As anyone who shops at whole foods can tell you, going green ain't cheap.

Teak, sustainably and locally grown, is about 650 a square meter. There is a 13% tax to the sale. I dont know what this tax is. A wood tax? Government really starts to look a lot like a protection racket after a while. Without the protection. The guy we spoke to Jin Wah, or something like that, seems straightforward and responsive. four days to cut and process the wood. Delivery to the site for 300 dollars.

There is a semi hardwood that is locally used to build frames. its called....shot, I cannot recall. Paul told me. Its about the same as teak per foot. There is a low quality teak for 400 a square meter. There is another wood for covering the inside. It can be manufactured at 1/2 inch thickness, for around 600 a sqM. Not cheap this stuff. The total price tag for all the wood is about 3000, plus tax. Thats too much right now. This is holding us up. Paul is doing all the negotiations, and for that, I am endlessly thankful.

I dont know where we will find tools. I suspect we need at least a generator, a circular saw or a table saw, shovels, hammers, drills, rules etc. Dont know if we need a compressor. Since it is out of my pocket, and I dont have any access to electricity locally, I have to buy the generator.

I heard there is a hardware store in Samara. I dont know how much they have, but that is a good site better than Liberia. I am sure we can get some materials from Nicoya, but again, I dont know what.

The other problem is the footings. We need 8, but the original plan was 4 foot sono tubes of concrete with metal braces on top. Well, I have seen someone building one room hunting shacks in trapezoidal concrete footers. It would be great if that were sufficient.