'Living in the DR - ways to save money and world's resources'

[Major448]

I wonder what you think about this "emergency" source of energy/electricity. Many places, including Amazon, sell it so it must be legit.

(And no, I don't have any financial interest in this.)

Amazon.com: 300 Watt Bicycle Generator 3/8" Belt Drive Pedal Power Pulley Dynamo: Sports & Outdoors

 

[cobraboy]

:bored:

Thanks for the info. Cobraboy, I've only been to the villages a few times but even in those few times I've seen people who are going hungry. We didn't see these gardens and wondered why, in a country like this, they wouldn't grow more of their own food. Seeing people in need and wanting to help doesn't need to be met with sarcasm. Thanks.

Which villages, Corey? I'm all over the country, I see virtually no one going hungry. There is food hanging from trees! I see folks growing stuff all over, maybe not in their yard in the traditional Western "garden" sense, but closeby. Everywhere.

Maybe you're LOOKING for what you find.

And if you can't find seeds, you aren't looking for them. Virtually every community has an outlet for such items. In fact, most communities has representatives for Farm banks-the folks who finance crops.

I get a little testy when some outsider comes to the DR on vacation and assumes the people here are stupid and don't have a clue as to how to live...like how to grow food.

 

[yanandu]

Yes, I'm sure its interesting to cut budget and help the planet at the same time, Growing salad yourself instead of going to the supermarket and buying is ideal. Lettuce is fresh, with careful planning no waste.

It's got to be attractive for people to move to the DR on a low budget. Self - sufficiency is good. If you grow veg you don't vegetate! Exercise cycle sounds good. You can have a small TV now that only consumes 30 watts with latest LED/LCD technology.
But Major with all his brilliant ideas must let others have a look in.

Yanandu

BTW, don't mind me ... I'm just here hijacking yanandu's thread. Although, it is the kind of stuff that he wanted to discuss!!!

Right yanandu??

irate:

 

[yanandu]

Will I save more money by keeping my bank account in Dollars, or in Pesos? Which is better?

I think people would want to know.

.

Since I have been here 6 years peso has gone from 28 to 38 for the dollar.
Since the start of the year dollar has dropped 8% against the Euro.
So on average 7 % more interest in a peso account than a dollar account would have been needed over this period and even more compared with a Euro account.
If you have a peso account that pays good interest this can be good.
Dollar could fall further - I think it likely peso will do worse than dollar.

Yanandu

 

[Major448]

Yes, I'm sure its interesting to cut budget and help the planet at the same time, Growing salad yourself instead of going to the supermarket and buying is ideal. Lettuce is fresh, with careful planning no waste.

It's got to be attractive for people to move to the DR on a low budget. Self - sufficiency is good. If you grow veg you don't vegetate! Exercise cycle sounds good. You can have a small TV now that only consumes 30 watts with latest LED/LCD technology.
But Major with all his brilliant ideas must let others have a look in.

Yanandu

Yanandu,

This is, after all, you're thread. And, unlike other threads, we haven't heard much from you. I have asked some questions, to stimulate discussion. I have suggested some "cost saving" items that fit with your style. At least, your stated style.

Now, how about you tell us (without giving out personal info) how YOU live. What is your REAL lifestyle (beyond the nice pool). And, I would be curious to know what YOUR full week food menu looks like. I might learn something. After all, I do agree with Chip about "moderation', but I just need to practice it more.

c'mon ... fill us in on how you REALLY live.

:bunny:

 

[cobraboy]

c'mon ... fill us in on how you REALLY live.

:bunny:

He lives to tell others how to live. That much is obvious.

 

[Chirimoya]

Most towns have agro supplies with sacks of fertilizer, pesticides, tools etc.
Yanandu

Why spend money on agro-poisons? We've been successful with worm composting with our organic waste to produce humus for our garden. You should try it.

 

[CoreyH]

Cobraboy, no need to get testy. I'm not a tourist; I live here. I'm simply asking a question about gardening. I haven't looked for seeds, I'm just thinking about things and asking questions--this is what the site is for. Yes, I do see people who are hungry and am simply asking if they grow crops. I am not assuming that anyone is stupid, maybe just lacking in education or new ideas. There really is no reason for your hostility.

 

[yanandu]

There is a lot of talk about eating well, but very inexpensively. So, I am curious..... what would a "typical" weekly menu be to accomplish this? Anyone have suggestions??

..

Morning light breakfast.

Could be:

Rice with brown sugar, milk and fruit - e.g. 2 bananas.
or
Toast with butter / homemade peanut butter/freezer jam
or
Porridge with honey and milk, sugar.
or
Toast/butter and boiled eggs.
( generally cook a batch of rice in rice cooker for several days.)

Coffee
Fruit juice or fruit e.g. mango.


Late lunch.

Rice, salad veg e.g. rocket, tomato, portion cheese.
French baguette fresh with good salami, cheese etc.
Baked sweet or normal potato with mayonesa.
Fried sausage and potato, plantana
Yam portion and cheese, salad.

Dinner.

Fish portion prepared in different ways according to fish, 2 veg, rice.
Spaghetti with chicken sauce prepared with chicken, veg. etc.
Chicken curry (indian) including ladyfingers with beans and rice.
Chicken and pineapple, rice side veg.
Pork chop, beans, onion broiled. Yuca or similar veg.
Chinese style stir fry chicken and veg. Rice.
Sweet and sour chicken. Rice. Salad
Chicken in thai style green curry.
Chinese style soup ( chicken or fish )with noodles.
Prawns fried chinese style, rice.
Fried rice and chicken with veg.
Seafood Bouillabaisse with two small fish served separately.
Prawns and Italian pasta. salad.
Squid in sauce, rice.
Sardines, pasta, veg.

