correspondence

email correspondence

This presents email correspondence that had been posted on the belizesource.jot.com wiki site (now discontinued).

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 12:20

Current_draft_from_wiki

This is a brief draft proposal for an open source approach to the planning, design, and implementation of a field station for educational, demonstration, and operation of best-in-class sustainable development based on the 40 acre Belize property I own.

This 40-acre rural property is located in northwestern Belize near the Mexican and Guatemala borders about 18 miles from Orange Walk Town, between the villages of August Pine Ridge and San Felipe. It is about 2 miles to August Pine Ridge, 6 miles to San Felipe, 5 miles to Shipyard Mennonite community, 10 miles to Blue Creek Mennonite community, and 5 miles to Rio Hondo: Belize/Mexico border.

The property fronts the main government all-weather road for 900 feet.

The following from http://www.belizefirst.com describes the region: Offers some of the most natural areas of Belize, with excellent birding and wildlife spotting, proximity to Mennonite farming communities of Shipyard and Blue Creek and ecotourism destinations. It goes on to say the road west from Orange Walk Town, past Cuello distillery, Yo Creek, and then back south to August Pine Ridge village and San Felipe village leads through agricultural areas to the 240,000-acre Programme for Belize Rio Bravo Conservation area and the 250,000-acre private estate of Barry Bowen. Or, if you go southeast from San Felipe, you end up at Lamanai (a major Mayan temple site) near Indian Church village. Two world-class jungle lodges, Chan Chich at Gallon Jug, and Lamanai Outpost Lodge on the New River Lagoon, await you in this part of Orange Walk District.

The scope of the proposal (see ProjectManagement for current tasks) is the entire life cycle â€“ from:

organization, participation, and business structure planning and implementation; e. g.,
Non-profit, foundation, co-op with members, other models? (9/10/05 conversation with Vance and Judy Bante indicated their approach where have used a firm in Belize to set up a Belize corporation, then apply for Belize NGO status. They also use a non-profit in the U.S. so donations from U.S. citizens can be tax deductible)
Site management presence: safety and environmental protection have to be integral to it all as top priority
Community engagement and involvement
Local neighborhood, regional, Belize, broader Central American and Caribbean
Best-in-class community of experts world-wide
Funding, basically pay as go, based on participation â€“ perhaps with basic membership participation fee, donations, endowments, other?
site master planning
phased approach to facilities, utilities, infrastructure design, funding and execution
uses; ongoing operations

I have initiated site planning. The initially identified approach is flexible and can be modified as needed, it includes:

Visit Belize to assess and inventory property, surrounding communities, and region (visited August 13-28, â€™05 â€“ update based on trip observations is in progress):
Take photos and video of features, hand note features on maps, and record associated GPS coordinates
Interview people in neighboring communities and others about issues and opportunities
Assess approaches and identify way to establish a team management structure to address key constraint that I don't live there and would only be able to visit from time-to-time.
uses:
Assess whether practical to use intensively managed goats or sheep grazing to reduce brush and clean the property to establish an ongoing goat or sheep operation and to prepare portions of the property for other uses (based on August 13-28, â€™05 visit, this appears to be a sound approach)
Based on this, I am proceeding to establish initial staff presence and facilities. The initial steps include authorizing Manuel Soliz and Elda Gideon Soliz to assist me in arranging for a caretaker and executing specific work, installation of the electrical service connection concrete post, (first step to get electrical service), cleaning small area between road and area for caretakerâ€™s thatched roof house and sheep/goat shelter, planting 50 improved selected cashew seedlings, initiating water line to the caretakers house area, arranging to fence initial area, and arranging to acquire initial goats and sheep.
utilities; water, power, phone, septic system, and a camping-like residence/office/workspace and caretaker's residence
secure (locked and vandal resistant) supplies storage area, shop, fenced yard, fenced goat/sheep handling corrals and shelter, and first increments of portable electric fenced goat/sheep grazing control zones
watering livestock from the APR water system is acceptable based on discussions with chair of water board (at least for modest numbers, plus they are planning to implement metering so paying for what is used makes this more acceptable)
industrial/agricultural well pumping and water storage (elevated tankage for gravity feed) and distribution system for other non-household uses, such as selective drip irrigation, process uses, or water larger numbers of goats/sheep
Acquire initial livestock and start goats/sheep grazing program to clean the property
Gather data for clearing and stocking rates and develop experience to adjust and improve approach
Establish approaches for marketing lambs/kids, transporting animals, breeding program, etc.
As the property is cleared, continue planning and evaluation of other potential uses. Examples include:
plant improved cashew varieties and incorporate the property into the national program for the development of cashew
plant selected crops with high demand/value such as habenero peppers
contract clearing or fire protection services for others using goats
improved goat and sheep breeder and supplier to Belize and region (in cooperative venture with Ministry of Agriculture), as appropriate use artificial insemination (AI) and embryo implants (EI) as alternative to importing breeding stock to upgrade local, acclimatized livestock
training center for local youth participation in sustainable goat and sheep operations, business skills, and other sustainable enterprises as they are developed and ready to deploy (in cooperative venture with Government of Belize)
microbusiness development program: business training, technical assistance, loan assistance, networking, mentoring and other asset building services
other eco-workshop type sustainable projects that would appeal to people who want to come, learn transferable skills, do good work, and use part of their time there to jump off to other attractions in the region. Some of these could be specific workshops with hands-on work experience, others could lead to ongoing programs
For example an aquaculture workshop might deploy a unit - the analysis would include the workshop costs and revenues, then the sustaining operation costs and revenues (from trip: many Mennonites in Shipyard operate tilapia fish ponds)
bio-diesel â€“ (from trip: T. Tillett indicated Yo Creek soybean processing facility has equipment for bio-diesel)
light-footprint ecotourism oriented accommodations: both hostel/dormitory style and individual units (such as cabanas, tent-camper units, cabins, or the small houses); with common areas for dining/lounge, conference, (with all facilities designed to accommodate persons with disabilities), etc. (Elda Gideon boards visitors in her house, is renowned for her cooking, and welcomed idea of cabanas and facility where people could be served meals, e.g., if on bus trip to Lamanai, etc.)

Participating schools, or other entities, could develop classes or seminars where students could build on a conceptual master plan, flesh out more detailed designs consistent with master plan, or integrate other project plans at the conceptual level.

With the right management structure and suitable partnering and participation, the management team could seek funding to expand the facilities per the master plan.

Educational on-site participation could be integrated through the entire life cycle; e.g., coming to do a planning and design workshop, coming to participate in an expansion or building project, or later just coming to enjoy the place you had a hand in shaping and jump off to rest of Belize.

The vision for the initial outcome is the property set-up with a sustained presence consisting of a rotating crew of team participants and local caretakers who staff the place and take care of the daily operation. As other projects are approved, they could also check in the participants who come or other visitor/guests.

I am interested in identifying other sustainable projects on and off the property that would appeal to people who want to come, learn transferable skills, do good work, and use part of their time there to jump off to other attractions in the region. I've considered Tom Sawyer's "painting the fence" as a metaphor for it. Maybe a better one is â€œmake a handâ€. Come â€œmake a handâ€ - do what needs to be done - paint our fence, or tend goats, or clear a path to visit a Mayan ruin, or learn to drill wells, or... enter the hostel addition design competition - winners come build it, ... well you get the general idea. These could be specific workshops with hands-on work experience.

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 14:26

Brechin_referrals

Subject Thanks for referrals on Bz project
From Pat Coyle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Frank,

Thank you for the referral to Osmany Salas and the Villorias.

Thank you all for your willingness to take a look at the draft materials for this project (http://belizeopensource.jot.com but due to move to belizeopensource.org).

I really appreciate your suggestions and any other contacts you might suggest.

Osmany, thanks for forwarding your CV. Your experience, level of responsibility, and contacts throughout Belize are very impressive.

I am forwarding the materials I sent you, Frank. They include the emails below and the attached response to Mary Kimball, Director, http://www.landbasedlearning.org/, about her suggestions to clarify the proposal. Dates in the attachment schedule need to be updated since progress has been slower than I had projected.

Since then I have also drafted the purposes section of the Bylaws for incorporation as a nonprofit corporation in California and have attached them as well.

I have also included an email response (see below) from Edilberto Romero, Executive Director of Programme for Belize. Since he was born and grew up in August Pine Ridge, I was very moved by his thoughtful comments.

I am aware these materials, need to be consolidated and improved. However, I am still working full time here in Livermore, California, so I fit this in on nights and weekends.

Again, I really appreciate your help.

