save nature - create resources
Who We Are?
Biography
Our Story
We are a normal family, Daniel (43), Sandra (46) and daughter (10)
– the heart and soul of the environmental protection project “TicoRico”.
Behind us lies a complete change of life. Everything that belonged to our previous life and everyday life in Germany, we have once completely turned upside down. Now we have been living at the other end of the world since September 2022 and have put our personal heart project into practice in Costa Rica. To do this, we had to summon up all our courage, trust our feelings and, in the end, follow the voice of our hearts.
Let us tell you in advance: It was the best decision of our lives!
Our life before Costa Rica
Whenever it was possible for us as entrepreneurs in the telecommunication industry and self-employed fitness trainer and life coach with a school child, we traveled to other countries and got around the world a lot. On our travels we have seen a lot of positive but also a lot of negative things that made us think and rethink. Many environmental sins and injustice were our motivation for our way of life. For us it was quickly clear that we want to continue to gain experience and work for something good.
We made a complete cut and a new start – away from the fast-paced, consumer-oriented western way of life, towards a decelerated life with more sustainability and meaningfulness.
Total area
It will be expanded over time
Reforestation area
And this is just the beginning
Water area
Springs, rivers and streams
PLANTED TREES
And we continue to plant
Trees
Will be protect in our project
Tons co2
Our Project bind 1075 tons of CO2 per year
Biography
About Us
Love at first sight
MOTIVATION & GOAL
When we set off on a trip to visit acquaintances in Costa Rica in February 2022, we had no idea that the next 10 days would completely turn our lives upside down and change us forever. Of course we were aware that Costa Rica is a fantastic vacation destination. But that we would fall in love at first sight and feel a deep connection to a completely foreign country, the people and the lifestyle, we would not have expected in our dreams…
When we reached our destination after a 12 hour flight and 4 hour drive, we were overcome with a deep sense of satisfaction. An insanely beautiful sensation that is difficult to put into words. You have to feel and experience it yourself to understand this peaceful bliss. A foreign country and a completely new environment suddenly felt like “arriving home”. A feeling that has stayed with us ever since!
In Costa Rica the people (“Ticos”) are warm, open and friendly. As a foreigner you are always and everywhere accepted and welcomed. Despite the bad personal economic situation in many places (monthly average income about 500 USD at almost the same prices as in Germany), the Ticos are anything but grouchy. On the contrary, here people enjoy life, take everything as it comes and see the positive in every situation and every day. Here, no one stresses themselves out and they don’t make life difficult for each other. Nevertheless, the Ticos are educated, very ambitious and anything but naive. They just prefer to focus on the beautiful aspects of life rather than the negative ones.
We quickly felt home
MOTIVATION & GOAL
Life in Costa Rica is simpler and more relaxed, less fast-paced and perfectionistic. We were completely decelerated and at the same time couldn’t get out of being amazed. The animal diversity and vegetation of the country are simply overwhelming. There are no crowded beaches with countless sunbeds here, no high hotel bunkers with masses of tourists. The lush jungle allows every mind to rest, while cascading waterfalls invigorate the body.
Toucans and colorful parrots fly majestically over the rainforest-rich land, while sloths and monkeys sneak through the trees. The first time we went, it felt a little like we had been beamed into a new Avatar movie by James Cameron. Our daughter was also quickly thrilled. She was completely blown away the day she met a cute sloth in the wild for the first time. For us, too, it was a truly indescribable feeling of elation to be able to observe such fascinating exotic animals up close in their natural habitat.
On the other hand, unfortunately, we were often involuntary observers of destruction and deforestation of the same habitat. Regularly we had to watch how beautiful, ancient trees were cut down. Huge magnificent specimens several meters in diameter and over 50 meters high! How many decades or even centuries had these green giants existed before they were simply cut down? These were moments that brought tears to our eyes and made our hearts ache. At the same time, however, they were also moments in which the desire and the idea matured in us to become active ourselves and to help protect this wonderful paradise with its trees, plants and animals.
A matter of the heart: environmental protection and sustainability Costa Rica is a natural paradise with dream beaches, a great climate and a unique animal and plant world. It is easy to fall in love with this pretty “exterior”. Fall in love with this pretty “exterior” quite quickly and easily. But we also felt a deep inner connection to this country, its history and its people. Costa Rica and its nature have had a tough time and yet this tiny country has managed to eradicate the mistakes of its past and become a global leader in sustainability and environmental protection. This impressed us immensely and inspired us even more.
