In 1998, Jacob Gelt Dekker traveled to Curacao in the Netherlands Antilles to visit friends for the weekend. He fell in love with the island and purchased a mansion in the then rundown section of Otrobanda in the capital city of Willemstad.
While restoring the home to its original splendor, Jacob researched its history only to learn it was once the site of slave trading on the island.
 This inspired him to develop an anthropological museum adjacent to the mansion. The sixteen Dutch colonial houses from the 18th and 19th century that comprise the museum were purchased, rehabilitated and a collection
created within a brief 10 months. The museum's collection focuses on the predominant cultures of
Curacao and offers a world-class chronicle of the Origin of Man, the African slave trade, West African Empires, Pre-Colombian gold, Mesopotamian relics and Antillean art. The mansion (replete with 17th century Dutch art) and the museum created a central courtyard, which led Jacob to name the project,
Kura Hulanda. In the native tongue of Curacao, known as
Papiamento, this means "Dutch Courtyard."
 His vision began to crystallize at this point and in 1999, Jacob Gelt Dekker acquired more buildings in Otrobanda and began construction on Conference Center
Kura Hulanda, a state-of-the-art facility overlooking St. Anna Bay and the Queen Emma Bridge. In 2000, he launched the eponymous Institute for Advanced Cultural Studies - adjacent to the conference center and across the street from the museum and his home.
With scholars, researchers, visitors and more flocking to the museum, institute and conference center, the next natural step was the development of a hotel in keeping with the style and sophistication of the structures that proceed it.
 With the creation of the Hotel
Kura Hulanda. Jacob has established a living and breathing 8-block environmental and historical preservation project. All this development and rehabilitation in the downtrodden Otrobanda area by Jacob has led to a psychological turnaround with area residents painting their homes and shopkeepers sprucing up their retail operations.
"The architecture of these glorious 18th and 19th century Dutch colonial buildings dictate the details of their restoration, the use of color, the furniture within" says Jacob, who subscribes to the theory that between the historic architecture and the application of use lies a small margin of creative freedom that he has explored while
designing the project with Dutch architect Leo Helms. He has an aversion to
 conventional thinkers and has a distaste for those who are trapped by the premise that things are the way they are supposed to be. This drives Jacob to explore beyond the every day and to continually seek newer solutions.
As he explains, "Originally, the plan for the ABC islands was clear-cut: Aruba was for tourism, Bonaire was a national park and Curacao was the government seat and the island for industry, shipping and education". With the addition of Hotel
Kura Hulanda and, eventually, the Lodge, tourism is breaking the boundary set forth many years ago.
As co-founders of Project Kura Hulanda, Jacob Gelt Dekker and business partner John Padget are creating an environment that breeds self-sufficiency through economic empowerment in underdeveloped/developing countries. Both Jacob and John are helping to sustain these micro businesses, today's version of the cottage industry, by employing individual craftsman from Indonesia, Africa, Colombia and India and contracting them to manufacture unique furniture, cobblestones, iron gates and furnishings for Project
Kura Hulanda. "It would have been easier to go to a hotel supplier but I wanted to further the economy of those who usually fall between the cracks," says Jacob.
This village within a city is not the end of Jacob Gelt Dekker's vision for Curacao.
A purchase of 400+ acres in the Westpunt section of the island where he
has built Lodge Kura Hulanda is the next phase of the project.
Go to the website of www.kurahulanda.com
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