Thanks,

Patrick Coyle

Osmany Salas wrote: Dear Pat,

FYI, my CV (including contact details) is attached.

Regards,

Osmany Salas

----------------------------------
BelNaRM Strategies
19 Guadalupe Street
Orange Walk Town
BELIZE
Tel: 501.602.2535
-----------------------------------
At 9:34 AM -0700 1/12/06, Frank T. Brechin wrote:
Dear Pat,

You will find the above-mentioned people knowledgeable and helpful.

Both Osmany and the Villorias are highly experienced in your program area of interest. They are well connected throughout Belize. I have spoken to both parties, very briefly sketching out your basic idea to them. They have graciously agreed to comment upon, suggest ideas or additional contacts and/or lend assistance to your proposed project. Please email them the same material you have sent to me for background. Then, I suggest you contact them directly to follow-up for their possible respective input on managing to best advantage the property you have available.

I hope the New Year brings bright prospects for your project in this country.

Kindest, Frank.

Frank T Brechin
P. O. Box 214
Corozal Town
Belize, Central America
Phone + 501 423 1083
Mobile + 501 602 8978

Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 16:38:51 -0800
To: Frank Brechin
From: Pat Coyle
Subject: follow up on Bz project
Cc: Eric Coleman , "Natalio" , Thomas Tillett , Enrique Rivas , CurrentDraft+wikisecret@belizeopensource.jot.com
Bcc:
X-Attachments: :WD250:459842:opnsrc_cmnt_resp_11.doc:

Frank,

Thanks for taking the time to talk with me about the Belize project I am proposing.

I really appreciate your willingness to take a look at the initial materials I have at http://belizeopensource.jot.com

I invited you to participate so you can edit, comment, email materials to the pages, etc.

Thanks also for your willingness to refer me to Thara Gamero Blanco, Trees for the Future Program Belize Coordinator, and others who might be interested.

Your many years of experience with CARE and in Belize will be extremely helpful. The property is about 40 miles from your location in Consejo.

Manuel and Elda Soliz in August Pine Ridge are helping me. They can be reached at 323-3010. They can show you or others the property. Natalio Soliz, has email and can be reached at "Natalio" .

Eric Coleman is also assisting me. He is in Belize City and can be reached at 203-2848.

We just arranged to get another 100 of Mr. Sylvestre's improved selected cashew seedlings. With the 50 we obtained in August, this will give us 150 for an initial planting.

We have discussed cashews and other tree and crop options with Thomas Tillett, Ministry of Agriculture, who visited the site to assess the initial cashew trees planted in '77.

Enrique Rivas, formerly with Ministry of Agriculture and now Director and manager of reforestation at the Bante's NGO for bird rehabilitation in Cayo, visited the site and discussed overall approaches to the use of the property.

I look forward to your participation.

Thanks,
Pat

Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 11:16:04 -0700
To: Carl Lenox
From: Pat Coyle
Subject: Thanks; Re: interested
Cc: Charlie Sellers, Kathy Voth , "Mary Kimball" ,CurrentDraft+wikisecret@belizeopensource.jot.com
Bcc:
X-Attachments: :WD250:459842:opnsrc_cmnt_resp_11.doc:

Thanks Carl.

(Charlie I am copying you too, since I really enjoyed the brief discussion with you and Carl after the EWB AT kickoff.
Kathy, http://www.livestockforlandscapes.com , I am copying you to provide a quick update on where we are.)

Carl, I appreciated your suggestions about permaculture and the potential applicability of teaching/internship models at the property.

I also came across the Trees for the Future and talked briefly with Dave Deppner at their MD headquarters about my project and their work described at http://www.treesftf.org/projects/belize.htm

I'm trying to contact their folks in Belize as well.

Please consider how you can engage, participate, and provide leadership for this project.

I am attaching a response to Mary Kimball, Director, http://www.landbasedlearning.org/, about her suggestions to clarify the proposal. She is very busy and may not be able to provide feedback for a while. I'd appreciate any feedback you guys might offer. Then I, or we, do need to get the proposal cleaned up along lines Charlie suggested.

I see it as a critical part of the plan/solution to be able to have it run with a management structure that does not require my presence, so I am seeking ideas on how to put together a team to address this.

I think the the adjacent communities have many unmet needs that are opportunities for the kinds of projects that might be of interest to EWB or groups.

As with the permaculture teaching/internship model, you may see other opportunities where this could fit into a class or independent study project as a testbed for planning, design, options evaluation, implementation, field work, reporting results, etc. Additionally, during down time there is all of Belize to jump off to and enjoy.

My current priorities are getting people lined up who want to participate and setting it up as a non-profit in the states and a NGO in Belize.

Another near-term priority is a an approach to the materials (e,g., thatch roof, Mennonite wood construction, or concrete block) and a floor plan for the small toilet/shower/ mudroom/visitor building to
be hooked up to the septic system (and grey water system).

Please give it some thought and let me know if you have suggestions on that or anything else about the the whole thing.

Think about the next thing you would build after a caretaker's thatched hut and sheep/goat shelter, in terms of where you would stay if you visited, or the next building after that., etc.

If there are people you think we should contact, please invite them in. I think you have access to do so and to edit the site. Let me know if you don't. This wiki tool is new to me.

Thanks,

Pat

Hi Pat,

I met you at the EWB-SF Appropriate Technology meeting. I'd like to be involved. We spoke a bit about permaculture and how these concepts could apply. Also there's a teaching / internship model associated with permaculture projects that fits in pretty well with your "lend a hand" concept.

Anyway I'd like to keep in touch.

Thanks,

Carl

Delivered-To: pat@coyles.com
Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2005 20:43:39 +0000
From: "Pat Coyle"
To: pfbel@btl.net
Cc: CurrentDraft+wikisecret@belizeopensource.jot.com
Subject: Thanks for follow up RE: brainstorming: 40 acre property in Belize

Dear Mr. Edilberto Romero:

Eddie, Thanks you for the thoughtful response.

You make many good points that we will take into consideration.

We would like very much to coordinate with you and others, to ensure our activities in the community benefit from your expertise and valuable experience.

I will spend more time going over your points and be back in touch.

Thanks again,
Pat

------- Original Message -------
On 11/29/2005 7:53 PM wrote:
Dear Mr. Pat Coyle:

Thanks for copying Programme for Belize on your email to Ruth and Jodie. Please note that Wilber Sabido is no longer with Programme for Belize. He has moved to greener pastures, and is now the Chief Forest Officer, at the Forest Department, in the Ministry of Natural Resources. Dareece Chuc is now our Acting Technical Coordinator.

I am the Executive Director of Programme for Belize and since I was born and grew at August Pine Ridge, I took a moment to look at your proposal.

The huge issue at August Pine Ridge is the lack of opportunity for work and viable businesses and industries. The low level of education limits the people at the chances of getting skilled jobs and entrepreneurial initiatives. Your Conceptual Project seems to address this and to look at sustainable development and "care for the environment". "In Principle" Programme for Belize believes the concept is a good idea.

I do not agree with Ruth's joke that there are many NGO's but I do agree that sometimes they get into each others way. However, this only happens when there is no coordinated effort, due to their desperate nature of, the communities take advantage, and when some organizations try to re-invent the wheel. In fact, the situation is quite the opposite in the area of August Pine Ridge. There is practically no NGO activity addressing the needs of the area.

Programme for Belize has August Pine Ridge as a stakeholder due to its relation to Rio Bravo and the need to keep them friendly and supportive of Rio Bravo as a protected area. Although, we have done a lot on the past, and have had successes and failures, there is very little we are presently doing at August Pine Ridge. This has to do more with the availability of funding rather than interest on our part.

That said, I would like to state that some of the components of the project are similar to the work of Programme for Belize in certain areas: Sustainable Development, Ecotourism, Education, promoting the sustainable socie-economic development of the communities. We also have a freshwater program, but nothing on sanitation, health and nutrition program. Your project, apparently, is also interested in looking at sanitation, health,etc. and sheep and goat operation although it does not elaborate on the former aspects. Programme for Belize has teamed up in the past with the Belize Family Life Association on a community population and environment project which aimed at promoting reproductive health and natural resource management. It was a very successful project but too short as the funding was just available for one year.

Sustainable development is something Programme for Belize has been experimenting over the past years and we have done a lot of progress and have gathered a wealth of experience and lessons. Ecotourism is now covering 50% of our operations cost and has met both of our sustinability criteria: 1.) It must leave the biodiversity and environmental service of the forest unaltered; and 2.) It must be economically feasible. This is not always easy to obtain as there is always a certain level of trade-off between each other. We have also made significant progress on our sustainable timber extraction and we have experimented on many other activities.

