Tag Archives: hipehabitat

The Butterfly House – A One Bedroom Casita on a Budget

Posted on August 27, 2016 by

We became friends with Marilyn when she came down for a Surf with Amigas retreat a couple years ago and Kim agreed to design and build a small simple 1 bedroom casita on Marilyn’s sea view lot at Seascape Terrace.  … Continue reading →

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Our House Is Finished

Posted on August 27, 2016 by

This post is a long time coming, but in case you wondering, yes we did finally finish our house. It was mostly complete in time for Luna to be born back in September of 2014. Since then it’s been a … Continue reading →

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Day In The Life – Living in Nicaragua With a 5 Month Old Baby Girl

Posted on February 20, 2015 by

Set a goal, attract what you want, work hard, and live your dream. After loving life as a competitive pro surfer, then a pro free surfer, building a business and relocating full time to Nicaragua, I wanted to have a … Continue reading →

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Jacek and Ivona’s House by Hipehabitat

Posted on January 25, 2015 by

After the seeing the successful outcome and great feel of our L-shaped hacienda home Kim has agreed to build a slightly customized version for a Canadian couple planning to retire in Nicaragua in the next few years. Here, Holly and … Continue reading →

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Settling Into the New House

Posted on December 27, 2014 by

It’s been about 3 months and we’re loving our new home at Brisas Del Alma. We’re still very busy settling in, putting finishing touches on the house (building shelves to store all our stuff mostly), and embracing our new lifestyle. It … Continue reading →

Posted in living in nicaragua | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The New Dipping Pool

Posted on December 27, 2014 by

The house is now mostly finished, and we have an 11 week old baby girl named Luna. Little Luna has occupied most of our time lately, so I’m way behind on blog posts. Eventually I’ll get a chance to take … Continue reading →

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Sneak Peak At our New House

Posted on August 1, 2014 by

I can hardly believe it, but the house is nearly complete. Way back in February our contractor promised to have it finished by the end of July, but as anyone who has ever built in Nicaragua (or anywhere else in … Continue reading →

Posted in Building in Nicaragua | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

More Monkeys, Better Schools. Investing in Southern Nicaragua

Posted on July 27, 2014 by

Life in Northern Nicaragua is mellow. Thus far there’s been very little development, at least as compared to Southern Nicaragua. Of course, things are changing. In the four years that we’ve been living here the number of hotels in our … Continue reading →

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House in Progress Tour

Posted on May 13, 2014 by

In Part 2 of our Nesting in Nicaragua series, Holly is one week shy of being six months pregnant and the house has been under construction for five months. The roof is mostly on and you can start to get … Continue reading →

Posted in Building in Nicaragua | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Cool Roof Design by Kim Obermeyer

Posted on May 5, 2014 by

Kim Obermeyer of hipEhabitat.com talks about his design for a cool roof – a double layer roof that will prevent heat from the sun from radiating into the living space. The roofing system features pre-painted structural zinc roof panels with … Continue reading →

Posted in Building in Nicaragua, Green Building and Bamboo | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Homemade Yogurt from Beach Walking Cows

Posted on April 23, 2014 by

I love yogurt with my granola and fruit in the morning, particularly homemade yogurt made with milk from cows that I pass on the beach every morning and evening. Living in Nicaragua has it’s downsides (a shortage of farmer’s markets … Continue reading →

Posted in Eat drink and be merry | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

South Nicaragua for the New Year

Posted on January 12, 2014 by

We live in Northern Nicaragua and don’t make it down to the South very often, so it was exciting to get a chance to cruise down for New Years to live it up in luxury land for a week. Hot … Continue reading →

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Breaking in the Beach House

Posted on December 27, 2013 by

It was a long time coming (8 months to be exact), but the beach house is finally finished! Ok, so it’s not totally finished. There are still plenty of details to be addressed. We’ve got trim to put up, painting … Continue reading →

Posted in Nicaragua | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Beach House Progress – Plycem Walls and Bamboo Siding

Posted on December 13, 2013 by

We started building the beach house way back in March – or was it February 2013? The point is, it’s been so long that it’s hard to remember. The main delay has been caused by an irresponsible carpenter with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Building in Nicaragua, Green Building and Bamboo, Nicaragua | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Our Caretaker’s House at Brisas Del Alma

Posted on November 2, 2013 by

Ok, I know you can barely see the house in this picture, but it’s just such a classic shot of me telling the dogs that they cannot eat our caretaker’s pet squirrel “Simon” (named for one of the chipmunks). You … Continue reading →

Posted in Building in Nicaragua | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Beach House Progress – Slow and Steady

Posted on June 15, 2013 by

The whole process has been really slow, but at least it’s been steady. We bought a beachfront concession lot back in April of 2012. It wasn’t easy and you can read the full story here. Since then we’ve been working … Continue reading →

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Drilling a Deep Well in Nicaragua

Posted on May 31, 2013 by

We’re in the process of installing infrastructure for a small 16 lot housing development in northern nicaragua called Tierra Del Sueno. In order to provide water for the development we decided to drill a community well at the top of … Continue reading →

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HipEhabitat Honeymooners in the Philippines

