The Nicaragua program is growing as a major player in sustainable agriculture and environmental conservation in the South Atlantic Region of Nicaragua (RAAS), promoting alternatives to traditional approaches to development, such as slash and burn farming and chemical use.

In both Kukra Hill and Kukra River, the program has been coordinating group-training events for participants, as well as promotion of various biological controls and amendments for improving soils and combating pests.

One product in particular, FUNCO-BIOL, is made by participants and uses fungus and organic matter collected from the O horizon of local soils and allows it to ferment slightly. The finished product, much like efficient microorganisms, is ideal for improving soil microbiology and a plant’s vigor.

Some key achievements in the first part of the fiscal year were:

• training and support of 127 farming families in two key work areas of the RAAS – Kukra River and Kukra Hill;

• planting 30,634 hardwood and fruit trees in agroforestry and silvapastoral systems, and ecologically sensitive zones.

• 47 participants utilizing cover crops and green manures to suppress weed growth and improve nitrogen levels in the soil.

• 17 collective training events and workshops completed on agroecology, and six on sustainable economic development and micro-enterprises.

SHI-Nicaragua spent the last few months improving technologies used in the field and home, including re-designed wood conserving stoves and organic fertilizers. SHI staff had their first successful harvest on the demonstration farm, where more than 30 pounds of tomatoes and 60 pounds of beans were harvested organically. SHI-Nicaragua has implemented the Farmer Field School philosophy whereby farmers gather in their own fields to learn about crops

and techniques, and to analyze various scenarios. According to Country Director Marvin Gonzalez, this methodology has been highly successful and farmers seem more enthusiastic about implementing new techniques and sharing their knowledge with neighbors.

Some key achievements in the first part of this fiscal year were

• reforesting and rehabilitating 51 acres by planting more than 23,000 native hardwood and fruit trees including Andira inermis (locally known as almendro or cabbage angelin) and Tabebuia rosea;

• training more than 80 farmers on new forms of bio fertilizers including the use of efficient micro-organisms;

• cultivating approximately 103 acres with sustainable and organic techniques;

• incorporating 20 participant families, mostly women, into new local and regional income-generating ventures, such as the creation of a farmers’ market in Kukra Hill.

Engage in dialogue about community-based service-learning that involves concepts of sustainability, organic agriculture and environmental restoration.

Through activities in our schools, at our training center and afternoon visits to SHI family farms, participants will develop and share curriculum ideas that can be brought back to their home schools.  All participants will be able to shape the service-learning curriculum guide that will be produced at the end of the trip. Participants will be exposed to rural culture through homestays and other cultural activities - and even relax a bit in the subtropical sunshine!

This trip will be somewhat strenuous.  Trip participants will be far away from the usual comforts of the city for several days, and will stay with host families.  Not all of the trip will be work, as we also plan on either a couple of days on the beaches of a tropical island or a hike to the summit of a Nicaraguan volcano.

Click here to see a list of travel grants available for educators.

READY TO TRAVEL? Contact us to register for an upcoming tour or to plan one for your group! On Facebook? RSVP to this trip.

TENTATIVE ITINERARY*

Saturday, July 7:  Arrival

• Group arrives at Managua airport
• Tour of monumental center
• Group dinner at Casa de Felipe Godoy Mejia
• Orientation, discussion of trip schedule and objectives
• Group will stay at Hotel Las Mercedes

Sunday, July 8:  Move to Bluefields

• Breakfast at hotel
• Morning flight to Bluefields on La Costena (~ 1 hr)
• Group checks in to Oasis Hotel
• Introduction of SHI-Nicargua field staff, tour of Bluefields demo farm
• Lunch at the demo farm
• Afternoon workshop themes:  mapping exercise, “what is stewardship?”
• Group dinner and reflection
• Group will stay at Oasis Hotel

Monday, July 9:  Move to Kukra Hill Work Site

• Breakfast at hotel
• Group moves to Kukra Hill work site by boat (~ 5 hrs)
• Lunch in the community
• Afternoon family visits:  SHI overview, “defining place”
• Evening reflection
• Dinner and lodging with host families (2 persons + per family)

Tuesday, July 10:  Kukra Hill

• Breakfast with host families
• Morning work project:  reforestation, tree maintenance
• Lunch in the community
• Walk through community forest reserve
• Afternoon workshop theme:  nurturing a connection to local resources
• Evening reflection
• Dinner and lodging with host families

Wednesday, July 11:  Kukra Hill

• Breakfast with host families
• Morning school activity:  vegetable production, elaboration of organic fertilizers
• Lunch in the community
• Afternoon workshop theme:  integrated, sustainable production
• Evening reflection
• Dinner and lodging with host families

Thursday, July 12:  Kukra Hill

• Breakfast with host families
• Morning work project:  wood-conserving stoves, biodigesters
• Lunch in the community
• Afternoon workshop theme:  community well-being
• Visit to local natural feature or cane press
• Evening reflection and cultural exchange
• Dinner and lodging with host families

Friday, July 13:  Kukra Hill to the Corn Islands

• Breakfast with host families
• Morning workshop theme: taking action
• Recognition of participants
• Departure for Bluefield by boat (~ 5 hrs), flight to Big Corn Island
• Group dinner and reflection
• Group will stay at hotel (TBD)

Saturday, July 14:  R&R in the Corn Islands

• Free time: snorkeling, souvenir shopping, hiking, relaxing
• Group dinner and reflection
• Evaluations
• Group will stay at hotel (TBD)

Sunday, July 15:  Departure for Managua (and Beyond)

• Morning departure for Managua by plane on La Costena (~ 1.5 hrs)

* Smaller World Tour itineraries are shaped by the requests of SHI's Central American field trainers and the farming communities we serve.  Trip participants work alongside local staff and families and we do our best to match groups with activities that fit their interests, skills and schedules. Each Smaller World Tour is accompanied by an SHI trip leader who coordinates the group's activities on the ground.  Specific projects and plans may change and we request that volunteers keep an open mind and remain flexible during their trip.