There are also organizations who have experience on some of the activities being proposed in your project:

4-H on sheep, not sure about goats.

The Ministry of Agriculture, sheep (I think they are no longer doing it and I do not know the reason why).

Help for Progress on the community development, gender and agriculture.

I think the ecotourism aspect is a good one as we have proven it to be viable but it needs a minimum number of beds to be feasible. It is unfortunately out of the reach of the community as there are a number of factors required for it to be successful:

1. The initial finance. High and not easily accessible by the community.
2. Good quality facilities that can only come if you have the finance.
3. Good quality services. can easily be obtained with training.
4. Good management skills and bookkeeping. Can be developed but it is a little more difficult and takes more time and investment.
5. Good market. This is key to success as having the previous ones alone those not guarantee success.

In general, there are a lot of things that can be produced in the August Pine Ridge area and indeed has been done in the past. When it comes to agriculture the people from the area are the best. Besides, finance, I think the largest limiting factor has been marketing. That is one of the main reason why people are still growing sugarcane eventhough its feasibility is very low and prizes are going lower (expected to decrease by 17% in 2006 and 2007). However, it provides a certain level of autoemployment. The people from the area has successfully produced peanuts, rice, beans, corn, various vegetables, but has not been successful business-
wise mostly because of the lack of market availability. Their most recent lost has been in soybean production. My point here is that the feasibility study is required for every aspect of the project since the production is possible.

Sheep and goat has been raised by some people of August Pine Ridge successfully in terms of production. However, I think it has not picked up because of the limited market availability. A market study on this would be worthwhile if you are serious about getting into sheep and goat as a sustainable business operation. I think that is the first thing that has to be looked on and a feasibility analysis of the operation.

The aquaculture is a good one although I must mention that Programme for Belize does not support Tilapia farming since it is an exotic invasive species and we do not know yet the extent of its impact (if any) on the fresh waters and native species of Belize. We would prefer to see aquaculture of native species (which has been overfished in the local waters) and for which there is a market.

Another activity that I have mentioned to some of the area representatives is furniture or value-added timber products. Programme for Belize is producung FSC Certified Sustainable Timber and is ineterested in promoting certified timber and value added timber products. It would be good for Programme for Belize and for the long-term protection of Rio Bravo if a community like August Pine Ridge can develop the skills, and a business in certified furniture and timber products using certified timber from Rio Bravo. Currently, however, Programme for Belize does not have the finance to get the community started on this. A project like yours can take advantage of this opportunity. At this time, Programme for Belize has as an agreement to sell its certified lumber to three sawmills but reserves the right to retain production beyond estimated levels and to repurchase part of it for value-added processing and/or marketing. There are some people from August Pine Ridge that are already doing furnitures. I believe the number of people involved in furniture and value added timber products can be increased with training in a center like the one you are proposing.

We have to field stations. La Milpa Field Station is used for ecotourism, education, non-extractive research and archaeological research and is a successful project. The Hill Bank Field Station is the base for forestry reserach, protection activities and education. The Hill Bank ecotourims facilities are underutilized and it is not generating excess revenues but providing essential services for the protection and management of Rio Bravo. It is expensive to run a field station. Therefore it is important to carry a feasibility study or alternatively to invest in an already existing field stations, like ours, for training.

Electricity and fuel is very expensive here in Belize. It would be wise to consider the use of a solar system or a dual system when the area get to cloudy.
In closing, I would like to say that while we think the concept is good in principle, it needs a lot more work in terms of assessing market and the feasibility of the project if what you are thinking is to have a sustainable running operation. If that is not what you are thinking then you may not need to go through all of that but I also believe it is no use in training people in an operation of which they will not make money to get out of poverty when they go on their own to implement the skills they have learned.

Own our part, Programme for Belize, while it supports the project in principle, can only get invloved if its cost of participation is covered. Unfortunately, we do not count with surplus funds to get involved into additionaly activities at the moment although we have expertise and valuable experience that can be useful to your project.

Best Wishes,
Eddie.

25 Nov 2005, at 12:26, Pat Coyle wrote:

Ruth and Jodie,

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you. Thanks for both of your prompt replies expressing your interest. I am working full time, so attending to this initiative is a nights and weekends effort and my replies are not always as prompt as I would like.

I really appreciate your willingness to take a look at the initial materials I have at http://belizeopensource.jot.com

Ruth, I was so struck by your talk at the Seattle EWB session and our brief chat at break. Your family's many years of working in Belize, your ongoing visits taking students there, your experience in Jamaica and Africa, will be extremely helpful.

I'd love for you to get involved in this project. I think you could be a major player in making it work as an ongoing and sustainable initiative. When you spoke, I was reminded again about the importance of the skills you bring to bear in community mobilization, organizing. and working with the community to get their involvement and commitment. Since you are planning ongoing work in Belize, it seems almost too good to be true.

Jodie, you have so many things to contribute. I'd love for you to get involved. I was struck by the following points in your email:

Training at Seattle University and University Of Washington's Advance Standing Master of Social Work Program with emphasis this year on local community development
Emphasis on the importance of community building via collaborative efforts to improve the well-being of local Belizeans with local support
Travel-based experience, in Belize and Guatemala, that engaging local communities in the region you want to work or build in is vital to the success of your efforts - and the just and right thing to do
Interest in the ideas about planting and stocking (sheep) as a way to support local agri-business vs profit for the land owner without regard for native populations
Interest to become involved with an organization or project where the mission really is about sustainable community development with a preference for Belize or Guatemala
Interest in gaining practical experience working internationally
Want to be involved with the project
Currently working on a paper in Globalization course that is analyzing the dynamics of the cruise line industry and the impacts on Belize City's local economy
Open to be involved in a dialog with others about this

Manuel and Elda Soliz in August Pine Ridge are helping me. I spoke with Elda and let her know you travel to Belize and may contact her. They can be reached at 323-3010. They can show you or others the property. Natalio Soliz, Manuel's nephew, has email and can be reached at Natalio Soliz .

Another good contact is Mrs. Blanca Esquival, Women's Group Arts and Crafts Friends of Lamanai Gift Shop (at the lamanai riuns site). She and Elda are friends and she has been leading this initiative for women for some years. Her numbers are: 309-1015, 603-7243, and 606-7244.

Eric Coleman is also assisting me. He is in Belize City and can be reached at 203-2848. We just arranged to get another 100 of Mr. Sylvestre's improved selected cashew seedlings. With the 50 we obtained in August, this will give us 150 for an initial planting.

We have discussed cashews and other tree and crop options with Thomas Tillett, Ministry of Agriculture, who visited the site to assess the initial cashew trees planted in '77.

Mr. Sabido, with Programme for Belize, http://www.pfbelize.org/, spoke with me about the their agro-reforestation project in San Lazaro, about 10miles from the property. I was very impressed with the people I talked with there during my August visit. He suggested formation of a registered community group as a vehicle for potential collaboration with government or NGO programs such as theirs. He also indicated fencing the property and getting signs up is a way to begin to establish a presence.

Mr. Haylock, also with Programme for Belize, was very helpful in arranging for permission for us to drive from their facilities at La Milpa, through Gallon Jug, and Yalbac during our August '05 visit, The stay at La Milpa and the drive through that part of Belize was a high point in our visit. I have also discussed the project with him briefly.

I also came across the Trees for the Future and talked briefly with Dave Deppner at their MD, US, headquarters about the project and their work described at http://www.treesftf.org/projects/belize.htm

I reached Frank Brechin in Belize who has volunteered for them. He also has many years of experience with CARE outside, and for last 19 years, in Belize. He was very helpful and offered to refer me to Thara Gamero Blanco, Trees for the Future Program Belize Coordinator, and others who might be interested.

At the wiki site, http://belizeopensource.jot.com/CurrentDraft , the attachments to the messages include a response to Mary Kimball, Director, http://www.landbasedlearning.org/, about her suggestions to clarify the proposal. She is very busy and may not be able to provide feedback for a while. So I'd appreciate any feedback you might offer. Then the proposal needs to be cleaned up. The tasks showing as complete by the end of November need to be pushed out.

I think the the adjacent communities have many unmet needs that are opportunities for the kinds of projects that might be of interest to a number of groups.

My current priorities include getting people lined up who want to participate and setting it up as a non-profit in the states and a NGO in Belize.

Ruth, at Seattle, you joked that Belize has so many NGOs doing things there that they sometimes get in each other's way. Do you think there are alternative approaches we should consider? Otherwise getting the documents drafted to form both entities is high on my priority list.

