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Contact us if you are interested in
knowing more about living here |
Email:
info@fincalasbrisas.org
Phone: US 001.813.679.5607
Eastern
Address in Costa Rica:
1.5 Kilometers North of the of school house in
Narjanalito on the Nicoya Peninsula
Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Mailing address in the US:
310 Sea Island Way
Tampa, Florida 33602
If you would
like us to contact you please fill out this quick form:
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A few
Finca Las Brisas community members |
The Baxters
The Baxters reside in Bloomfield Hills,
Mich., near Detroit. Brad is an entrepreneur and founder of
several small companies including a product development and
engineering firm and a pet care product company with
manufacturing near Madison, Wisconsin. Brad’s company,
Automated Pet Care Products, Inc. manufactures the
“Litter-Robot™”self-cleaning kitty litter box. Brad has also
participated in design and engineering projects in the
automotive, medical and consumer goods industries. His
expertise is in product engineering, manufacturing and
materials. Brad was raised in Wisconsin and has a BSME from
the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Margaret is senior
vice president managing operations and international
activity for an automotive trade association based in Troy,
Mich. with offices in Washington, D.C. and Tokyo. She has a
BA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and an MA from
Middlebury College in Vermont. Margaret was born in
Washington, D.C. and raised in Ohio and Michigan. The
Baxters have three daughters ages 5, 10 and 14, and are
active in the local community and schools.
Brad initially learned about the Finca Las
Brisas project through a business contact. Brad trekked to
Costa Rica early on in the project, assisting with surveying
the property, hiking numerous days on the property and
spending time with FLB members reviewing the vision of the
community. After visiting Costa Rica several times and
introducing Margaret and the girls to the natural beauty of
the Samara/Nosara region, Brad began to think long-term
about being part of the project and investing in the
property and the self-sustaining vision for Finca las Brisas.
 Brad
says: “For me, it’s not so much about the sun and the surf,
it’s more about the pristine setting, the amazing natural
beauty, the peaceful pace of life, and the engaging and warm
people in the area. I was captivated from the first moment I
set foot in Costa Rica.” At the same time, the Baxter girls
are most excited about being able to spend time near the
ocean with all of the amazing sea life and scenery. Surfing
and body-surfing are must-do activities for the kids. Brad
and Margaret have tried their hand at surfing as well, but,
like a lot of mid-westerners, don’t exactly have the hang of
it yet. Costa Rica’s predictable climate, fabulous scenery,
and wealth of bird, plant and animal life make every visit a
new adventure.
Initially the Baxters plan to make Costa Rica a vacation
destination, and look forward to sharing the experience with
friends and family. We are very pleased they have decided to
become part of the Las Brisas family and we look forward to
many fun years ahead with this adventurous and fun-loving
family.
Benjamin,
Darlene & Ray Coker
According to Ray, Darlene is the smartest person he as ever
met. Darlene laughs at the idea, but you know, it doesn't
hurt to have smart people around on a project like this.
Both Ray and Darlene own small
consulting/training companies.
http://www.pssi.biz.
Ray's niche is
enterprise project management and has had a
wide diversity of clients ranging from NASA to the US Secret
Service, from IBM to the City of Las Vegas. He has also
worked extensively in residential, commercial, and
government construction project management. Darlene's
company creates event-like training programs for large
companies like Pepsi and Bank of America. (Darlene's son Benjamin was a
little perturbed to discover that Coke products dominate all the
shelves in Costa Rica and is determined to change that.)
When they are not traveling they hang out and sail in Tampa
Bay the the Gulf with
their son Benjamin (age 13 now) and dog Spirit. Ben is also
sails 420s for the Davis Island Yacht Club.
"Ben
has always been one of these kids that likes to get off the
beaten trail, spread his wings a little and explore," say
his parents. Costa Rica, with everything
 new and natural,
and the remote mountainous location of this project are
perfect for him. Ben drew extensive tree-house
designs for the perfect place in one of the large trees down
by the river. His concept is that the tree house could be a place were we can view the wildlife
coming down to the river to drink,
and maybe a place put up a hammock and spend the night.
