In January 1998, Yim and I flew to southern Belize to spend three weeks on the beach and scuba dive. By the time we left, we owned over an acre of beachfront property along the Caribbean Sea with plans to build our own small resort. We named the property Ocean's Edge.
The property was completely overgrown and we looked forward to returning the following year, walking the property, clearing some of it and developing plans to build our little resort.
Over the next two years, we designed beach houses, developed the landscaping plans and set about building. It became our little piece of paradise for close to four years . We planted 155 Palm Trees, Alamanda, Oranges, Bananas, Limes, Rubber Trees, Plantain, Hibiscus, Oleander, Orchids, Periwinkle, Bougainvillea and Birds of Paradise.
The houses were constructed to my drawings and delivered in sectional pieces, which we then constructed on site. We built it entirely from indigineous materials found in Belize, Guatemala and San Salvador.
We designed septic systems which utilized the grey water to fertilize our garden.
We developed a cistern system which caught our rain water and filtered it through multiple charcoal filters, which we kept stored in multiple 5,000 gallon tanks. We even bought the telephone pole and our own transformer and had it installed.
We built a walkway which allowed guests to walk above the sand if they chose. In short, we had some fun.
To review the process, visit www.stephenroper.com
