Impact So Far
Learn more about our ongoing and previous projects
AstilleroVerde was founded in 2018, since then we have been working hard to be a positive force in our local community.
2022
Building Work begins at the camarita regenerative center
We are currently building our educational facility at the Camarita Regenerative Center.
August 2022
Community tree donation day
AstilleroVerde aims to promote food security in Punta Morales via the donation of fruit trees and other edible species, this year we donated 178 trees to local people. In our community, access to a healthy, nutritious and varied diet can be difficult. By donating edible tree species we hope to improve self-reliance for the current and future generations of Punta Morales.
July 2022
CARPINTERIA PACHAMAMA Founded
Carpintería Pachamama, a new wood shop, was built at the Waldorf/Montessori school Escuela Flores de Sol in Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica. The shop is used by the school to give basic introductory-level woodworking classes to the children, whose ages vary from 3 to 11 years old.
2022
Trees For Seas season 3
The third season of our Trees For Seas program was our biggest yet, with around 4,000 trees planted across four sites in the Bellbird Biological Corridor, Costa Rica.
March 2022
Biochar Incinerator built
We built our biochar incinerator in March 2022. The incinerator is a vital link in our circular economy as it turns wooden offcuts into useful soil additives.
2021 and 2019
Community vet days
In 2019 and 2021, we welcomed a veterinarian to our green shipyard to provide free care to some of the animals in our community. For many members of our local community, taking their animals to a vet is an impractical task, the nearest clinic is a 45 minute drive away and, for those dependent on buses, it is even more of a challenge. Due to this, as well as tight family budgets, most animals are not spayed/neutered and overpopulation is a problem. In 2021 alone we treated 50 animals, helping community members to properly look after their beloved pets.
2021
Trees For Seas season 2
TreesForSeas season 2 built on the work of season 1 to increase our tree planting goal to 3,000 trees. We also formed a partnership with the UN Trillion Trees program.
2021
Astilleroverde receives donation of Camarita site
In 2021 Camarita was kindly donated to AstilleroVerde for the purpose of regeneration.
March 2021
Mar y Miel community garden founded
AstilleroVerde supported the development of a community garden located in Morales, just 5km away from our shipyard. This project aims to empower the local communities with food sovereignty, promote healthy and balanced eating habits, and develop social responsibility and solidarity.
February 2021
Bread Baking course
We were lucky to have a trained baker as part of our team to bake fresh home made bread for the shipbuilding team. Taking advantage of this experience and interest expressed in the community, we developed this course; which mainly targeted the women from the Women’s Association of Punta Morales, and the women working at the shipyard kitchen.
2020
Lofting course
Lofting is an essential stage in the transition between designing and building a boat, where the design plans are translated into the full size lines needed to build a boat. All the boats built in our shipyard use lofting techniques to determine the lines and cut pieces for hulls and keels. This is a technique that requires plenty of concentration, attention to detail and experience to master. A few shipyard workers were very pleased to attend this course and deepen their knowledge on this area so that they can apply it in the future, either in the build of Ceiba or other boats.
2020
Building Ceiba’s lifeboat
Bert van Baar, an old friend and experienced wooden boat builder, who taught the 1st small boat building course, returned to Astillero Verde to guide the building of Ceiba’s life boat. This is a 5 meter clinker wooden boat, built with native hardwoods such as Guapinol and Spanish Cedar. Students learnt boat building techniques such as lofting, frame steam bending and placement, clinker planking and general woodworking.
2020
First season of trees for seas
In 2020 we executed the first season of our Trees For Seas program which aims to make our shipbuilding a regenerative pursuit. In our first year we planted over 2,000 trees in the Bellbird Biological Corridor of Costa Rica, providing seasonal and permanent employment opportunities for local people and helping to restore endangered habitats.
March 2020
English Course
AstilleroVerde’s English classes began in early March 2020, taught by Leslie Rabalais, a passionate and experienced teacher from the United States. Using techniques including worksheets, bilingual books, activities, and conversational practice, the students were able to learn in a varied and comprehensive manner. The opportunity to learn a language free of charge is valuable for many whose prospects are enhanced by improving their grasp on the English language.
February 2020
Blacksmithing and toolmaking Course
Ten students from around Punta Morales had the unique experience to learn useful skills, free of charge, from experienced blacksmiths and educators. Med Chandler of Ship’s Coy. Forge and Jack McAuliffe travelled to Costa Rica from the United States to pass on these valuable, traditional skills to the community. Using recycled materials, they taught the value of reusing what we already have as well as making the skills accessible and achievable for the students moving forward.
Alix and Steve from Acorn to Arabella started a crazy donation campaign for AstilleroVerde and made two great videos about the course, which you can find here. Our Program Manager Mariel describes how she experienced the course in her journal entry "¡Más Calor!”.
January 2020
Post-Beam Construction course
A private donation funded the construction of an educational center for sustainable wooden boat building at AstilleroVerde in Costa Rica. Working under the guidance of our technical director, the participants, local carpenters, learned basic post-beam construction techniques, adapted to the conditions of a modern world, through hands-on building practice.
Video: Education Center Building | Blog: Building the Education Center
March and October 2019
First and Second small boatbuilding course
AstilleroVerde developed a simple and sustainable concept to teach coastal communities of Central America how to build wooden boats with low environmental impact, limited budget and resources. The end result of this course is a craft suited for the local artisan fishing industry or for inter-island transport, raising awareness of the negative environmental and health impacts related to generic fiberglass boat construction.
Blog: Small Boat Building Course - March 2019 | Blog: Small Boat Building Course - October 2019
January 2018
Partnership with the Women’s Association of Punta Morales
AstilleroVerde employs around 18 women on a rotational basis, to cook delicious meals for around 50 people in our shipyard. The Women’s Association is a network of solidarity between women, they help to distribute economy fairly between women in the community, boosting female empowerment and fighting gender inequality.
2018
AstilleroVerde Founded
AstilleroVerde was founded in 2018 by the founders and managers of SAILCARGO INC., Danielle Doggett and Lynx Guimond. SAILCARGO INC., a game changing freight company, is leading the construction of the sailing cargo tall ship Ceiba.