When we began our search for the best bug-out location for our community in Panama, our concerns were many. After realizing that being at beach altitudes was a non-starter due to the heat and humidity, we began to look at the mountainous regions. These were our main concerns:
1) What areas were comfortable, at the perfect altitude for growing food and could provide a long term sustainable source of fresh water?2) Where could we survive and flourish for a low cost, yet still live in a clean healthy environment?
3) What parts of Panama offered the best opportunity to survive a catastrophic event should something like that occur?
4) Did the area offer several ways into and out, in case there was a road closure or other event that made passage difficult on the main thoroughfares?
When we compared our community to expat pueblos like Volcan and Boquete, the fact there are several roads into and out of our area was, for us, a huge advantage.
Boquete has only one road into and out of the whole town! Yet, whenever you live in an area that gets a lot of rainfall annually, there are bound to be times when the road you normally travel is closed. Having multiple options is critical to survival no matter where you are located.
Volcan in particular, was concerning to us. Located on an alluvial fan, this town was built on a sandy silty base, which could lead to catastrophic problems for the residents there, if the Volcan Baru erupts again, or if it rains for several days straight. In addition to that, because of the composition of their soil, it is nearly impossible to grow crops without significant cost for soil brought in from outside sources. It's a nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.
As a matter of fact, the fertile topsoil is so deep (up to ten feet) in places, it's inconceivable that you would ever run out of the ability to grow crops...and all of our soil is 100% organic.
If you are looking for true sustainability, you would be hard pressed to find a better location than our farm community.