One of Benjamin's favorite expression is something we
have all been saying is "There are no rules in Costa
Rica! It is like the
Wild West!"
Keith
Jeffery
Keith is a former
corporate salesperson and
today he
rehabs and then sell properties. It was his corporate
experience, when it came
to making this deal work, that helped us keep
perspective and led us in the right direction. This energy and his
expertise is very valuable on the project.
In addition, Keith has direct experience doing community
development and charitable work in third world countries.
There are some plans to help some of our neighbors like the
small school a kilometer away, but we are expecting that his
expertise will help guide much of our involvement. Long term
friend Al Benner, said this about Keith, "He is always up, optimistic,
has nothing to bad to say about anyone, you can count on
him."
Wayne and Victoria (Vicki) McDonald
Wayne is a real hands-on guy. We have all of these
pictures of Wayne from the different trips to Costa Rica,
and they are all of him catching the fish, cracking open the
coconut, climbing the water falls, conducting an
experiment, and in this one, drinking the beer.
Wayne is experienced in construction as a lead carpenter
for a custom home builder in Bucks County PA and Princeton
NJ, and as the design engineer and project manager for PSE
Engineering. Currently Wayne manages a portfolio of rental
properties. Victoria owns a financial planning firm (http://www.lincolninvestment.com). Together they have
three children Madeline age 13, Ian 7, and Gavin 5.
We all have our reasons for being involved in this
project, Wayne explains it this way,
 My family has a passion about nature and the
environment and Costa Rica offers such a diverse
ecosystem we feel that it is something that must be
preserved and because of the culture and
political
support in Costa Rica preservation is possible.
Rebuilding the woodlands on the property and
creating habitats for the wildlife in the area also
gives Victoria and I the opportunity to educate our
children on how an ecosystem works and how we can
effect that system by improving small portions of
that system. We believe that we can not expect
future generations to protect the environment if
they do not know anything about it. Education is the
key to the future of the environment.
The second reason we are involved in the
project is we want to expose our children to as many
other cultures as possible. The people in this rural
area of Costa Rica are wonderful and my family looks
forward to making many new friends.
Finally, my bagpipes are going to sound great
from the top hill at Finca Las Brisas.
Al,
Deena, Coleman and Owen Benner
 Al initiated this
community project with life-long friend
Wayne McDonald (see below). He
visited Costa Rica for the first time in 1993 on an
adventure/fishing trip with three amigos, and after having
experienced the best trip of his life, vowed to return. In
2004 with his wife Deena and another friend, he-revisited CR
and began his search for a property suitable for a community
of people to live more closely with nature and
the local culture.
 An
owner of a handful of specialty internet/mail order
businesses in the States
Al is looking to Costa Rica to
provide the next chapter in his life - not only for
business, but also for a special place for his
young family.
Al says, "Deena is terrific - she is smart,
energetic, and entrepreneurial." Deena is in the corporate
training business and is currently doing executive coaching. Both Deena and Al come with
a lot of business skills to move this project along, but
perhaps their best skill is the art of friendship.
Dave Modny
Dave has been a friend of another FLB
resident for many years and we first contacted Dave when we
had questions about our initial property survey and the
various surveys for the master plan. He holds a bachelor’s
degree in Engineering and owns a surveying company in
Greenville, SC. With the housing industry being what it is
these days, Dave decided that rather than potentially
watching his company slowly bleed out his savings during
these challenging times, he would instead invest now for his
future by purchasing a lot within the Finca Las Brisas
community. As he puts it – “I feel like I have a lot more
control over my destiny in Costa Rica, particularly in a
community like Finca Las Brisas where everything I need is
there, including a group of very dynamic people.”
