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!