Onsite Lodging Improvements

At SSF we are working on a variety of infrastructure improvements, including restoration of the farmhouse and new cabin construction. While we do have a couple of very humble guest rooms for family and friends, we recommend that new visitors looking for a comfortable place to stay consider the rental house at Pernambuco. To learn more about our development plans and progress, please see below.

Farmhouse Restoration

We are planning to fully restore the historic farmhouse over the next few years. The house currently is divided into the main two-story building and an attached one-story apartment.

For the one-story section, the wooden roof frame and tile roof will be removed and replaced with a flat terrace that will provide views into the nearby fruit tree canopies and down to the river valley below. It will be a relaxing spot for sunrise and sunset birding with refreshments. The interior will be refinished as an independent apartment with a kitchen and two bedrooms. The tiles from the old roof will be re-used to make a porch that wraps around the south and west sides of the house.

For the two-story section, we have built a porch on the south side that is a great place for meals and watching the bird feeding platforms. We are currently remodeling and refurnishing the kitchen, and later will be replacing all of the wood in the house and restoring the bathroom and windows. Detailed plans are below.

Cabin Project

Santuario Santa Fe is designing and building guest cabins for our overnight visitors. The cabin design is a blend of traditional materials and methods combined with modern engineering and technology to create a dwelling that is sustainable, safe, relaxing, and inspiring. The construction will have tile floors, guadua (bamboo) structure, and a classic tile roof. Electric power will come from a solar panel system and battery bank. The water supply will be filtered and UV-sterilized to eliminate all pathogens.

The cabins will be located near the farm house with balcony views towards the Andes Mountains, forest edges, bird and monkey attracting gardens, and natural mossy bird feeders. Each cabin has a bedroom, bathroom, kitchenette/bar, and balcony. The following pictures show a conceptual design of the cabins and a map with their planned locations.

Porch Project

In the continuing restoration of the farmhouse and construction of cabins we will use many of the same techniques we used building the new front porch.

The porch uses guadua (bamboo) we sustainably harvested from the sanctuary and roof tiles recovered from historic construction. Scroll down for a photo tour of the construction.