” Tuey Murdock, Board Member, Association of Nicaraguan Investors and Developers (ANID) and First American Title Services, Nicaragua.

Community REfund joins well established social responsibility programs active in Nicaragua such as the Fundación A. Jean Brugger, part of Pelican Eyes…Piedras y Olas, a luxury resort in San Juan del Sur and the Nica Dev fund run by Donn Wilson, real estate developer and social entrepreneur.

“If we can get responsible property investing right in Nicaragua, at this stage in the property development cycle, we’ll be creating a foundation for long term value not only for real estate investments but for local communities and society at large.” Chris Berry, Pelican Eyes…Piedras y Olas and Fundación A. Jean Brugger.

The smart thing to do as well as the right thing to do

Jon Thompson, Program Director at Community REfund (and director of Communidad Connect which oversees the mechanics of both Savings Start and Community Bridge) has an excitement about the initiative that is contagious. In the Monthly REfund newsletter, he reports that Community REfund has already begun to make a difference in San Juan del Sur. A community well has been constructed in Bernardino and water filters have been installed throughout the rural countryside. The Savings Start program is now opening up registration to its first 15 local micro entrepreneurs.

“Community REfund is a great initiative which gives investors, realtors and developers the opportunity to make a difference in the local community. I think it is important that the people living and investing in Nicaragua give back. I try and stress this to my clients.” Zach Lunin, Aurora Beachfront Realty.

With support from across the Nicaraguan real estate investment community, from brokers, to developers to investors, Community REfund is poised to make a big difference to the lives of local communities in Nicaragua. There is much more information on the initiative at www.communityrefund.org Have a browse through the site, link to it, spread the word, get involved, and help make real estate investing in Nicaragua an engine for community development and social and financial stability.

Today we started compacting the floors.

It looks like we’ll be laying tiles, but we have received various ideas from local builders on the best method for laying them. Ideas range from concrete slabs to laying them into the clay earth to everything in between.

There’s no rush, so we’ll be moving on to other areas of the building as we investigate local methods.

The trusses are being reset to 2′, previously spaced for 4′, the second tire (formed) window has been set, and the site has received a preliminary cleaning as all of the surplus tires have been stacked and accounted for.

They will be used to build new Earthships as the passion for green real estate in Nicaragua grows.

And people are blogging about Earthships and the logic of green building. Here are some of the best blogs and posts citing Earthships in Canada, throughout Europe, Australia and of course Taos, New Mexico where it all started.

• The first Earthship to be built in England was Earthship Brighton, on the south coast. The Guardian covered the story and it looks like more Earthships are to follow on a prime development site overlooking the Brighton Marina.
• We hear from treehugger how the Earthship concept crossed the English channel to Normandy, France.
• In September last year the CNN described Earthships as future-proof buildings in an article covering the Earthships of New Mexico.
• True to their strap-line “inspired people creating positive change,” EcoSpace Conscious Community are helping spread the word about these houses made out of tires.
• Over at off-grid-net we hear news of Earthships in Spain, Portugal, Greece and Ireland.
• Another plug about the logic of recycling what is normally garbage and making it into a home courtesy of fudgeforbreakfast in the spirit of making a difference.
• Hat tip to Our Earthship for charting a journey towards sustainable living.
• Windmill power and Earthships just might be “the wave of the future” according to Windmills To Power your Home.
• And Paradoxes of Whole Living talks about the New Mexico Earthship work and links to photos of a Canadian example.
• A list like this wouldn’t be complete without a link out to Earthship Biotecture, the group who started it all and a resource for all things Earthship.

What about back here in Nicaragua?

Nicaragua real estate. Going green?

The logic of Earthships and green building is also catching on here in Nicaragua.

With the building of the first Nicaraguan Earthship well underway, we think we are witnessing the start of a green movement in Nicaragua real estate.

The waiting game for the wood has begun. We’re not talking about that much lumber, but the complications of material acquisition in Nicaragua are becoming clearer everyday. This is all good ground work for the Earthships that will follow. And the nice thing about this green building project is that there is always plenty to be done.

Today we poured the footings for the wing walls and made an aggressive hit on the adobe interior of the two larger rooms. We have decided that the doors for the end walls and bathrooms should reach the same height as the arched doors to the bedroom and living area. The doors will be seven feet by three feet and three inches. We’re starting to see a nice symmetry emerging in the design.

The bond beams on the greenhouse have been poured and are ready to receive trusses. Leaving the site in the very capable hands of Phil Basehart and Seth Larsen (Earthship Biotecture), project manager Dave Kniffin headed off on a supply run.

Check out the Granada Tiles! (Granada is a beautiful historic colonial city located on the shores of Lake Nicaragua around 90 minutes drive away.) The tiles are hand made in Nicaragua and normally exported to the US and Spain. But they were virtually given to us by a neighboring land owner who likes our project and happens to own the company that makes them.

The building is beginning its transformation from a solid structure, to a work of art…

Thanks to Jo, Tim, and Lauren for their extra help at the site today.

Yesterday I was promised by one fellow based out of Rivas that the sand would arrive before 7:00am, an hour and a half before the road crew arrives. I was also promised by a more local building supply store that the 60 cement bags I had ordered would also arrive before 8:00am and that we were first on the priority list for the day.

As we pulled into the site at 6:55am, the truck full of 9 cubic meters of sand was already being unloaded.

The day began with more concrete work on the water catchment system, making sure all drains were slopped at the proper angle. There is also a significant amount of mud/adobe plasterwork underway and it is drying very well. This is the time of year for making mud since it has plenty of time to cure during this dry season.

But all work slowed to a crawl as the last bag of cement was consumed at about 8:30am… We were able to keep busy, but the efficiency of work was clearly lacking for about an hour. The nice thing about building Earthships, is that there will always be dirt to move or sift and tires to pound.

At about 9:45am, the cement arrived.

Of course by this time the road was impassable. As we have done before, we hiked it to the site much like ants marching up a hill.

The day continued and progress was made. Just another good Nica-story…