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.

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).

SHI-Panama began working with Mr. Roberto Arauz in February.  He lives with his wife, who is pregnant and with whom he has seven children: four in school, two younger ones at home, and one adult that could not complete school due to lack of money. His home in Tranquilla Centro is made of thatch and only has one 600 sq. foot room and a kitchen. We were immediately struck by his story of poverty and health problems due to chemical pesticides.

Wood-conserving stoves are saving thousands of trees, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and greatly improving women and children's health in Central America. Utilizing up to 50% less wood as a “traditional” open pit fireplace and reducing the amount of smoke and black carbon in the homes, the wood-conserving stoves being implemented by SHI are a radical and healthy change.



Film generously created by: Lazarina Todorova

Want to learn more? Visit our Techniques page!

SHI-Nicaragua recently played host to a visit by SHI’s Board of Directors and the annual field staff meeting where staff from all four country programs gathered to share ideas, technology and improve on current work.  Everyone contributed to the installation of appropriate technologies, such as  drip irrigation, rain catchment tanks and water filters at the local program’s demonstration farm, Center for Families and the Environment.  Nearing its completion, the Center serves to demonstrate such concepts as shade-grown cacao, bio-intensive gardens and trees grown to provide forage for goats.  The Center assists the local community and offers at-risk youth a place of refuge and self-empowerment. 

Program participants in Kukra River and Kukra Hill are busy building upon previous projects to improve soil fertility, which include the stimulation of indigenous micro-organism activity and reforestation efforts.  With the support of other national and international organizations, SHI-Nicaragua and its participants have planted over 41,000 trees in environmentally sensitive areas and degraded lands throughout the Cerro Silva Reserve in the South Atlantic region of Nicaragua.