Various sweets. Fruit etc.

Generally I cook a 3lb 4lb chicken and get 4 portions. 150/4 per portion. Approx 1 dollar.
Evening meal 2-3 dollars.
Also pressure cook 2lbs beans and get 10-15 portions.

Rum or wine or homemade cordial etc.

Yanandu

 

[yanandu]

Why spend money on agro-poisons? We've been successful with worm composting with our organic waste to produce humus for our garden. You should try it.

Just if your finding a shop/store then its good to look for the bulky items not buy them.

Yanandu

 

[AlterEgo]

yanandu, I may have missed this, but are you married? Live alone? Or have you found a mate who shares your frugality?

Are you working? Retired?

 

[yanandu]

single, live alone at the moment, retired but a little 'work'.
Yanandu.

 

[Major448]

single, live alone at the moment, retired but a little 'work'.
Yanandu.

You know, Yanandu, you could save a lot of money if you get a Dominican wife!! At least, that's what i understand.

 

[RacerX]

There is a lot of talk about eating well, but very inexpensively. So, I am curious..... what would a "typical" weekly menu be to accomplish this? Anyone have suggestions??

..

You can do the cheap diet thing. But the problem is YOU will have to prepare all your food yourself. Same economical ingredients but the typical Dominican kitchen will not be flexible in your understanding of "heart healthy". Almost everything is fried when it can be prepared another way. Your best interest is to introduce other vegetables that you eat at home or alternative preparations. Skinless chicken is one, roasted, broiled or braised. And vegetables that can be used as soup stock or broth is another. Carrots and potatoes, African yams(yautia, not the batata=sweet potato). I have so many friends who as a matter of low income eat what I consider slop, fried salami and yuca o boiled plantains. All this stuff to me is like stroke central with a healthy bowel movement.

 

[RacerX]

We're from the northern US and there are alot of things that will eat/destroy your garden up there. Is it the same here? Are bugs a problem? We wondered why the poor people in the villages didn't raise their own food instead of starving. We thought maybe we could help them with gardens.

Trying not to sound intentionally offensive. Those people are stupid. They have been trained to follow orders so much they forgot how to think pro-actively. You can try to help them but it wont work. They will just assume that you will be doing all the thinking for them and they will plan nothing, NOTHING. You reap what you sow. They will not sow. When there is no harvest to reap, they will expect you to fix that. Prepare to lose your hair...whatever you have left.

Seeds? Bring them with you in your luggage, unclaimed.

 

[bri777]

Yan
do you have a pic of you, that you would like to share with us ?
just trying to put a face with your threads
Manu

 

[CaptnGlenn]

and go blind after drinking. LOL


opppsss. forgot the quote (again). this is in reference to the witch's brew on page one of the thread.

 

[CaptnGlenn]

A while back, on another thread someone asked about the best way to get a "HOT" shower. Now, this is generally not an issue in tourist/expat areas. But one of the concerns seemed to be over using electricity to heat water for the shower. (An electric heater attached to a shower head ... YIKES!!)

One of the items suggested, which seems to work really well -- and is inexpensive -- is something called a "portable shower". It was designed for camping, but can be used anywhere. Basically it is a 2-5 gallon black plastic water can, with a shower nozzle attached. Fill it with water, set it in the sun for a few hours, and you will have plenty of cheap hot water, to use as you wish.

Used these extensively when sailing the Caribbean back in the days before every boat had pressure hot water showers. They work GREAT... and be careful... that water can really get VERY hot.

 

[yanandu]

No problem to prepare myself. Most meals I gave you have 5 - 10 minute prep time,
Use the rice cooker to make rice for 3 days or so.
If I buy a lot of veg I peel then use a food processor. Blanch then freeze in small packets.
Chicken joint then boil for a while with onions, spices etc. Freeze anything not needed immediately.
So if I want to make Chinese style noodle soup its just put a couple of packets into the microwave to defrost;
put into boiling water; add soy sauce, hot sauce. Set timer for 15 minutes, add noodle, set timer for 5 minutes, take some rice put in m/w to heat and meal is ready.
It's a total mistake to let many Dominicans anywhere near the kitchen ; pans are burnt, grease is everywhere,
huge amounts of oil are added, food is overcooked, they watch a novella and everything is burnt. Haitians seem a little better. When I have Dominican guests I have a pan of oil and dunk a few items in hot oil after sprinkling with Dominican Sazon Completo and lime juice as appropriate.
The only imported ingredients I normally use for food are curry powders and freezer jam gel.
Actually the shops here have about 50 varieties of fresh veg and 20 of fruit. Plenty of variety.
I must post a photo or two of the shops and lorries that sell veg.

I don't see anything frugal about this food!

Yanandu

You can do the cheap diet thing. But the problem is YOU will have to prepare all your food yourself. Same economical ingredients but the typical Dominican kitchen will not be flexible in your understanding of "heart healthy". Almost everything is fried when it can be prepared another way. Your best interest is to introduce other vegetables that you eat at home or alternative preparations. Skinless chicken is one, roasted, broiled or braised. And vegetables that can be used as soup stock or broth is another. Carrots and potatoes, African yams(yautia, not the batata=sweet potato). I have so many friends who as a matter of low income eat what I consider slop, fried salami and yuca o boiled plantains. All this stuff to me is like stroke central with a healthy bowel movement.

 

[CaptnGlenn]

The states have been hit by some ferocious storms. And with hurricane season coming up ....

what should I stock up on (milk,water, bread seem to disappear but I want to know what else)?
how much notice do people usually get before something like that hits ?
what would be a good first-aid/emergency kit to have on hand?
who do YOU call for help when things like that occur?

.

emergency first aid... Brugal. Or Yan's Ginger beer.