The material is not exactly towering sequoias or some of the exotic woods found in the tropics. But the fast-growing bamboo is what Brian Erickson uses to make furniture at his workshop near Guápiles.

The bearded Erickson has been involved in bamboo development projects here in Costa Rica in conjuction with the government. Now he buys his bamboo from the government and produces what could be be described as individual works of art.

The mature bamboo shoots are sliced and diced until Erickson and his single employee have fairly straight slats that they attach in creative ways. 

Bamboo is common in the tropics, but Erickson has turned his home on the banks of the Río Blanco just west of Guápiles into a bamboo paradise. Varieties from all over the world grow there, being cultivated and evaluated by Erickson. Little of his home-grown material goes into furniture.

The bamboo is treated with a boron solution to prevent future insect infestations, and then the creativity takes over.
 

The bamboo shoots pop out of the ground in diameters reflecting the age of the planting. The shoot will not grow wider with age. Here a collection of lengths of bamboo make a candle holder.

A.M. Costa Rica photo

Police forced out 24 families from five hectares (12.4 acres) of land they had settled illegally near Playa Herradura.

The police action involved about 130 officers and took place on Tuesday morning on land owned by two U.S. citizens.

There were about 85 persons who had settled on the land. Social services agency representatives were there to make sure that children and women would receive good treatment.

Also witnessing the eviction was José Miguel Gonzalez, the judge who had signed the order to remove the squatters from land they did not own. He said Wednesday that the people removed did not seem to be squatters but perhaps persons who had been tricked into thinking that they actually owned the land.

Carlos Mora of the Fuerza Publica in Puntarenas said that some of the people had lived on the land for years and some of the houses had been constructed from concrete. He said the entire operation was peaceful.

The land is owned by George Bill Small and Allen Grammer, identified as U.S. citizens.

The actual eviction of persons who have invaded uncultivated land is a difficult legal process in Costa Rica. The land is in the canton of Garabito, which has Puntarenas as its administrative center. 

Land along the beach has increased in value, particularly with the construction of major resorts there. Consequently, organized raids sometimes target private land with the goal of gaining ownership through adverse possession or squatters’ rights.

Several other cases involving U.S. citizen owners and Costa Rican squatters are in the national courts. Frequently, local police are less than anxious to execute a judicial order to remove squatters.

Other U.S. citizens said that the problem is similar in the beach communities on the Nicoya Peninsula. Foreigners who own land in Costa Rica have to check their land regularly or hire someone to do so because the longer squatters stay on the land the more ownership rights they accumulate.
 

Ambassador reception
to draw more than 100

More than 100 persons have purchased tickets to mingle with U.S. Ambassador John J. Danilovich and his wife Irene, who will be the guests of honor at an American Colony Committee welcome reception  tonight from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the Costa Rica Marriott Hotel. 

The turnout is less than the 200 the number for which the committee had planned. The committee faced criticism at similar events that the food was inadequate, so it doubled the admission to 10,000 colons ($29) to buy more food. There is a cash bar.

Body may be missing girl

Police found the body on a farm in Santa Barbara de Heredia, and they think it might be a young woman reported missing in Desamparados de Alajuela Monday. Medical examiners will try to determine if this is the case. 

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — "Free trade is about freedom. It's about economic liberty. It's about political liberty. It's about openness in the economy and helping it change," the United States Trade Representative, Ambassador Robert Zoellick said Tuesday.

Briefing reporters here on his last day in South Africa, Zoellick said the United States does not believe in a mercantilist or colonialist trade policy which seeks to keep other nations weak. "That is not our view," he stressed.

"If southern Africa and South Africa have healthy trading relationships with many other countries, that is great."

The United States strongly feels, he added, that "strong countries throughout the world help us. Trade is not a zero sum endeavor. If countries grow, they are more stable and can deal with the problems of immigration and disease and environment. Also, they buy more from the United States," he said.

Citing an example to illustrate his point, he said, Mexico was a very "closed and autarchic" economy that did not come into the World Trade Organization system, until 1986.

"After the (North American Free Trade) Agreement was completed between the United States and Mexico," he reminded his audience, "Mexico went on to negotiate eight free trade agreements with 32 other countries, and that brought investment from Japan and Europe and elsewhere."

The United States, he noted, now has free trade agreements with Mexico, Canada, Israel and Jordan.
 

Nation’s agriculturists
gear for new ‘El Niño’

Costa Rican agricultural officials are getting ready for the onslaught of the next El Niño by taking a good look at what happened last time the Pacific weather phenomenon took a swipe at the country.

That was in 1997 and 1998 when the weather condition cut rainfall and damaged crops mostly on the Pacific side of the country. "Improvements in the technical capacity to mitigate the effects of Future Variable Climatic Events" is the title of a study just produced by five specialists in the risk assessment section of the Minsisterio de Agricutura y Ganadaría.

Basically they found that the Caribbean coast and the Central valley were the least affected parts of the country. The Pacific Northwest, the country’s northern zone and the central and south Pacific bore the brunt of the weather changes, which involved a reduction in rainfall. The periods from May to September in 1997 and the first five months of 1998 were the worst for lack of rainfall, the study said.

The report is being circulated with the hope that local governments can take steps to mitigate the possible damage to crops and water supplies.

Water cuts planned to save

Acueductos y Alcantarillados, the water company, will cut service from 12 to 15 times from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. over the next four months to save on water because a dry summer is predicted. Most of the cuts will be in the metropitan area.