CDEP

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The Story

 In 2010, I fell terribly sick in India. I got diagnose with Typhoon fever and everybody including me thought I was going to die. I was not in peace with this idea. I felt that my life has been purposeless. I traveled the world for years in some of the poorest places on earth, realizing the inequalities, without doing any concrete action to make a difference in the life of those people. I promise myself that if I survive I would do everything I could to have a positive impact on their life. 10 years later it is still my life goal. 

Because I worked for many years in tourism and studied hospitality, It made sense for me to use my experience as a way to finance the project. So I decided to open a hotel to do so. After several years of living in Central America, I knew I could have an impact there. So I went to Nicaragua, fell in love with an Island and decided to buy a part of it to build my dream. 

At that time I knew nothing about bio-construction so my goal was to build the place with traditional material. When I figured out the high cost of transportation for bringing the material on site I started to look for an alternative way and discovered that the center of Leòn was built with cob (a mixture of clay, sand and straw). I could find most of the material on the island so it made way more sense to build this way. I launch the project and hired Zach a teacher from Cob Cottage Company, Oregon. He came on the land for 5 months in 2014 to share his knowledge with us. 

For the last 5 years, over 700 people participated in the experience. Each and every one of them brought their help, ideas, color and personality to the project. During this time we faced many challenges and to be honest I never could have done it without the help of so many amazing people. That is the reason why we put so much emphasis to build a community around us. 

Throughout the years, the project adapted, changed, evolved, grew, to become what it is today. It had a positive impact on me and I believe in so many people.  I finally found a sense of purpose and invite you to find yours with us!
2013: Puchase of the land
Jan. 2014: The beginning of Carpe Diem Eco Project
Jan. 2014: The first Kitchen
Jan. 2014: The first Compost toilet
Jan. 2014: Digging the first well
2014: The first shower
2014: Beginning of the first Cabana
April 2014: Beginning of the palapa
2014: First pizza oven
May 2014: Completion of the palapa (phase 1)
2016: Compost toilet version number 2
2016: Extension of the palapa
2016: First visit of my mother in Nicaragua
2016: Structure of the first cabana completed
2016: Beginning of the second cabana
2016: completion of the extension of the palapa
2016: Beginning of the third cabana
2016: Finish of the second cabana
2016: Construction of the bar
2016: Roof of the third cabana
2016: Pizza oven version number 2
2016: Plaster of cabana number 1 and 3
2016: walls of the kitchen
2017: Floor of the palapa
2017: Interior design of the palapa
2017: Diner table
2017: Walls of the fourth cabana
2017: Plaster of the fourth cabana
2017: Fabrication of the windows and doors of the cabanas
2017: First guest of CDEP
2017: Beginning of compost toilet version 3
2017: The cob cabanas
2017: The open air dormitory
2018: Beginning of the fifth cabana
2018: Beginning of the yoga/circus platform
2018: Roof of the platform
2018: Wooden floor of the platform
2018: Completion of the platform's floor
2018: Completion of the yoga/circus platform
2018: Shower version number 3
2018: Boa cob bench
2018: CDEP librairy
2018: Palapa interior design
2018: Palapa interior design 2
2019: Structure of cabanas number six and seven
2019: Roofs of cabanas six and seven
2019: Compost toilet version number 3
2019: Surf shack/stock room
2019: Mezzanine floors cabanas 6 and 7
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  • Home Page
  • Lodge and retreat center
  • business and volunteer opportunity
  • The Story
  • The Projects
  • Team and partners
  • FAQ
  • Contact