tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1352961858974376232024-03-13T05:06:39.619-05:00Finca Cazador - Sustianable Off Grid Community AcreagePurchase a home or some land to build a shelter and grow organic foodUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-49214232190876428912018-06-01T12:37:00.001-05:002018-06-01T13:36:46.468-05:00Location Out of Harms Way Key to Survival<div style="text-align: center;">
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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:</h4>
1) What areas were comfortable, at the perfect altitude for growing food and could provide a long term sustainable source of fresh water?<br />
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2) Where could we survive and flourish for a low cost, yet still live in a clean healthy environment?<br />
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3) What parts of Panama offered the best opportunity to survive a <a href="http://www.fincacazador.com/2016/03/when-calamity-strikes-why-panama-why.html" target="_blank">catastrophic event</a> should something like that occur?<br />
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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?<br />
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Being at the <a href="http://www.fincacazador.com/2018/05/how-elevation-affects-survival-in.html" target="_blank">dry forest</a> altitude proved to be great for growing crops of all types, including all varieties of fruits and vegetables as well as herbs and medicinal plants. And having multiple sources of water makes this perfect for food cultivation.<br />
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The cost of living here compared to the states is extremely favorable, and even compared to other parts of Panama, very affordable. Gas, food and energy costs are especially low due to the fact we don't need air conditioning or heat at this elevation, and there are adequate breezes to keep the air fresh clean and cool.<br />
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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.<br />
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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.<br />
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This road was blocked due to 3 days of pretty hard rain. Amazingly, the road crew had the road re-opened within 2 days.<br />
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There are several roads into and out of the nearby town, as well as through and around the border with Costa Rica.<br />
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Another reason we located here is our distance from Volcanoes. We also wanted to be high enough to be out of reach of any "rising tide" scenarios.<br />
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Volcan in particular, was concerning to us. Located on an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alluvial_fan" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">alluvial fan</a>, 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.<br />
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Contrast that to the soil at Finca Cazador, which is plentiful and contains a whole host of microbes and beneficial organic ingredients, which makes growing food a snap, without the expense of chemical fertilizers and herbicides.<br />
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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.<br />
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If you are looking for true sustainability, you would be hard pressed to find a better location than our farm community.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-52666047815609479972018-05-29T18:46:00.000-05:002018-05-30T20:40:46.320-05:00How Elevation Affects Survival in the Mountains of Panama<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When thinking about a location for long term survival, it helps to be aware of a few basic factors; food and water availability, air quality and climate tolerance.<br /><br />The reasons we chose this area of Panama to locate our community are many, but these were three of the earliest and most important factors we considered when deciding on an elevation and area.</span><br /><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Air Quality</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Did you know that 92% of the world's population breathes toxic, polluted air? The World Health Organization (WHO) analyzed air quality from 3,000 locations around the world, testing for sulfates, nitrates, mineral dust, and black carbon. Developing countries tested back with the highest concentrations of pollutants and particles, while wealthier countries or countries with vast wildlife/nature preserves had very few pollutants.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">WHO concluded that pollution is responsible for 6 million deaths per year. Cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are all products of poor or toxic air quality. <br /><br />Many people who travel regularly can feel the changes in air quality. While some enjoy the busy city, most can agree the living conditions are not healthy, and provoke stress and disease. </span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span></span><br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -4.5pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 4.5pt; text-indent: -4.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-size: small;">Living in the mountains provides some of the world's cleanest air. Oxygen rich air is very beneficial, and many can feel the effects when walking through the forest or being in the garden. Less pollutant concentration is also beneficial for the plants. Untouched forests work tirelessly to provide oxygen and filter harmful pollutants. Ground vegetation below tree canopies tends to be very lush and healthy due to its protected environment. Bananas, mangos, cocoa, guanabana, guava, and coffee grow widely in Panama, providing food and an oxygen-rich environment for humans and animals alike.</span></span></span></div>
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<b>Rainfall</b><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are 4 main ecosystems in Panama; Tropical wet lowland forest, Tropical coniferous forest, dry forest, and cloud forest. These forests vary based on elevation, location, and types of plants.</span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqmeWEokD13PH376u6ccYpa0tzZNam7qDbSiqnG_LYUeFbv9maISXyxWR2Tye2mp1lP31tgEDaY4lNNc0Knt0V9rDDrzdxgGcCJ0CEbdgxeG7GP8UaghN2KoqQkj0WojSZBsBZjIKitYS/s1600/Tropical-lowlands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="413" data-original-width="550" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdqmeWEokD13PH376u6ccYpa0tzZNam7qDbSiqnG_LYUeFbv9maISXyxWR2Tye2mp1lP31tgEDaY4lNNc0Knt0V9rDDrzdxgGcCJ0CEbdgxeG7GP8UaghN2KoqQkj0WojSZBsBZjIKitYS/s400/Tropical-lowlands.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tropical Lowlands</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-size: small;">The Tropical lowlands are very dense with plants, animals, and bio-activity. Usually formed near coasts and the equator, these forests receive year round rain and have a very fast decomposition rate. The average rainfall is 100 inches of rain per year. Common plants include mangrove, palm varieties, coconut trees, and tropical flowers like hibiscus and orchids.</span></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJD2DnSiaqFHvxN-TpCCwu0hDpuY5NghAWaP1UQuOCnIpeJRGoleSGnjP-8_bw3g3lnEmPrhvEy2yauEzLeixwylB0j7ytsPq0cq0m90BRo7yhOca20_aya-WZdcdH3fCS46IQ5uAdao-/s1600/Tropical-coniferous.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="667" data-original-width="1000" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmJD2DnSiaqFHvxN-TpCCwu0hDpuY5NghAWaP1UQuOCnIpeJRGoleSGnjP-8_bw3g3lnEmPrhvEy2yauEzLeixwylB0j7ytsPq0cq0m90BRo7yhOca20_aya-WZdcdH3fCS46IQ5uAdao-/s400/Tropical-coniferous.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tropical Coniferous</td></tr>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.7999999999999998; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: -4.5pt; margin-top: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 0pt 4.5pt; text-indent: -4.5pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-size: small;">Tropical coniferous forests are forests that have a period of no rainfall, causing some plants to die seasonally. They house tall hardwood trees such as redwood, eucalyptus, mahogany, and fruit bearing trees as well. You can find exotic fruits such as guanabana, guava, and soursop growing wildly. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">Both of these forests tend to be at a low elevation of one to two thousand feet.</span></span> </span></span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVE3xbVe_2P3sXlPhdLDjcYplWFZkjZaB41oNDZfQlgcdUWg57tUhharQj1tFjOenClWaiSOYZ1TaopgWqXSwM8uKUCZTYLFX2056qaTcVm61wgterrmQSr2D5j8C297vZCrlFlHyhMiV5/s1600/Dry-forest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="530" data-original-width="795" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVE3xbVe_2P3sXlPhdLDjcYplWFZkjZaB41oNDZfQlgcdUWg57tUhharQj1tFjOenClWaiSOYZ1TaopgWqXSwM8uKUCZTYLFX2056qaTcVm61wgterrmQSr2D5j8C297vZCrlFlHyhMiV5/s400/Dry-forest.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dry Forest (Finca Cazador)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">The dry forests are primarily located on the Pacific side of Panama, and the wetter forests and mangroves are on the Caribbean side. The dry forests cover mountain ranges and extend into the wet lowland forests, or extend higher into the cloud forests. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJh0dmI5RofYdUzS2t3LWibBUZUVs7s4u0TLeWZOOaZwFP4caA2HqHVEi_kFk5ofde5JCHQ_gd97Zj9es_XwnO95QSj4K5HevksdyrX013heGLlvf-he0kb2zOcLYiE1qCmXF4uRG229Uz/s1600/Cloud-forest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="363" data-original-width="485" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJh0dmI5RofYdUzS2t3LWibBUZUVs7s4u0TLeWZOOaZwFP4caA2HqHVEi_kFk5ofde5JCHQ_gd97Zj9es_XwnO95QSj4K5HevksdyrX013heGLlvf-he0kb2zOcLYiE1qCmXF4uRG229Uz/s400/Cloud-forest.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cloud Forest</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cloud forests are typically at a higher elevations, and sit in dense layers of condensation. The forest mainly consists of towering trees and thick vegetation below. Rainfall can vary from 20-50 inches per year. </span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilGwcTblnQuJHTdWcM5CDmFwL1uW9NyDw26uWvtu0BYsIDMK3sPTJi6DptHaqenH9P99nNtfFlBdVXvPo48g7Fx-W6frabRq9wFuzNGvR5KkQZtRBBi24jqQmBvRMvhaXoadQzlaXcWLFX/s1600/139.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilGwcTblnQuJHTdWcM5CDmFwL1uW9NyDw26uWvtu0BYsIDMK3sPTJi6DptHaqenH9P99nNtfFlBdVXvPo48g7Fx-W6frabRq9wFuzNGvR5KkQZtRBBi24jqQmBvRMvhaXoadQzlaXcWLFX/s400/139.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bio-Diverse Land at Finca Cazador</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<b>Climate / Temperature</b><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Finca Cazador sits at a very comfortable 3,200 feet above sea level, making it one of the most comfortable elevations and highly adaptable to year round survival. <br /><br />Incidentally, mosquitos and other insects often have difficulty surviving at these higher altitudes, due to the lack of access to their natural food source. <br /><br />It is important to remember that trees, and every other plant, provide clean oxygen for the entire globe, while filtering harmful pollutants. Deforestation is very detrimental not only to the forests, but the air quality. Deforestation along with commercial farming practices has killed the living soil containing beneficial decomposers and fungi in many areas. <br /><br />The remediation of the soil through organic practices at Finca Cazador has allowed the land to once again support plant and animal life. Living in an environment free of pollutants is something that should our highest concern.</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-7b0197b6-ae45-22b2-5f47-84ef57fb5595" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span id="docs-internal-guid-7b0197b6-ae45-22b2-5f47-84ef57fb5595" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sources: </span></span></span><br />
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<div dir="ltr" id="docs-internal-guid-c2fa3575-ae48-a327-b244-af4c28c75a42" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/air-pollution-estimates/en/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "cambria"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2016/air-pollution-estimates/en/</span></a></span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/air-pollution/index.cfm" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "cambria"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/air-pollution/index.cfm</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://rainforests.mongabay.com/20panama.htm" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: "cambria"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://rainforests.mongabay.com/20panama.htm</span></a></span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-39913760919507230142018-03-09T18:38:00.000-05:002018-03-13T02:51:18.440-05:00Immigration and Other Statistics for Panama<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF5nFdZRVdv-MSGD94llrj-wVMKvRXEV8f4UKVp4YeG6HbXACxzD6Wv2hHvCIO9bbHGGEGU7UGDVKHc276Zd9Hg46x3EIyLcFHNbaTWL_9EOi8KU-A7AIHpPPudeIEmQ_UQHfFY0rfNDTS/s1600/WTF-world.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF5nFdZRVdv-MSGD94llrj-wVMKvRXEV8f4UKVp4YeG6HbXACxzD6Wv2hHvCIO9bbHGGEGU7UGDVKHc276Zd9Hg46x3EIyLcFHNbaTWL_9EOi8KU-A7AIHpPPudeIEmQ_UQHfFY0rfNDTS/s640/WTF-world.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<h3>
How does Panama compare to the U.S., Costa Rica and Canada...statistically?</h3>
<br />
Today, I thought I would share some statistics I found interesting regarding Panama's demographics, health and economy, compared to the United States Costa Rica and Canada.<br />
<br />
According to our <a href="https://www.indexmundi.com/map/" target="_blank">source</a>:<br />
<br />
The Population of Panama is 3,753,142 and the number of people per square kilometer (population density) is 50.<br />
<br />
The population of Costa Rica, our next door neighbor, is 4,930,258 and the number of people per square kilometer is 96.<br />
<br />
The United States is home to 326,625,792 people, and the population density is 33 people per square kilometer.<br />
<br />
Canada has 35,623,680 residents, and their population density is only 4.<br />
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<b>Migration:</b><br />
<br />
This entry includes the figure for the difference between the number of
persons entering and leaving a country during the year per 1,000 persons
(based on midyear population). An excess of persons entering the
country is referred to as net immigration (e.g., 3.56 migrants/1,000
population); an excess of persons leaving the country as net emigration
(e.g., -9.26 migrants/1,000 population). The net migration rate
indicates the contribution of migration to the overall level of
population change. The net migration rate does not distinguish between
economic migrants, refugees, and other types of migrants nor does it
distinguish between lawful migrants and undocumented migrants.<br />
<br />
Panama is flat. In other words the number of people leaving (emigrating) is roughly equal to the number of people arriving (immigrating), so they are shown as a zero net figure.<br />
<br />
Costa Rica is a (1) and the U.S. is a (4), so for every 1,000 people in the States, last year there were 4 new people arriving, with or without documentation.<br />
<br />
Interestingly, Canada had a (6) person per 1,000 population increase in 2017.<br />
<br />
