Eric & Roxanne Changing The World And Their Lives

Greetings friends, family and all kind souls that are willing to listen to Eric and Roxanne’s story and support their cause. Both of them had barely survived life-threatening illnesses just before the Covid virus hit while living and working in New York. Eric was diagnosed with Bipolar 1 Disorder and in both of his manic and depression swings he sadly attempted suicide. His bipolar condition also forced their financial situation into claiming formal bankruptcy. The medications that the doctors put him on stripped him of the man everyone grew to know and love. His cheerful, generous and kind personality was turned into a lifeless zombie. It was more than heartbreaking for Roxanne to lose her beloved husband, the man she found finally, so late in life, who truly loves and cares for her. She’s suffering from PTSD from dealing with Eric’s tremendous emotional swings and during the heat of this turmoil she contracted a raging internal infection that almost took her life. That infection stemmed from complications in her uterus, which was exacerbated by PTSD and medical malpractice. Despite the emotional and physical trauma they both suffered they stuck it out and stayed together vowing to love and heal one another. After barely recovering and to this day both of them are still suffering from the damages caused by their illnesses. They both realized that unless they changed their grueling and stressful work schedules and found a way to alleviate those enormous stresses they may not survive to enjoy their old age. Then Covid hit. Eric’s employer was slowly eliminating positions and he was the next to be on the chopping block. The small struggling in-house art production business Roxanne owned and operated also suffered a serious decline caused by the emergency policies and financial crisis and chaos brought on by the pandemic. Eric and Roxanne were driven even deeper into stress and illness as a result of the pandemic. There seemed to be no way out. Both of them knew that they would not survive if they remained where they were.

Eric and Roxanne have always had a passion for nature and animals. In order to survive they needed to take a huge leap of faith and dare to do what they dreamed of doing their entire lives, live harmoniously with nature and be a part of preserving it and educate others to respect and preserve and enjoy the glorious natural world. For Eric’s condition to stabilize enough to start weening him off of some of his debilitating medications, they would need to relocate to a world that had less stress, triggers and demands. They decided to sell their home in Woodstock, NY and move to one of the most incredible biosphere locations in Mexico. With the small amount of funds they got from the sale of their home, after 3 years of searching, they finally found a beautiful piece of land in a small 100-resident community called Capulteolt, which is nestled on the Gulf Coast near the Sontecomapan Mangroves and Lago Catemaco just outside of Catemaco, Veracruz, Mexico. Lago Catemaco is the 4th largest freshwater lake in Mexico. The natural diversity of this area is unmatched by any place else on Earth.

In this sweet little pristine community, there is no grocery store, no post office, no bright lights, no sirens, no police, no cell phone towers, no hospitals…..and not even addresses to the homes or properties. This lack of human interference is why the nature in Capulteolt is so special and so healing for the soul a perfect place for Eric to re-emerge as a whole man once again. They acquired a little over 2 hectares ( 5.75 acres). It was fairly priced for the area, but still out of their price range because their very limited funds dwindled while searching for 3 years. Also, they had an unexpected mishap of accidentally driving their old 2004 Toyota Tacoma pickup into a river during a flood. They miraculously resurrected the old gal, but she needed a lot of work to get her running again, which drained more of their survival funds. Like them, she is still suffering some damages and she continues to demand repairs.

They decided that to use what money they have left wisely they needed to find a way of building a home, studio, restaurant and small business that was economical. It just so happens that this form of building also suits their philosophical values of leaving less of a carbon footprint and living sustainably. They decided that they will build their home, Air B&B, restaurant, art studio and educational eco-center center calling it Costa Del Gulfo Air B&B and The Costa Del Gulfo Sunset Cafe using earthbags, cob stucco, bamboo and other sustainable materials. They will power their educational eco-center, air B&B and restaurant with solar energy and their water will be sourced from a freshwater spring and rainwater collection. They are planting permaculture gardens and orchards to produce healthy, organic sustainable foods to serve to their guests and students and to share with the local community. They also want to offer workshops that help instruct others on how to build sustainable buildings and homes. They are working with local preservation groups to educate and protect the rare species of parrots, sea turtles, wild miniature bees, land crabs and many other plants and animals that are endangered in the Las Tuxtlas Region. They will provide a comfortable, beautiful, warm and welcoming center to encourage educational groups and Biosphere participants and the general public to meet and hold seminars, discussions and workshops on how to preserve the natural wonders here in Las Tuxlas. Their location is amazingly beautiful and rich with nature and culture. They cannot help but want to share this with others who want to learn and love and just relax and take in the natural world. They hope that you make a reservation to come and witness for yourself this amazing place. They need to fulfill their destiny as conscientious, loving and kind people who want to make a difference in the world. Despite their misfortunes, they want to heal and become the best humans they can be. Roxanne is a sculptor and Eric is a musician and they would love to integrate their talents and skills with the educational workshops. Unfortunately, they do not have enough funds to complete their vision. They hope that friends, family and kind generous souls will help them to fuel their mission to preserve nature, to create awareness and to not only heal themselves but others who will come to visit this paradise in this pristine community in southern Mexico.

Your donations will be used to buy supplies and materials, many of which will be sourced by locals who hand-make them. They will need donations for things including, but not limited to, hose for the transfer of water from the natural spring to the holding tanks, pumps for the water, the holding tanks themselves, the solar system, the electrical and plumbing lines and hardware, lime for the stucco/cob walls, wood cut by the local sawmill ( which consists of only a chainsaw…lol ), bamboo which they hope to get at a deep discount, barbed wire to act as a binder between the earthbags, doors and windows are quite costly here, local laborers (which will be grateful to the donors, as well, to help get food on the table for their families), wheelbarrows and shovels, nails and hardware, hand made local bricks for the flooring and the earthbags themselves which are currently on order and were a nightmare to find at a quantity discount. In Mexico it is not easy to find materials and supplies as easily as in the US, the terrain makes it very difficult to transport and Mexico does not do as much trade as other countries like the US. The costs are also much higher due to the lack of availability and transport. They hope to raise enough money to not only complete their eco and educational center, Air B&B and restaurant but expand on it to possibly create a much-needed animal rescue facility. Their vision is focused and with your donation the possibilities are endless. Eric and Roxanne will keep a video log that they will post on their YouTube channel so you can see the progress of their hard work and the placement of your donations.