Sanctuary Belize – The Chicle Tree

Sanctuary Belize is a growing development located on the southeastern coast of Belize. It faces the Caribbean Sea, and is quickly becoming one of the most attractive investment opportunities for people who want to live in, or at least own property in, a unique tropical paradise.

Located in Central America, Belize is already known to some Americans as one of the upcoming Latin American trade partners of the United States. More and more American businesses are trying to get a foothold there. As the developers of Sanctuary Belize know, one of the country’s main export products is chicle, the main component of chewing gum.

Chicle is extracted from the chicle tree, much the way latex is tapped from the rubber tree. Chicle has traditionally been chewed throughout the region. It began to attract the attention of American developers after it was introduced to them in 1866. Within twenty years, companies that would become household names in the United States began developing the chicle industry and became major players: the Wrigley Company, the Beechnut Packing Company, and the American Chicle Company. Chicle was ideal for use in a variety of chewing gums. It has also been used in surgical tape, dental supplies, and in chemical manufacturing.

There are four types of chicle grown in Belize. The technology to extract it from the chicle tree hasn’t changed much in more than one hundred years. Zig-zag gashes are slashed into the tree trunk, and the sticky substance that oozes out is captured in bags placed beneath the gashes. As the developers at Sanctuary Belize know, the people who collect it are known as chicleros.

 

Sanctuary Belize – A Collaborative Partnership

Sanctuary Belize is a rare example of a progressive, environmentally forward development designed for people who are passionate about preserving the beautiful environments they inhabit. In creating Sanctuary Belize, its developers wanted to make the dream of property ownership in a tropical Caribbean paradise an affordable reality for anyone who is interested. At the same time, they are committed to developing their community responsibly and respectfully, with as minimal impact to the natural surroundings and wildlife.

Developed in a collaborative partnership with the Sittee River Wildlife Reserve, Sanctuary Belize spreads across 14,000 acres of paradise, consisting of forest, river, pristine beach and rain forest. All of it is sitting next to 110,000 acres of wildlife preserve on the southeastern coast of Belize.

Belize is a growing hot spot that is being compared to Costa Rica of the 1990s or Hawaii in the 1960s. One of its great attractions is that it is a politically stable country where English is the official language. The financial model of Sanctuary Belize is built around a debt-free system that is completely financed through the development company rather than banks, making it easier to qualify and more favorable and flexible for finding agreeable terms.

The master plan developments for Sanctuary Belize include the completion of a 250-slip deep water marina, a world class hospital with medical tourism programs, community meeting houses, pools, a spa, a resort hotel, and a casino. A luxury beach club is also near completion. And just offshore is a five-acre island called Sanctuary Caye, which can be used by all owners and residents.