<b>Mortality:</b><br />
<br />
This entry gives the average annual number of deaths during a year per
1,000 population at midyear; also known as crude death rate. The death
rate, while only a rough indicator of the mortality situation in a
country, accurately indicates the current mortality impact on population
growth. This indicator is significantly affected by age distribution,
and most countries will eventually show a rise in the overall death
rate, in spite of continued decline in mortality at all ages, as
declining fertility results in an aging population.<br />
<br />
Panama and Costa Rica are both (5) on the scale, the U.S. has (8) deaths per 1,000 people and Canada comes in at (9) on the scale.<br />
<br />
While we're on the subject of life expectancy, since obesity has been proven to be a contributing factor to early mortality, here are the obesity numbers:<br />
<br />
In Panama, 23% of the adult population is considered obese, while in Costa Rica the number is 26% and in the U.S. that number jumps to 36% according to this report. Canada's obesity rate is 29% of the population.<br />
<br />
Obesity is defined as an adult having a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater to
or equal to 30.0. BMI is calculated by taking a person's weight in kg
and dividing it by the person's squared height in meters.<br />
<br />
<b>Life Expectancy at Birth:</b><br />
<br />
This entry contains the average number of years to be lived by a group
of people born in the same year, if mortality at each age remains
constant in the future. Life expectancy at birth is also a measure of
overall quality of life in a country and summarizes the mortality at all
ages.<br />
<br />
Panama and Costa Rica residents have an average life expectancy of 79 years, and the U.S. is only slightly higher at 80 years, despite the fact the United States spends a whopping 17% of all the money they generate (GDP) on healthcare. Panama's healthcare expenditure is only 8% of GDP, and Costa Rica spends 9% of their overall income on health care. Canada spends 10% of their GDP on their national health care system.<br />
<br />
<b>Economy: </b><br />
<br />
While we're on the subject of GDP growth, Panama enjoys a 5% year-over-year real growth rate, while Costa Rica sits at 4%, and the U.S. is still only able to churn out 2% growth, even less than Canada's 3% rate. This despite the fact that per capita oil usage for the U.S. (61 barrels per day per 1,000 people) is more than double what Panama uses (28 barrels per 1,000 people) in a day.<br />
<br />
<b> Energy:</b><br />
<br />
This entry consists of total electricity generated annually plus imports
and minus exports, expressed in kilowatt-hours. The discrepancy between
the amount of electricity generated and/or imported and the amount
consumed and/or exported is accounted for as loss in transmission and
distribution.<br />
<br />
Panama uses 8, Costa Rica uses 9 and (hold on a moment could this be right?) the U.S. uses 3,911 kilowatt-hours annually! Canada uses 517.<br />
<br />
<b>Technology:</b><br />
<br />
For every 100 people in Panama, there are 193 mobile phone lines. I suspect that is because there are several carriers serving the country, and since the equipment is cheap and rates are low, they have more than one line. They also change services a lot and use different SIM cards, which each carry their own number. In the U.S., there are 99 cell phone lines for every 100 persons.<br />
<br />
Every day, I find new reasons why Panama's future looks so bright...and sustainable!<br />
<br />
We're offering organic parcels of land to people who want to live healthy, survive whatever calamities might be heading their way and enjoy the beauty of a tropical mountain paradise.<br />
<br />
Get in touch if that sounds good to you...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-49683068211414958522018-03-07T15:26:00.001-05:002018-03-13T02:52:16.741-05:00A Plan-B Preparedness Strategy<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfIFvpQ08Sh_Gqedj9zUR1Ow35g2c6Gjt08bu0mIQRtTrve83wK9FDtDLCPMstfEWIBuIuBLYYqsf-QtSHsE1HdOmVTYJWb5sbIvcJwL5wjH0nsgXGu_e9nPCogpDcOcg-o_GEQT5cC5Gj/s1600/plan-a-b-c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Prepping plan B" border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfIFvpQ08Sh_Gqedj9zUR1Ow35g2c6Gjt08bu0mIQRtTrve83wK9FDtDLCPMstfEWIBuIuBLYYqsf-QtSHsE1HdOmVTYJWb5sbIvcJwL5wjH0nsgXGu_e9nPCogpDcOcg-o_GEQT5cC5Gj/s400/plan-a-b-c.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<h3>
<span style="font-size: small;">Creating a dual-purpose preparation plan can make prepping activities more effective and cost less in the long run.</span></h3>
<br />
Being prepared is more than just storing enough food, water and other supplies. Having a plan for any eventuality, as best you can, is also key to being prepared and feeling secure. That includes mentally thinking through all the different scenarios that might present themselves, and devising ways you can eliminate or at least reduce the risks associated with those threats. But, what if the threats you have prepared for don't happen in your lifetime, what then? Did you prepare for nothing? Is all that time, energy and money wasted?<br />
<br />
Ideally, since nobody really knows what the future holds and which threats are likely to play out, having a "dual-purpose" preparation strategy can reduce the overall cost of preparation and help reduce stress levels.<br />
<br />
An example would be dual-purpose financial preparedness. Many believe that runaway inflation is just around the corner, due to an unprecedented expansion of the money supply after the 2008 housing market collapse. One way to prepare for price inflation (higher prices for goods and services) is to have a hedge against the dropping value of the dollar.<br />
<br />
One such hedge might be buying actual (not paper) precious metals, like gold or silver. Another might be obtaining and storing some crypto-currencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, if you believe they are here to stay and will become useful in the future, thereby retaining their value.<br />
<br />
In the event the value of the dollar dropped rapidly (hyperinflation) or collapsed entirely where nobody wanted to hold dollars, you could potentially use either the precious metals or the crypto-currency to trade for your necessities. Of course, the places you would be trading with would have to also value and accept those alternative currencies, in order for them to be useful as a hedge against inflation. At the moment, crypto-currencies like Bitcoin do not enjoy wide acceptance, and regulators are still trying to decide how they want to classify them and tax them.<br />
<br />
So a dual-purpose strategy would be one where we invest in things that are useful or valued in a SHTF scenario, but also are likely to be valuable if the stuff doesn't hit the fan. An example of a financial hedge, would be to invest in a mix of stocks that <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/08/11/11-internet-of-things-stats-that-will-blow-you-awa.aspx" target="_blank">target</a> high tech companies, perhaps in an ETF or maybe even in an emerging market. The high tech investment would increase in value (potentially) as high-tech products came to market, and we would benefit financially from that appreciation. That could help offset some of the cost of purchasing supplies, for example.<br />
<br />
Incidentally, silver is believed to be in short supply and is likely to be in high demand as the world moves toward solar power. Silver is also used in many electronic components, and so it might be an ideal dual-purpose hedge on it's own, if you don't mind storing it. Again, invest only in the actual physical metal itself, as the paper investments are rumored to be over-sold.<br />
<br />
A dual-use preparation strategy is essentially adopting a mindset that if this (insert calamity here) happens, we are prepared, but if it doesn't happen, this hedge can still be useful even in a non-SHTF scenario. Or at the very least, we have a "balancing" hedge against the original hedge, as in the ETF investment above.<br />
<br />
Another scenario that keeps some people up at night are fears about how fast technology is moving and the direction it is taking us. For example, some people see micro-chipping humans as a way to streamline and improve <a href="https://www.iotforall.com/chipping-embed-sensors-skin/" target="_blank">efficiencies</a> for healthcare, while others believe that having a chip inserted into their bodies under their skin would be invasive and troublesome from a privacy standpoint.<br />
<br />
Weather we like it or not, the tech world is relentlessly marching forward, and the fear of being left behind and not being able to function in a society that increasingly revolves around high tech gadgetry, is a very real one. One way to hedge against that scenario might be to move from a city environment to a more rural area, or even a different country, where technology is less pervasive. Making that location a beautiful vacation spot or a location that would be increasingly valuable if things were to normalize, is how this could be a dual-purpose prepping strategy. <br />
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Man-made or natural disasters also weigh heavy on our minds, and can result in less than ideal feelings of stress and anxiety. Things like nuclear war, EMP blasts taking out the electrical grid, runaway climate change resulting in devastating droughts and flooding, and other end-of-the-world (TEOTWAWKI) scenarios that may or may not happen weigh heavy on most people's minds.<br />
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If you think about it, there are any number of hedges out there that can be used in just about any scenario, if you have a dual-purpose investing mindset.<br />
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Our community is all about dual purpose hedging. For us, living in mountain paradise not only provides us and our families a safe retreat where we can grow our own food should any one of many nightmare scenarios play out, it also gives us a wonderful place to go to enjoy life and relax in the meantime. And, on top of that, prices for organic land with water, electricity and internet are very likely to go dramatically higher in the future.<br />
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Get in touch if you'd like more information about our community and goals.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-59904076947918974422018-02-22T14:32:00.003-05:002018-03-13T02:50:12.966-05:00Fresh Food in the Cool Tropical Mountains of Panama<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJnYNC-G2gLc_SSxRpMm4MUwvMAEJgq-Mdp_wNYqv-nRg5A9YZyW2kXnHtGfpm-g60K0k4Wr6TW1RuX4VjDnfD_3ndnb5K5626jzqnOnZI56FXiLGT8uihUL6TE8MD2oFtzSZmDyLGB0W/s1600/Avocados-by-the-wheelbarrow-Finca-Cazador.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXJnYNC-G2gLc_SSxRpMm4MUwvMAEJgq-Mdp_wNYqv-nRg5A9YZyW2kXnHtGfpm-g60K0k4Wr6TW1RuX4VjDnfD_3ndnb5K5626jzqnOnZI56FXiLGT8uihUL6TE8MD2oFtzSZmDyLGB0W/s640/Avocados-by-the-wheelbarrow-Finca-Cazador.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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This time of year I am reminded of how lucky I am to live in an agricultural area, as opposed to a big city.<br />
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Not only is it much cooler up here in the mountains, and the air is much cleaner, the food is fantastic!<br />
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Although Chiriqui province is considered to be the "breadbasket" of Panama (most of the food in Panama comes from this area), there's nothing quite like living in the heart of Chiriqui, near where all that fresh food is grown.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1ApO-xP6O_kmFxg84BgpmzOEpfUHNcDL82muspN6fR5nv73cieMut2vbzXWBvqunTSRm8a29CP0zwOWe2eTAiKKvPA7e24ApTBuVXziW7rhAU-cA_xx5MrjCNQySBmbGgfA7K6blo_Uv/s1600/Hills_Cerro_Punta5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="785" data-original-width="1047" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF1ApO-xP6O_kmFxg84BgpmzOEpfUHNcDL82muspN6fR5nv73cieMut2vbzXWBvqunTSRm8a29CP0zwOWe2eTAiKKvPA7e24ApTBuVXziW7rhAU-cA_xx5MrjCNQySBmbGgfA7K6blo_Uv/s400/Hills_Cerro_Punta5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Some of the things I enjoy most are the fresh grass fed cheeses, straight from a local dairy and sold for $4 a pound or less.<br />
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Avocados, high in fiber and vitamins, are also plentiful in this area. Some of them are so large that the pit is nearly the size of a typical red apple! You can easily make guacamole from the fruit then use the oversized outer shell as a dish for it.<br />
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The meat here is also extremely fresh. It is not uncommon to run into the local farmer that raised the animal at one of the many markets, delivering freshly cut chicken, pork or beef.<br />
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There are also several restaurants in the area, and more are popping up every day. Most of them source their ingredients locally, so you know the food you are eating is as fresh as possible.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkO52ULJdmsHUytdk7viDEk42mdBF7881ISauA7DVBjBHMGxYg4YbIZhH_OXjq7Fph7PasqLXz-H4LWDzQuyQlOMYGK-VPE6TVa47XAQB0NXitXXQhOwGFbYX0nmIZzYA3ji9VjjX4DENu/s1600/Chicken-salad-Finca-Cazador.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkO52ULJdmsHUytdk7viDEk42mdBF7881ISauA7DVBjBHMGxYg4YbIZhH_OXjq7Fph7PasqLXz-H4LWDzQuyQlOMYGK-VPE6TVa47XAQB0NXitXXQhOwGFbYX0nmIZzYA3ji9VjjX4DENu/s400/Chicken-salad-Finca-Cazador.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Compared to living where fast food restaurants litter the landscape, and most of the produce is irradiated and shipped in weeks before they are ripened, this place encourages good health and vitality...naturally.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZVDYlzumdshb2P5cOyY9k990q07cV61jGlECPF7koOm0uMUv_J2o7YFb8JO2hd_Ay7YZ6FqHyaBGIHoCgKPCS-Pq84VF8pY5fVDY0Y9F4lUmJPdGc3DSr-pf721aNSUBZOHNmjnBQ3l4/s1600/Platanos+Fallen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaZVDYlzumdshb2P5cOyY9k990q07cV61jGlECPF7koOm0uMUv_J2o7YFb8JO2hd_Ay7YZ6FqHyaBGIHoCgKPCS-Pq84VF8pY5fVDY0Y9F4lUmJPdGc3DSr-pf721aNSUBZOHNmjnBQ3l4/s320/Platanos+Fallen.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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This platano tree fell down, so we will use these fruits for barter or to feed the toucans in the area. Not to worry, there are hundreds of trees just like this one still standing on the farm. And when one falls down, a baby one sprouts up immediately to take it's place.<br />
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And then, of course there's the organic coffee....<br />
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If you'd like to break away from the hectic lifestyle predominant in the big cities, come take a tour of our farm. You might just like it enough to stay!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-18978117151015937582018-02-20T23:47:00.000-05:002018-02-21T00:03:54.248-05:00Top Ten Reasons to Make the Move to Panama<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT2m_2HxVJiYbfv8x3Kvxbh7wl2yXB3WywkAAgehyphenhyphenvyXIyhYPL-THDvNnbCajKxL5GDSBXzq-jisJedLcBmtQHkzkVrbHW5tUL8y63xskQU8zXoWd2GCsoW9DCYNA2hyEhLCBnDlcGbzwV/s1600/Top-Ten-Reasons-Move-Panama.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT2m_2HxVJiYbfv8x3Kvxbh7wl2yXB3WywkAAgehyphenhyphenvyXIyhYPL-THDvNnbCajKxL5GDSBXzq-jisJedLcBmtQHkzkVrbHW5tUL8y63xskQU8zXoWd2GCsoW9DCYNA2hyEhLCBnDlcGbzwV/s400/Top-Ten-Reasons-Move-Panama.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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So, maybe you're still considering several places to move to, and Panama is one of the countries on your 'short' list.<br />
