And we raise hogs???

Not that I dislike pigs or anything, but why aren't we raising cacao? What would it be like to take pounds of chocolate to market every week? We could even make a river of chocolate! Although we would really miss the hog roasts, right Dad and Chris? And the sausage, bacon, and pork chops. Hmm, maybe we could do both.

PACs newest project over the last 3 years or so has been to increase the production of cacao in Nicaragua. The climate is ideal here, it's just that farmers lacked the knowledge and marketing skills. Cacao has very quickly become a great cash crop for 100s of poor farmers, with much hope to expand. Here are a few snapshots of the process...

PAC's agronomists breed the most productive type
of cacao tree to sell to producers.

Farmers bring in freshly harvested cacao.


It's weighed.


And the producer gets paid by the collector. This farmer receieves about $50 a week, a considerable
amount considering average income here is around $20 per week.
Of course he has a family to feed as well.


Finding out more about cacao from producers--there is
a definite excitement about cacao here!

Cacao in crates for the first 8 days of fermentation.


Then moved in a super hot green house to ferment another 8 days.
Wilmur, a cacao producer himself that collects cacao from 15
other local producers in order to ferment it, then resell it.


PAC takes pickup loads of cacao ready to be exported to their storehouses where
it is then sold to an exporter. This pickup load is about
1500 pounds, worth about $1500.
(In comparison, coffee at this stage would be worth about $900).

Colorado Coffee

Masaya Volcano, with lava from the last major eruption in
1772. However, it continues to be active with
minor eruptions as recently as last year.

Notice the parking lot to the right. Cars are required

to park facing the exit!

Masaya volcano has two craters, this is the inactive one.

The typical landscape near Ocotal, women applying

fertilizer to tobacco plants by hand.

One of the producers houses, in the peaceful mountains.
Notice coffee beans trying in front of the house.

The view from behind the house: a tropical Colorado.

Another front porch view, and corn drying in the sun.

Interviewing Luis, a small coffee producer from the high hills near Ocotal.

Learning how to pick coffee...its very labor intensive.

This past last week I´ve had even more opportunities to see different parts of Nicaragua. On Tuesday while the entire country celebrated Purisima, the most important Catholic holiday of the year, I took the day off as an opportunity to climb Masaya Volcano, one of Nicaragua´s active volcanos.

The rest of the week, I was able to visit another regional office of PAC, north in Ocotal where they grow some of the world´s best coffee. As you can see from the pictures (although they really dont do justice) the area looks a lot like Colorado with pine trees (which they say give the coffee a distinct flavor), cool clear streams, and mountains (minature Rookies). The temperature is just like Colorado in summer, except here it is mild all year around.

While in Ocotal I had the opportunity to travel for two days with an American and two Nicaraguans doing research on child labor on coffee plantations in the area (for an international Childrens Rights organization). We had the opportunity to interview 5 different farmers, all small coffee growers and members of PAC. We asked them about their different labor and environmental practices, and then asked them how PAC has influenced the choices they make. One of PACs desires is to encourage farmers to be "socially responsible" which of course entails a variety of things. It was all very interesting and I got my fill of home brewed coffee and the sweetest bananas I´ve ever tasted!

All of this is preparation for the purpose of my internship which I am learning is this: to strengthen the relationships between PAC, farmers, and their communities.

From the boonies

My host family: Don Mario, (CEO of PAC), Josefina, and Mario
Alejandro. They are a great Christian family and I feel
very blessed to get to live and learn with them.


Granada, known for its ancient colonial achitecture.
(notice Masaya Volcano in the background)


Some MK´s I have had fun hanging out with, Will and Amelia.


The end of the road...


The marketplace.


A clothing store, only open one or two days a week
when all the farmers come to town.


Weighing a pig by hand. I will never complain
about loading hogs ever again!

Flat tire number one.

So it looks like I have a lot of catching up to do! This past week I had the opportunity to travel to the southeast part of Nicaragua, an area with sparse population known for its diverse agriculture. That is what the marketplace is all about. Farmers travel on horseback up to 4 hours one way to delivery their goods to buyers-cattle, pigs, cheese, bananas, and root crops (like potatoes). They use the cash to purchase necessities like clothes, sugar, medicine, and of course treats like ice cream and pepsi!

Then the goods are taken 2 hours on rough roads (we had 2 flat tires in one trip!) to the nearest town where they are either processed for national consumption, exported (with the help of PAC) or sold in the local market.

PAC's main objective in this area is to offer small loans to farmers and rural businesses. For example, many farmers, desparate for cash, will sell a two month old calf. PAC offers farmers an alternative by providing a small loan that allows the farmer to keep the calf until maturity to obtain a much better price. PAC also offers technical assistance to farmers to improve yield and quality of crops while using more sustainable farming technics.

I am still in the orientation phase of my internship, with plans to travel north this week to learn the process of coffee production. I am learning a ton everyday, especially about the complexity of development, and am trying to figure out how I can contribute!

Emersion...

Wow! My time here has been incredible so far. Aside from being sick a couple days (typical I guess), I´ve had the chance to get emersed in a very different culture. The language, people, food, everything is so new and exciting! (pictures to come)

Just to give you a glimpse into my daily life, here are a few things I see going to work every day:

• wooden carts pulled by horses
• bikes and motorcyles with 2, 3 or 4 people on each one
  
• old US school buses, used for public transportation with names like ¨Madison School District¨still written on the side
  
• school children in uniforms
• palm trees
  
• street vendors selling anything you can think of within an arms reach
  
• crazy cab drivers
• fancy hotels next to slums, separated only by a fence
  

During the week, Monday thru Saturday, my time has been spent with PAC, the local development organization. Currently, World Relief only has a small presence here, almost all the work has been handed off to Nicaraguans.

My first two weeks working with PAC the goal is to allow me to understand what it is that they do here. This means reading about their vision, mission, and how everything works together. Its a lot more complex than I ever imagined! Another portion of my time is spent learning Spanish, especially words that I will need to communicate with farmers.

After these first two weeks I will begin working more directly with farmers. I get to find out soon more of what that will look like. But for now, tranquilo!

Getting ready!

Just two weeks from today and I will be flying to Managua, Nicaragua! I have my shots, malaria pills, visa, and plane ticket, and World Relief is sending me an official badge. Pretty cool! There are so many things I am looking forward too: meeting my host family, working with Nicaraguan's, seeing a different way of farming, learning Spanish, and just living in a completely different culture. Almost here...