Please give it some thought and weigh in if you have suggestions on that or anything else.

If there are people you think we should contact, please invite them in. I think you have access to do so and to edit the site. Let me know if you don't. This wiki tool is new to me.

Thanks,
Pat
Edilberto Romero
Executive Director

Programme for Belize, P.O. Box 749, #1 Eyre Street, Belize City, Belize
Central America. Tel: 501-227-5616, Fax: 501-227-5635
e-mail: pfbel@btl.net
Visit our website at: http://www.pfbelize.org

An Opportunity for Positive Action

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 14:21

Goats_to_Belize

Subject update on Bz project and Goats to Belize
From Pat Coyle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Belated hello all,

I've been focusing on property and project logistics.

Please take a look at http://belizeopensource.jot.com

I invited you to participate so you can edit, comment, email
materials to the pages, etc.

I stalled out on getting a load of goats together. Meanwhile, I've
been trying to get other things moving to prepare the property to
support livestock. I also am looking to see if one can source quality
goats closer to Belize.

We just arranged to get another 100 of Mr. Sylvestre's improved
selected cashew seedlings. With the 50 we obtained in August, this
will give us 150 for an initial planting.

We have discussed cashews and other tree and crop options with Thomas
Tillett, Ministry of Agriculture, who visited the site to assess the
initial cashew trees planted in '77.

Enrique Rivas, formerly with Ministry of Agriculture and now Director
and manager of reforestation at the Bante's NGO for bird
rehabilitation in Cayo, visited the site and discussed overall
approaches to the use of the property.

I look forward to your participation.

Thanks,
Pat

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 14:19

Haynie_interest

Subject RE: RE: brainstorming: 40 acre property in Belize
From Pat Coyle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dustin,

Let's continue a dialogue to see how you can engage, participate, and provide leadership for this project. Your practical experience with appropriate technology, as in the stove ventilation redesign is very useful, as is your on the ground experience in Belize.

I think the the adjacent communities have many unmet needs that are opportunities for the kinds of projects that might be of interest to EWB or your Engineers for a Better World group

As a student, you may see opportunities where this could fit into a class or independent study project as a testbed for planning, design, options evaluation, implementation, field work, reporting results, etc. Additionally, during down time there is all of Belize to jump off to and enjoy.

If there are people you think we should contact, please invite them in. I think you have access to do so and to edit the site. Let me know if you don't. This wiki tool is new to me.

Thanks for the prompt reply,

Pat
------- Original Message -------
On 11/7/2005 07:53 AM Dustin J. Haynie wrote:
Hi Pat,

First of all I would like to say that I am very interested in this project
so please keep me on your mailing list. I am going to assume you were given
my contact info by Julie VanLaanen?. I am currently a sophomore Chemical
Engineering student and CSM and very involved in our own offshoot of EWB
called Engineers for a Better World. The club broke off from EWB two years
ago because we wanted to pursue projects aimed at all levels of skill not
just upper level senior design type projects.

I am not too sure how much you know about my involvement with previous
projects so I will give you a quick synopsis. Last spring I was involved in
an EPICS II (introductory engineering design type projects geared towards
sophomores) that was working on creating a ventilation system for the open
fire stoves that the villagers in the village which Julie VanLaanen? has been
working with for the past several years cook on. At the end of the semester
I was given the opportunity to travel with the Senior Design team to Belize,
so I have some limited experience working on a project in Belize.

I am very interested being involved in this project. If you are looking for
more student support I am the treasurer of Engineers for a Better World at
CSM and we are always looking for projects to get involved in. If there is
anything I could do to be of help right now, please let me know. I look
forward to hearing more about this project in the future.

Dustin Haynie

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 12:37

Programme_for_Belize

Subject Thanks for follow up RE: brainstorming: 40 acre property in Belize
From Pat Coyle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr. Edilberto Romero:

Eddie, Thanks you for the thoughtful response.

You make many good points that we will take into consideration.

We would like very much to coordinate with you and others, to ensure our activities in the community benefit from your expertise and valuable experience.

I will spend more time going over your points and be back in touch.

Thanks again,
Pat

------- Original Message -------
On 11/29/2005 7:53 PM wrote:
Dear Mr. Pat Coyle:

Thanks for copying Programme for Belize on your email to Ruth
and Jodie. Please note that Wilber Sabido is no longer with
Programme for Belize. He has moved to greener pastures, and is
now the Chief Forest Officer, at the Forest Department, in the
Ministry of Natural Resources. Dareece Chuc is now our Acting
Technical Coordinator.

I am the Executive Director of Programme for Belize and since I
was born and grew at August Pine Ridge, I took a moment to look
at your proposal.

The huge issue at August Pine Ridge is the lack of opportunity for
work and viable businesses and industries. The low level of
education limits the people at the chances of getting skilled jobs
and entrepreneurial initiatives. Your Conceptual Project seems to
address this and to look at sustainable development and "care for
the environment". "In Principle" Programme for Belize believes the
concept is a good idea.

I do not agree with Ruth's joke that there are many NGO's but I do
agree that sometimes they get into each others way. However,
this only happens when there is no coordinated effort, due to their
desperate nature of, the communities take advantage, and when
some organizations try to re-invent the wheel. In fact, the situation
is quite the opposite in the area of August Pine Ridge. There is
practically no NGO activity addressing the needs of the area.

Programme for Belize has August Pine Ridge as a stakeholder due
to its relation to Rio Bravo and the need to keep them friendly and
supportive of Rio Bravo as a protected area. Although, we have
done a lot on the past, and have had successes and failures, there
is very little we are presently doing at August Pine Ridge. This has
to do more with the availability of funding rather than interest on our
part.

That said, I would like to state that some of the components of the
project are similar to the work of Programme for Belize in certain
areas: Sustainable Development, Ecotourism, Education,
promoting the sustainable socie-economic development of the
communities. We also have a freshwater program, but nothing on
sanitation, health and nutrition program. Your project, apparently,
is also interested in looking at sanitation, health,etc. and sheep
and goat operation although it does not elaborate on the former
aspects. Programme for Belize has teamed up in the past with the
Belize Family Life Association on a community population and
environment project which aimed at promoting reproductive health
and natural resource management. It was a very successful
project but too short as the funding was just available for one year.

Sustainable development is something Programme for Belize has
been experimenting over the past years and we have done a lot of
progress and have gathered a wealth of experience and lessons.
Ecotourism is now covering 50% of our operations cost and has
met both of our sustinability criteria: 1.) It must leave the
biodiversity and environmental service of the forest unaltered; and
2.) It must be economically feasible. This is not always easy to
obtain as there is always a certain level of trade-off between each
other. We have also made significant progress on our sustainable
timber extraction and we have experimented on many other
activities.

There are also organizations who have experience on some of the
activities being proposed in your project:

4-H on sheep, not sure about goats.

The Ministry of Agriculture, sheep (I think they are no longer doing
it and I do not know the reason why).

Help for Progress on the community development, gender and
agriculture.

I think the ecotourism aspect is a good one as we have proven it to
be viable but it needs a minimum number of beds to be feasible. It
is unfortunately out of the reach of the community as there are a
number of factors required for it to be successful:

1. The initial finance. High and not easily accessible by the
community.
2. Good quality facilities that can only come if you have the
finance.
3. Good quality services. can easily be obtained with training.
4. Good management skills and bookkeeping. Can be developed
but it is a little more difficult and takes more time and investment.
5. Good market. This is key to success as having the previous
ones alone those not guarantee success.

In general, there are a lot of things that can be produced in the
August Pine Ridge area and indeed has been done in the past.
When it comes to agriculture the people from the area are the best.
Besides, finance, I think the largest limiting factor has been
marketing. That is one of the main reason why people are still
growing sugarcane eventhough its feasibility is very low and prizes
are going lower (expected to decrease by 17% in 2006 and 2007).
However, it provides a certain level of autoemployment. The people
from the area has successfully produced peanuts, rice, beans,
corn, various vegetables, but has not been successful business-
wise mostly because of the lack of market availability. Their most
recent lost has been in soybean production. My point here is that
the feasibility study is required for every aspect of the project since
the production is possible.

Sheep and goat has been raised by some people of August Pine
Ridge successfully in terms of production. However, I think it has
not picked up because of the limited market availability. A market
study on this would be worthwhile if you are serious about getting
into sheep and goat as a sustainable business operation. I think
that is the first thing that has to be looked on and a feasibility
analysis of the operation.