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As we have pointed out before, Panama is home to some of the <a href="http://www.fincacazador.com/2016/06/panama-leads-world-in-well-being.html" target="_blank">happiest</a> people on earth. And why not?<br />
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Here are some of the reasons we chose Panama, and this particular spot, to call home:<br />
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<b>Reason #1</b><br />
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<b>Low cost of living</b><br />
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The cost for most things people buy regularly (<a href="http://www.fincacazador.com/2017/03/gas-prices-in-central-america-lowest-in.html" target="_blank">gas</a>, food, housing, energy, etc) are generally lower in many parts of Panama than in the states or in the Eurozone. Of course, the cost of housing and restaurant food in the big cities like Panama City and David are about the same as in the states, but if you can tolerate a little inconvenience and live a little more remotely, the costs can be dramatically lower. Just stay away from the well-known expat areas (Coronado, El Valle, Boquete and Volcan), as prices there tend to be higher than in the rural agricultural areas.<br />
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<b>Reason #2</b><br />
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<b>Weather</b><br />
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Yes, you read that correctly. Contrary to many people's beliefs there are some very comfortable places to live in Panama, despite the fact that this is a tropical region that gets a lot more rainfall than many places in the States or Europe. The temperature and humidity are very different at higher altitudes than down by the ocean. In the area we located our farms, the weather stays a comfortable 70 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit nearly all year, day and night. And, there's just enough rainfall to keep the plants happy without irrigating.<br />
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<b>Reason #3</b><br />
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<b>Location out of harms way</b> <br />
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Nobody knows what is really going on behind the scenes, but it does seem to be getting a little 'sketchy' in and around the big cities in the US and Europe these days. Violence, drug abuse and social problems are rampant and acts of violence against innocent people are on the rise. Natural weather related events also seem to be occurring more often, such as drought, flooding and fires all over the US, and all are on the rise in recent years. Why this is happening is debatable, but it is clear that things are changing and not for the better. Being remote and surrounded by fewer people who are not dependent as much on others may be a safer bet than near a big city, if things continue to accelerate.<br />
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<b>Reason #4</b><br />
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<b>The economy is vibrant</b> <br />
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The Panamanian economy has been in a boon since the early 2000's, and is expected to continue along that course for the foreseeable future. The Panama Canal recent expansion, which is now able to accommodate larger ships and charge higher fees has helped fuel this increase in revenue. And, the leaders of the country seem to be putting that money to good use, expanding the infrastructure, enhancing and improving water distribution and encouraging self reliance by promoting agriculture.<br />
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<b>Reason #5</b><br />
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<b>They use the dollar</b> <br />
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For Americans living in Panama, conducting business is much like doing it at home for the simple reason there is no need to convert the currency. Although they use the dollar, as a backup they also have their own currency (the Balboa), which is pegged to the dollar and circulates alongside the dollar. If there ever were to be a rapid drop in the value or acceptance of the dollar, one could simply spend Balboas instead.<br />
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<b>Reason #6</b><br />
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<b>Neutral stable government</b> <br />
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The government of Panama doesn't seem to be eager or willing to become entangled in the politics or social affairs of other countries. And, they seem to be willing to trade with other countries, even going as far as visiting them to set up trade Agreements, like the recent one between Panama and the United States. They are also high on the scale for <a href="http://www.fincacazador.com/2016/06/panama-improves-most-in-peace-study-for.html" target="_blank">peace</a>.<br />
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<b>Reason #7</b><br />
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<b>Panama is on the 'way up', rather than on the way down</b> <br />
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Panama is still several decades behind the US and European countries socially, economically and business wise. That means there is a lot of opportunity to grow in these areas, learning from the mistakes of the more developed nations.<br />
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<b>Reason #8</b><br />
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<b>Low and fair tax system</b><br />
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Unlike some other countries, Panama does not tax residents on the income they receive from countries outside Panama. And, if you are a dual resident and citizen of the US, the US gives you a break on your US taxes for income that is generated in Panama, up to a point. Property taxes are also quite low, and as of this writing, only collected when a property is sold.<br />
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<b>Reason #9</b><br />
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<b>Close proximity to everywhere</b> <br />
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Whether you live in the US, the Eurozone, South America or Asia, Panama is centrally located and a hub of travel to anywhere in the world. Several new airports have been built and the main airport in Panama City (Tocumen) is undergoing a large scale redevelopment, and is sure to be Central America's main travel destination for residents from all over the world.<br />
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<b>Reason #10</b><br />
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<b>It's a great place to retire</b> <br />
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Panama gives more than just lip service to retirees, both local and expats. As a "pensioner" you are treated to special discounts on food, hotels, entertainment and airline tickets. Discounts range from 20 to 40% or more in some cases. Citizens also get a monthly stipend, so there is very little homelessness, which is a welcome change from what one sees in the states nowadays.<br />
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Buying land or a home in another country and starting over can be a little scary and intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. The world is changing rapidly, and some places will fare better than others when those changes take place. Rural Panama is like the US was back in the 80's or maybe even the 70's, and the pace of life is much slower and people are more down to earth. Sure, they still have smart phones, internet services and TV's but they don't seem to be as caught up in the latest technology as everyone in the US seems to be.<br />
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If simpler, safer and slower is what you are looking for, take a look at what we are doing here at Finca Cazador. For a limited time, we are offering (1-5 acre) plots of organic bio-diverse land in our community to like minded individuals and families who want to live a clean, self sufficient (but not alone) lifestyle.<br />
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If this sounds interesting to you, contact us by email using the form at the top of the page, or email us at info@fincacazador.com<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-26683198565033022072018-01-14T00:28:00.000-05:002018-01-14T00:28:47.273-05:00State Dept Travel Advisory Updated for Panama<br />
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As if you needed another good reason to consider moving to Panama to enjoy the great weather, lush vegetation and low cost of living (at least here in the Chiriqui province)...Panama is one of the safest destinations for travel according to the most recent update to the State Department information website.<br />
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The US State Department updated their <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/dam/NEWTravelAssets/pdfs/Travel%20Advisory%20Country%20List%20Alphabetical%201-10-18%20VERT.PDF" target="_blank">travel advisory program</a>, and Panama is listed as one of the countries with the least amount of worry for travelers abroad.<br />
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The site also contains links to other helpful resources such as maps showing how safe different regions of the world are, a <a href="https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/before-you-go/travelers-checklist.html" target="_blank">travelers checklist</a> to assist in planning before you go and how to enroll in the <a href="https://step.state.gov/" target="_blank">step program</a> offered to travelers to help ensure their safety while traveling abroad. <br />
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The new levels of travel advisories are:<br />
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<ul>
<li><span><span><strong>Level 1 - Exercise Normal Precautions:</strong><span> </span>This is the lowest advisory level for safety and security
risk. There is some risk in any international travel. Conditions in
other countries may differ from those in the United States and may
change at any time.</span></span></li>
<li><span><span><strong>Level 2 - Exercise Increased Caution:</strong><span> </span>Be
aware of heightened risks to safety and security. The Department of
State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the
Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time.</span></span></li>
<li><span><span><strong>Level 3 - Reconsider Travel:</strong><span> </span>Avoid
travel due to serious risks to safety and security. The Department of
State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the
Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time.</span></span></li>
<li><span><span><strong>Level 4 - Do Not Travel:</strong><span> </span>This
is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of
life-threatening risks. During an emergency, the U.S. government may
have very limited ability to provide assistance. The Department of State
advises that U.S. citizens not travel to the country or leave as soon
as it is safe to do so. The Department of State provides additional
advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions
in any country may change at any time. </span></span></li>
</ul>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-5306261696579431192017-05-04T17:42:00.000-05:002017-05-04T17:42:22.998-05:00Plastic Shopping Bags Soon to be Banned by New Law<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8BrCWrCxGMCQ8l7MudiBELyKFyVljAXRyIUA9KofHazkrNEW-fbqxrrwH60fBKcD7kDPh1Ie3lfaqj8ExjD4a_HSMzkFEcUGQYhlC4L_DZdFBMwlTijjNaaQhhhQDQhnHBHSmECvKPE_m/s1600/Ban-shopping-bags.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8BrCWrCxGMCQ8l7MudiBELyKFyVljAXRyIUA9KofHazkrNEW-fbqxrrwH60fBKcD7kDPh1Ie3lfaqj8ExjD4a_HSMzkFEcUGQYhlC4L_DZdFBMwlTijjNaaQhhhQDQhnHBHSmECvKPE_m/s400/Ban-shopping-bags.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h2>
Plastic Shopping bags will soon be banned in Panama, if a recent bill which just passed the first debate becomes law.</h2>
The assembly has approved law 492, during their first debate on the matter, that will ban stores from giving out plastic shopping bags to end users, and promote the use of more eco-friendly alternatives.<br />
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This is an attempt to begin to curtail the litter problem, and it is hoped that the new law, if passed, will create awareness of the problem these types of plastic bags cause in the environment, and curb their use nationwide.<br />
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According to the President of the Committee on Trade and Economic Affairs, this law should result in a reduction of around 20% once the bill is enacted and enforcement begins.<br />
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According to <a href="https://www.reusethisbag.com/reusable-bag-infographics/plastic-bag-bans-world.php" target="_blank">reusethisbag.com</a>, there are currently somewhere between 500 billion to a trillion bags used in the world every year, but many countries are making an effort to ban them or tax their use.<br />
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The law was designed to promote the use of re-usable and biodegradable bags, by specifically banning the use of polyethylene bags.<br />
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Many other countries already have a ban in place, including <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/19/europe/france-bans-plastic-cups-plates/" target="_blank">France</a>, who as of September 2016 banned the use of plastic plates cups and utensils.<br />
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Ireland, in 2002, began charging a 37 cent tax to the consumer for the use of the bags, reducing their numbers by 90% over a ten year period.<br />
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">According to </span><a href="http://www.unep.org/regionalseas/marinelitter/publications/docs/plastic_ocean_report.pdf"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Greenpeace</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">,
“At least 267 different species are known to have suffered from
entanglement or ingestion of marine debris including seabirds, turtles,
seals, sea lions, whales and fish. The scale of contamination of the
marine environment by plastic debris is vast. It is found floating in
all the world’s oceans, everywhere from polar regions to the equator.”</span><br />
<br />
The new proposal still needs to pass two more debate sessions to become law.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-90281591194430453182017-05-03T12:36:00.000-05:002018-03-13T02:45:19.147-05:00Cultural Differences Between the US and Panama<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZqZd5U4eAZQ6fiYtLmUDlJXSOKp8wth376Tx1cBjkgx1H_m_67fLecgsAK0kEdBLd6Gqu3xw8zyPh4CbgsZ-83zYrstS-t7NbPOzwDfMb9UH2VzkmWssjeEfZKNfg9VaCkavbhwhrQjS/s1600/Panamanian+Cowboy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTZqZd5U4eAZQ6fiYtLmUDlJXSOKp8wth376Tx1cBjkgx1H_m_67fLecgsAK0kEdBLd6Gqu3xw8zyPh4CbgsZ-83zYrstS-t7NbPOzwDfMb9UH2VzkmWssjeEfZKNfg9VaCkavbhwhrQjS/s400/Panamanian+Cowboy.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<h2>
Looking to relocate to Panama and not sure about the cultural differences?</h2>
I'm often asked what the cultural or social differences are between the people of the US and the people of Panama.<br />
<br />
The Latino culture here in Panama and in general is typically very
polite. For example, if you and I were in a theater and I wanted to walk
between your knees and the seat in front of you, I would be using the
phrase, “Su permiso,” which means “With your permission, may I pass in
front of you?”
