the osa peninsula

The idea of this website is to centralize the local information, about people and practices and causes and news and art and healing and conservation and sustainable living into a neat little accessible package called a website, and release it, expose it, network it with the world. 

It is in a sense, a Journal of Sustainable Living, as practiced in the Osa Peninsula.  And it will connect this community with other communities, both physical communities and virtual communities. 

It benefits our community in that it allows our community to get it’s information about it’s goods and services, natural treasures, threats, and concerns, events, and talents out to a world  that is remote, but that by the magic of Internet and the World Wide Web, which we are now tied into.  We can use this technology to pursue our vision and our mission to heal the planet and to care take this amazing little corner of it, to protect and preserve, while at the same time, sharing it’s beauty and awesomeness with those who have the opportunity to visit, and with those who never may have that opportunity. 

This is still the frontier.  It is not yet gone.  We are those pioneers out front with the arrows in our backs, leading the way for a new consciousness of our surroundings and a new vision that includes far more than our own personal dreams, and connects, networks, as it were, with others who are drawn here for  reasons that many still cannot explain.  

Peace,

tao

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I’m a birder now. Not for finally laying eyes on the secretive Resplendent Quetzal, nor for stalking the wily Motmot (been there, done that). No, I earned my wings for killing one. A chicken.

I’m mostly a vegetarian now. Not out of concern for the tender sensibilities of my fellow creatures; rather from caring for the planet. After power generation, industrial meat production is the next largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, methane farts and all (transportation ranks third). Not to mention the absurdly large portion of the earth's surface devoted to making meat, and all the habitat destruction, groundwater contamination, etc. For more grim meaty facts, check out Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, or this TED talk by food writer Mark Bittman; also on YouTube (by the way, if this your first visit to TED, go explore—refined essence of brilliance from the world’s best and brightest).

All the same, you gotta eat, right? Pablo, owner of the small tropical homestead where I’m staying, keeps poultry. A paltry few. Layers and fryers. They eat kitchen scraps; a convenient and tidy relationship. The layers are easy, and truly fresh eggs are a treat. But when a Boa Constrictor started picking off the fryers, we figured it was our turn.

Eat what you kill, kill what you eat. So I did the deed (they really do keep flapping and twitching long after they’ve lost their heads). Then you pluck ‘em. Boiling hot water scalds the skin, and feathers come out in messy wet handfuls. Smells like wet dog. Then I steeled myself for the gutting. “Just like cleaning a fish,” I told myself as I reached in. Only it was warm inside, and made sucking sounds as I pulled fistfuls of entrails out of the cavity.

Gradually, it started looking more like the chickens I was familiar with—naked and headless! I was finally on firmer ground, foodwise. A mess of minced garlic, handful of garden-fresh chopped basil, olive oil, salt, pepper; work it under the skin and into the cavity; roast for an hour at 425. Voila!

I wish I could say it was a tender and delectable treat. But this was one tough old bird. Tasty, but chewy. Thinly sliced, the breast meat will be good for a few sandwiches. The rest should make some fine chicken stock for soups and sauces.

Anyway, that’s how I earned my feathers. Braawwk!

by Rob Lerner,

Check out his blogsite:  Baja Rob's Jungle Jots

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Ropa Americanas

I am a very practical person. And I have had money, and not had money. Since becoming a single mother, I have had less than ever, and usually live on a modest budget of about 175,000 colons a month, which granted, is more than some of my neighbors, and less than others. The other day, I checked out a new store that opened in our town. It is an Army/Navy surplus style store, with camping gear, sportswear, and lots of cool stuff. I tried on a really nice pair of Columbia Sportswear shorts. They were comfortable, fit well, and I liked them. Then I looked at the price tag. $34. My mind calculated: that is close to 14,000 colones for a pair of shorts! A few days before, I had been at the Ropa Americana that is run by some Evangelica church ladies in our town. They receive bundles of clothing every few weeks, and it is sometimes a madhouse of local women picking through the goods to find the great stuff. I splurged and spent 12,500 colones. But this is what I got: 3 dresses, 6 tank tops, a linen blouse, 2 pairs of Capri pants, a pair of Levis, and a pair of shorts, plus a Hawaiian style shirt for my son, and a set of sheets. All famous maker and designer brands, in excellent condition.

All my girlfriends here shop at Ropa Americana. We have a great time doing it together, and then we often trade clothes that we think might look better on someone else, and get together to have group swaps.
The only question that has been raised at times is this: aren’t these clothes that come from Salvation Army and Goodwill collections in the states, and are meant for disaster relief in Third World countries? I understand that they help the economy of our town, and make nice things available at a price not only we Gringas can afford, but all our Tica neighbors. We have few retail shops in our town, and fewer that carry the kind of quality of merchandise that is available at a fraction of the price at the Ropa Americanas. This helps the poor and needy, but is it doing so in the way it was originally intended?

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