2017: 5th Annual Pangea Proxima Holiday Drive
Here are photos of some of the happy and grateful children who received toy donations from the annual Pangea Proxima Holiday Drives. The children live in the same community (on the periphery in Mexicali, Baja CA, Mexico) where we built a straw bale house for an elderly couple.
Beginning in November, you may donate toy(s) (new and slightly used) for infants through high school-aged children and food (boxed and canned) for their families. We will personally transport all of your donated items to the children and their families in mid-December for the holidays. We hold a holiday party for children of the community on the day we transport the gifts.
Your toy and money donations are tax deductible. Please make your check to our 501c3 fiscal agent, "Vermilion Sea Institute", with a note for "Pangea Proxima". Please mail your donations to:
Address: 4664 West Point Loma Blvd. San Diego, California 92107.
Phone: 619-599-6550
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| Standing in the back of the straw bale house with the holiday donations for the community |
Our goal is to initiate a straw bale construction school and business for the community in the near future. We envision this type of business creating many great economic and living opportunities for people living in the border region. Thank you for supporting this cause and have a wonderful holiday time with your friends and family!
Educating Young People
About Sustainability
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| A young boy from Limon, Costa Rica and the message |
In August, Pangea Proxima consultants began working together to create and compile existing innovative lesson plans targeting grades 1-12 and possibly junior college and university students. The lesson plans will be based on and around the concept of sustainability. Specifically, these are lesson plans based around the themes of environmental conservation, natural building methods, recycling, and a healthy diet.
The goals of the Pangea Proxima School Program are to promote environmental education, sustainable development, international relations/cultural exchange, a better understanding of history, critical thinking, and healthy living.
The traditional educational subjects covered in Pangea Proxima lesson plans are art, history, geography, geology, biology, ecology,
sociology, mathematics, health, and foreign languages.
Patent Work for Global Analytics
In July, Trevor Stine, the lead consultant for Pangea Proxima accepted patent work from Global Analytics Inc., a La Jolla based company. The job to help develop the company’s patent ideas was accepted because their ideas and mission falls in line with ours-alleviating poverty and creating opportunities which help people realize their potentials. One of the main drivers of pulling people in developing nations out of poverty is an opportunity to have credit. Global Analytics is determined to develop ways to make it possible to develop intelligent credit solutions to the under-served populations of the world. Credit is instrumental in order for imaginative and talented entrepreneurs in developing nations to make their business ideas reality as well as having the opportunity. Credit opportunities will allow people in developing nations to purchase larger ticket items such as smart phones, sewing machines, and tractors, which are tools with the ability to propel incomes of the poor. 
Trevor has previous experience developing anti-identity theft and voice biometric technology patents for the anti-identity theft company CSID, based out of Austin, Texas. Pangea Proxima is excited and thankful for the opportunity to help Global Analytics formulate their concepts and meet their lofty goals successfully.
Volunteering for SCGIS (Society for Conservation Geographic Information Systems)
The Society for Conservation GIS (SCGIS) works to build community, provide knowledge, and support individuals using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and science for the conservation of natural resources and cultural heritage. The SCGIS assists conservationists worldwide in using GIS through communication, networking, scholarships, and training. Each year SCGIS sponsors conservation activists from all over the world to come together for GIS training and community building. The SCGIS International Scholarship Program is designed to allow conservation GIS practitioners to attend the ESRI User Conference and SCGIS Annual Conference that are held in California every summer, and to take specialized 2-week GIS courses organized for the scholarship recipients before these two conferences. This year, 17 scholars who are working on crucial environmental projects in their homelands traveled to California from Nepal, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, Kenya, Uruguay, Zambia, Guatemala, Russia, Vietnam, Malawi, Bangladesh, and Malaysia.
Membership to SCGIS is open to any individual seeking assistance in the achievement of personal or organizational conservation goals. For more on the SCGIS please visit: http://www.scgis.org/
Canadian Vision Care and Pangea Proxima team up in Costa Rica
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| Canadian Vision Care Doctors from left to right: Dr. Barry Thienes, Dr. Paul Geneau, Dr. Bob Erlandson, Dr. Peter McGuigan, Dr. Fabio Mora, Dr. Allan Jones, and Trevor Stine |
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| Dr. Mora screening a young boy in Guanacaste. |
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| Dr. Kari Barrantes and a young recipient of new prescription glasses |
The optometrists from CVC whom participated in the volunteer effort over the two weeks in Costa Rica were Dr. Allan Jones, Dr. Paul Geneau, Dr. Peter McGuigan, Dr. Bob Erlandson, Dr. Barry Thienes, Dr. Fabio Mora and Dr. Kari Barrantes. Pangea Proxima is proud of the work we accomplished together and looks forward to teaming up with CVC for many more impactful projects in the future.
The Guacalito de la Isla Project
Pangea Proxima has agreed to work with the community development team of Guacalito de la Isla, headed by Jon Thompson, Manager of Community Relations for Guacalito de la Isla in Tola, and a proven community leader, in order to help create healthy environments in five of the worker communities surrounding the resort that is being developed.
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| Playa Guacalito de la Isla |
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| Other beaches in the area |
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The Pellas Family of Nicaragua is in the process of creating the most ambitious resort in the history of Nicaragua and is investing over $300 million in doing so. Pangea Proxima has agreed to help this project due to the family’s commitment to philanthropy and developing in a conscious manner. The Pellas Family is not just interested in building a luxury resort, but also health and safe areas for employees and their families to live, grow and thrive.