<br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
Another example is when people get onto a bus or on any form of public
transportation, they will look at everyone and say “Buenos días” to
everyone. Panamanians are very amiable and very polite.
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The Spanish language as a whole isn’t offensive or direct, unlike how
English can be. English is great for math and businesses, but some
people in other parts of the world are almost offensively direct.
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Spanish isn’t that way. Spanish goes up around the bend and out the
back door. People here in Panama will typically never tell you anything
you don’t want to hear, and that is something I don’t really like. The
Panamanian culture is a culture of non-offense.
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Here in Panama, when somebody comes to your property, it’s considered
very offensive to walk up to the door. You have to stand on the road or
at the yard and say, “Hola! Hola!” to get permission to enter into the
yard.
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The rural culture that came out of the ghettos of East L.A. is a
culture that is seen throughout the world. When I was in Eastern Europe,
I could see that culture there. It’s what you and I call the culture of
rap, or the gangster mentality, and it’s here in some parts of Panama. It’s
everywhere in the world and it’s a very loud, abrasive, in-your-face
type of culture typically involving younger people with loud music that I
don’t resonate with. It’s something that’s come in the last 10 or 15
years through music. Fortunately, in this agriculture based area, local residents are too busy trying to make a living to take up that urban ghetto mentality.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
By American standards, the driving of Panamanians is aggressive. They
use the horn too much, but it’s because there are too many people. Their
traffic flow is superior to ours in the United States because they’re
always inching forward, and when you have a lot of cars in a small
space, nothing moves forward if everybody waits for everybody else. That is most evident in the larger cities; not so much of a problem in the rural towns around here.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
In general, Panamanians don’t stand in lines well. They don’t get the
concept that you take your turn. It’s really a mixed bag: on one side
they’re very, very polite and almost non-contact, and on the other side,
it’s what you and I take for granted coming out of our culture, like
the distance and space. People get closer to each other and talk louder
than what normally you and I would see in the United States. It’s
a cultural difference. <br />
<br />
Generally, I'd have to say Panamanians in and around this area are pretty well behaved and respectful of everyone else, although they can seem intimidating at first because they may stare at newcomers trying to get a feel for them.<br />
<br />
We don't have many gringos in these parts.<br />
<br />
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-36118615761560913782017-04-29T10:23:00.000-05:002017-04-29T10:27:46.972-05:00Can Regenerative Farming Save Our Food Supply?<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Your own Panama land is a great place to practice sustainable regenerative farming!</h2>
At Finca Cazador, we only practice regenerative farming. The reasons we opted to not use chemicals on our land are many, and the following story illustrates the importance of using organic regenerative farming methods, such as the methods we use here, to grow food crops in a sustainable manner.<br />
<br />
Farming has sustained mankind for millennia. Industrial farming, on the
other hand, has managed to create a series of unsustainable situations
in less than 70 years, and evidence suggests we will not make it until
the end of the century if we continue along the path of degenerative
food and farming.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtWmaL9BSecmGif6GokaFbM3Fd_Ty_14JM4QspDnfq2gfbJlsQKAezhvswxlTNzWiW6_VxT7gbZf15ljCMsdB9fgaolizPHVNYPSUe_tP9dd34d97sIqSr2GBhb2zExs43IwrglkKllz-/s1600/regenerative-farming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="401" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLtWmaL9BSecmGif6GokaFbM3Fd_Ty_14JM4QspDnfq2gfbJlsQKAezhvswxlTNzWiW6_VxT7gbZf15ljCMsdB9fgaolizPHVNYPSUe_tP9dd34d97sIqSr2GBhb2zExs43IwrglkKllz-/s640/regenerative-farming.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
If you’d walked up to a farmer 100 years ago and told him farming
would one day threaten life on Earth, he probably would have laughed in
your face, saying such a thing simply isn’t possible.<br />
<br />
Agriculture is necessary for food production, and therefore for life,
the farmer would have said with firm conviction — and farming the land
or raising cattle is not going to unduly harm anything or anyone.<br />
<br />
Today, however, such an impossible scenario is precisely what we’re
facing. Virtually every growing environmental and health problem can be
traced back to modern food production. This includes but is not limited
to:<br />
<ul>
<li>Food insecurity and malnutrition amid mounting food waste</li>
<li>Rising obesity and chronic disease rates despite growing health care outlays</li>
<li>Diminishing fresh water supplies</li>
<li>Toxic agricultural chemicals polluting air, soil and waterways, thereby threatening the entire food chain from top to bottom</li>
<li>Disruption of normal climate and rainfall patterns</li>
</ul>
The good news is there are viable answers to all of these problems
that do not merely scratch at the surface, and the answers hinge on the
widespread implementation of regenerative agriculture and decentralized
food distribution.<br />
<br />
It’s easy to forget that at one point, not so long ago, all food was
organically grown in a way that supported the ecosystem and environment
as a whole. This all changed in the 1940s when the Green Revolution took
hold and industrial, chemical-dependent farming techniques quickly
spread to become the norm.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGi8oH7wkLKoV1CcAPG9gQ1yQugaqilfRXIazjrczydBoBA1Uor2hUPBAK4F53ckCzNiVyKMMpVI79zF7tIOvhxd3JtmZ6x50-u_IzcJS_DYqGHS9AMRcgeI0FrFD06-S9cOp7C_uaQJ-/s1600/industrial-farming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzGi8oH7wkLKoV1CcAPG9gQ1yQugaqilfRXIazjrczydBoBA1Uor2hUPBAK4F53ckCzNiVyKMMpVI79zF7tIOvhxd3JtmZ6x50-u_IzcJS_DYqGHS9AMRcgeI0FrFD06-S9cOp7C_uaQJ-/s640/industrial-farming.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<h4>
Industrial Farming Has Proven Itself a Failed Experiment</h4>
Farming has sustained mankind for millennia. Industrial farming, on
the other hand, has managed to create a series of unsustainable
situations in less than 70 years, and evidence suggests we will not make
it until the end of the century if we continue along the path of
degenerative food and farming.<br />
<br />
Topsoil destruction, erosion and desertification are exacerbated by
tilling, monocropping and not using cover crops. Maria-Helena Semedo of
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has warned
that at the current rate of topsoil degradation, all the world’s topsoil
will be gone in less than 60 years.<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/04/25/modern-agriculture-drives-hunger-obesity-disease.aspx?utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20170425Z1_UCM&et_cid=DM141354&et_rid=1982086286#_edn1" name="_ednref1">1</a></sup><br />
<br />
At that point, it’ll be “game over” because without topsoil you
cannot grow food no matter how many chemicals you add to it. Closely
related problems are the loss of soil fertility and biodiversity, which
is directly related to the loss of natural carbon in the soil.<br />
<br />
An estimated 80 percent of soil carbon in heavily farmed areas has already been lost,<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/04/25/modern-agriculture-drives-hunger-obesity-disease.aspx?utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20170425Z1_UCM&et_cid=DM141354&et_rid=1982086286#_edn2" name="_ednref2">2</a></sup> due to destructive plowing, overgrazing and the use of soil-destructive, carbon-depleting chemical fertilizers and pesticides.<br />
<br />
Industrial monocropping has also led to the loss of diversity.
Seventy-five percent of the world’s crop varieties have gone the way of
the dinosaurs in the last 100 years, and another 20 percent of all
plants worldwide are threatened with extinction.<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/04/25/modern-agriculture-drives-hunger-obesity-disease.aspx?utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20170425Z1_UCM&et_cid=DM141354&et_rid=1982086286#_edn3" name="_ednref3">3</a></sup><br />
<br />
Toxic contamination adds to the problem. According to studies by the
Chinese government, 20 percent of arable land in China is now unusable
due to pesticide contamination,<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/04/25/modern-agriculture-drives-hunger-obesity-disease.aspx?utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20170425Z1_UCM&et_cid=DM141354&et_rid=1982086286#_edn4" name="_ednref4">4</a></sup>
and important crop pollinators such as butterfly and bee populations
have collapsed, thanks to widespread pesticide application.<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/04/25/modern-agriculture-drives-hunger-obesity-disease.aspx?utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20170425Z1_UCM&et_cid=DM141354&et_rid=1982086286#_edn5" name="_ednref5">5</a></sup><br />
<br />
Modern agriculture also promotes water waste through use of flood irrigation, destruction of soil quality and poor crop choices.<br />
<br />
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, about 80 percent of
U.S. consumptive water (and more than 90 percent in many Western states)
is used for agricultural purposes<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/04/25/modern-agriculture-drives-hunger-obesity-disease.aspx?utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20170425Z1_UCM&et_cid=DM141354&et_rid=1982086286#_edn6" name="_ednref6">6</a></sup> and, worldwide, groundwater is being used up at a faster rate than it can be replenished.<br />
<br />
According to James Famiglietti, a senior water scientist at NASA’s
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the majority of our global groundwaters “are
past sustainability tipping points,”<sup><a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/04/25/modern-agriculture-drives-hunger-obesity-disease.aspx?utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art1&utm_campaign=20170425Z1_UCM&et_cid=DM141354&et_rid=1982086286#_edn7" name="_ednref7">7</a></sup> which means it’s only a matter of time until we run out of fresh water.<br />
<br />
Without food or drinkable water, the end of civilization as we know
it is pretty well-assured. The question is will enough people have the
foresight to change course?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://regenerationinternational.org/2017/04/25/modern-agriculture-drives-hunger-obesity-disease-simultaneously-threatening-food-chain-worsening-water-crisis/" target="_blank">Read more>>></a><br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-16902227144284907792017-04-29T08:00:00.000-05:002018-03-13T02:34:41.479-05:00A Safe Harbor for Uncertain Times<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbi5zihXQWnO7c6jl6ESYNBOlzdntUvv2wbk2mEaEL01gaNwXKX4-lE3xvrqQTPiTogoBML949jeO5cG9F7NQJVFJFMh_5DNEcj-y6VIjZnIFml56c4kEvYF0hl8akMF9lCOryJ0pOQmw/s1600/perfect-bug-out-location-house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMbi5zihXQWnO7c6jl6ESYNBOlzdntUvv2wbk2mEaEL01gaNwXKX4-lE3xvrqQTPiTogoBML949jeO5cG9F7NQJVFJFMh_5DNEcj-y6VIjZnIFml56c4kEvYF0hl8akMF9lCOryJ0pOQmw/s400/perfect-bug-out-location-house.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
</span></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Why you should consider building a retreat or bug out location on your own Panama land.</span></h2>
<br />
Like the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ4A72JEgRs" target="_blank">Bob Dylan song</a> from the 60's, the times they are a changing!<br />
<br />
It seems with the advent of the personal computer, time has begun to exponentially speed up. Change happens so rapidly now, that before one tech product becomes popular, another one rises to take it's place, rendering the original product useless, often before the original investment is returned to the people who funded it's development. Even the term "state of the art" has become outdated.<br />
<br />
Technology surely has had the widest impact on society as a whole, but it's certainly not the only field in which vast changes have taken place in just the last few years. <br />
<br />
There is one place change is not coming fast enough, for economists and statisticians, especially. Our consumption based economy, which has fueled our GDP growth over the past 60 or more years, seems to have come to a screeching halt.<br />
<br />
Eight years into a recession and we're still trillions of dollars in debt and nobody seems to be able to find a solution to the problem that we are not spending enough. Not driving the kind of growth needed to continually enrich stockholders and the others at the top of the food chain, without pumping in federal tax dollars in alarming amounts. We're spending tax dollars like there's no tomorrow, and it's <a href="http://mishtalk.com/2016/03/28/consumer-spending-outlook-buckles-with-surprisingly-weak-income-report/" target="_blank">not helping the economy much.</a><br />
<br />
And monumental events like this are becoming commonplace all over the "free" world. What will happen if France or Italy leave the EU?<br />
<br />
There's even been talk about completely <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/comment/11602399/Ban-cash-end-boom-and-bust.html" target="_blank">doing away with cash</a>, of all things, and replacing it with "digital" money. And now, several countries are requiring banks to charge their customers for the privilege of keeping their money on deposit. Forget earning interest on your checking or savings account. You'll have to pay the bank if you want to keep your money in their "virtual" vaults. And if there's no cash being used, how will you be able to prevent it from being hacked into oblivion?<br />