Although we ourselves as a family have been paying attention to consume consciously(er) and live sustainably for years, all this was not enough for us in the end. The desire for something “bigger”, an environmental protection project with which we can give something back to the earth after years of pure resource destruction, had been dormant in us for a long time. And in Costa Rica, the ideal opportunity now presented itself. And so, finally, one thing led to another…
We couldn't forget Costa Rica
Out of our minds anymore
Back in Germany, we had a hard time switching off after our first trip and only slowly found our way back into our everyday life. Like no other country before, Costa Rica had completely blown us away and kept us under its spell. Afterwards, we spent many days and sleepless nights thinking about our personal wishes and goals for the future. We wrote down every idea, tinkered with plans and so today’s project “Tico Rico” took shape for the first time – at least on paper and in our heads. What if we could buy land in Costa Rica instead of a vacation home, reforest fallow land and protect a part of the lungs of this world in the long term? Maybe even hand in hand with the locals and with the support of people and companies from Germany who themselves want to do their part to protect the world?
In April 2022, we traveled to Costa Rica once again. Through our acquaintance we met a German who had already left his homeland behind 30 years ago, acquired land and now wanted to sell part of it. We fell in love a second time. Not in the emigrant … but in the beautiful land for sale. We didn’t think twice, we decided on the spur of the moment and before we knew it, we were the proud owners of 15 hectares of undeveloped land away from inhabited areas with many fallow areas that were perfect for renaturation. We made first contacts with locals and the local communities and realized: our idea literally fell on fertile ground and the very environmentally conscious Ticos were enthusiastic about our enthusiasm and vision.
In June, we moved away for a third time and purchased another 25 hectares of adjacent land with its own river (Rio Perros), a gorgeous 15-meter waterfall, more fallow land and some already forested areas. In the meantime, our idea had matured more and more into a serious concept: “Tico Rico” should become an environmental protection project with a participatory character, in which everyone can participate in the future (for example in the form of a land sponsorship) – very easy, uncomplicated and affordable.
What had been clear to us for a long time, now broke through in our heads and hearts: We wanted to leave and start completely new. Why wait “until someday”? Why not summon up all our courage now and take the plunge? Driven by a deep desire to change something in the world – to do something good and to give something back to nature and the world. It may sound pathetic or even a little smug to some, but we often perceived ourselves as part of a throwaway society in recent years. A society that no longer appreciates everyday things. We buy, throw away, buy new. In an age of instant gratification, we have been conditioned to be (mis)guided by marketing campaigns and to satisfy every consumer desire with a click. But the truth is, even though our wealth has increased over the past 50 years and each of us owns more than our grandparents used to, we’re not really any happier. Instead, we take more and more of the world’s resources and give back far too little in total. We ourselves are absolute “normalos”, no saints and no environmental fanatics or climate activists, but who once experienced the beauty in a Garden of Eden like Costa Rica with open eyes and wide open heart, inevitably can’t get away from the question:
What if such a natural paradise doesn’t exist anymore someday? Unimaginable!
Certainly we are not alone with it, many humans feel in such a way and at least just as many use themselves with each quantity energy and heart blood for a reorientation, more lastingness, environmental protection and various projects. However, we felt that our personal contribution was not enough and at the same time we wanted to set up something that would make it easier for other people to participate in an environmental protection project themselves.
Our decision was made
We just do it!
The next weeks and months were wild and exhausting. Many things had to be arranged and initiated. Countless phone calls, e-mails, dealings with authorities, sleepless nights and stressful days. Even though we were physically and mentally exhausted on some days and the effort was draining us and our strength, our hearts were light.
Rarely has anything in our lives felt more right than the purchase of the land, the idea for the project “Tico Rico” and the subsequent decision to leave Germany!
In the meantime we live completely in our new home and there is still a lot to do. Our new home is getting more and more homelike, our Spanish is improving day by day and soon we will plant the first trees and hand over the first land parcels to new sponsors. We are working closely with the locals and the communities in the surrounding area and the first important connections and even friendships have already been formed. Without exception, the Ticos have welcomed us with open arms and are happy that we want to protect and expand their green homeland together with them.
Our life has already become more “Spanish” and also more spartan, because many amenities are not found right outside the front door in our area of Costa Rica. However, breaking away from everyday stress and consumption feels extremely liberating. It grounds us immensely and allows us to enjoy each day much better and life and nature much more consciously.
Fear of failure? We are not! Our personal conviction gives us the necessary basic confidence. If you dedicate yourself body and soul to a project of your heart, you can’t go wrong. Actually, there is only one “worry” on our minds at the moment: That our daughter will soon want to emigrate herself and live with her new friends, the sloths …
… to be continued …
