Yes, I am Building a Pyramid in Panama. You can help!

I think that just about everyone who knows me will agree that I am mostly a pretty sane guy. I do have a fondness though for the unusual, the quirky, things that might by some be considered at least a little bit crazy.

That's OK. Sometimes, crazy is good. I think that there are a lot of us -- individuals who wish to make a mark on our world by creating something significant, something that will last and be enjoyed by others for hundreds of years to come.

Are you like that? Let's be crazy together!

That's why I am building the Pirámide en Panamá. Yes, that means ‘Pyramid in Panama’ in Spanish. Pyramids built in antiquity have been found all over the world, not just the ones we all know about in Egypt. Mayan and Aztec cultures in Mexico and Central and South America also built pyramids and more are being discovered all the time.

Strangely, although it is surrounded by other countries with beautiful and ancient pyramids, there are none to be found in the Republic of Panama.

None.

Now we can't have that, can we? We want to rectify the situation by building a pyramid in the beautiful Panamanian province of Chiriqui, near the Costa Rican border. It will be in an adapted combination of the Mayan and Aztec styles, which are very similar. Examples of both can be found in neighbouring countries of Columbia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Guatemala.

You and I and some of my friends and partners are going to do this together.

How? Let me tell you:

Who we are: I am a Canadian businessman with a love of Latin America and its culture and people. I am part of a group of Panamanian, Canadian and American investors who are making our land available for the construction of the pyramid.

Why? We think it would be fun and a great attraction for locals and tourists alike. Because we want to provide free access to everyone, we are seeking help to fund the project because without charging admission, there is no way we will be able to recoup the cost. Because we are supplying the land without cost, expenses are for design and construction only. Once we have our plans complete, architectural drawings made and permits obtained, we will launch a crowd-funding campaign on www.indiegogo.com.

Where: Just outside the small village of Rovira Arriba in the Chiriqui province of Panama, about an hour's drive east of the Costa Rican border.

What: Because the footprint of a pyramid of the size we want to build would be very large and take many tons of rock to build, we have come up with an ingenious solution. There is a ravine on our property, leading down to the Rio David, and we will construct only one side of a pyramid (like a facade) against the side of the ravine. It will rise several meters above the side of the ravine, with an observation deck at the top so visitors can look down upon the river and northwards towards Volcan Baru, Panama’s highest mountain and dormant volcano.

When: We are currently creating designs and plans and hope to begin construction in late 2017.

How: Thanks to Volcan Baru’s eruptions over millennia, our land has hundreds of thousands of volcanic rocks. The rocks range from the size of a soccer ball on up to the size of a compact car. We will use local rock-building experts to construct the pyramid facade. Stairs on the facade will lead down to a plateau beside the river below. At the riverside will be a picnic area with tables and benches and fire pits, all built out of the same volcanic rock. To the left side of the picnic area will be an entry to a small but pristine rain forest, also owned by us. The pyramid project will include the creation of hiking trails through the rain forest. Along the trail will be rest and observation areas from which to appreciate the natural beauty of the surroundings.

To us, this is a labour of love.

We do not pretend that we will absolutely accurately create a (Mayan or Aztec) pyramid; we just want to do the best we can to show visitors to the site what a pyramid built hundreds or even thousands of years ago might have looked like.

It will be fun to climb up and down the stairs on the facade, to rest at the riverside below the facade and to hike the trails through the rain forest.

We are still deciding what the rewards for contributions to our crowd-funding will be and will announce those in due time. There will be a project website which will track the progress of the project and at which contributors will also be acknowledged. Larger donors might have their name on features such as benches, tables, fire pits and such.

We think that this project is unique and exciting and that it will attract the attention we need from contributors to complete the project as we envision it and to give visitors a free and exciting way to spend some time in a beautiful part of Panama.

Inspiration

Rovira Arriba is a short distance west of the highway that connects the world famous mountain town of Boquete and the bustling city of David on the Pacific coast. Rovira Arriba is a bit over an hour’s drive from the border of Costa Rica. There are many activities in this part of Chiriqui, ranging from zip lines, hiking, riding, climbing Volvan Baru, deep sea fishing, snorkeling, and much more. Adding a free, historically interesting feature in the form of our pyramid facade that tourists and locals alike can enjoy, would be a great boon to the area.

Although we are still working on design drawings and plans for the pyramid facade, we can show you what we have so far. One photograph below shows an ancient pyramid constructed elsewhere in the Americas. Our design will be a bit different, but the photo at least shows similar construction and a rough idea of what our facade might look like when viewed from the bottom. Also shown is where the pyramid facade will be constructed, at the end of a cul de sac with a drop down into the ravine leading to the Rio David and our picnic and recreational area. The tip of the pyramid will rise above road level and will be accessible by stairs from the road. The road will be paved afterwards and a parking lot will be built to the left. Hiking trails to the rain forest area will lead from both the parking lot and the picnic area at the bottom of the pyramid.

Also shown is a recent rendering that most closely approximates our intent. This drawing is basically to allow us to visualize the results of our calculations; we are still working out exactly how the pyramid will lean against the ravine and how the plateau at the bottom will tie in to the river below and the hiking trails up into our strip of rain forest.

Please join us in this exciting project; make a difference with something that will live on in history, perhaps as long into future as the pyramids that have been discovered elsewhere in Central America, some back as far as 1,000 B.C.

Contact me for more information.

Thank you.

Sieg Pedde