<br />
What about cars that drive themselves? Huh? Seriously? I get it that we're too lazy to look at a map, but do we need that level of simplicity in our lives? Are we that incompetent? Have you made your travel plans for Mars?<br />
<br />
The bottom line is change is coming, for better or for worse.<br />
<br />
For the sake of the American people, who one could almost say are "innocent bystanders" in the future plans for the world, I can only hope the nightmare scenarios that any number of analysts are predicting don't unfold all at once.<br />
<br />
Not to mention what would happen if the <a href="http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/23jul_superstorm/" target="_blank">electrical grid went down</a> because of a solar storm, like it did in the mid 1800's. <br />
<br />
I can only hope that my loved ones and friends all are able and willing to take the necessary steps to prepare a place for them and their loved ones to go if (or when) the stuff hits the fan, figuratively speaking.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtIwnaD2gCWnFEhVBvkFSIIUwSnCUwGUiWxO1XUGI0Y88N210PgYT96Hmpl5hBNoYO-zz-tX4hR-L9dnYMartgom0xECOHsbzUxsPP9Al-Xk4iRjakFuht8qTWjqUAM0UQTe7R25bjop4I/s1600/SLIDE+1+-+Sustainable+Biodiversity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtIwnaD2gCWnFEhVBvkFSIIUwSnCUwGUiWxO1XUGI0Y88N210PgYT96Hmpl5hBNoYO-zz-tX4hR-L9dnYMartgom0xECOHsbzUxsPP9Al-Xk4iRjakFuht8qTWjqUAM0UQTe7R25bjop4I/s640/SLIDE+1+-+Sustainable+Biodiversity.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
That was pretty much the thought process we went through when our own personal situation forced us to decide how to market the organic property here.<br />
<br />
We certainly could have taken the "gated community" route, and divided this amazingly revitalized land up into really small pieces (lots) and had what quite a few westerners seem to have been looking for in the past. A place to go where you didn't have to learn the language, and you could live an isolated life with other westerners, without having to really alter your lifestyle that much.<br />
<br />
There are a lot of those gated communities out there, and for a price you can live that way. But most of those places have serious drawbacks that become obvious once you think about what could happen in a crisis. Most of them are close to major metropolitan areas, or are known expat establishments which have already become targets for theft and other criminal behavior. Many are in the lower elevations, and would be unbearable without air conditioning.<br />
<br />
Or, we could have chosen to just split up the land without going to the expense (twelve years and countless dollars spent) of reversing multiple decades of nutrient-killing pesticide and chemical fertilizer use, and sold it to anyone willing to buy it. We could have sold the land without improving it with a 140 foot well, and a 12,000 gallon holding tank, gravity fed, and electricity from the neighboring town.<br />
<br />
But, we wanted to create something special here.<br />
<br />
Something not available anywhere in Central America. A community of like minded people living in harmony with the land, so it will continue to provide a rich growing environment, without the use of petroleum based or other dangerous chemical additives, for generations to come.<br />
<br />
Something sustainable and lasting.<br />
<br />
If you are looking for a unique special place to call home full or part time, "pre-crisis" or no-crisis, where you can easily grow delicious fruits and vegetables without using any chemicals, you have found the place and we welcome you.<br />
<br />
Give us a call or <a href="mailto:info@fincacazador.com" target="_blank">email us</a> for more information, pricing and farm configuration details.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-41320175020402659402017-04-23T13:17:00.001-05:002017-04-23T13:17:17.850-05:00The Many Ways Organic Farming Techniques Improve Bio-Diversity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPp4ZgNtVKoitt-mCpdkmPBG2A8ckwO9C1Q9gE4RPiCdgExee_Ov5bJ5tsxtVG_LqGzEHuSNhkVFrSYalKF2DCx6jzbkVe35wHIIBgp2n6Fmh1ZYbp-jDq6_gm6vR6bnwu7RK9U77e9C_/s1600/Beautiful+Hillside+Farms.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqPp4ZgNtVKoitt-mCpdkmPBG2A8ckwO9C1Q9gE4RPiCdgExee_Ov5bJ5tsxtVG_LqGzEHuSNhkVFrSYalKF2DCx6jzbkVe35wHIIBgp2n6Fmh1ZYbp-jDq6_gm6vR6bnwu7RK9U77e9C_/s640/Beautiful+Hillside+Farms.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
There is little doubt that organic farming methods improve bio-diversity and long term sustainability.<br />
<br />
The benefits to farmers include:<br />
<br />
Lower costs<br />
Improved soil conditions<br />
More species of plants<br />
More species of animals<br />
More species of helpful insects<br />
<br />
From Wikipedia:<br />
<h1 class="firstHeading" id="firstHeading" lang="en">
Organic farming and biodiversity</h1>
The effect of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_farming" title="Organic farming">organic farming</a>
has been a subject of interest for researchers. Theory suggests that
organic farming practices, which exclude the use of most synthetic
pesticides and fertilizers, may be beneficial for biodiversity.<br />
<br />
This is
generally shown to be true for soils scaled to the area of cultivated
land, where species abundance is, on average, 30% richer than that of
conventional farms. However, for crop yield-scaled land the effect of
organic farming on biodiversity is highly debated due to the
significantly lower yields compared to conventional farms.<br />
<br />
In ancient farming practices, farmers did not possess the technology
or manpower to have a significant impact on the destruction of
biodiversity even as mass-production agriculture was rising.<br />
<br />
Nowadays,
common farming methods generally rely on pesticides to maintain high
yields. With such, most agricultural landscapes favor mono-culture crops
with very little flora or fauna co-existence (van Elsen 2000). Modern
organic farm practices such as the removal of pesticides and the
inclusion of animal manure, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_rotation" title="Crop rotation">crop rotation</a>, and multi-cultural crops provides the chance for biodiversity to thrive.<br />
<h2>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Benefits_to_biodiversity">Benefits to biodiversity</span></h2>
Nearly
all non-crop, naturally occurring species observed in comparative farm
land practice studies show a preference in organic farming both by
population and richness.<br />
<br />
Spanning all associated species, there is an average of 30% more on
organic farms versus conventional farming methods, however this does not
account for possible <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biodiversity_loss" title="Biodiversity loss">loss of biodiversity</a> due to decreased yields.<br />
<br />
Birds, butterflies, soil microbes, beetles, earthworms, spiders,
vegetation, and mammals are particularly affected. Some organic farms
may use less pesticides and thus biodiversity fitness and population
density may benefit.<br />
<br />
Larger farms however tend to use pesticides more liberally and in some cases to larger extent than conventional farms. Many weed species attract beneficial insects that improve soil qualities and forage on weed pests.<br />
<br />
Soil-bound organisms often benefit because of increased bacteria
populations due to natural fertilizer spread such as manure, while
experiencing reduced intake of herbicides and pesticides commonly
associated with conventional farming methods.<br />
<br />
Increased biodiversity, especially from soil microbes such as
mycorhizzae, have been proposed as an explanation for the high yields
experienced by some organic plots, especially in light of the
differences seen in a 21-year comparison of organic and control fields.<br />
<h3>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Impact_of_increased_biodiversity">Impact of increased biodiversity</span></h3>
The
level of biodiversity that can be yielded from organic farming provides
a natural capital to humans. Species found in most organic farms
provides a means of agricultural sustainability by reducing amount of
human input (e.g. fertilizers, pesticides).<br />
<br />
Farmers that produce with organic methods reduce risk of poor yields by
promoting biodiversity. Common game birds such as the ring-necked
pheasant and the northern bobwhite often reside in agriculture
landscapes, and are a natural capital yielded from high demands of
recreational hunting.<br />
<br />
Because bird species richness and population are
typically higher on organic farm systems, promoting biodiversity can be
seen as logical and economical.<br />
<h3>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Highly_impacted_animal_species">Highly impacted animal species</span></h3>
<h4>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Earthworms">Earthworms</span></h4>
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthworm" title="Earthworm">Earthworm</a>
population and diversity appears to have the most significant data out
of all studies. Out of six studies comparing earthworm biodiversity to
organic and conventional farming methods, all six suggested a preference
for organic practices including a study at the pioneering Haughley farm
in 1980/1981 that compared earthworm populations and soil properties
after 40 years.
Hole et al. (2005) summarized a study conducted by Brown (1999) and
found nearly double the population and diversity when comparing farming
methods.<br />
<h4>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Birds">Birds</span></h4>
Organic
farms are said to be beneficial to birds while remaining economical.
Bird species are one of the most prominent animal groups that benefit
from organic farming methods. Many species rely on farmland for
foraging, feeding, and migration phases. With such, bird populations
often relate directly to the natural quality of farmland.<br />
<br />
The more
natural diversity of organic farms provides better habitats to bird
species, and is especially beneficial when the farmland is located
within a migration zone. In 5 recent studies almost all bird species
including locally declining species, both population and variation
increased on organic farmland,.<br />
<br />
Making a switch from conventional farming methods to organic practices also seems to directly improve bird species in the area.<br />
<br />
While organic farming improves bird populations and diversity, species
populations receive the largest boost when organic groups are varied
within a landscape. Bird populations are increased further with optimal
habitat for biodiversity, rather than organic alone, with systems such
as Conservation Grade.<br />
<h4>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Butterflies">Butterflies</span></h4>
A
specific study done in the UK in 2006 found substantially more
butterflies on organic farms versus standard farming methods except for
two pest species. The study also observed higher populations in
uncropped field margins compared with cropland edges regardless of farm
practice. Conversely, Weibull et al. (2000) found no significant differences in species diversity or population.<br />
<h4>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Spiders">Spiders</span></h4>
Ten
studies have been conducted involving spider species and abundance on
farm systems. All but three of the studies indicated that there was a
higher diversity of spider species on organic farms, in addition to
populations of species. Two of the studies indicated higher species
diversity, but statistically insignificant populations between organic
and standard farming methods.<br />
<h4>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Soil_Microbes">Soil Microbes</span></h4>
Out
of 13 studies comparing bacteria and fungus communities between organic
and standard farming, 8 of the studies showed heightened level of
growth on organic farm systems. One study concluded that the use of
“green” fertilizers and manures was the primary cause of higher
bacterial levels on organic farms.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, nematode
population/diversity depended on what their primary food intake was.
Bacteria-feeding nematodes showed preference towards organic systems
whereas fungus-feeding nematodes showed preference for standard farm
systems.<br />
<br />
The heightened level of bacteria-feeding nematodes makes sense
due to higher levels of bacteria in organic soils, but the
fungus-feeding populations being higher on standard farms seems to
contradict the data since more fungi are generally found on organic
farms.<br />
<h4>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Beetles">Beetles</span></h4>
According
to Hole et al. (2005), beetle species are among the most commonly
studied animal species on farming systems. Twelve studies have found a
higher population and species richness of carabids on organic systems.<br />
<br />
The overall conclusion of significantly higher carabid population
species and diversity is that organic farms have a higher level of weed
species where they can thrive.<br />
<br />
<a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staphylinid" title="Staphylinid">Staphylinid</a>
populations and diversity have seemed to show no specific preference
with some studies showing higher population and diversity, some with
lower population and diversity, and one study showed no statistical
significance between the organic and conventional farming systems.<br />
<h4>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Mammals">Mammals</span></h4>
Two
comparative studies have been conducted involving mammal populations and
diversity among farm practices. A study done by Brown (1999) found that
small mammal population density and diversity did not depend on farming
practices, however overall activity was higher on organic farms.<br />
<br />
It was
concluded that more food resources were available to small mammals on
organic farms because of the reduction or lack of herbicides and
pesticides.<br />
<br />
Another study conducted by Wickramasinghe et al. (2003)
compared bat species and activity. Species activity and foraging were
both more than double on organic farms compared to conventional farms.
