Why Belize? Self-Sufficient Living in Belize

Why Belize? Self-Sufficient Living in Belize

[00:02.3]
If you want to learn more about the real Belize and listen to local and expat stories of those living in Belize, you’re in the right place. This is Belize Talk Radio. Please welcome your host, Belize and international real estate expert, Macarena Rose.

[00:34.9]
It is Macarena from Belize Talk Radio. And what are we doing today? Well, we are going to have, a conversation with a dear friend of mine about, like, the pluses of why Belize? So Darla, tell everybody who you are. Yes, hello, I’m Darla Zirbes.

[00:50.0]
I’m the owner and operator of Belize Air Ranch and La Familia Farms, located in central Belize near Ontario Village and Black Man Eddie Village. We’re here today to talk about why Belize.

Why do People Chosee to Move_Why Belize? Self-Sufficient Living in Belize

[01:05.0]
Why do people choose to move to Belize, build a home or purchase a home and either make Belize their second home or their primary, country of residence? And it all stemmed from us just having a conversation.

[01:21.1]
We were just chatting on the phone, you know, and then you started going down talking about sustainability and sovereignty. And what was the other one that we were talking about? SS&S. Oh, self sufficiency. So sovereignty, self sufficiency and sustainability.

[01:36.5]
Sustainability. And part of those things that people do get attracted to Belize about. And you were spot on. So I was like, let’s chat about this and share this with you. Right. Because it is why people do look for Belize besides this Belize. You know, we both live in the Cayo district.

[01:52.5]
It’s beautiful. It’s beautiful. So talking, let’s start with self sufficiency. So Belize is a great place for people to come and challenge themselves, to be more self sufficient in their living area or their living environment.

Belize is considered the food basket of Central America

[02:14.7]
And one of the reasons I was attracted to Belize and why we live here full time, is Belize is considered the food basket of Central America. And so we don’t need to worry much about a disruption in food supply chain.

[02:37.6]
So we have many local producers and purveyors of, all sorts of beef, chicken, fish, and produce. So Belize is a really attractive. Because you don’t need to worry about in case of a global crisis or some kind of disruption in supply chain due to a global crisis that we will be without food.

Belize produces the food it needs

[03:04.9]
Belize produces the food it needs. Belize also imports a lot of food, but it’s the food that you probably shouldn’t be eating anyways. That’s a really good point. And it’s true. You know, we’re going around the property, you know, going around the country and on different properties.

[03:21.6]
And there’s food Everywhere. There’s just literally, you, know, I travel Ben, and he’s pulling food always off of the trees and telling me to eat this. But you actually, even on your farm, you grow things too, right? I’ve gotten some of the good things from there, yes. Yes. So on our farm we have, some of the best mangoes, in the region.

Many Local Foods in Belize

[03:40.6]
We grow pineapples, we have coconuts, we have ponds full of tilapia fish, we raise cattle, we have pigs, chickens and the eggs that go. And then we’re small gardeners on and off for our own personal use.

[03:58.4]
But Belize is a great place to go, and escape the modern world still, so to speak. And so that’s one of the important things about, your decision to move to Belize. So that’s the first S, right?

[04:15.3]
Self sufficiency. So self sufficiency was definitely the first S. And that’s a really important one because, you know, if there’s a crisis, you know, people notice this, like the food chain crisis. Like a lot of places are food deserts. So if the trucks couldn’t get to you and there was a hurricane or storm, you’re kind of like in a bad position, aren’t you?

[04:33.8]
Yes. Whereas you’re sustainable even on your property. You can get anywhere. The other exciting thing is that we are our own utility company, as I refer to it. So in the area we live in Belize, we live in a modern home.

Modern Living in Belize_Why Belize? Self-Sufficient Living in Belize

[04:50.1]
We have air conditioning, we have refriger, refrigeration, we have deep freeze. We have all the modern amenities in our home. But the reason I say we’re our own utility, company is because we provide our own water, our own power.

[05:09.3]
And so there again, it goes back to that self sufficiency and sovereignty. If there were to be a cyber attack to municipal water systems or electricity companies in the United States, people would be in trouble very rapidly.

[05:29.5]
And so we’re very self sufficient in the sense that we’re in charge of our own water source which comes from a well. But lots of people, collect rainwater and store it for times when there’s a drought. And so we have our own water supply and we have our own power supply which is provided by high tech solar systems with, lithium battery storage.

Living a Sovereign and Self-Sufficient Life in Belize

[05:56.4]
And so that all contributes to the sovereign and self sufficient lifestyle. Well, that’s basically two of the S’s. What about the third S? Yes. Self sufficiency. Oh, sovereignty and sustainability.

[06:12.8]
And so those terms are all really interchangeable. But those are the three things that I thought about when Macarena and I had this conversation. Why is Belize an, awesome pit for people coming from other places?

