Welcome to Marenal
A Sustainable Community of Partners for Peace and Liberty
A brief message from the developer Franz Xaver Meier
You probably found our website because you are looking for a better place to live that is not torn up by war and chaos! You are on the right track if you are considering Costa Rica and the Marenal Community for your future home.
Costa Rica has become a leading destination for families seeking a peaceful, enriching way of life, with a temperate climate, rich biodiversity, and friendly people. It has been on my radar since the mid-nineties for those qualities and one more. It had no military!
When I visited and explored Costa Rica and many of its most popular areas, I found the Lake Arenal region to be my preferred location.I purchased a home and a former cardamom plantation on the north shore of the lake in the little town of Nuevo Arenal in 2000, hoping to make it the perfect place for friends and family to retire.
After years of visiting and walking Marenal’s property, with its beautiful lake views and natural surroundings, I decided Marenal needed to be more than a family retreat. It should become a different, exclusive community for people who believe in Peace and Liberty!It will fulfill my life’s mission to attract like-minded people who want to join me in demonstrating the benefits of non-aggression, property rights, self-ownership, and the liberty to enjoy “Pura Vida” in peace and freedom.
If my mission and goals align with your way of thinking, let’s meet to see whether Marenal and our concept are the right fit for you. I would be honored to have you join our community.Meanwhile, you can learn more about Marenal and us on the pages that follow.
In Peace and Liberty,
Franz
This is why our founder, Franz Xaver Meier, chose Costa Rica and Lake Arenal as his home!
Interactive map and aerial view
Five minutes from downtown Nuevo Arenal
Downtown Nuevo Arenal is only 5 minutes away and has everything needed for daily life, along with an established expat community.
Nuevo Arenal downtown, 5 minutes: bank, supermarkets, fuel, hardware, pharmacy, clinic, veterinary, schools and fantastic restaurants and Parque del Lago
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Tilarán, the county seat, 30 minutes
Liberia and its International Airport, 90 minutes
La Fortuna hot springs, about 1 hour
Río Celeste, 45 minutes
Pacific beaches, 2 hours
San José International Airport, under 3 hours
Most public national roads are paved and many municipal roads are graded dirt. Our own easements are graded and lastre covered, but steep in parts. This is highland terrain, and we recommend four-wheel drive.
Monteverde, 2 hours
Why Costa Rica?
Costa Rica boasts one of the best climates for living, free from both extreme cold and extreme heat.
The country has only two seasons, summer and the rainy season, and the temperate climate makes life easier. It also occupies a privileged location where flora and fauna species from both North and South America converge in a single, lush country, rich in biodiversity and protected national parks.
Beyond its history of abolishing the army in 1948, which has fostered an atmosphere of freedom and peace among its people, the slogan "Pura Vida" is no mere catchphrase. It is a way of life.
Extraordinary Biodiversity
Step into a world of extraordinary biodiversity, where colorful toucans and scarlet macaws fill the skies, playful monkeys swing through the trees, sloths move peacefully among the branches, and iguanas, butterflies, and tropical frogs bring the rainforest to life. Every walk is an opportunity to discover nature's wonders and experience the incredible wildlife that makes Costa Rica truly unique.
Amazing Red-eyed tree frog(Agalychnis callidryas)
Here, birds fly in freedom - Lapa Roja (Ara Macao)
Beautiful Wild Cats - Jaguar (Panthera onca)
Exuberant Tropical Flora (Heliconia spp)
Colorful butterflies (Morpho peleides)
Howler monkeys love the microclimates of CR
Turtles always choose Costa Rica
Beautiful Pacific and Caribbean beaches
Their traditional food is delicious
Fruits of all kinds grow in its rich soil
Its kind and friendly people and its folklore
The famous Topes, a tradition of the festivities!
PEACE AND LIBERTY
What is the Marenal Community?
The Marenal Community is a self-governing, libertarian, intergenerational community of partners and their families who, after a personal visit with Franz and his partners, discovered our private community is a fit for both, and after purchasing their property, became partners in Marenal.
Why Marenal is different?
We offer our properties to believers in peace and liberty who support free trade and open markets.
We also consider safety and security among our priorities and value our and your privacy. Therefore, we do not promote ourselves publicly through the usual common media channels.
