(Courtesy LaCasaVerde.com)
After 11 years in the Ecuadorian jungle, an Australian couple who relocated to the other side of the world is moving on-- and in the process they're selling an eco-friendly hostel they built from the ground up. And it could be yours for as little as $29.
Doug Greenshields, a former farmer and his wife Rebecca, an economist from New Zealand, used most of their savings to turn a shabby house in Baños, Ecuador into a successful environmentally conscious lodge they named La Casa Verde (Spanish for "The Green House"). But now that their two children are growing up, the Greenshields have moved back Down Under and want to leave their beloved Amazon gem in good hands.
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The couple is hoping one of their many loyal guests will take over the 11-room hostel set along the Pastaza River. Through the years, they said, many guests expressed a desire to start a remote jungle guest house of their own.
“We put a lot of time and love into the place but we're ready to move on to the next phase of life,” the Greenshields told news.com.au.
Courtesy LaCasaVerde.com
“We want someone else to have this opportunity, someone who perhaps might not otherwise ever be able to afford to achieve it themselves,” they wrote on their Win the Lifestyle website.
Their target is to sell a minimum of 35,000 tickets and a maximum of 250,000 tickets — “not to limit the price, but so people know what the odds will be."
In addition to winning full rights on the property and the business, the Greenshields will throw in $10,000 to get the lucky winner started in the South American country.
La Casa Verde is located a mile and a half away from Baños, a tourist town nestled half way between the Andes mountain range and the Amazon rainforest in the Tungurahua province. It's surrounded by lots of local wildlife, including hummingbirds, fire flies plus spectacular views of the river and hills.
“We built it all with sustainable material, and set up our own water filtration system and provide rainwater for the guests so there’s no water bottles or anything. We built our own septic system, there’s no treatment plant or anything.”
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Greenshields explained that La Casa Verde gave the couple the opportunity to work from home while caring for their children full time and maintain a profitable business. But now they are shifting gears, so Doug can pursue yet another passion: writing.
To enter the draw, all you need to do is buy the Greenshields’s e-book, "Back to Earth," for just $29. If the target of 35,000 tickets is not reached, the prize pool will be split between the couple and the winner.
“Hopefully that doesn’t even come into it. We really want it to go to someone who wants to change their life,” the couple explained.
The prize draw will take place at 5 p.m. ET on April 29 and will be streamed on Facebook Live.
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