WHERE IS COSTA RICA?
Costa Rica, (officially the Republic of Costa Rica) is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the east and south, the Pacific Ocean to the west and south and the Caribbean Sea to the east. Costa Rica, which means "Rich Coast", constitutionally abolished its army permanently in 1949. It is the only Latin American country included in the list of the worldas 22 older democracies. Costa Rica has consistently been among the top Latin American countries in terms of the Human Development Index, and ranked 54th in the world in 2007. The country is ranked 3rd in the world, and 1st among the Americas, in terms of the 2010 Environmental Performance Index. Due to the high quality of its human capital, Costa Rica is the world's fourth largest exporter of high technology. In 2007 the Costa Rican government announced plans for Costa Rica to become the first carbon neutral country by 2021. According to the New Economics Foundation, Costa Rica ranks first in the Happy Planet Index and is the "greenest" country in the world
WHAT IS ALL THIS 'PURA VIDA' ABOUT? WHAT DOES IT ACTUALLY MEAN?
Pura vida literally means "pure life", but the meaning is closer to "full of life", "purified life", "this is living!", "going great", or "cool!" It can be used as a greeting, as a word of farewell, to express satisfaction, or to politely express indifference when describing something. The phrase has become widely known; this highly flexible statement has been used by many Costa Ricans (and expatriates) since 1956. Some foreigners view the phrase as an expression of a leisurely lifestyle, of disregard for time, and of wanton friendliness. However, Costa Ricans use the phrase to express a philosophy of strong community, perseverance, resilience in overcoming difficulties with good spirits, enjoying life slowly, and celebrating good fortune of magnitudes small and large alike.
WHAT IS ECOTOURISM?
Ecotourism is responsible travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that strives to be low impact and (often) small scale. It purports to educate the traveller; provide funds for conservation; directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local communities; and foster respect for different cultures and for human rights. Eco tourism is held as important by those who participate in it so that future generations may experience aspects of the environment relatively untouched by human intervention. Ecotourism typically involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. One of the goals of ecotourism is to offer tourists insight into the impact of human beings on the environment, and to foster a greater appreciation of our natural habitats.
WHAT IS AN 'ECOLODGE'?
An ecolodge (or eco house) is an environmentally low-impact home designed and built using materials and technology that reduces its carbon footprint and lowers its energy needs
WHAT DOES 'GREEN BUILDING' MEAN?
Green Building, also known as and green construction or sustainable building, is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle: from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction. This practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort. Green buildings are designed to reduce the overall impact of the built environment on human health and the natural environment by: Efficiently using energy, water, and other resources, protecting occupant health and improving employee productivity, and reducing waste, pollution and environmental degradation
WHAT IS 'ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS'?
One of the core values at PuraVidaEcolodge is a basic understanding of natural and social systems as this is integral to a sustainable relationship with the environment. Therefore, we aim to concentrate on educating both ourselves and our design team throughout the development stages. This will of course continue once we open our doors with spontaneous individual learning through the opportunities that are present throughout the landscape of PuraVidaEcolodge
WHAT IS 'SUSTAINABILITY'?
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. In ecology the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. For humans it is the potential for long-term maintenance of wellbeing, which in turn depends on the wellbeing of the natural world and the responsible use of natural resources. Sustainability has become a wide-ranging term that can be applied to almost every facet of life on Earth, from local to a global scale and over various time periods. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems. Invisible chemical cycles redistribute water, oxygen, nitrogen and carbon through the world's living and non-living systems, and have sustained life for millions of years. As the earth’s human population has increased, natural ecosystems have declined and changes in the balance of natural cycles has had a negative impact on both humans and other living systems
WHAT IS 'SOCIAL SUSTAINABILITY'?
At PuraVidaEcolodge, our Management Team will be committed to continuous cooperation and open dialogue with our neighbours in the villages of Tres Rios and Corinado, and indeed throughout the south pacific zone of Costa Rica. It is our intention that, through this ongoing dialogue, mutually beneficial solutions can be found for any challenges or conflicts that might arise
THE IMPORTANCE OF 'POSITIVE IMPACT'
Our Design and Operations teams are committed to minimising the impact of our activities on the land we occupy and to ensuring that any disturbances will be offset by positive action in the form of tree planting and the support of like-minded sustainability efforts
Our intention at PuraVidaEcolodge is to 'eliminate negative environmental impact completely through skillful and sensitive design'. It is a philosophy that can be applied in the fields of architecture, interior design & landscape architecture as well as the day to day running of the accommodation (and concierge) service. Sustainable design is mostly a general reaction to the global environmental crises (the rapid growth of economic activity and human population, the depletion of natural resources, the damage to ecosystems and to the loss of biodiversity).
In architecture, sustainable design is not the attachment or supplement of architectural design, but an integrated design process. This requires close co-operation of the design team, the architects, the engineers and the client at all project stages, from the site selection, scheme formation, material selection and procurement and project implementation. The design of PuraVidaEcolodge has many important elements:
Ecological building design - Bioclimatic and solar passive houses - Alternative building materials such as Bamboo - Energy saving and production - The implementation of Solar panels & heat collectors -Rainwater catchment and storage - Graywater treatment - Natural air conditioning - Composting toilets