Species richness was also higher on organic farms, and 2 of the sixteen
species sighted were found only on organic farms.<br />
<h4>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Vegetation">Vegetation</span></h4>
Approximately
ten studies have been conducted to compare non-crop vegetation between
organic and conventional farming practices. Hedgerow, inner-crop and
grassland observations were made within these studies and all but one
showed a higher weed preference and diversity in or around organic
farms.<br />
<br />
Most of these studies showed significant overall preference for
organic farming preferences especially for broad-leafed species, but
many grass species showed far less on conventional farms likely because
pesticide interaction was low or non-existent.<br />
<br />
Organic farm weed
population and richness was believed to be lower in mid-crop land
because of weed-removal methods such as under sowing.<br />
<br />
Switching from conventional to organic farming often results in a
“boom” of weed speciation due to intense chemical change of soil
composition from the lack of herbicides and pesticides. Natural plant
species can also vary on organic farms from year-to-year because crop
rotation creates new competition based on the chemical needs of each
crop.<br />
<h4>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Farmers.E2.80.99_Benefits_from_Increased_Biodiversity">Farmers’ Benefits from Increased Biodiversity</span></h4>
Biological
research on soil and soil organisms has proven beneficial to the system
of organic farming. Varieties of bacteria and fungi break down
chemicals, plant matter and animal waste into productive soil nutrients.<br />
<br />
In turn, the producer benefits by healthier yields and more arable soil
for future crops.<br />
<br />
Furthermore, a 21-year study was conducted testing the effects of
organic soil matter and its relationship to soil quality and yield.
Controls included actively managed soil with varying levels of manure,
compared to a plot with no manure input.<br />
<br />
After the study commenced,
there was significantly lower yields on the control plot when compared
to the fields with manure. The concluded reason was an increased soil
microbe community in the manure fields, providing a healthier, more
arable soil system.<br />
<h3>
<span class="mw-headline" id="Detriments_to_biodiversity_through_organic_farming">Detriments to biodiversity through organic farming</span></h3>
Organic
farming practices still require active participation from the farmer to
effectively boost biodiversity. Making a switch to organic farming
methods does not automatically or guarantee improved biodiversity.
Pro-conservation ethics are required to create arable farm land that
generates biodiversity.<br />
<br />
Conservationist ideals are commonly overlooked
because they require additional physical and economical efforts from the
producer.
Common weed-removal processes like undercutting and controlled burning
provides little opportunity for species survival, and often leads to
comparable populations and richness to conventionally managed landscapes
when performed in excess.<br />
<br />
Another common process is the addition of <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biotopes" title="Biotopes">biotopes</a>
in the form of hedgerows and ponds to further improve species richness.
Farmers commonly make the mistake of over-using these resources for
more intense crop production because organic yields are typically lower.
Another error comes from the over-stratification of biotopes. A series
of small clusters does not provide adequate land area for high
biodiversity potential.<br />
<br />
<br />
Here is the Wikipedia <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_farming_and_biodiversity" target="_blank">page</a><br />
<br />
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-51665181792143475452017-04-21T21:52:00.001-05:002018-03-13T02:36:48.836-05:00Nearing a Point of No Return<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<h2>
Are we headed for a societal collapse?</h2>
<br />
I've been trying not to concern myself with things that are out of my control lately. One of those things is the thought that society as we know it could possibly someday collapse. And maybe someday is not that far away.<br />
<br />
However, as much as I try to pretend the recent events throughout the world, such as the wars in the middle east, weather related earth changes and the rise of a seemingly different political order are just cyclical, I find myself wondering what a collapse of the monetary systems of the world or a general societal collapse would look like.<br />
<br />
Many think a collapse of the financial system started in 2008 and has never fully recovered. The ever increasing stock market seem to signal a recovery, yet why are so many retail outlets closing? If the economy was recovering why would companies be laying off employees and closing branches?<br />
<br />
Could this be the beginning of the end for western economies, who seem to survive on consumers making purchases even when it means going into debt to do it? Have people simply stopped buying unnecessary items and are now hoarding cash, or have online sites like Amazon made it so convenient people simply cannot help making their purchases from the comfort of their kitchens?<br />
<br />
Could that change in buying habits have happened that quickly?<br />
<br />
One recent article authored by the BBC does a great job of explaining how societies have historically collapsed, and what it looked like when they did. Here's an excerpt of that <a href="http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170418-how-western-civilisation-could-collapse" target="_blank">article</a>:<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>...there are two factors that matter: ecological strain and economic
stratification. The ecological category is the more widely understood
and recognized path to potential doom, especially in terms of depletion
of natural resources such as groundwater, soil, fisheries and forests –
all of which could be worsened by climate change.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Under this scenario, elites push society toward instability and eventual
collapse by hoarding huge quantities of wealth and resources, and
leaving little or none for commoners who vastly outnumber them yet
support them with labor. </i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Eventually, the working population crashes
because the portion of wealth allocated to them is not enough, followed
by collapse of the elites due to the absence of labor. The inequalities
we see today both within and between countries already point to such
disparities. For example, the top 10% of global income earners are
responsible for almost as much total greenhouse gas emissions as the
bottom 90% combined. Similarly, about half the world’s population lives
on less than $3 per day. </i></span><br />
<i> </i><br />
Although the man made climate change narrative is still up for debate, the widening income gap is certain and quite obvious to anyone paying attention. Financial enrichment of the folks at the top of the food chain, caused primarily by their ability to participate in a soaring stock market, is well known. Being at the right place at the right time, with resources, has it's advantages. What is not known is how long this rising gap in income will go on, and what will happen when it can no longer be tolerated by the other ninety nine percent.<br />
<br />
Whatever causes the collapse, one thing is for certain. There will be many people at or near the centers of government and commerce that will say it came as a total surprise and was totally unexpected.<br />
<br />
History tells a different story.<br />
<br />
If you want to insulate yourself from some of the troubles ahead, consider investing in a piece of paradise here at our ranch. You can grow vegetables and fruit and live a pretty uneventful life, which might be as welcome a change for you as it has been for me.<br />
<i> </i> Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-1094940528209664622017-04-09T22:43:00.000-05:002017-04-09T22:43:02.753-05:00Expat Guide to Panama Household Help<div style="text-align: center;">
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<br />
<h3>
Thinking of making a move to Panama, but don't know if you can afford it?</h3>
<br />
Hiring household help is one thing worth considering and adding into your budget for retirement in Panama.<br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
In Volcán, you might get a good gardener for $25 a day, which would be
a fair amount to pay someone. In Río Sereno, $10 or $15
would be the norm to hire someone to work on a farm, because it is a much more rural community and there are fewer, almost no, expats there....yet!</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
In Río Sereno we
call a gardener a “farm man.” They typically charge
about $10 - $15 a day for general help. Specialized help like welding, construction management and finish carpentry are generally more, but nowhere near what you would pay in the U.S. for that same help.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Finca Cazador is 12 acres.We have a subcontracted farm helper available for all sorts of household help, heavy lifting and gardening help. He charges by the hour or by the day, and is available early in the morning, all day, and into the evening.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Much of the work he does here is related to keeping undergrowth controlled.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The problem with Panama is
not getting stuff to grow, it’s keeping everything under control. Here
in Panama, things grow where you don’t want them to grow. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
In some parts
of our off-grid community here at Finca Cazador, we have 10 feet of black topsoil! That means you can grow almost anything very easily, but you have to spend a few hours a month cutting back the overgrowth. Because labor is so inexpensive here, you can plan on a minimal expense for household help, who generally have the tools and years of experience managing plant life.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
One of the other things to consider is the quality of the work the person you get
does. Is that somebody you want in your house? Is that somebody you can
trust? </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
It’s a relationship just like everything else. The biggest
problem with most expats who come here is that we’re talking about
hiring Panamanians, but the expats don’t take the time to learn
Spanish. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Maybe you're thinking of moving to Panama and you want to find a place that's comfortable, inexpensive and safe and you don't want to have to do all the work yourself. </div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Maybe you want to spend your time experiencing the beauty and fresh air abundant in this area. In this part of Panama, the cost of household help is very low, and it helps the families, and the local economy tremendously when you hire them.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
If you'd like to come take a tour of the farm, simply send us a message. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-60440158562221335972017-03-31T13:20:00.000-05:002017-03-31T13:20:41.448-05:00Gas Prices in Central America Lowest in Panama<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwe1MVHE7GsIOv-tKAxBC2sHwVnZVE25r6UQwpRDo55OjE1zGeOH1zwK-S3_vkcKkxTbH3NgLT36AerdiHWtvSVcmuOwem6DExfCvGnoX2_NQ-ICzTvzPnb14ESojUEcHa0Jkd6W8Ar37/s1600/IMG_0554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRwe1MVHE7GsIOv-tKAxBC2sHwVnZVE25r6UQwpRDo55OjE1zGeOH1zwK-S3_vkcKkxTbH3NgLT36AerdiHWtvSVcmuOwem6DExfCvGnoX2_NQ-ICzTvzPnb14ESojUEcHa0Jkd6W8Ar37/s640/IMG_0554.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
According to data taken from Acodeco.gov.pa, gas prices in Central America are lower in Panama, compared to other Central American countries like El Salvador, Guatemala and Costa Rica.<br />
<br />
According to that report, the price of regular gasoline in Panama is $2.65 per gallon, $3.82 in Costa Rica, $3.40 in Nicaragua, $3.32 in Honduras, $2.86 in Guatemala and $2.84 in El Salvador<span style="font-size: small;">.</span><br />
<br />
<span><span dir="ltr">From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span><span dir="ltr">The price trend is due to factors that have
prevailed in recent months such as decisions taken by the OPEC,
inventory accumulation in North America, demand, and unconventional oil
production.</span></span><span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="clear: both; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"></span><span style="clear: both; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"> </span><span style="clear: both; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"> </span><span style="clear: both; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">Looking to buy property in Panama?</span><span style="clear: both; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"> </span><span style="clear: both; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"> </span><span style="clear: both; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"> </span><span style="clear: both; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"> Look no further than Finca Cazador for your land acquisition.</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-71358550608709532762017-03-27T15:55:00.002-05:002017-03-27T15:55:21.972-05:00Building a House in Panama: How Difficult is it?<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcZiFSRTs4tq7aaxoeKCidvYjqMzVdFn2tgWSR7D8V3PgoRTbkgvXyLXA5zgh_fEAumEYxPOFdn254iAgNJBlG7YpKPLebEJdMcAAjJRarGZ0hgUvWBVMfSsw4fAcIga1q9OdJAob_WUH/s1600/Finca+Cazador+Main+House+Off+Grid+Communities.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEcZiFSRTs4tq7aaxoeKCidvYjqMzVdFn2tgWSR7D8V3PgoRTbkgvXyLXA5zgh_fEAumEYxPOFdn254iAgNJBlG7YpKPLebEJdMcAAjJRarGZ0hgUvWBVMfSsw4fAcIga1q9OdJAob_WUH/s640/Finca+Cazador+Main+House+Off+Grid+Communities.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I lived in Volcán for four years as I was building my place here.
The construction standards in Panama are extremely stringent. Not
everybody follows them, so the responsibility lies on the person to work
with a good builder. I have built four houses in my life, and on all of
them, I oversaw the entire construction process.
<br />
<div>
</div>
<div>
In general, Panama has better building techniques than most of the
United States. This is because most of what is done in the United
States, especially in the Southwest, is what they call stick. This means
2x4 boards with foam and stucco sprayed on from the outside, which are
aesthetically pleasing, goes up very quick, and are very well insulated,
but not a real formable structure. In some walls that I’ve seen, you
can certainly drive your car through them easily, or even punch your
hand through some of them, especially if it’s drywall.
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Most construction here in Panama is built with a thin wall with a
22-gauge metal. We call it the C-channel which is similar to metal studs
but are much thicker than what we use in the States. In the States, we
use metal studs, and put on gypsum or drywall. We had this in the
United States in the late 20’s.
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
It’s dry cement, not stucco, has no lime, and they put it on with a
trowel and polish it, usually on top of cinder blocks. They’re what you
and I would call regular slump blocks, depending on where you lived in
the United States. It’s like a regular slump block, cinder block, etc.
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Here in Panama, they use a high-density foam that comes in two, three,
and four inches with a metal grate on both sides. They take the cement
and then apply it with a trowel or shoot it in under pressure, a process
that you and I would call “shotcrete” or gunite.
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Not everyone in Panama does this as this is certainly just one of the
options available. You can have something built here with steel and
cement and find that these are commodities that cost the same everywhere
in the world. The price that I would pay for a sack of cement in my
little town here in Chiriquí is very similar to what you’ll pay for in
Phoenix, Arizona or anywhere else.
</div>
<div>
When the Chinese were building the dams on the Yellow River, cement
and steel prices were astronomically high because that increased
worldwide demand, and now those constructions have stopped.
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The variable in the building costs in Panama is the cost of labor.
Here in Panama, a person working with cement, electrical, plumbing, or
something of that nature, is probably going to charge $25 - $45 per day.
In the United States, they would charge that per hour. You’re going to
pay the same for your materials but the labor will cost much less in
Panama. The quality depends on who you’re working with, how much you
know about what you want done, and your contractor. It runs the gamut
from “excellent, great value” to “unacceptable.” I’ve seen it on all
levels.
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
The house that I built here in Finca Cazador is made of solid, poured
concrete with 18-inch thick walls and has 1-inch rebar welded. I built a
bunker because that’s what I wanted but most people wouldn’t do that.
