Richard Fifer

Castilla del Oro Foundation and religious tourism

jrivero — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:25:45 +0000

One point of special interest that the Castilla del Oro Foundation highlights is the promotion activities and religious heritage that underlies the inland communities, promoting them as one of the main attractions for tourists.
In that sense, at the invitation to visit Panama made by engineer Richard Fifer Carles, international president of Castilla del Oro Foundation, the Duke of Veragua, Cristobal Colon de Carvajal, participated in a ceremony at the city of Penonomé in which the statue of St. James, whose garment was commissioned by the foundation to the famous Spanish sculptor Luis Martin Vidale, was blessed.
Also, in the community of Nata de Los Caballeros a bronze statue of 380 kilos was placed in the central square of this town, in a ceremony that Colón de Carvajal called symbolic because many people participated, despite the scorching sun.

A productive visit

jrivero — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:22:12 +0000

During a week visit to five provinces, the international president of the Castilla del Oro Foundation, the Duke of Veragua, Cristobal Colon de Carvajal, had the opportunity to visit famous landmarks he received recognition from municipal and local authorities in various parts of the country.
It was an “extremely productive” visit, said the Duke of Veragua, who arrived in Panama attending the invitation from the Castilla del Oro Foundation in Panama, led by engineer Richard Fifer Carles.
Colón de Carvajal especially recalls the very emotional reception given in Colón, while highlighting the laying of a wreath at the statue of his ancestor, Admiral Christopher Columbus. He also visited forts St. Laurence and Portobelo, where he could admire the historical legacy left by the Spanish colonizers.

An exciting project

jrivero — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:17:53 +0000

The Castilla del Oro Foundation seemed an exciting project to its international president, the Duke of Veragua, Cristobal Colon de Carvajal, who did not hesitate a moment to support it, once Mr. Pascual Montañés invited him to join this organization’s efforts to boost tourism development in the country’s central region.
“The truth is that the project seemed exciting and worthy to be in it,” said the Duke of Veragua referring to his identification with the Foundation’s work, under entrepreneur Richard Fifer Carles’s vision.
Colón de Carvajal has reached such a level of identification with this project that, since accepting the proposal, he has visited the country twice in order to meet and promote the projects that the Castilla del Oro Foundation runs, channeling income generated by the Petaquilla Gold, S. A. mining project.

Responsible mining exists in Panama

jrivero — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:14:01 +0000

Despite vehement criticism from anti-mining groups in Panama, the fact is that, as Panamanian authorities have validated, “responsible mining” is practiced in the country thanks to the use of the most advanced technology available today. The proposed amendment to the Mineral Resources Code, which will be presented by the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MICI) to the National Assembly, is supported by this underlying assumption.
Currently, the only mining project that is in metal extraction process in Panama is Petaquilla Gold, S. A. which, under the direction of engineer Richard Fifer Carles, exploits the Molejon gold deposit, attending national and international environmental standards to preserve the environment.
MICI’s minister anticipated that among the modifications included in the new proposal by the executive is the one that allows the state to receive more revenues from mining so that these benefits revert to the Panamanian people.

Reforms and responsible mining

jrivero — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:08:33 +0000

In the coming days it would arrive to the National Assembly the new proposal to modify and modernize the Mineral Resources Code, in a year that was marked by the great debate that has occurred in all sectors of society, which has allowed the community to have the knowledge about a subject that recently was unknown in Panama.
Without a doubt the main theme would be the experience that has had Petaquilla Gold S.A., that under the direction of the engineer Richard Fifer-Carles, exploits the Molejon gold deposit, located in the district of Donoso, province of Colon.
Just as it happened at the beginning of this year, it is expected that he minister of Industry and Commerce (MICI) Rocardo Quijano, submit the motion to the members of the National Assembly, open the curtain so the environmental groups and civil society can participate and would have the opportunity to make their criticisms, recommendations and inputs, so the document that would be approved can be a product of a wide consensus.