[06:30.1]
And I’ve been here for about 10 years and I really, those are the things that my husband and I enjoy very much. It’s challenging. There’s a lot of problem solving, but it’s also very comfortable in that we know, we could make it on our own, in the country and we wouldn’t be dependent on others for our energy, our food supply and our water.

Why Living Self-Sufficient is Important

[06:57.5]
And this is key, like coming from Florida, you know, we have hurricanes come through. Just last year I had quite a few of them and literally no electricity, no water. And you don’t realize how everything is tied. You need that your communications.

[07:13.3]
Right. You can’t even communicate, Right. If you don’t have electricity or some mode of self generation. Right. Or generating electricity. So that would be a scary spot to be in. And if you don’t have food, like literally on your own property or close proximity, you know, you, you would go hungry.

[07:33.7]
And you can’t just go down to the grocery store and buy groceries all the time, can you? Here we don’t need to. Right. So, we produce a lot of our own food as we talked about before. And then we have the local producers, the farmers, the ranchers, the people who raise pigs, the people who have ponds with tilapia, they grow their own shrimp.

Belize is an attractive place to Live

[07:57.3]
And so Belize is very attractive, for people in that sense, and that’s why we love it here. And your father started here, what, over 20 years ago, right? Yes. He knew something too. He was smart also. Right, right, right.

[08:12.4]
So he was concerned that there would come a day that there would be a global financial crisis. But, as we talked about before, the best way to conduct a war in modern times is through a cyber attack. It’s very cheap.

[08:29.4]
You don’t need a tank or a bomb. You simply cut off people’s, ability to have the basic needs, food, water and shelter that’s appropriate. And here in Belize, we don’t have that worry because we are self sufficient and sovereign.

Avoiding a Global Crisis by Living in Belize

[08:49.3]
And it’s exciting. It’s a big difference. And, this recently happened in the United States, that one of my relatives was going to the hospital to get results from an exam. And the hospital called and said, we’ve had a cyber attack. All of our records in the hospital are gone.

[09:06.6]
We cannot give you any results. We don’t have any records or anything. And that’s when I was speaking with you. What, what preempted this whole conversation going, wow, this is true. If we had a cyber attack, it’s feasible. Right. And then it could affect the electricity, it could affect.

[09:24.0]
Affect the water. That’s a big thing. It is a big thing. And it also. It can affect your ability to withdraw cash. It affects your ability to get gasoline. You can’t pump water. So, you need power to do a lot of things that we take for granted every day, including Internet communications, and what would that look like in a global crisis?

Sovereign Living in Belize_Why Belize? Self-Sufficient Living in Belize

[09:49.6]
But it has to do with sovereignty and your ability to be free as a person. And so that’s really the foundation of our conversation, is that to us, Belize means personal freedom and your right to be a sovereign human being.

[10:08.7]
And so that’s the big thrill about Belize. And you’re still smiling. It’s a big thrill. And it is. It is a very unique place. After traveling around the world going, wow, I’ve just never found anywhere like Belize. Yep. Exciting. And Belize is a very diverse country, and that diversity is an asset for the country as it grows as an, evolving parliamentary democracy.

[10:34.0]
And so it’s very attractive, for people to come to Belize and make it their home. Well, we invite you to come visit tour Belize. We love when people come to our country. We get to share it with them, for sure.

[10:49.4]
And if you’re looking to move to Belize, well, you certainly know that that’s feasible. Here’s two women that both moved from the United States to Belize and are happy about it. So it’s really a beautiful, magnificent place. I was so drawn to it. I have to ask you, how do you feel about being in Belize yourself currently?

Assimilating into Belizean Culture and the Local Market

[11:08.0]
I mean, you’ve been here for over 10 years. Yeah. So after 10 years, as you said, I feel that I’ve completely assimilated into Belizean culture, and I feel that I’m part of the Belizean culture. And, I have friends in the local market, and I love to go see them and talk about what’s going on in the produce market and what’s happening with the agricultural market.

[11:34.4]
I like to connect, to different historians of Belize. And so, yes, it is not difficult to assimilate into the culture of Belize and become part of the Belizean society if you’re open and willing to integrate yourself into a very different culture, than the United States or Europe or Canada.

Open and Willing to Socialize and Listen to the Locals

[12:00.6]
But you have to be open and willing to, socialize and listen to, local Belizeans who have been here for generations. Very good point. And I found when we moved here over 21 years ago, something that was really key to me because it was English speaking.

[12:22.2]
I wasn’t looked upon as a foreigner. Right. And even though I speak Spanish as my first language, the children I moved with didn’t. So Belize was, a complete fit because, again, English speaking. But I liked being able to speak the first language of the people around me, primarily the first language, and be able to be part of the community.

[12:43.1]
You’re right. It feels yummy, doesn’t it? I mean, home. It does make me feel like I’m part of the community, too. So your points are well taken, for sure. And the assimilation. So I’ll end with saying in Creole, make we roll. Which means, we’re gonna take off now, have a great day.

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