Looking back on it, it probably isn’t necessary.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Bottom line is if you have a good contractor, your construction can be completed in a reasonable amount of time, and for less than what you would expect. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-58847186400703836032017-02-14T14:37:00.001-05:002018-01-14T00:40:02.197-05:00Forget Global Warming We're Headed for an Ice Age<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3gz9KluieiFSFne_k1WjCg8ZBOX7NjYDz4ORidFJKeomoauyPYiUmywPPQN-w8yR-eEQMxkF45R4LT7-Q39Oz4XTQ5MTnll8WjYgco_CWtLdVCG821crPE-Zd3h9roDsDIrdrOL_6BLx/s1600/climate-change.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk3gz9KluieiFSFne_k1WjCg8ZBOX7NjYDz4ORidFJKeomoauyPYiUmywPPQN-w8yR-eEQMxkF45R4LT7-Q39Oz4XTQ5MTnll8WjYgco_CWtLdVCG821crPE-Zd3h9roDsDIrdrOL_6BLx/s640/climate-change.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
I've been trying to wrap my head around the idea of a warming planet due to an overabundance of something as benign as carbon dioxide for a long time. The conflicting evidence is almost overwhelming.<br />
<br />
While it makes sense that there would be some danger in a warming planet, far worse consequences could ensue following a significant cooling of the earth's surface.<br />
<br />
When I think about the damage to crops and the potential for starvation and famine if the world temperatures continue to drop and throw us into another Ice Age, a shiver (no pun intended) runs down my spine.<br />
<br />
There is a ton of evidence that the earth is actually entering a new ice age, rather than heating up. Even though reports of <a href="http://climate.nasa.gov/news/2537/nasa-noaa-data-show-2016-warmest-year-on-record-globally/" target="_blank">record high temperatures</a> persist, <a href="http://drsircus.com/world-news/bone-chilling-cold-nasa-knew-coming/" target="_blank">much of the evidence</a> points to just the opposite.<br />
<br />
Take, for example, the rise in CO2 levels. This apparent sudden and 'shocking' rise in a natural element I have always thought to be a beneficial force of nature, is quoted by some as the cause of the planets warming over the recent past. But, can an increase in carbon dioxide, a necessary ingredient in photosynthesis, be a bad thing?<br />
<br />
Long term historical studies indicate we are experiencing a dramatic draw-down in CO2 levels, and currently sit at around 400ppm, which many consider to be dangerously close to the 150ppm minimum levels that, if crossed, would result in the end of all plant life on earth.<br />
<br />
According to other scientists, temperature rise is not a result of a rise in CO2 levels, but rather a rise in temperature <a href="https://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/10/15/greenpeace-founder-delivers-powerful-annual-lecture-praises-carbon-dioxide-full-text/" target="_blank">is the cause</a> of higher CO2 levels.<br />
<br />
According to <a href="http://rps3.com/Files/Ochkosh_2010_talks/Oshkosh2010.EngrCritique.AGW.pdf" target="_blank">Burt Rutan</a>, a well known engineer and one of many 'climate change deniers', the overwhelming majority of greenhouse gasses are made up of mostly water vapor. Only 3.62% of greenhouse gasses are CO2, and a miniscule 3.4% of those CO2 emissions are human caused.<br />
<br />
Clearly, there are many respected <a href="http://www.petitionproject.org/gw_article/GWReview_OISM150.pdf" target="_blank">scientists</a> that do not agree that man made CO2 emissions are damaging to the environment. So many that a <a href="http://www.petitionproject.org/index.php" target="_blank">petition</a> has been signed by over 31,000 scientists endorsing this statement:<br />
<br />
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<![endif]--><i><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“There
is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide,
methane, or other greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the foreseeable
future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth's atmosphere and disruption of
the Earth's climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that
increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon
the natural plant and animal environments of the Earth.”</span></i><br />
<br />
According to this group of highly esteemed scientists, many of them PhD level environmental specialists, the threat of CO2 increases causing harmful effects on the human population is overblown and incorrect. Quite the contrary, according to them. CO2 levels are dangerously low, and an increase in CO2 in the atmosphere would only result in a continued increase in plant biomass on the surface of the earth.<br />
<br />
And, as we speak, there is an <a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/climate-change-hoax-noaa-conduct-investigation-whistleblower-claims-it-exaggerated-2490910" target="_blank">investigation</a> underway at the NOAA into a whistle blower's contention that studies were conducted in a way that exaggerated the threat of climate change.<br />
<br />
Clearly there is a lot of controversy surrounding the issue of man-made climate change.<br />
<br />
One thing is certain, world food availability will surely become an issue in the future, as climate does change over time historically.<br />
<br />
Whether or not food shortages are a result of increasing greenhouse gasses and man made global warming, remains to be seen.<br />
<br />
Owning a small parcel of land in a rural area where organic food can be grown in abundance, might be one strategy for food security that makes sense to you.<br />
<br />
If it does, feel free to contact us for more information about how you could join us in organic sustainable paradise.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-70151887029847580972017-01-19T14:43:00.002-05:002017-01-19T14:43:55.471-05:00Sustaining Life in a Divided World<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfB3G2nwSqH5eMdGSMKJnUGZVY-qAn6-9SMRk5yNTgoVbKOBAnuHzP3ZLQEpphqKVty0w0mOVQx82HYm1tkmIlK3yZVK-CrL0D1sV8k3f34E2zikv0l-FIm0dIQ-ycKfxxBIwevIhyVYUx/s1600/panama-happiness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfB3G2nwSqH5eMdGSMKJnUGZVY-qAn6-9SMRk5yNTgoVbKOBAnuHzP3ZLQEpphqKVty0w0mOVQx82HYm1tkmIlK3yZVK-CrL0D1sV8k3f34E2zikv0l-FIm0dIQ-ycKfxxBIwevIhyVYUx/s400/panama-happiness.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
There's no question, we are officially divided along a multitude of fronts.<br />
<br />
The most obvious and far reaching division today, at least in American society, seems to be along political lines. There are far left leaning liberals and far right leaning conservatives, and they rarely get along or feel they should have to compromise.<br />
<br />
There are "centrists" who appear to be more moderate in their views about how the world works and how it should be run, but still grasp incessantly at any opportunity to bash "the other side" anytime they don't act in accordance with their values and ideals.<br />
<br />
Last but not least there are libertarians who believe in a smaller constitutional government and more individual freedom, and that both of the major political "parties" are really just a different way of executing the same overall goal of expanding the state.<br />
<br />
Those on the left accuse those on the right of being uncaring and callous. Those on the right consider the left leaning crowd to be whiners and weaklings.<br />
<br />
Neither side cares much for the libertarians, and would like nothing better than for them to just go away.<br />
<br />
What starts out as a pleasant conversation between co-workers can rapidly turn into an ugly battle for control and acceptance. Friends can instantly become enemies. Common sense seems to magically disappear out the window the moment politics enters the room.<br />
<br />
One thing everyone paying attention to political events seems to have in common, including us if we are participating in it, is the need to feel superior in some way to your fellow man.<br />
<br />
But, do we really need to take sides?<br />
<br />
Is it possible not to care about politics in a world where, on a daily basis, it dominates the news and much of the media? Do we, as individuals, actually need to choose sides in a conflict where we really have little or no influence, personally?<br />
<br />
Are there alternatives to swallowing our daily dose of political maneuvering, plundering and backstabbing?<br />
<br />
Yes, there are. I can tell you that if you turn off the programming (TV), and get back to nature, it is quite possible to have a beautiful life without all the stress and conflict.<br />
<br />
You see, in nature, all things work together. There's no conflict, because there's no need to be right. All things have their place in the fabric of life, and there are no higher and lower quality creatures. Everything has a place in the natural world, and one creature does not feel the need to criticize or oppose another.<br />
<br />
I suspect that eventually nature will force us humans to focus on truly important things, rather than trivial issues presented as critical by the media.<br />
<br />
Until then, if you've been looking for a place to go to get away from the stress and conflict present in so much of what makes up life today in America, get back to nature. Go to the woods and have a picnic. Take a vacation at the beach or go to a foreign country you've always wanted to visit.<br />
<br />
Get a dose of nature when your perspective gets out of whack. You'll be a better person, and able to see your fellow man not as your enemy, but as an integral part of the bigger picture.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-47181025415213868452016-07-21T00:30:00.000-05:002016-07-23T17:32:22.081-05:00Finca Cazador - Anything grows in our regenerated soil<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gzBxeb5u6CY" width="480"></iframe>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-2777090934808807792016-07-13T11:01:00.001-05:002016-07-13T11:01:21.896-05:00How Animals Can Help Improve Soil<div id="expanderContent">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMAGOnzMGzBUECG2IOR9BzG2IVUq0OWHZDE4RiUvfx4ndPRXwt2puDYm2knSNHqX3IlyfpRWzDZF8NQpCc6namyuBzuP4XTOidJXLOu-EgQNZTgYNVxL_n4adq7X5Q0-YiBWbAzYrly3dq/s1600/animals-improve-soil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMAGOnzMGzBUECG2IOR9BzG2IVUq0OWHZDE4RiUvfx4ndPRXwt2puDYm2knSNHqX3IlyfpRWzDZF8NQpCc6namyuBzuP4XTOidJXLOu-EgQNZTgYNVxL_n4adq7X5Q0-YiBWbAzYrly3dq/s400/animals-improve-soil.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</h3>
<h3>
Animals can help regenerate soil to provide an optimum growing environment for organic gardens.</h3>
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Here are some of the benefits of having a variety of animals on your farm:</div>
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<ul>
<li>
<span id="ctl00_tr_rptStory_ctl01_cslStory">By
using regenerative land management that incorporates livestock, you can
increase organic matter in the soil back to healthy levels within a
couple of decades</span><span id="ctl00_tr_rptStory_ctl01_cslStory"> (like we have done here on <a href="http://www.fincacazador.com/p/the-farm.html">our farm</a>).</span>
</li>
<li>
<span id="ctl00_tr_rptStory_ctl02_cslStory">By
urinating and defecating on the land, livestock provide important
nourishment for soil microbes. Their hooves also help break up hardened
topsoil, allowing grass seed to take root.</span>
</li>
<li>
<span id="ctl00_tr_rptStory_ctl03_cslStory">Good
animal welfare includes creating an environment in which the animals can
express instinctive behavior. Cows were born to roam and graze.
Chickens were born to scratch and peck.</span>
</li>
</ul>
</div>
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Instead of using chemicals to artificially 'enhance' soil conditions and improve crop yield, try bringing animals into the mix to help control pests, provide natural fertilization and regenerate dead soil.</div>
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For more information about this, go <a href="http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/07/10/animal-impact-regenerative-agriculture.aspx" target="_blank">here</a></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-64728768562367852502016-07-02T18:07:00.001-05:002016-07-02T18:07:03.702-05:00Why We Grow Avocados and How You Can Too<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBlvvdEeC_TpbyvxWTq3F_W9rLQc7J1qIW8eLJdFju996C2PhWHUfIt0y7q_VoqEhv7vmecgCnb4WVy93qNqwtgNiT497kKJDisEInAI9rEexKXtkB8zZMSMw-ky7QxY12HPqIwEGIzHpk/s1600/Avocados.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBlvvdEeC_TpbyvxWTq3F_W9rLQc7J1qIW8eLJdFju996C2PhWHUfIt0y7q_VoqEhv7vmecgCnb4WVy93qNqwtgNiT497kKJDisEInAI9rEexKXtkB8zZMSMw-ky7QxY12HPqIwEGIzHpk/s320/Avocados.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Avocados are one of the tastiest foods on the planet. Without them guacamole, a staple food in many parts of Latin America, and certainly one of my all-time favorites, just wouldn't be possible.<br />
<br />
But that's not why we grow them at Finca Cazador.<br />
<br />
We grow them for the outstanding health benefits.<br />
<br />
Here is a short list of some of the main benefits to your health:<br />
<br />
1) Avocados contain over 20 vitamins and minerals.<br />
<br />
2) They contain 25 milligrams (in every ounce) of a natural plant sterol by the name of beta-sitosterol. This ingredient has been show to help reduce bad cholesterol.<br />
<br />
3) Avocados contain lutein and zeaxanthin, two phyto-chemicals that are
especially concentrated in the tissues in the eyes, where they provide antioxidant protection to help minimize damage, including from ultraviolet light.<br />
<br />
4) A half and avocado contains 25% of the daily requirement for vitamin K, which is helpful in the body's absorption of calcium. Eating an avocado a day may help reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis.<br />
<br />
5) Avocados contain folate. Adequate intake of folate from food has shown promise in protecting against colon, stomach, pancreatic and cervical cancers.