Panama seeks to promote rural tourism in the countryside

jrivero — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:06:03 +0000

Now a day’s Spain is the number one country in terms of rural touristic development, a goal achieved after ten years of tenacious work, experience which local authorities of the central region of panama are looking to replicate and enrich themselves with hand in hand of the Foundation Castilla del Oro, under the leadership of the businessman Richard Fifer- Carles.
For this the Foundation has organized two trips of mayors and governors to Spain with the objective of having Panamanian authorities learn in the work field how the Spanish have been able to achieve this goal, while in October a third trip is organized to visit rural communities of the European country, informed the executive director of this organization, Jorge Isaac Obon.
“It took them ten year to become the first. Hopefully to Panama it will take less time and for this the foundation is raising awareness to the authorities and then to the communities,” he said.

Stresses importance of developing sites that have capacity to receive tourists

jrivero — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:36:20 +0000

The Spanish Castilla del Oro Foundation’s president, the Duke of Veragua, Cristóbal Colón de Carvajal, stressed the importance of developing and improving the facilities where tourists come to visit these places of interest and pour this activity’s wealth on the province.

He added that within this range of sites of interest, it is clear that two of the most attractive places are Fort St. Laurence and Fort Portobelo, in addition to the “absolutely sensational” bay decorating the second fortress.
During his visit to Panama, the Duke of Veragua visited the forts of St. Laurence and Portobelo to see these colonial structures and assess what can be done to boost their tourist appeal.
What Colon de Carvajal does not doubt is that these two forts are a great attraction to bring thousands of tourists that come to Colón every year.

A work that will change Ocus face

jrivero — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:32:23 +0000

The renovation of the San Sebastian Inn in Ocu by the Castilla del Oro Foundation, under the vision of engineer Richard Fifer Carles, will boost the tourist attraction of this community located in Herrera, where every year is celebrated the Manito Festival, one of the most representative expressions of Panamanian folklore.
These installations, which constitute the Ocu’s district main icon, were inaugurated in 1949 and remain the same as how they were when they first open to the public, although the passing of years have left a marked deterioration to its structure.
Currently, the Foundation is working on the process of lifting the project, which will have a cost of 250 thousand dollars. For this, they have hired a restoration architect to make the design that will allow bringing back the splendor of this emblematic structure.

Mining projects a development pole in the district of Donoso

jrivero — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:07:34 +0000

From the mountains of the district of Donoso, in the province of Colon, Petaquilla Gold, S. A. company, under the direction of businessman Richard Fifer Carles , has created a development pole that projects into the nearby zones like the districts of La Pintada and Penonome, and today set the rhythm of life for this central region of the country, as it was pointed out recently by the Industrialists Syndicate of de Panama (Sindicato de Industriales de Panama. SIP, for its Spanish acronym).

The economic dynamism, of machines that perform works; continue to generate jobs, stability and riches for the region: businesses that are strengthened, others that open their doors, like restaurants and hostels, are a reality of the mining impact.

A reality that is obvious is that the unemployment in this area of the country is almost inexistent, since the direct activities of such and other mining projects and the related activities that the contracting companies, like road construction and other infrastructure works demand labor, in a region that a few years ago was qualified as an economically depressed zone.

Wellbeing in the mountains of Coclé

jrivero — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:31:09 +0000

One of the many projects promoted by Petaquilla Gold, S. A. under the vision of engineer Richard Fifer Carles, is the “Adopt a Godson” program in order to bring welfare to remote and marginalized communities in the provinces of Cocle and Colon.

These are communities that have needs so the company, through the Petaquilla Foundation, year after year gives further impetus to this program, a corporate social responsibility policy that brings social and economic welfare to poor families.

The program is based on the Molejón mining project workers to know firsthand the needs, dreams, hopes and aspirations of children aged between 5 and 13 years, and contribute to economic assistance and materials to the teaching-learning process helping them with a friendly hand that cares about their school development and emotional growth.