Posted on May 12, 2013 by

Holly and Kim Obermeyer took a break from their life in Nicaragua to cruise over to the Philippine Island of Siargao for a relaxing honeymoon. They stayed at the Kawayan Resort which only has two really private very comfortable cabanas … Continue reading →

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Belgian IPA homebrew “Belguraguan”

Posted on December 26, 2012 by

OK, here’s the brew I’ve been waiting for, wanting to try for months, yearning for – a home-brewed Belgian IPA made right here in Nicaragua.  I’m thinking of throwing a packet of dried Belgian yeast into our palm-thatch roof so … Continue reading →

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Almond Flour Banana Granola Pancakes

Posted on December 25, 2012 by

We’ve been going gluten-free these days. After a week’s experimentation I realized that I had more energy and just generally felt better. I’m not perfect though. It’s easy to switch out rice for pasta, but much harder to turn down … Continue reading →

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Teak Post and Concrete Block Bodega

Posted on October 7, 2012 by

We have begun building up on the ridge! First project – a place to store our tools, saddles, surfboards, wheelbarrow, and the building supplies that we’ll need to collect when we’re ready to start building the actual house. The name … Continue reading →

Posted in Green Building and Bamboo, Tierra Del Sueno | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The New Living Fence on our Lot in Tierra Del Sueno

Posted on September 15, 2012 by

We bought an awesome lot in the new eco-friendly community in Northern Nicaragua called Tierra Del Sueno and are starting to make some improvements. The first step was installing a fence around the perimeter so we can more clearly see … Continue reading →

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Phase 1 Roads at Tierra Del Sueno

Posted on September 8, 2012 by

It’s been a year or more in the planning stages but we have finally broken ground on the new roads that will service lots in Tierra Del Sueno. We had been waiting to finalize the lot lines before figuring out … Continue reading →

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How to Make a Stubborn Passionfruit Vine Flower – Nicaraguan Folk Wisdom

Posted on August 28, 2012 by

We love passion fruit! Called calala or maracuya in Nicaragua, delicious passion fruit is awesome mixed with plain yogurt, granola, and a drizzle of honey. We buy them a dozen at a time and have been eagerly awaiting for the … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Thoughts on Summer Vacation

Posted on July 31, 2012 by

An open jar of truffle-flavored honey scents the room in sweet musky earth tones amongst a baker’s dozen young hip lawyers, doctors, and a dancer. They’d come to this party in Cambridge, Massachusetts to admire and celebrate the first home … Continue reading →

Posted in Nicaragua | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Living the Dream – Surfing, Dogs, and Ridgetop BBQs at Tierra Del Sueno

Posted on July 22, 2012 by

This is why we live in Nicaragua – warm water, fun waves, dogs off-leash on the beach, estuary swimming, hiking barefoot, and sausage BBQs on a sea-view ridge with cold home brewed Belgian Ales to wash it all down. Life … Continue reading →

Posted in Eat drink and be merry, Nicaragua, Surfing and Surfboards | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Green Papaya Thai Salad Recipe

Posted on July 20, 2012 by

Kim spent 8 years living in Thailand and learned some great recipes for delicious and healthy Thai food. One of my favorites is the Green Papaya salad. It’s super easy to make, fresh and healthy, looks awesome with all the … Continue reading →

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“Volcan” Cacao-Cafe homebrew Stout

Posted on July 7, 2012 by

             The third, and possibly the best batch, in tropical home brewing adventures, almost met its end in the moldy rainy season condition of June. The rainy season brings clouds of mold that drift invisibly through the air landing on … Continue reading →

Posted in drink it, Eat drink and be merry, Make your own | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Make Your Own Cottonwood Balm For Muscle Pain and Wound Healing

Posted on June 3, 2012 by

Kim was in Oregon for an early spring trip and on a hike along the Columbia River found a grove of young cottonwood trees in full bud.  Cottonwood is in the same family as willow, the tree from which aspirin … Continue reading →

Posted in Make your own | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Our garden grows

Posted on March 31, 2012 by

We started planting the garden in late October, 2011- lots of  chillies (habanero, jalapeno, arbol, New Mex, serrano and others), various greens, tomatoes, Thai basil, lemongrass, dill, tea tree, sunflowers and a bunch of randoms like purslane and indigo.  Some … Continue reading →

Posted in Eat drink and be merry, Make your own, Nicaragua, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Extreme Driving to Extreme Luxury in Southern Nicaragua

Posted on March 26, 2012 by

We were headed down to Southern Nicaragua to check out Rancho Santana and talk about possibly using it as a location for an upcoming women’s surf and yoga retreat. The drive usually takes about 6 hours but we wanted to … Continue reading →

Posted in Nicaragua, Surfing and Surfboards, Videos | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Hippy Hop Attack IPA

Posted on March 23, 2012 by

I’ll admit that I was a doubter. After participating in numerous homebrewing efforts over the years I learned that it isn’t easy, there’s a lot that can go wrong, and especially considering our lack of refined equipment I thought our … Continue reading →

Posted in Eat drink and be merry | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Coconut-Rolled Cashew Honey Cacao Balls

Posted on March 20, 2012 by

We are all about the homemade – home-brewed IPAs, home-fermented honey wine, and now hand-rolled cacao balls!

