Important Things in My Life

Needless to say my family is most important, and there is always lots of family news. However, this News page is devoted to other things that are happening in my life that are important to me and to my friends and business associates. There is no particular order to this list.

University of Alberta - Hot on the heals of our Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the world-renowned Omacha Foundation, we signed a MOU with the University of Alberta's Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences to use our tropical tree plantation for various scientific and socio-economic studies. This partnership should prove to be of great value to science and to the planet in the years to come.

La Pedregoza - We have launched the web site for the Reserva Natural La Pedregoza that my wife Kochurani Dombro, my son Dilmun Dombro and I founded in Vichada, Colombia. This natural reserve is dedicated to the conservation of native tree species and the preservation of endangered wildlife that relies on those trees for habitat. Plans include a river turtle hatchery, where we collect the turtle eggs and hatch them before the poachers get them, and then release them into the Rio el Bita, and an interpretive center for locals and international visitors alike. Visit us at www.pedregoza.org.

  If you need something done, ask a busy person. That's what my News page is all about.

  FAMILY NEWS

Other News

Plantación Amazonia El Vita - We have completed planting in Vichada, Colombia, for this season, with 127,500 tropical trees in the ground. We faced many challenges, not least of which was ploughing the ground to a depth of 60 cm (2 feet), putting lime in the soil to keep it loose while the seedlings set root, spreading boron and fertilizer, creating fire breaks, and more. Our 105 HP Kubota tractor did a magnificent job. The points on our plough had to be replaced a couple of times due to the hard ground conditions, but now we are free to plan for the 2010 season. Visit the Amazonia Reforestation web site.

My goal is to plant 500,000 trees a year in 2010, 2011 and 2012. By next season we should be in a better position to increase the acreage devoted to native species, once we have a methodology for working low lying areas. I also plan to increase the number of fruit trees we will be planting, such as cashew nuts, mangos and avocados.

Carbon Neutral Cars - We are getting increasing requests from businesses and individuals for information about our tropical tree planting program that allows a consumer or a fleet owner to make their vehicle(s) carbon neutral for a 10 year period. If you think this doesn't apply to you, think again. The Environmental Protection Agency of the United States estimates that ther average North American car has CO2 emissions of approximately 12,100 lbs (5,488 kg) per annum. One of the simplest and most effective ways of balancing or offsetting those emissions is by planting tropical trees. In fact, our program is based on planting 250 tropical trees, sufficient to absorb approximately 12,500 lbs or 5,650 kg of carbon in a year. best of all the cost is only $750 USD for our 10 year program. Visit the CO2 Tropical Trees web site.

Affordable Low Cost Housing - Vivienda Housing and Mortgage Corp.is pleased to be able to deliver the first set of houses at our Bebedero project in Guancaste to Costa Rica's National Emergency Commission. The recession being experienced in North America and Europe has also had some effect in Costa Rica, but the rule of demand exceeds supply still prevails. Visit the Vivienda Housing web site.