The aquaculture is a good one although I must mention that
Programme for Belize does not support Tilapia farming since it is
an exotic invasive species and we do not know yet the extent of its
impact (if any) on the fresh waters and native species of Belize.
We would prefer to see aquaculture of native species (which has
been overfished in the local waters) and for which there is a market.

Another activity that I have mentioned to some of the area
representatives is furniture or value-added timber products.
Programme for Belize is producung FSC Certified Sustainable
Timber and is ineterested in promoting certified timber and value
added timber products. It would be good for Programme for Belize
and for the long-term protection of Rio Bravo if a community like
August Pine Ridge can develop the skills, and a business in
certified furniture and timber products using certified timber from
Rio Bravo. Currently, however, Programme for Belize does not
have the finance to get the community started on this. A project
like yours can take advantage of this opportunity. At this time,
Programme for Belize has as an agreement to sell its certified
lumber to three sawmills but reserves the right to retain production
beyond estimated levels and to repurchase part of it for value-added
processing and/or marketing. There are some people from August
Pine Ridge that are already doing furnitures. I believe the number
of people involved in furniture and value added timber products can
be increased with training in a center like the one you are
proposing.

We have to field stations. La Milpa Field Station is used for
ecotourism, education, non-extractive research and archaeological
research and is a successful project. The Hill Bank Field Station
is the base for forestry reserach, protection activities and
education. The Hill Bank ecotourims facilities are underutilized and
it is not generating excess revenues but providing essential
services for the protection and management of Rio Bravo. It is
expensive to run a field station. Therefore it is important to carry a
feasibility study or alternatively to invest in an already existing field
stations, like ours, for training.

Electricity and fuel is very expensive here in Belize. It would be
wise to consider the use of a solar system or a dual system when
the area get to cloudy.

In closing, I would like to say that while we think the concept is
good in principle, it needs a lot more work in terms of assessing
market and the feasibility of the project if what you are thinking is
to have a sustainable running operation. If that is not what you are
thinking then you may not need to go through all of that but I also
believe it is no use in training people in an operation of which they
will not make money to get out of poverty when they go on their
own to implement the skills they have learned.

Own our part, Programme for Belize, while it supports the project in
principle, can only get invloved if its cost of participation is covered.
Unfortunately, we do not count with surplus funds to get involved
into additionaly activities at the moment although we have
expertise and valuable experience that can be useful to your
project.

Best Wishes,
Eddie.

25 Nov 2005, at 12:26, Pat Coyle wrote:

Ruth and Jodie,

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you. Thanks for both of your
prompt replies expressing your interest. I am working full time, so
attending to this initiative is a nights and weekends effort and my
replies are not always as prompt as I would like.

I really appreciate your willingness to take a look at the initial
materials I have at http://belizeopensource.jot.com

Ruth, I was so struck by your talk at the Seattle EWB session and our
brief chat at break. Your family's many years of working in Belize,
your ongoing visits taking students there, your experience in Jamaica
and Africa, will be extremely helpful.

I'd love for you to get involved in this project. I think you could
be a major player in making it work as an ongoing and sustainable
initiative. When you spoke, I was reminded again about the importance
of the skills you bring to bear in community mobilization,
organizing. and working with the community to get their involvement
and commitment. Since you are planning ongoing work in Belize, it
seems almost too good to be true.

Jodie, you have so many things to contribute. I'd love for you to get
involved. I was struck by the following points in your email:

Training at Seattle University and University Of Washington's Advance
Standing Master of Social Work Program with emphasis this year on
local community development
Emphasis on the importance of community building via collaborative
efforts to improve the well-being of local Belizeans with local
support
Travel-based experience, in Belize and Guatemala, that engaging local
communities in the region you want to work or build in is vital to
the success of your efforts - and the just and right thing to do
Interest in the ideas about planting and stocking (sheep) as a way to
support local agri-business vs profit for the land owner without
regard for native populations
Interest to become involved with an organization or project where the
mission really is about sustainable community development with a
preference for Belize or Guatemala
Interest in gaining practical experience working internationally
Want to be involved with the project
Currently working on a paper in Globalization course that is
analyzing the dynamics of the cruise line industry and the impacts on
Belize City's local economy
Open to be involved in a dialog with others about this

Manuel and Elda Soliz in August Pine Ridge are helping me. I spoke
with Elda and let her know you travel to Belize and may contact her.
They can be reached at 323-3010. They can show you or others the
property. Natalio Soliz, Manuel's nephew, has email and can be
reached at Natalio Soliz .

Another good contact is Mrs. Blanca Esquival, Women's Group Arts and
Crafts Friends of Lamanai Gift Shop (at the lamanai riuns site). She
and Elda are friends and she has been leading this initiative for
women for some years. Her numbers are: 309-1015, 603-7243, and
606-7244.

Eric Coleman is also assisting me. He is in Belize City and can be
reached at 203-2848. We just arranged to get another 100 of Mr.
Sylvestre's improved selected cashew seedlings. With the 50 we
obtained in August, this will give us 150 for an initial planting.

We have discussed cashews and other tree and crop options with Thomas
Tillett, Ministry of Agriculture, who visited the site to assess the
initial cashew trees planted in '77.

Enrique Rivas, formerly with Ministry of Agriculture and now Director
and manager of reforestation at the Bante's NGO for bird
rehabilitation in Cayo, visited the site and discussed overall
approaches to the use of the property.

Mr. Sabido, with Programme for Belize, http://www.pfbelize.org/,
spoke with me about the their agro-reforestation project in San
Lazaro, about 10miles from the property. I was very impressed with
the people I talked with there during my August visit. He suggested
formation of a registered community group as a vehicle for potential
collaboration with government or NGO programs such as theirs. He also
indicated fencing the property and getting signs up is a way to begin
to establish a presence.

Mr. Haylock, also with Programme for Belize, was very helpful in
arranging for permission for us to drive from their facilities at La
Milpa, through Gallon Jug, and Yalbac during our August '05 visit,
The stay at La Milpa and the drive through that part of Belize was a
high point in our visit. I have also discussed the project with him
briefly.

I also came across the Trees for the Future and talked briefly with
Dave Deppner at their MD, US, headquarters about the project and
their work described at http://www.treesftf.org/projects/belize.htm

I reached Frank Brechin in Belize who has volunteered for them. He
also has many years of experience with CARE outside, and for last 19
years, in Belize. He was very helpful and offered to refer me to
Thara Gamero Blanco, Trees for the Future Program Belize Coordinator,
and others who might be interested.

At the wiki site, http://belizeopensource.jot.com/CurrentDraft , the
attachments to the messages include a response to Mary Kimball,
Director, http://www.landbasedlearning.org/, about her suggestions to
clarify the proposal. She is very busy and may not be able to provide
feedback for a while. So I'd appreciate any feedback you might offer.
Then the proposal needs to be cleaned up. The tasks showing as
complete by the end of November need to be pushed out.

I see it as a critical part of the plan/solution to be able to have
it run with a management structure that does not require my presence,
so I am seeking ideas on how to put together a team to address this.

I think the the adjacent communities have many unmet needs that are
opportunities for the kinds of projects that might be of interest to
a number of groups.

My current priorities include getting people lined up who want to
participate and setting it up as a non-profit in the states and a NGO
in Belize.

Ruth, at Seattle, you joked that Belize has so many NGOs doing things
there that they sometimes get in each other's way. Do you think there
are alternative approaches we should consider? Otherwise getting the
documents drafted to form both entities is high on my priority list.

Please give it some thought and weigh in if you have suggestions on
that or anything else.

If there are people you think we should contact, please invite them
in. I think you have access to do so and to edit the site. Let me
know if you don't. This wiki tool is new to me.

Thanks,
Pat
Edilberto Romero
Executive Director

Programme for Belize,
P.O. Box 749,

Central America.
Tel: 501-227-5616, Fax: 501-227-5635
e-mail: pfbel@btl.net
Visit our website at: http://www.pfbelize.org

An Opportunity for Positive Action

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 12:40

Teigrob_update

Subject Thanks, Re: money deposited
From Pat Coyle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks James.

When you can, please check on the availability and price for the
shipping container we talked about.

If you get a chance to talk with David Dyck, it would give you an
idea of when he plans to be able to clear fence lines and do other
work in the new year.

He will know before I do, based on the surveyor's completion and his
discussions with Manuel and Elda Soliz in August Pine Ridge (they
have agreed to help me with the place).

I'd like to get progress photos when as the work happens.

Take a look at http://belizeopensource.jot.com to get an idea of
where I am trying to go with the property. If you want to comment,
let me know and I will set you up to do so.

