Installation at Jose and Patricia's

José & Patricia's House José, Patricia, and José Jr. live in a rented two-story house located in the indigenous community of Zapaton, Costa Rica . José is Guatemalan by birth and relocated alone to Costa Rica eight years ago. Patricia, his wife, is a native Tico and their son, José Jr., is seven years old. The owner of their home, Francisco, does not live in the area; he lives in Puriscal. The home is ten years old and has mainly been used for renting to people like José and Patricia who work on the 22 hectare farm. José is responsible for maintaining the fences on the farm, presumably to keep the animals (cows?) on the property. While working on the photovoltaic installation, we were treated to fresh sugar cane by José and Patricia, so we also assume that at least some of the crop is sold for market.  Naturally, the home did not have any electricity prior to this project, although they do have water onsite that originates in Concepción.

José & Patricia's Roof José and Patricia's house is located directly on one of the roads that run through Zapaton.  This is a rather hilly region with numerous tall peaks and steep valleys.  The residence is located towards the top of a smaller ridge sandwiched between two taller ridges a short distance to the East and West, appearing to give some relief in the event of high winds. Like most of Costa Rica, the general orientation of the ridges in this area is North-South, although the home is situated with an East-West orientation from front to back. As a result, the back of the home where the kitchen is located provides a scenic view of the valley below. Due to the peak of the home running in an East-West orientation, the south-facing side of the home is considerably large. In addition, vegetation blockage appeared to be rather mininal due to most of the trees being located well away from the home. The home itself, while spacious, is sparse in terms of construction and amenities, although there is a bathroom and shower on-site.  All rooms, especially the second floor which ran almost the entire length of the house, are open air. In addition to the kitchen mentioned previously, there is also an entryway, bedroom, and dining area on the earthen first floor. The roof looked to be rather steep at a 10/12 pitch, or 40 degrees, and in less than optimal condition. As a result, two large ladders were fashioned together in an attempt to minimize the foot traffic on the roof itself and instead keep the weight balanced via the combined ladders.