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| Jon Thompson, Manager of Community Relations for Guacalito de la Isla, standing in front of a community school |
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| Sea Turtle Conservation Program at Guacalitode la Isla |
Pangea Proxima will lend its assistance by conducting local surveys in all five surrounding communities to determine the local needs of the people as well as to recruit and develop a healthy work force. A report will be developed for the project targeting specific areas for new facilities, social programs as well as aspects of social programming and community resident’s work abilities and potential. New health clinics and schools will be built and existing schools and clinics will be renovated. New social programs for the five communities will also be determined through the development work.
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| An area health clinic in the process of renovation |
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| Jon Thompson speaking at a community meeting about a potable water program |
Pangea Proxima is extremely excited to work with Jon Thompson and the Guacalito de la Isla Project this spring (2012) to ensure healthy communities are developed surrounding the resort and to provide a model of conscious development for future luxury resorts built throughout the world.
To learn more about the Guacalito de la Isla project, please visit http://www.guacalitodelaisla.com/The-Guacalito-Story-A-Dedication-to-Giving-Back.aspx.
Pangea Proxima designs experimental straw bale wall system to withstand high levels of humidity
Straw bale homes and buildings have proved to be an ideal solution for sustainable construction in areas that grow grain with dry climates which experience intense high and low temperatures. Straw bale construction may also be ideal for areas of the world which experience high volumes of rain as long as precautions are taken to ensure that a building has a long life. These precautions include ample eves, overhangs and porches, roof systems which take in to account pitch and wind direction, French drainage systems which directs sitting water away from the building and foundations that place the bale’s footers above the 50 and 100 year forecasted flood lines.
Grain fields are plentiful in Latin America, and so straw bale wall systems seem to be a logical fit until taking into account the high humidity levels experienced by the tropical regions. Straw bale buildings may have a life of 100+ years as demonstrated in Nebraska, USA where the straw pulled from the old walls still look as fresh as the day they were embedded. However, straw tends to mold and rot when exposed to 16%+ moisture. This is the main obstacle faced by these tropical areas in seeing the potential to use straw as a long-term building material.
During a two and a half month trip to Central America, two locations for an experimental straw bale wall system have been found and granted by the generous owners of the private lands. The unique wall system was designed by Trevor Stine (Pangea Proxima’s lead consultant) to withstand the high levels of humidity in the region. Due to US and international patent regulations the specifics of the wall system may not be discussed until the official application has been submitted.
The first of the experimental locations was granted during the second week of January. It is located at the Southern-most tip of the Nicoya Peninsula and borders the Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve in Costa Rica. This nature reserve is one of the most biologically diverse areas of the world and is home to several types of monkeys, sloths and is a bird watchers paradise. The eco-friendly land owners are green builders and architects from the Georgia, USA and have won numerous awards for their past work and designs.
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| Panoramic view of the site granted to Pangea Proxima for the experimental straw bale wall system |
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| View of the Nicoya coastline from the future build site |
A second Central American site for the experimental straw bale wall system was discovered and granted in near San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua during mid-January. The plot of land is located about 2km north of town in the community development called El Encanto. The developers are also very active in the San Juan community and views this land grant as a way for Nicaraguans to have healthy and cheap alternatives for housing and the development for rural schools and clinics in the future.
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| The parcel of land designated for the experimental straw bale wall system |
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| The view from El Encanto |
Pangea Proxima is truly fortunate and thankful to have connected with these generous and eco-friendly land owners. We look forward to working with them in order to create safe, eco-friendly and affordable buildings and houses for the people of Central America. !Pura Vida!
Straw Bale House in Mexicali, BC, Mexico
In association with Casa de Paja (House of Straw), Pangea Proxima designed and built a three-room straw bale house in an under-developed periphery neighborhood of Mexicali. The home was built free of charge for an older gentleman who is rapidly losing his sight due to complications with diabetes. Due to his inability to work, he and his wife have been living with his elderly parents. The initial floor plans for the three room home were designed by Pangea Proxima, sponsored by Casa de Paja and the house was constructed with a combined team of the gentleman's fellow church congregation members and volunteers from Pangea Proxima and Casa de Paja. Construction begun in March, 2011 (initiated on the weekends) and was completed three months later for US $11,000.
To learn more about the benefits of straw bale construction and see a slide show of our 2011 build please visit: http://www.casadepaja.org
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| Mexicali Open House held October 2011 (Ejido Puebla, Baja California, Mexicali, Mexico) |
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| Builders (from left to right): Roberto, Jagdish, Trevor, Harold, Damian, and Caleb |
Teenage Pregnancy in La Paz, BCS, Mexico
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| Mother and daughter (Cuautla, Morelos, Mexico) |
The education outcomes and reproduction knowledge and practices of young women who live in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico and experienced pregnancy before they reached 20 years of age is the subject of this project. The data reported are from a convenience sample of 475 La Paz women between the ages of 18 and 28 years. The analysis addresses three questions:
1. What are the education outcomes of the young parents?
2. What is their birth control knowledge and usage?
3. Where do they live?
This project was conducted in order to assist the city of La Paz to determine the best areas and important aspects to include when starting new programs aimed at improving the lives of young parents and their kids.
This project was conducted in order to assist the city of La Paz to determine the best areas and important aspects to include when starting new programs aimed at improving the lives of young parents and their kids.
News article about the study published by Peninsular Digital, Baja California Sur's primary online news outlet
(Important note concerning the content below: Download the latest free Adobe software in order to properly view the full report and maps by clicking here: Adobe Reader X)
Full Report
(Important note concerning the content below: Download the latest free Adobe software in order to properly view the full report and maps by clicking here: Adobe Reader X)
Full Report
PowerPoint Presentation
PDF Dynamic Map (Areas of Risk vs. Locations of Existing Schools & Social Services)Internet map showing high risk areas (darker areas=higher risk) in relation to existing social services and schools in La Paz.
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| Mother and daughter (Antigua, Guatemala) |