A very likable, easy going, and funny guy, Dave really gels
with the “tranquillo” pace of life in Costa Rica. He just
seems so at home here – almost like he lived in the country
all his life (he is currently taking Spanish lessons so he
can assimilate even faster). Dave is also now certified and
getting into setting up PV or photovoltaic renewable energy
systems. Another one of Dave’s interests is that he enjoys
playing guitar and singing a wide range of songs. Following
in the Finca Las Brisas tradition of giving back to the
local community, on his last trip he gave one of his guitars
to locals who were thrilled beyond belief.
As Dave put it: “It’s just another way to relax on the finca,
and what better way than to listen our neighbors performing
their traditional Spanish folk songs – life just doesn’t get
any better than this…as the Ticos say Pura Vida”.
Dave is an incredibly positive, open, and
reliable person - traits that are very common among among
our community members. We really look forward to plenty of
thought provoking conversations with “Modz” and some
moonlight serenades up at the community center…
 Susan,
Millard, Gabriel and Jasmine
Susan MaClean and her husband Millard Powell
will soon be moving to the finca full time with their two
young children Jasmine, 4 and Gabriel, 5. Susan is a
singer/songwriter, potter, and teacher. Millard is a
firefighter, paramedic, and has lots of experience working
on organic farms. He will be helping set up our organic
vegetable farms and maintaining our thousands of tropical
fruit trees. The couple and their two young children plan on
calling Costa Rica home full time by September. They will be
building a home on the finca soon thereafter.
Susan wrote, "We are so thrilled to be
moving out of this concrete jungle into a Real jungle where
we can be connected with the earth and our neighbors, living
together in true community! Our little ones are excited,
too; they mention Costa Rica almost every day. Gabriel keeps
saying, 'The howler monkeys are missing us, Mommy.'"
 Lou
& Claire Davis currently live in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Lou
 works
as a photographer for Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and
Claire is a women's health nurse practicioner. They have two
adult sons, Andrew & Philip. Lou was born in San Jose, Costa
Rica, grew up in Massachusetts where he me Claire when they were
fifteen. They were attracted to the FLB project by the respect
it shows for the people, culture, and the land of Costa Rica.
They are looking forward to spending more time in Costa Rica
building a home at the Finca, showing visitors the beauty of the
country, and entertaining family members.
Jim is retired from 32 years of
teaching mostly Global Studies / Int'l Relations courses at
South Kingstown HS in RI. Currently, I receive a pension, and
teach part time at URI (Poly Sci) and Salve Regina U
(Education). I also referee soccer games.
Additionally, I play soccer year
round (at 59 years of age), and basketball and tennis parts of
the year.
Cindy, is a Nutritionist at a
local community health clinic. She is very involved with Social
Justice issues with her church, and she loves gardening,
kayaking and walking.
My oldest, Brent, works for the
Dept of Labor in Wash DC. My middle one, Neal, just started a
National Civilian Conservation Corps 10 month stint in Denver.
Finally, Alison is just finishing her BA in Psych, and will be
continuing for a 5th year, getting a Masters in Teaching.
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°Photos°
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Some of
the finca kids |
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Mark
before his ultra-light flight over the finca |
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Wayne
and Al experimenting |
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Andy and
Ben |
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Brad,
Dave and Mark |
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Victoria
and Dar |
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Wayne &
Keith |
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Sally |
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Al and Kevin |
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Benjamin and Ray |
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Vicki and Dar |
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Deena, Dar, Maya and Indira |
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Brad |
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Fiesta: Vicki, Coto,
Wayne & Keith |
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Sally signs closing papers in
Samara |
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Ben |
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Randi |
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Lou |
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Claire |
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Gabriel
and Jasmine |
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Copyright 2006-2011 Arjuna
Limitada
LLC. All rights
reserved. Finca
Las Brisas (FLB) d/b/a Arjuna Limitada LLC.a Costa Rica corporation.
