Welcome to “la tienda,” the village’s go-to shop. This store is the most well-stocked in the area, offering everything from fresh produce like tomatoes, onions, potatoes, and jalapeno peppers to dried goods, canned items, and basic household essentials. Essentially, you can get most of what you need without having to travel to town.

However, the selection is pretty basic. There’s no fish or meat, and if you’re lucky, you might find one kind of fruit in season and about six different vegetables. Prices here are 10 to 20% higher than those in a town six miles away and up to 50% more than in a town 20 miles away. The worst price increases are on smaller quantities. If you can’t afford a carton of 30 eggs, a single egg costs 72% more. People often buy small bags of flour, oil, and even individual Maggi seasoning cubes at exorbitant prices because they can’t afford the larger quantities. So, they end up coming to the shop daily to buy just enough for that day.

You’ll also notice tiny bags of chips and nachos that sell for only $0.25. However, if you compare the cost per pound to a family-sized bag from Walmart, these small bags end up being the most expensive.

Payments to workers are made weekly because they can’t manage to wait an entire month without a paycheck. Even if they could, they wouldn’t make it through the next month on a single paycheck. Many of them resort to payday loans with interest rates up to 5% per month. They also buy items on credit—like a $30 blender—only to end up paying twice that amount over 18 months. Big shops are keen to keep this profitable system going, but it’s disheartening to see most of their hard-earned money going towards financing items they don’t really need.

Land Development Update

Our development is progressing rapidly! The gate is now in place, and we’ve added some white soil to keep the entrance clean and sturdy enough for cars. There’s a phone number for more information, but I’ve blacked it out for privacy. Feel free to email me for details.

We also had workers clean up the roadside area. I wish I had a ‘before’ photo, but the transformation is impressive. What used to be just weeds is now well-manicured land. All the overgrown bushes and weeds, which were about 2-3 meters high, have been cleared and replaced with grass that should turn lush and green with the rainy season.

Just two months ago, we had to clear the land by burning it down. Now, some areas have pasture knee-high. Back in March, I was overseeing the work done by a caterpillar, ensuring we got our money’s worth at $80 an hour. We only removed about five trees and had workers with machetes clean up the rest to leave the land neat.

By June, the pasture had grown back strong, and now we have about 200 tropical sheep grazing daily, which helps keep the weeds down. It’s a win-win situation for us and the shepherd who gets free feed.

Nearby, the council began a project to build a public beach and promenade for the village, but it didn’t go well. The funds ran out, and what was supposed to be a four-month project has been stalled since March. Heavy rain destroyed much of their work, and a truck that lost its brakes even caused additional damage by crashing into a wall and ending up in the water. For now, it’s just a sad, empty plot due to mismanagement and corruption.

Speaking of corruption, a neighboring politician seems to have anonymously reported us for deforestation. A government forestry truck visited our land, accusing us of destroying the ecosystem. BF, clearly upset, explained that the land had been a cattle farm for years, and the existing pasture is proof. It’s not easy to grow pasture if you’ve just uprooted trees.

While we’ve done nothing wrong, this issue could delay our progress considerably as we now need to prove our innocence. They mentioned we required permits for building a wall around our property and for our roadwork. BF clarified that we were merely restoring an old road and defining our property boundaries. Though they walked away, we suspect more complications may arise.

We could smooth things over by offering a bribe, but that’s not our style. We’ll follow their requirements, apply for outdated permits, and deal with any delays without resorting to bribery. BF surprisingly agrees with this approach, even though he’s usually inclined to resolve issues quickly, often choosing convenience over cost. This time, we’ll see how things unfold.

This post was featured in the Money Rebound Lifestyle Carnival. Thank you!