Have a good Thanksgiving and Holiday season. Tell your folks Hi for
me and wish them the best. Your Dad was a big help to me back then.
He helped me fly a C-172 through Mexico from Macallen, TX

Thanks again,
Pat

>Pat,
> I heard about the plane going down but nothing more
>yet. I'll send the pictures up this week. Thanks for
>the deposit.
>James
>
>--- Pat Coyle wrote:
>
>> James,
>>
>> Good to talk with you. I deposited $200 to your
>> account.
>>
>> I look forward to seeing the next photos as we
>> discussed.
>>
>> Did this recent storm cause you any damage. Our news
>> said they lost a
>> plane going to or from Blancaneaux Lodge.
>>
>> Pat

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 12:45

Trees_for_the_Future

Subject RE: follow up RE: brainstorming: 40 acre property in Belize
From Pat Coyle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks Frank.

I welcome the opportunity to work together. Trees for the Future clearly has been at this a good while and it would be beneficial to open this up to their participation and draw on what they have learned.

Look forward to seeing how we can work together on this.

Learning more about Thara's TreesBelize, already registered as Belize NGO, could inform us about the pros and cons of setting up another NGO.

Thanks again,
Pat

Dear Pat,

Thanks for sharing your letter.

I thought you might like to know that Thara's TreesBelize is already registered as an NGO with the GOB.

You might want to discuss/exchange information with Thara the pros and cons of forming your own NGO.

Thara is a very busy woman, but I think she will be looking at your proposal and comment about the concepts.

If she is interested in your ideas, I'm sure you'll hear from her in due course. Thara has a lot of contacts!

Lastly, I suggest you at least explore the topic of seeing if there's a possibly working together in some fashion.

You certainly are moving along!

Kindest, Frank.

Frank T Brechin
P. O. Box 214
Corozal Town
Belize, Central America
Phone + 501 423 1083
Mobile + 501 602 8978

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 14:11

Trees_for_the_Future_2

Subject follow up on Bz project
From Pat Coyle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Frank,

Thanks for taking the time to talk with me about the Belize project I
am proposing.

I really appreciate your willingness to take a look at the initial
materials I have at http://belizeopensource.jot.com

I invited you to participate so you can edit, comment, email
materials to the pages, etc.

Thanks also for your willingness to refer me to Thara Gamero Blanco,
Trees for the Future Program Belize Coordinator, and others who might
be interested.

Your many years of experience with CARE and in Belize will be
extremely helpful. The property is about 40 miles from your location
in Consejo.

Manuel and Elda Soliz in August Pine Ridge are helping me. They can
be reached at 323-3010. They can show you or others the property.
Natalio Soliz, has email and can be reached at "Natalio"
.

Eric Coleman is also assisting me. He is in Belize City and can be
reached at 203-2848.

We just arranged to get another 100 of Mr. Sylvestre's improved
selected cashew seedlings. With the 50 we obtained in August, this
will give us 150 for an initial planting.

We have discussed cashews and other tree and crop options with Thomas
Tillett, Ministry of Agriculture, who visited the site to assess the
initial cashew trees planted in '77.

Enrique Rivas, formerly with Ministry of Agriculture and now Director
and manager of reforestation at the Bante's NGO for bird
rehabilitation in Cayo, visited the site and discussed overall
approaches to the use of the property.

I look forward to your participation.

Thanks,
Pat

>Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 11:16:04 -0700
>To: Carl Lenox
>From: Pat Coyle
>Subject: Thanks; Re: interested
>Cc: Charlie Sellers, Kathy Voth
>, "Mary Kimball"
>,CurrentDraft+wikisecret@belizeopensource.jot.com
>Bcc:
>X-Attachments: :WD250:459842:opnsrc_cmnt_resp_11.doc:
>
>Thanks Carl.
>
>(Charlie I am copying you too, since I really enjoyed the brief
>discussion with you and Carl after the EWB AT kickoff.
>Kathy, http://www.livestockforlandscapes.com , I am copying you to
>provide a quick update on where we are.)
>
>Carl, I appreciated your suggestions about permaculture and the
>potential applicability of teaching/internship models at the
>property.
>
>I also came across the Trees for the Future and talked briefly with
>Dave Deppner at their MD headquarters about my project and their
>work described at http://www.treesftf.org/projects/belize.htm
>
>I'm trying to contact their folks in Belize as well.
>
>Please consider how you can engage, participate, and provide
>leadership for this project.
>
>I am attaching a response to Mary Kimball, Director,
>http://www.landbasedlearning.org/, about her suggestions to clarify
>the proposal. She is very busy and may not be able to provide
>feedback for a while. I'd appreciate any feedback you guys might
>offer. Then I, or we, do need to get the proposal cleaned up along
>lines Charlie suggested.
>
>I see it as a critical part of the plan/solution to be able to have
>it run with a management structure that does not require my
>presence, so I am seeking ideas on how to put together a team to
>address this.
>
>I think the the adjacent communities have many unmet needs that are
>opportunities for the kinds of projects that might be of interest to
>EWB or groups.
>
>As with the permaculture teaching/internship model, you may see
>other opportunities where this could fit into a class or independent
>study project as a testbed for planning, design, options evaluation,
>implementation, field work, reporting results, etc. Additionally,
>during down time there is all of Belize to jump off to and enjoy.
>
>My current priorities are getting people lined up who want to
>participate and setting it up as a non-profit in the states and a
>NGO in Belize.
>
>Another near-term priority is a an approach to the materials (e,g.,
>thatch roof, Mennonite wood construction, or concrete block) and a
>floor plan for the small toilet/shower/ mudroom/visitor building to
>be hooked up to the septic system (and grey water system).
>
>Please give it some thought and let me know if you have suggestions
>on that or anything else about the the whole thing.
>
>Think about the next thing you would build after a caretaker's
>thatched hut and sheep/goat shelter, in terms of where you would
>stay if you visited, or the next building after that., etc.
>
>If there are people you think we should contact, please invite them
>in. I think you have access to do so and to edit the site. Let me
>know if you don't. This wiki tool is new to me.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Pat
>
>
>>Hi Pat,
>>
>>I met you at the EWB-SF Appropriate Technology meeting. I'd like
>>to be involved. We spoke a bit about permaculture and how these
>>concepts could apply. Also there's a teaching / internship model
>>associated with permaculture projects that fits in pretty well with
>>your "lend a hand" concept.
>>
>>Anyway I'd like to keep in touch.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>
>>Carl

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 14:12

Zack_referrals

Subject Thanks, Re: brainstorming re: 40 acre property in Belize
From Pat Coyle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks Zack.

I will follow up on the suggestions. I really appreciate the referrals.

I'll keep you posted.

Thanks again,
Pat

At 11:56 AM 12/1/2005, you wrote:
>Hey Pat,
>
> Interesting ideas... I have some people in mind that you might be
>interested, specifically in relation to the timber industry that was
>mentioned in the email reply below. I have a friend (also a member
>of the Sustainable Solutions Caravan) Evan Goldstein who is beginning
>to buy deforested land through an NGO, funding this through investors
>interested in the potential for tree harvesting, with the plan that
>initial tree harvest profits will be used to convert the land to
>preserve land after the land has been paid off and is reforested
>through the planned polyculture tree farming operations. Also, as
>you may have heard in my presentation, there is considerable
>experience in educational eco-tourism through the folks at Punta Mona
>(on the SouthEast? caribbean coast of Costa Rica), and some other
>folks at Las Canadas, in the Huatusco cloud forest region of Mexico.
>Both of these institutions would be potential resources for you to
>draw from. Punta Mona, and it's founder, Stephen Brooks can be
>contacted through the website at puntamona.org . Also, neovidas.org
>is beginning to set up a network of like minded projects and
>individuals throughout mexico and central america, and could provide
>you with some resources. Hope these links help... I'd be glad to
>talk more if you so desire.
>
>Zack
>On Nov 30, 2005, at 3:55 PM, Pat Coyle wrote:
>
>>Zack,
>>
>>I just left you a phone message and said I would follow up with
>>this email.
>>
>>I caught your Sustainable Solutions Caravan talk back in April and
>>have meant to touch base ever since then.
>>
>>You may be interested in a proposal I am working on to invite
>>collaboration for the planning, design, and implementation of a
>>field station for educational, demonstration, and operation of best-
>>in-class sustainable development based on the 40 acre Belize
>>property I own.
>>
>>Information about it is at: http://belizeopensource.jot.com/
>>
>>I was both encouraged and humbled by the following reply from
>>Edilberto Romero, Executive Director, Programme for Belize.
>>
>>I'd like to see if there is a way to team with you or draw on your
>>experience.
>>
>>Thanks,
>>Pat

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 12:43

brainstorming

Date: Sat, 5 Nov 2005 15:08:42 -0700
To: Dan Garbely , Jeff Dragovich , Eric Dod , Tom Small , Brad Bogus , Alex McDonald , Peter Coats , Sam Burd , Peter Riechers , Ruth White , Cathy Leslie , Mark Reiner , John_D_Wind , Eileen Mick , Julie VanLaanen , Carl Lundin , Dustin Haynie , Jacquelyn Schmalzer , Martin Farber , Tyler Palmer(norcal@ewbwestcoast.org), Dave Youmans (funding@ewbwestcoast.org)
From: Pat Coyle
Subject: brainstorming: 40 acre property in Belize
Cc: iisd@villageearth.org, beahrselp@nature.berkeley.edu
Bcc: Pat Coyle
X-Attachments: :WD250:424731:opnsrc prpsl_091005.pdf:

First, this is not in itself an EWB-specific topic, although I believe it is it is related and I am hopeful there could be associated initiatives that are. I don't mean to overstep. If you do not want to be contacted about this, please let me know and I won't.