TRAVEL COSTS
The cost for this trip is $1,500 per person.  This total includes project materials and supplies, flights between Managua and Bluefields and all other in-country transportation, rustic accommodations with a host family, and double occupancy hotel accommodations when we visit tourist areas, meals and guide / translation service.  In addition, 20% of your program fee supports the local projects you'll be working on in the field.

A deposit of $300 should be sent in with your registration form.  The balance $1,200 is due to be paid 60 days prior to the trip departure date.  If travel funding is an issue for you, don't hesitate to fundraise for your trip expenses. Visit our fundraising idea page or contact our office for more information.

READY TO TRAVEL? Contact us to register for an upcoming tour or to plan one for your group!

Visit our Nicaragua program page to learn much more about this country program.

The rural Nicaraguan communities of Las Breñas and San Sebastian are not easy to access. My recent journey from the SHI-Nicaragua office took nearly six hours and, in transit, everything I passed was either enchanting or disheartening – mangroves, swamps, tropical low-land forests, pastures, the ruins of what was once nature now slashed and burned. As the path took me deeper and deeper into human-induced destruction, ignorance and lack of knowledge, I grew more and more disappointed until, that is, I would arrive at an SHI participant farm, such as Don Esteban’s, Don Santos’ or Don Candido's. In the past, these farmers raised cattle, deforested vast tracts of land and ignored the need to diversify, but now they are changing as they learn from SHI Field Trainer, Don Cipriano, using his farm as an example.

Since July 2010, SHI-Nicaragua participants have planted more than 12,000 trees, mostly in areas previously deforested for pasture. As participants learn about agrosilvopastoral systems, they now understand the complexities of nature and importance of maintaining forest cover on the fragile tropical soils.  The changes in attitude point to renewed efforts to rehabilitate the land and create healthy, living soils.  

Field staff are having success with a wood-conserving stove design originally implemented by SHI-Panama (a justa stove with open grill vs. comal-style plate). They plan to install more stoves while educating families about their health and environmental benefits.

SHI-Nicaragua is currently working with a consortium of nongovernmental organizations to apply for a European Union grant focused on food security and sustainability.  The grant, now in its final stages of evaluation and approval, involves five organizations, each with a different specialty (such as sustainable farming, community development, commercialization) in four regions in Nicaragua (Bluefields, Matagalpa, Esteli and Leon).

Hello, My name is Maria Auxiliadora Alvarez.  I am 45 years old and am married to Alfredo Lezcano. We live in the Nueva Alianza Community in Nicaragua with one of our children (the other three are grown and live in other communities).

Thanks to many generous donors, we exceeded our 2010 year-end goal for online fundraising!  These funds will directly guarantee that 168 families are able to successfully complete our five-phase program. Nicaraguan farmer Mario Hurtado Méndez and his family will now be able to move onto Phase 3: Advanced Crop Diversification & Introduction to Business.  He was eager to share with you his heartfelt gratitude for this support.

My name is Marcelo Obando and I am 35 years old. My wife, Paula Lopez, and I live in the town of El Paraiso in the Kukra River municipality with our three children. I have worked with SHI-Nicaragua since 2006.

We have received many benefits while working with SHI-Nicaragua, such as technical support in organic agriculture and preparation of compost and biofertilizer. One of the most important things we have achieved is our organic garden where we grow tomatoes, cabbage, sweet peppers, chilies, onions and squash. Our field trainer gave us a diverse array of seeds to start. We are now saving seeds after harvest and organizing a seed bank with seven families in our community. This will guarantee us a selection of good quality seeds so we don’t have to buy them at high prices in the future. Our group is supported by SHI-Nicaragua so that we can be self-sufficient in our farming and eventually generate income.

Sustainable Harvest Nicaragua was recently visited by members of the SHI Board who met with local families and staff. Board Member Melissa Bride said, “SHI’s work in Nicaragua is impressive. Working in very remote areas in the Atlantic Coast Region, Sustainable Harvest Nicaragua (SHN) is reaching many families in need. And word is spreading! During our short stay in the area, new groups of women and small farmers approached us asking for technical help on their farms. Current families working with SHN are pleased with their success, and want continued help in increasing yields and getting their produce to market. I was particularly impressed with the entrepreneurial spirit of some farmers working with SHN. One in particular wanted to start a micro business that would employ poor local farmers in harvesting and processing sugar cane to make syrups and candies. This farmer’s desire to improve his own life and the lives of those in his community is proof that with just a little help, those most in need have the power to reverse the cycle of poverty and environmental degradation.”