Posted in Eat drink and be merry | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Holly Beck Surfing In Nicaragua

Posted on January 23, 2012 by

Check out a few clips of Holly Beck surfing in Nicaragua in Nov/Dec 2011. Good times, great waves, so much fun!

Posted in Nicaragua, Surfing and Surfboards, Videos | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

DIY Guanacaste Stairs

Posted on January 8, 2012 by

We moved into our new cabana about a month prior and had yet to take full advantage of the loft because we didn’t have any stairs.  We had considered several funky stair designs with notched logs and spiral things, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Make your own | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Simple Life at Home in Nicaragua

Posted on December 19, 2011 by

I’ve been in the States for two weeks and I’m getting desperate to be back home. After a year of living homeless, bouncing around from one available cabana to the next, sleeping in a tent, the back of our truck, … Continue reading →

Posted in Nicaragua | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Eco-Friendly Bee Hive Removal

Posted on November 2, 2011 by

While trying to install our signal booster antennae on our new house, we heard a buzzing and came across a buzzing mess lurking under the palm fronds. Kim grabbed a plastic bag and I got in place with the camera. … Continue reading →

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Mountain Biking to the Real Goods Solar Living Institute

Posted on October 31, 2011 by

What is this magical product that I found at the Real Goods Solar Living Institute? Watch the video below to find out…

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Building a Cabana in Nicaragua – Walls up and Siding on

Posted on October 15, 2011 by

The walls are up, the siding is on, and our cute little 18’sq cabana is nearly finished! We had to leave Nicaragua at this point and are very excited to get back down there and put in the details like … Continue reading →

Posted in Green Building and Bamboo, Nicaragua | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Geodesic Dome with solar, wind, geothermal power

Posted on October 4, 2011 by

A friend of a friend’s place in NY, also has old tire terraced gardens, crushed rubber paths and an awesome 40’+ foot inside climbing rope!! Click the link to watch the video: http://www.sciencefriday.com/embed/video/10407.swf

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Framing the Octagon Window

Posted on September 22, 2011 by

Designing the window placement was a fun experience that involved measuring, re-measuring, and measuring again, then erasing, measuring, and changing the dimensions multiple times. Our friendly red-headed framer was smilingly patient as we changed our minds back and forth. Right … Continue reading →

Posted in Green Building and Bamboo, Nicaragua | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Building in Nicaragua – Concrete Floor, Tile, and Wood Dilemmas

Posted on September 20, 2011 by

Building in Nicaragua is both much easier and much more difficult than it would be in the States. This project in particular is easier than most since we’re building on Coco Loco property with full access to power (except when … Continue reading →

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Designing an Eco-friendly Cabana in Northern Nicaragua

Posted on September 14, 2011 by

Using the Barefoot Architect by Johan van Lengen to get a few ideas during the design process.

Posted in Green Building and Bamboo, Nicaragua | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Building in Nicaragua – Palm Fronds for the Thatch Roof

Posted on August 26, 2011 by

Accessing the palm fronds for the thatch roof turned out to be one of the easiest things we’ve had to do so far. There’s a property nearby owned by a friend full of the right kinds of palms, so we … Continue reading →

Posted in Green Building and Bamboo, Nicaragua | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Building in Nicaragua – Is Cutting Mangroves ever Sustainable?

Posted on August 22, 2011 by

Mangle, mangle, mangle! We were told we needed to get some varilla to support the palma (palm thatch leaves used for our roof). So we said “OK, where do we get that”? We could either buy it from a local … Continue reading →

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Building in Nicaragua – Eucalyptus Plantation and Roof Assembly Video

Posted on August 15, 2011 by

The video footage of the Eucalyptus plantation experience and the start of the roof assembly.

Posted in Green Building and Bamboo, Nicaragua | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Building in Nicaragua – Eucalyptus Plantation Politics

Posted on August 11, 2011 by

The house progresses rapidly. It’s amazing how quickly the eucalyptus posts can be assembled into home shape. Our nine supporting pillars were bought, cut, delivered, and cemented into place within four days. For the rest of the roof structure we … Continue reading →

Posted in Green Building and Bamboo, Nicaragua | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Building in Nicaragua – Shopping for Eucalyptus Video

Posted on August 10, 2011 by

A video summary of shopping for the eucalyptus posts that will become the pillars for our cabana in Nicaragua.

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Building a Cabana in Nicaragua – Eucalyptus posts

Posted on August 8, 2011 by

Lately our home base has been a thatched roof cabana at El Coco Loco, the Eco-hotel where we run our women’s surf and yoga retreats. Since the guys at Coco Loco have been letting us crash there in between retreats, … Continue reading →

Posted in Green Building and Bamboo, Nicaragua | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Cheap Land in Klamath Falls

Posted on August 1, 2011 by

“There’s the price of your lot, and then there’s the price of your well….” Gary Gardiner, the mustached realtor whose name adorned the most for sale signs in the area broke the news to us that $5k for 2.5 beautifully … Continue reading →

Posted in Pacific Northwest | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments