San Buenas Golf Resort is a new residential golf community located south of Dominical near Ojochal in the Southern Pacific Zone of Costa Rica that will encompass 640 acres and include single family homes, condominiums, a championship 18-hole golf course, and amenities one would expect from a first-class resort.    

San Buenas Golf Resort is unique in its approach to the creation of this community.  The project is committed to not only preserving the existing primary forest, but also to improving the environment by repairing decades of damage caused by logging operations.  Another primary goal is to enhance the lives of the local residents of San Buenaventura by providing training, jobs, and infrastructure improvements  

The project has defined several initiatives that are underway or expected to begin this year.  These include:    

·         San Buenas River rehabilitation project and floodplain creation   

The objective is to rehabilitate the river that runs through the town of San Buenaventura while creating floodplain to alleviate the burden of flooding in town.  

·         San Buenas waterline project 

The objective of this project is to access a large high mountain spring.  The water will be used for the San Buenas Golf Resort potable water requirements and will also supplement San Buenaventura’s potable water supply.  

·         Reconstruction of the San Marcos school

Using privately donated materials, the staff of the San Buenas Golf Resort is donating labor to reconstruct the local San Marcos school.  

·         Drainage and road improvements  

San Buenas Golf Resort staff will donate time and equipment to aid in local drainage and road improvements in the town.  These improvements will complement the river rehabilitation and floodplain project.  

·         San Buenas Golf Resort recycling program    

An effort lead by the San Buenas Golf Resort staff to begin a full scale recycling program in the town of San Buenaventura has begun.  Educational seminars will be held at local schools and churches in the town.  The maintenance facility of the San Buenas Golf Resort will serve as the headquarters and mini depot.  Materials collected will be taken to a larger Municipal depot as part of a larger volunteer recycling program the San Buenas Golf Resort staff will be involved in.  

·         San Buenas Golf Resort local hiring program    

The San Buenas Golf Resort is committed to hiring the local residents of San Buenaventura.  Currently, the San Buenas Golf resort employs (through Costa Rican construction company DEG) 13 local residents.  Each of these men is receiving specialized training in order to excel in the fields of golf construction and maintenance.  The San Buenas Golf Resort will have a full time staff of 20 to 22 local men and women in the field of golf course maintenance alone.  The rest of the project will require a much larger work force, which will be comprised of local residents.  

·         San Buenas Golf Resort reforestation project  

Fifty-three percent of the property that comprises the San Buenas Golf Resort is covered in a monostand of Gmelina.  The property has been decimated by logging for many years.  Gmelina areas share none of the characteristics of biodiversity that our other primary forest areas exhibit (vibrant wildlife, extensive ecosystems, clean water etc.).  The objective is to clear the entire population of Gmelina from the property and reforest with indigenous species.  Currently, the project has created two tree nurseries under the guidance of Costa Rican forestry engineer Pablo Castillo.  While only in the beginning stages, there are over 4000 trees in varying stages of growth in these nurseries.  The goal for the San Buenas Golf Resort tree nursery and reforestation project is to reforest with 15,000 to 20,000 indigenous trees, considerably expanding the area of primary forest on the property.  All existing primary forest trees have been GPS plotted and incorporated into the design of the golf course and surrounding areas.   

·         Platinum TE Paspalum has been chosen as the playing surface of the San Buenas Golf Resort

Currently, Platinum TE Paspalum is the best cultivar of turf grass on the market.  In comparisons with commonly used Bermuda cultivars, it uses 50% less water and 60% less nitrogen.  Paspalum exhibits a very dense growth habit that prohibits weeds leading to a sharp decrease in the use of herbicides.  Paspalum’s extensive root system (consistently 18 to 36 inches) and dense mat create an amazing biofilter that guarantees a cleaner source of water entering the river and underground aquifers.  Simply put, Platinum TE Paspalum is the best tool available for an integrated pest management program.  

·         Biodigesters, sediment ponds and effluent irrigation 

The San Buenas Golf Resort will be using biodigesters, sediment ponds and effluent irrigation to contain and reuse its waste water.  Waste water will be treated by biodigesters and pumped to a series of cleansing sediment holding ponds.  This clean water will be used to irrigate the golf course.  The San Buenas Golf Resort policy of low density construction will ensure every drop of treated waste water will be used in an environmentally friendly way.  Other sources of irrigation water include rainwater reclamation and wells.  The use of Paspalum turf allows the San Buenas Golf Resort to use a salt water blend if required.   

·         San Buenas Golf Resort Forestry Engineer  

The San Buenas Golf resort has been working with a Costa Rican forestry engineer since the project began.  This engineer has been instrumental is several key decisions that will ensure the project fulfills its goal of preserving the existing healthy areas of the property while repairing and improving the areas damaged by logging.  

·         San Buenas Golf Resort Sustainability Coordinator   

A graduate student from the Earth University has been hired with the title of San Buenas Golf Resort Sustainability Coordinator to aid in developing and implementing programs for sustainability.  The connection to the Earth University will prove invaluable and future goals include a scholarship towards continuing education for an employee from the town of San Buenaventura.   

These initiatives have prompted the residents of the town of San Buenaventura to distribute and sign a petition directed to the Osa government requesting prompt issuance of all permits required to begin construction.      

San Buenas Golf Resort is determined to set an example for other development projects in the region and throughout Costa Rica.