I am brand new to EWB. I have only been to one meeting of the San Francisco Professional chapter and to the recent Seattle Regional workshop. The Seattle session was a great immersion in EWB for me, given the 18 plus presentations. I plan to be at the EWB-SFP Appropriate Technology Design Team kickoff on November 10th.

I am interested in your experience and ideas for organization, participation, and business structure planning and implementation for a field station for educational, demonstration, and operation of best-in-class sustainable development based on my 40-acre property in Belize. I am also looking to identify people who would be interested in participating as well as exploring potential cooperative initiatives.

I am attaching a pdf of an in-progress draft regarding my current ideas about the 40-acre property in Belize. I also include a recap of a phone conversation about it with Bob Buggs, University of California at Davis, at the end of this email.

Some of you may recall at the Seattle workshop that I asked about perspectives on the sustainability of using outside rather than local resources for doing a charette or establishing a fund for a microcredit initiative. I have also spoken with some of you briefly about this project.

Jonathan Todd, of John Todd Research and Design, indicated he thought to make this project really go, it would to need to invest in a charrette (I had to go look it up) - a group of sustainability experts and ecotourism specialists that could steer the project toward a tangible goal of tourism/ income and sustainability and cultural preservation. The right group could give real substance to the vision. He suggested this could allow my participation but not necessarily my full time leadership - a key constraint for me.

Given my modest budget and the cost of air fares to Belize, I've been seeking approaches to conducting such a process collaboratively on-line or identifying other alternative approaches. I have created a JotSpot collaborative workspace and you're invited to participate. This is my first foray into on-line collaboration using this "wiki" approach. I'm open to seeing how well it can work. I expect there will be some "shakedown" effort to get it going.

I know there are a wide variety of backgrounds among you and many of you have been at this kind of thing for a long time in a variety of contexts. I am looking for suggestions and feedback about how to proceed.

Looking more broadly than the Belize project, I am within 2-5 years of retirement, and am looking at what I want to apply myself to after my 25 + year career at LLNL. Iâ€™m interested in sustainable development and want to apply my talents to helping solve problems such as lack of clean water, sanitation, nutrition, poverty/livelihood, health, education, etc. I grew up on ranches in the Western US, graduated from Colorado School of Mines, am a registered ME and PE, a certified Project Management Professional, and have an MBA.

It is encouraging to know organizations like EWB and others are working these problems and provide opportunities for participation and service.

I appreciate any feedback, suggestions, or referrals you may be able to provide. If you prefer to talk, please let me know and I will call to schedule a time.

Thanks,

Patrick Coyle
1371 Calais Ave.
Livermore, CA
94550
USA

pat@coyles.com
(h) 925 606-9646
(cell) 925 784-3682

Date: Sun, 18 Sep 2005 14:16:35 -0700
To: rlbugg @ucdavis.edu
From: Pat Coyle
Subject: recap and thanks again

Bob,

Again I want to thank you for the call. I was delighted with the opportunity to talk with you and am excited about your suggestions and places to follow up with.

The following is a quick draft recap of my notes from our conversation.

Will you please look it over to see if I introduced errors that should be fixed. Please feel free to edit it as needed. I would plan to fold in these ideas into my planning.

Thanks again,
Pat
**************************************
recap of 9/17/05 phone call follows
**************************************

Bob asked a number of questions about the place and regional communities: did it have unique compelling features, water - ponds or streams, what about the area communities, etc?

He asked about my plans. I described my current idea of using intensively managed sheep/goat grazing to clear back the brush, see how existing cashews look, as well as establishing new selected cashew varieties and possibly other crops. I stressed I was only in initial planning, that I am receptive to changing it.

Asked if I was intent on clearing it all or if I would consider retaining other trees and plants, growing cashews in between in less efficient way. I said I was receptive, that I'd thought a monolithic pure cashew orchard was not likely the way I wanted to go.

Suggested I look at the Brentwood place that Rick and Kristie Knoll run (http://www.knollorganics.com; 925 634-5959). He indicated this is about the best farm of this type in CA. He described a multi-tier system with figs and stone-fruit at upper level, herbs at the mid-level, and salad greens at lower level. He suggests I approach them, tell what I'm up to and talk with them about their approach. See when they do tours, try to join one. (Subsequently I did visit the farm and toured it with Kristie Knoll.)

Based on my answers to his questions, his gut reaction was that there may not be a single compelling reason for an educational program on the property. It may make more sense to consider the surrounding region and make a list of how to use it in educational opportunities.

Suggested list all the reasons and try to think outside the box

For example:
agroforestry with branchout from San Lazaro initiative to our place
microcredit (Noted Sijit Sinha's (sp?) work on womens collectives in India)
local crafts, handwork, etc.
medicinal, herbal, or other food plants
Mayan sites near by
Birding

TBD more items for list

Do brainstorming with locals about what is looking to work or emerge.
Contact local hebalists, curanderos about medicinal plants and herbs.

Commented might not be right for a single-purpose agricultural demonstration site with the kind of soil it has (lacking darker loam); but with a mix, might be able to make it work.

Asked how much of Belize has this kind of soil. I said I didn't know but I expect a large area, from Crooked Tree up toward August Pine Ridge, plus other areas as well. He indicated makes models more interesting if larger areas for potential applicability. (Subsequently, I checked and see there is significant acreage of this type in Belize. I have not yet had opportunity to follow up with people in GOB Ag Ministry to see if they already have made assessments.)

Asked about water when I discussed the adjacent wedge of bush between my place and the Shipyard cutoff. He stressed water and amphibians are interesting features. In terms of ecotourism, amphibians are #2 behind birds. If could team with other landowners who have bogs, marshs, ponds, streams or even seasonal wetlands that it could add to the mix of assets.

It looks like with the need to extend beyond the property, that team work and cooperation would be needed.

Noted another model is FARMS center, (530 795-1520) used to be Land Based Learning, Ag and Restoration Ecology in Winters, CA. Craig McNamara (yes, that McNamara) runs it, is an organic walnut grower. Mary Kimball is likely the first person I'd reach at phone. Part of their model engages students in habitat restoration projects on local farms and ranches (again off the property).

Noted both Craig and Rick are fluent in Spanish. That if it was of interest to him, Craig might well go to Belize. (Subsequently I received feedback from Mary Kimball with suggestions to clarify the proposal, which I have not yet done.)

Lots of amphibians and birds are a real asset in terms of attractions for ecotourism.

Suggested check out Aid to Artisans and TechnoServe, a couple of non-profits that often work together on infrastructure building.

Said he'd been in projects like this before, has a feel for the kind of issues on the ground.

Noted could try to team up with other property managers on reforestation.

Might want some features, maybe a few, on the property itself - but with the balance out in the community.

Stressed an outward outreach posture is a key distinction versus an inward focus. He noted he worked with New Alchemy, John Todd, et al, and they built so much in that they ended up with lots of curator types vs outreach people. This tends to make for more bureaucracy and bureaucrats tend to hire more, if not careful can get too much "bad process".

The key is to have an outward orientation - it is ok to have a model or 2 on site, but don't let it get too cluttered up. To have creativity, need some level of chaos, getting too cluttered up with on-site projects can stifle it. Has been the death of many non-profits.

Doing pilots on the property and extending them out into the community is one thing vs institutionalizing them as permanent operations. Don't hesitate to take them down after piloting.

Don't hesitate to contact him again.