<br />
<br />
Although the mechanism behind this apparent reduction in risk is
currently unknown, researchers believe that folate protects against
undesirable mutations in DNA and RNA during cell division.<br />
<br />
Foods containing high levels of folate may also help decrease the risk of depression,
as folate helps to prevent the build-up of homocysteine, a substance
that can impair circulation and delivery of nutrients to the brain.
Excess homocysteine can also interfere with the production of the serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which regulate mood, sleep and appetite.<br />
<br />
6) Despite its creamy texture, an avocado is actually high in fiber,
with approximately 6-7 grams per half fruit. Eating foods with natural
fiber can help to prevent constipation, maintain a healthy digestive tract and lower the risk of colon cancer.<span style="color: white;"> </span><br />
<br />
Adequate fiber promotes regular
bowel movements, which are crucial for the daily excretion of toxins
through the bile and stool. Recent studies have shown that dietary fiber
may also play a role in regulating the immune system and inflammation.<br />
<br />
According to the <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19335713" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Department of Internal Medicine and Nutritional Sciences Program of the University of Kentucky</a>, high fiber intakes are associated with significantly lower risks of developing coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and certain gastrointestinal diseases. Increased fiber intake has also been shown to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, improve insulin sensitivity, and enhance weight loss for obese individuals.<br />
<br />
So, now how do you feel about avocados?<br />
<br />
If you would like to find out how you can purchase your own small organic farm in western Panama and grow avocados and other fruits and vegetables (not to mention organic coffee and cacao) for your own consumption or to sell, use the contact form at the top of the page and get in touch with us.<br />
<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-33945536742083875702016-06-24T13:21:00.000-05:002016-06-24T14:00:12.802-05:00Compromise GMO Labeling Bill Set to Kill Vermont Law<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimeFUn85C6Zu09KeQis6rACLFc12bn3OeNHEKESfjWHpKJvhz0wyet_gL2V5bYz972pTXJAlZm9y6xAQCnZdwDE1Ulwkw-m3cEhw8GGFRzhUU3LHlG69bhW_7MYPRGgJFCQTrOzYmEVE1T/s1600/GMO-labeling-bill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimeFUn85C6Zu09KeQis6rACLFc12bn3OeNHEKESfjWHpKJvhz0wyet_gL2V5bYz972pTXJAlZm9y6xAQCnZdwDE1Ulwkw-m3cEhw8GGFRzhUU3LHlG69bhW_7MYPRGgJFCQTrOzYmEVE1T/s400/GMO-labeling-bill.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
GMO labeling has been a hot topic of late, and in polls, 70% of American consumers favor knowing what is in the food they consume and feed their families.<br />
<br />
On June 22nd, the Senate unveiled a <a href="http://www.agriculture.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Ag%20biotech%20compromise%20proposal.pdf" target="_blank">bill</a> which would, if passed, overrule Vermont's recent law requiring food producers to clearly indicate whether or not the contents of their package contain genetically modified organisms (GMO's).<br />
<br />
If you are not familiar, Vermont was the first State to successfully pass a bill that requires food containing genetically modified ingredients, to be disclosed clearly on the packaging. It goes into effect July 1st this year.<br />
<br />
The new 'compromise' bill did not make it to the floor in time to be voted on before the lawmakers break for the fourth of July, so it will most likely be taken up promptly as soon as the senate is back in session.<br />
<br />
You can count on the lobbyists to be out in full force when the senate returns.<br />
<br />
If you are interested in voicing your approval or opposition to this new bill, you can do so at <a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/blog/sold-out-again" target="_blank">this</a> site.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-64914080730032876142016-06-21T14:02:00.001-05:002016-06-21T14:05:50.395-05:00Draft legislation on tightening food checks agreed in EU<div class="headline" style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJl-JeWcAIGjM4fv_VjZx9ICay-is5mHyQ7Pydcg2JRk3mYUOrSEHCJ37XU18pXNwKcFo6cqarU56fBaz6M30ZIZvCcf_lg4BPR3q9roWk0ftEF60M-sAKvCSUhezNdzZDQI3DeSEXKCBh/s1600/Sheep-Food-Safety.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJl-JeWcAIGjM4fv_VjZx9ICay-is5mHyQ7Pydcg2JRk3mYUOrSEHCJ37XU18pXNwKcFo6cqarU56fBaz6M30ZIZvCcf_lg4BPR3q9roWk0ftEF60M-sAKvCSUhezNdzZDQI3DeSEXKCBh/s640/Sheep-Food-Safety.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<div class="author">
<br /></div>
<div class="author">
By <a href="https://plus.google.com/102989901957707424577?rel=author" target="_blank">Joe Whitworth+</a>, 20-Jun-2016</div>
<div class="introduction">
<br />
Draft plans to tighten up official controls along the food chain have been informally agreed in Europe.</div>
<div class="link">
<br /></div>
<div class="link">
<a href="http://www.foodqualitynews.com/Industry-news/EU-moves-forward-on-official-controls-in-food-chain-revision?utm_source=copyright&utm_medium=OnSite&utm_campaign=copyright">http://www.foodqualitynews.com/Industry-news/EU-moves-forward-on-official-controls-in-food-chain-revision</a></div>
<div class="link">
<br /></div>
<div class="link">
This article explains another move by the EU to "protect" the public from bad food products.</div>
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<div class="link">
Feel free to draw your own conclusions. </div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-34484744577075382762016-06-16T11:14:00.000-05:002017-05-04T16:47:37.387-05:00Panama Improves Most in Peace Study for 2016<h3>
Reduction in military spending deemed the most influential factor in higher rankings for most peaceful countries.</h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhljxlyzu1Otut6nT20tDEysdBQE0qDfcfqMyiyL_9UB6CkTJJD2QZO4BNVSELg6Z2fLE6TojGHBfAM2V_GmIB4iXDMxmEG1OD6Z7jwsdsGZAXpqbK0Dk7zbasVJjaygGdBSTsCJuAbNS/s1600/Giant+Tree+Near+Farm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhljxlyzu1Otut6nT20tDEysdBQE0qDfcfqMyiyL_9UB6CkTJJD2QZO4BNVSELg6Z2fLE6TojGHBfAM2V_GmIB4iXDMxmEG1OD6Z7jwsdsGZAXpqbK0Dk7zbasVJjaygGdBSTsCJuAbNS/s400/Giant+Tree+Near+Farm.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<br />
Every year, for the last ten years, <a href="http://economicsandpeace.org/" target="_blank">The Institute for Economics and Peace</a>, a non-profit and non-partisan organization, produces a peace report on 163 independent states and territories of the world.<br />
<br />
From their website:<br />
<br />
<i>The Institute for Economics and Peace is the world’s leading think tank
dedicated to developing metrics to analyze peace and to quantify its
economic value. It does this by developing global and national indices,
calculating the economic cost of violence, analyzing country level risk
and understanding positive peace.</i><br />
<br />
The <a href="http://static.visionofhumanity.org/sites/default/files/GPI%202016%20Report_2.pdf" target="_blank">2016 GPI report</a> provides a comprehensive update on the state of
peace. It shows that amidst the global deterioration the world continues
to spend enormous resources on creating and containing violence but
very little on peace. <br />
<br />
The report shows violence in 2015 cost a total of $13.6 trillion dollars, or roughly 13.3% of the world GDP.<br />
<br />
Most of the cost increase was due to more violence and war activity, and over the last 10 years the average deterioration in peace measured 2.44%, with 77 countries improving and 85 deteriorating.<br />
<br />
Battle deaths from conflict are at a 25 year high, and the number of refugees and displaced persons are at a level not seen in 60 years.<br />
<br />
Central America and the Caribbean region improved the most, while the middle east, north Africa and Europe declined the most.<br />
<br />
The U.S. dropped to 103rd on the scale, while Panama came in 49th most peaceful, showing the largest improvement in the region.<br />
<br />
Folks, we're not going in the right direction here in the good ol' USA, and Europe doesn't seem to be doing much better.<br />
<br />
If you are looking to secure a private spot for you and your family in the country that has a growing economy, and shown the biggest improvement in peace, give us a call or send us an <a href="mailto:info@fincacazador.com" target="_blank">email</a>.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-135296185897437623.post-43561080500852648272016-06-14T14:00:00.000-05:002018-02-20T23:49:40.153-05:00Panama Leads the World in Well-Being Survey...Again!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5Wt90MzGP0JqWlH0JpyPB5V4ZX2bmPFC6e8pi3RQGRaKwaB-x-0EwbUHGWe-JYldcJUTPcYx_Dc_0KhF13IbWSDr5QYeWB0_2oo7MVv8LkTSlXsoBWEJTLZrIQ5fcEOVz2w7ODaSyHda/s1600/panama-happiness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5Wt90MzGP0JqWlH0JpyPB5V4ZX2bmPFC6e8pi3RQGRaKwaB-x-0EwbUHGWe-JYldcJUTPcYx_Dc_0KhF13IbWSDr5QYeWB0_2oo7MVv8LkTSlXsoBWEJTLZrIQ5fcEOVz2w7ODaSyHda/s400/panama-happiness.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></span></span>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Country rankings from the <a href="http://www.well-beingindex.com/2014-global-report" target="_blank">Gallup-Healthways Global Well-Being Index</a>
show that, for the second time since last year’s inaugural report,
Panama has the highest overall well-being in the world. The new
report* ranks 145 countries and areas based on the percentages of
their residents that are thriving in three or more well-being
elements.
</span>
</h3>
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the study, people from all over the
world were asked questions about five aspects of their well-being:
their sense of purpose, social relationships, financial situations,
community involvement and physical health. Based on their responses,
participants were considered "thriving," "struggling"
or "suffering" in each of those five aspects.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Panama, the home of the man-made canal,
bustling Panama City and lush farmland, leads the world in
well-being, with 53% of residents considered thriving in three or
more of those elements. Costa Rica and Puerto Rico round out the top
three as the only other countries or areas with at least 45% or more
of their populations thriving. This is compared to a score of 30% in
the United States and a world-wide average of 17% of people
considered thriving in at least three of the five elements. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhta25zEUS3Cvh8-oIC9mRx5UBVw6EByP-78zr_koM3SVs20P0WKpzlkiPlbTWLMTKHmpLz05OPd-fWEUPkGmnw1GVd98JJlCiuxjEWuCLf8Go99B2T1VApApjgSHVh5OjoGfwYyeXv0/s1600/Happiness+Ranking+Graph.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Panama happiness chart" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEhta25zEUS3Cvh8-oIC9mRx5UBVw6EByP-78zr_koM3SVs20P0WKpzlkiPlbTWLMTKHmpLz05OPd-fWEUPkGmnw1GVd98JJlCiuxjEWuCLf8Go99B2T1VApApjgSHVh5OjoGfwYyeXv0/s400/Happiness+Ranking+Graph.png" title="Panama well being rankings" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Click to Enlarge</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Part of the reason for Panama's high
ranking may be that people there, and in Latin America in general,
tend to report experiencing positive emotions more often and negative
emotions less, compared with people in other parts of the world, said
Dan Witters, research director at Gallup-Healthways. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Panama also had
a growing economy in 2015, is relatively politically stable;
additionally, city dwellers and tourists alike escape to the cool,
refreshing <a href="http://www.fincacazador.com/p/the-farm.html">mountains</a> in the heart of Chiriqui Province, Panama's
“breadbasket” where most of the country's food is grown as well
as coffee and plantains—a national staple food. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsb4ACEfHsNujpUyG0QZ1hQ-mjcZwYkxsIpLusFVXVNGPhp8Ql4Qgn5uQRWP56RCK0cIHu6AAyJuB0fV7R4eeOwUxUoWdclcVdvL3FkY30CTHv1LpvpgZl-RIu3GdpIXbwNXv-GZddfY/s1600/Regional+Thriving+Map.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Best country to live in Panama" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxsb4ACEfHsNujpUyG0QZ1hQ-mjcZwYkxsIpLusFVXVNGPhp8Ql4Qgn5uQRWP56RCK0cIHu6AAyJuB0fV7R4eeOwUxUoWdclcVdvL3FkY30CTHv1LpvpgZl-RIu3GdpIXbwNXv-GZddfY/s320/Regional+Thriving+Map.png" title="World thriving map" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For cultural reasons, there may be some
differences among countries in how people interpret the questions
asked in the Gallup survey, the researchers noted. However, Gallup
takes a number of steps to reduce the effects of misinterpretation,
including translating questions so that they are as close to the
original meaning as possible, and conducting interviews face-to-face
or over the phone, rather than using a paper survey, Witters said.
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Well-being is an important measure to
consider, because studies show that people with higher well-being are
healthier, more productive and more resilient in the face of
challenges, Gallup says. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">And, despite their recent bad press claiming that some people looking to reduce their taxes may have had hidden accounts there, the overwhelming consensus is that Panama has a very optimistic future ahead of her.</span></div>
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