Mike's blog

Here is a link I just came across for a resort in Belize made entirely of monolithic domes. Not too much info on the site about the domes themselves but people like Phil and Doug working in this area in Nicaragua might be able to gain some insights by contacting the resort owners.

http://www.xanaduresort-belize.com/

Here is a link to the plans of a very low-cost toilet that was developed in Africa which would be ideal for conditions in Central America. I suspect it's too crude for most posters here but it would be very workable for poor folks or someone trying to fix up an old shack.

http://www.ecosur.org/images/stories/documents/dry_toilet.pdf

How does it compare as a place to live? What's the weather like throughout the year? How expensive is it? How long to Managua and Granada? Is there a direct route to Jinotepe instead of taking a longer route through Nandaime?

Authored in 2006 by the law firm of the PLN's candidate for President during the last round. I'm not sure how fresh this info is to people who post here.

http://www.lexmundi.com/images/lexmundi/pdf/guide_nicaragua.pdf

I am trying to get back down as soon as October and may stay for several months this time if my luck holds out. I take three medications which are pretty common so I assume I will be able to get them there. These are by prescription only in North Am but I can get them OTC in the Dom Rep but in Belize I needed a prescription.

Has anyone seen rope pumps in operation in Nicaragua? Here's a link to the site promoting its use, http://www.ropepump.com/. The site says this technology has reached about 25% of rural Nicaraguans.

Do any of you have any thoughts about the pros and cons of using this technology for small-scale irrigation?

Forgive me if this is another of my dumb-arse questions.

I am trying to figure out how many bags of Portland cement are used in building a 'typical' house that is sold to middle-class expats in Nica. Yeah I know no such house exists. I'm looking for a roughly average estimate, perhaps expressed as bags per sq. mt.

Hi I'm back with my dumb questions of the day.

I'm interested in freighting a machine from Mumbay India to Nica and get it through customs. The machine costs less than $US 2,000, weighs 500 kilograms and the package size is 0.8 x 0.7 x 1.4 m. I'm not in a rush so it could go by sea rather than air. It would be used to make a special type of clay tile.

Can anyone tell me the current cost of high-quality bricks in places like Mga, SJDS, Esteli etc.? Also, have you noticed any change recently in the cost of bricks?

Here is some information on Prolena's ecostove operation in Managua. Compared to open-hearth baking, the stoves need half the wood and drastically reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and indoor pollutants. The health of women cooking over these stoves and their children is much improved (not to mention the planet).