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 12:30

map_with_photos

This links to a map of the August Pine Ridge Area and the property annotated with a few photos.

http://coyles.com/belizeopensource/

patcoyle Wed, 02/01/2006 - 12:59

more_cashews

Subject buy em, Re: Cashew PLants
From Pat Coyle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Great Eric.

Let's buy them. I'll send a check to your credit union.

I also came across the Trees for the Future and talked briefly with
Dave Deppner at their MD headquarters about my project and their
Belize work described at http://www.treesftf.org/projects/belize.htm

I also invited you in to http://belizeopensource.jot.com/ so you can
edit, comment, etc. Please take a look.

I appreciate your coordinating with Manuel and Elda Soliz about
arranging transportation from Mr. Sylvestre's to the place at August
Pine Ridge.

Thanks,
Pat

>Hello Pat,
>I just this minute got off the phone with Mr.
>Sylvestre and he has agreed to sell you the 100 plants
>you wanted as we had discussed while I was in Los
>Angeles.
>Please say what are your wishes on this and how do we
>proceed?
>
>Sincerely,
>Eric

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 12:50

social_sciences_interest

Subject follow up RE: brainstorming: 40 acre property in Belize
From Pat Coyle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ruth and Jodie,

I really appreciate your willingness to take a look at the initial materials I have at http://belizeopensource.jot.com

Jodie, you have so many things to contribute. I'd love for you to get involved. I was struck by the following points in your email:

We have discussed cashews and other tree and crop options with Thomas Tillett, Ministry of Agriculture, who visited the site to assess the initial cashew trees planted in '77.

I think the the adjacent communities have many unmet needs that are opportunities for the kinds of projects that might be of interest to a number of groups.

My current priorities include getting people lined up who want to participate and setting it up as a non-profit in the states and a NGO in Belize.

Please give it some thought and weigh in if you have suggestions on that or anything else.

If there are people you think we should contact, please invite them in. I think you have access to do so and to edit the site. Let me know if you don't. This wiki tool is new to me.

Thanks,
Pat

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 12:52

suggestions

Subject suggestions for Bz project
From Pat Coyle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reinie and Barb,

I hope all is well with all of you guys.

Everything here is going well. As we come into Thanksgiving in the
States next week, there is plenty to be thankful for.

My Belize project continues, nights and weekends, but I am trying not
to drive people up the wall about it. A key constraint for the
management approach is that I won't be spending a lot of time there.

As resort operators (http://www.hitchcocks.com), you have experience
that is very relevant to this project.

I have started a "wiki" web site for the project at
http://belizeopensource.jot.com; it allows people to comment or edit
the pages. I've invited you in so you can do so. I have not gotten
much feedback so far.

My current priorities are getting people lined up who want to
participate and setting it up as a non-profit in the states and a NGO
in Belize.

Another near-term priority is a an approach to the materials (e,g.,
thatch roof, Mennonite wood construction, or concrete block) and a
floor plan for the small toilet/shower/ mudroom/visitor building to
be hooked up to the septic system.

Please give it some thought and let me know if you have suggestions
on that or anything else about the the whole thing.

Think about the next thing you would build after a caretaker's
thatched hut and sheep/goat shelter, in terms of where you would stay
if you visited, or the next building after that., etc.

All kidding aside, if you know people who might be interested in
participating, let me know.

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 14:17

swamped

Subject I know you are swamped, re: 40 acre property in Belize
From Pat Coyle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mary,

Thanks for checking back.

I know you are swamped, so please don't worry - obviously this does not have hard deadlines. I really do appreciate your keeping it in mind.

A few quick updates:
I got a really thoughtful reply from Edilberto Romero, Executive Director, Programme for Belize, who was born and grew up in the nearby community of August Pine Ridge. He had some excellent suggestions.

I have been able to buy another 100 of the improved variety cashew seedlings, bringing the total we have to plant to 150. We have been waiting till the hurricanes/tropical storm rains let up.

The Government Land Adjudication Program survey of the property and the whole area has nearly been completed and the boundary markers have been flagged, so we we will soon be able to line out the property and clear the boundaries for fencing and a fire-break buffer strip.

I made contact with Trees for the Future and their people in Belize who have TreesBelize?, a Belize NGO, and we are exploring if there's a possibly of working together.

Happy Holidays.

Thanks again,
Pat

------- Original Message -------
On 12/7/2005 9:29 PM Mary Kimball wrote:
Thanks, Re: referral re: 40 acre property in Belize

Pat,
Wanted to check in - I am so sorry, but we are really, really swamped. Everything from an end-of-year donation letter to get out to a huge proposal due next week.

I am not sure at all when I will get to this.
Sorry,
Mary

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 12:34

wireless_broadband

Subject followup: site survey for wireless broadband to August Pine Ridge
From Pat Coyle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Mr. Johnson,

This is a followup to my earlier contact.

How is roll out of the wireless broadband coming along?

Can we get the site survey you spoke of?

Natalio Soliz and I are still very interested. His number in August Pine Ridge is 323-3048.

Thanks,
Pat Coyle

*
prior message
*
After our conversation about broadband wirelesss access in August Pine Ridge, I spoke with Natalio Soliz. He is the teacher there who wants to set up a computer lab with internet access for students. At the present time, he only has dial up from BTL.

I advised him you indicated you are are deploying new CDMA-cellular phone-based broadband service at the end of the month and that you offered to do a site survey of his place and mine to see whether the service could be provided there.

Natalio and I are interested. His number in August Pine Ridge is 323-3048.

Natalio, Mr. Johnson can be reached in Orange Walk Town on 322-2216.

Please let me know the results of the site survey.

Mr. Johnson, I am also interested in phone service for my property which is just before the August Pine Ridge water tower. I would like to understand options for fixed cellular, or VoIP? over the broadband connection, since I am too far out of August Pine Ridge for a BTL land line phone.

Thanks,

Thanks,
Pat Coyle
Livermore CA
USA

------- Original Message -------
On 10/12/2005 8:52 PM Pat Coyle wrote:
Dear Mr. Johnson,

I called today, but you were out of the office. I spoke with you briefly by phone when I was in Belize in August.

I am still very interested in getting a broadband connection from Orange Walk Town out to the community of August Pine Ridge, more specifically to my property which is just past August Pine Ridge.

When we talked, you indicated there wasn't that much demand, so it was not a current priority for your firm.

However, I would like to revisit this with you.

Also a teacher in August Pine Ridge wants to set up a computer lab with internet access for students. At the present time, he only has dial up from BTL.

I said I'd see what options might be available and that we might be able to extend access to the village and people like me to make it more affordable.

We might also be able to find participants in the other villages, along the way in Yo Creek, San Lazaro, and Trinidad. Perhaps other teachers, schools, community groups, or village councils could provide secure locations for a repeater/access point.

Alternatively, perhaps a direct point-to-point link to my place and then to the August Pine Ridge teacher would make more sense.

Since we talked, there has been a lot of news coverage about wireless connectivity for Katrina relief recovery operations.

As an example, I spoke with Mr. Paul Smith, at the Center for Neighborhood Technology(http://wcn.cnt.org/; See email below. The attachment shows the kind of hardware they use in their "mesh" networks).

He indicated it is certainly doable and suggested I explore the connection to internet backhaul options with someone like you, as well as the uses the service might be put to.

I am interested in DSL-like bandwith at my place and for others like the school teacher. I am also interested in VoIP? at my place since the phone lines don't quite reach there.

I would like to explore this with you. I look forward to hearing from you.

If you prefer to talk, please let me know and I can try to arrange a time to call you.

Thanks,
Pat Coyle
Livermore CA
USA

Pat Coyle wrote:

>To: Paul Smithand Nicole Friedman;
>
>I called and left messages for you after I read the New York Times Magazine Idea Lab section ?Talking in the Dark? article and your recent activities in the Gulf.
>
>The line"...In Rayville, his team of techies clambered up a local tower to blast WiFi? signals 50 miles through the countryside; their signals reached refugees clustered in church basements with computers but no Internet connections." caught my eye. I seems like a way to get broadband out to the Belize village of August Pine Ridge which is ~20 miles from Orange Walk Town, where you can get DSL or even a city-wide wireless broadband connection.
>
>Can you refer me to people or sites to learn more about it.
>
>A teacher in August Pine Ridge wants to set up a computer lab and provide students access to internet, but all he can currently get is POTS dial-up. I said I'd see what else might work and that we might be able to extend access to the village and people like me (I have a 40 acre property near there)and make it more affordable. There are 3 communities on the way out, ~3-5 miles apart.
>
>I appreciate the help.
>Thanks,
>
>Pat Coyle
>Livermore CA

patcoyle Tue, 01/31/2006 - 14:15