As you may have noticed, we only communicate through Proton Mail, an encrypted Swiss platform regarded as one of the most secure and private ways to exchange information.
Learn more about Proton here
It may take us a little longer to attract our partners, but we gladly accept this delay because we want to make sure we attract YOU, the sovereign over your destiny.
This community concept of privacy, security, and exclusivity has always been our Founder's goal.
To better understand how Franz arrived at his development concept, it helps to know more about the road he traveled to get here.
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Built by one man
“Franz Xaver Meier was born in Munich, Bavaria, in 1939, 6 months before World War II began. He saw firsthand the war's destruction and lived through the hardships of post-war reconstruction. Those experiences shaped his rejection of aggression and coercion and strengthened his commitment to voluntary cooperation.
He resisted the military draft and left Germany upon receiving his induction papers for the "new" German Bundeswehr. That decision reflected principles he would study and develop over the next five decades after arriving in America in 1960.
In 2010, the city of Charleston recognized Franz as one of 35 visionaries who shaped the city.
His career demonstrates operational competence, long-term thinking, and the ability to build sustainable enterprises.
P.S. During his years in Charleston, Franz also owned a Commercial Real Estate company and a manufacturing plant producing advanced building panels for the telecom industry.
He spent his early years exploring America and working in various states. He gained experience at places such as the Everglades Club in Palm Beach, Florida; the Country Squire Inn in Connecticut; Lubach’s, a prominent downtown San Diego restaurant; and the Greenbriar Resort in West Virginia, from where he joined Charles Fraser at Sea Pines Plantation on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.
He worked for Charles, its owner and one of America's first eco-community developers, from 1966 to 1976. He left as Vice President of Food and Beverage, moved to Charleston, and with partners, took over a famous local eatery. In the following years, he launched several new restaurant concepts that eventually employed over 300 people.
About our Operating Philosophy
Marenal runs on Voluntaryism and Sociocracy
Franz's libertarian mind was also influenced by Thomas Jefferson, a founding father and America's third president.
He once claimed this about political structure:
“Jefferson’s ideal political order, although committed to States' rights, called for greater decentralization, in which small sections of the country would be self-governing wards that would make virtually all their political decisions without outside interference. His goal was a system in which no higher-order entity would infringe on the just prerogatives of a lower-order one.”
If the world were organized thusly, he believes the chances of military conflicts and wasteful spending would be minimized, and peace and free trade could flourish. Unfortunately, the Federalists prevailed.
Franz is now convinced that a return to small communities united in self-rule, political neutrality, and the right to defend their families and property against harm and illegal takings by individuals or societies can be the foundation of peaceful coexistence, now and in the future.
Sociocracy is our governance system. It has a General Council, supported by Sub-circles with specific responsibilities. The system is based on consent, not majority vote. It works from the bottom up, not from the top down.
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Everyone is free to introduce to the General Council of the community a proposal for change, or to remedy a problem.
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By not forcing decisions over objections by voting, we protect minority positions from the tyranny of simple majority rule.
At Marenal, Voluntaryism means:
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No one imposes rules you did not consent to
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No one dictates how to act without your agreement
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No one forces you to participate in community activities
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All your relationships and obligations within the community are voluntary
You are not joining a community You are helping start one
55 ACRES
Above Lake Arenal
7 FOUNDING PARTNER POSITIONS
All that remain in Phase One
INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE
Private well, fiber, roads & gates access
Casa Finca
We invite you to stay with us first and feel the peace and liberty in Casa Finca is available to rent for anyone who wants to get to know Marenal and our project. It sleeps up to 5 people.
And discover our Community and Wellness Social Club, located next to the beautiful home that is for sale and available for immediate occupancy.
Amapola House, Lot 6
Finished and ready to move into.
Two bedrooms with a jacuzzi tub in the master, a guest suite on the ground floor with its own bathroom and garden access, a terrace looking across Lake Arenal, kitchen cabinetry in Costa Rican hardwood, and a separate enclosed garage with storage and a work area.
If my approach to life and community appeals to you, you can become a Co-owner by arranging a virtual visit through hello@marenal.com
I and our team would be honored by your interest and your consideration of Marenal.
Franz Xaver Meier and his team.