More initiatives to save the planet

Workers and students at La Mariposa and supporters of our NGOs are undefeated by the crisis we have endured for the past year, which has left us all but broke economically but even stronger in our determination to make  a difference to our community. So we are building on our existing program of environmental activities – for details of our current activities, visit the webpage http://mariposaspanishschool.com/the-projects/

On top of all this we are responding to the ever increasing alarm about the impact of climate change and ecological collapse both globally and in Nicaragua. Locally, in and around La Concha, we can see more and more deforestation, both clear cutting for monoculture crops and the felling of individual trees along the roadside, in gardens, in small farms. But it is very rare indeed to seee anybody plant a tree that does not produce a cash crop (here mainly citrics, avocados) and so biodiversity is under threat. Due to the use of chemical herbicides, insecticides etc the bee population here has crashed which of course will give us problems with pollinization.

You can help us – by visiting and volunteering with us or donating to http://www.masmariposas.org

So this is what we have done so far just this month –

Collected a massive amount of seeds of native forest trees and started to plant them in bags, using as many recycled containers as we can find (including wine boxes!). As part of the effort to integrate the projects more, we are also involving kids from the various Childrens Projects in the project, in this case San Pedro.

Insituted a weekly street clean up with help from the Health Center in La Concha and the Town Hall.

Did our fourth iguana release, saving another 30 or so from being Easter soup!

And progressed our idea for filtering soapy water through volcanic rocks. Hot work collecting them though!

The big program now is ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION, with the objective of inspiring and encouraging our own workers, students, kids in the projects and people in the wider community to act and to act now. The main focuses will be on reforestation (offering free saplings to anyone who will plant and care for them), thus also improving biodiversity. We also plan to try and persuade people that hunting iguana, birds, squirrels etc just for sport is not just cruel but contributing to local ecological collapse.

This process started on the 23rd April, with a seminar for the Mariposa teachers and project workers. Kristina and Mark Sullivan (retired teacher in environmental studies and retired environmental lawyer from California) helped Paulette, Donal and Ismael with the presentation and we did various exercises which were great fun as well as instructive.

 

La Mariposa News – more upbeat – come on down!

Welcome to La Mariposa

La Mariposa has students and reservations – We have been busy with students at the Mariposa Spanish School and Eco Hotel. First a family of 5, including Cheyanne, 3 years old, stayed with us for 6 weeks over Xmas – they helped us release 30 iguana back into the wild. It was very hard to see them go as they had become part of the Mariposa but the same day a group from the USA arrived to stay in the hotel, take classes and do trips. This group included another family with a child of 8, she enjoyed her one on one teachers, the cooking class and of course our animal life.

La Mariposa Comes Alive!

Releasing iguana back into the wild

Proud of her cooking results!

It seems from talking to members of the group that people feel safer coming here with an organised group than travelling alone.  This one was co-led by Brian Peterson, an old friend of La Mariposa and of course our wonderful staff were on hand to arrange anything from a special outing to a room change. The success we had with this group made me think we should do it again! Also worth remembering that La Mariposa has many years of experience working with groups of university and high school students at the Study Center which is available and much cheaper than the hotel…….SO if any of you are in a position to recruit a group, of any age group, let us know. Or indeed if you know anybody who might be interested. The work on your side really involves mostly the publicity – we can do the rest and as we employ excellent tour guides you are welcome to be a group member rather than leader once here. I attach the flier we used for this trip…..If you can bring 6 or more, we will offer a special price and YOU get a free place!

2019 Nicaraguan Adventure Brochure (1)2019 Nicaraguan Adventure Brochure pg. 2 (1)

Roof tops of Granada

Masaya Volcano

We are now offering our FULL program of afternoon/weekend activities from live volcano, beach & colonial city to horseriding & salsa classes! As well as one on one Spanish with trained and experienced teachers, accomodation in delightful natural settings and great, mostly vegetarian, food. You can volunteer…below Mark leads a horse on our equino therapy project for disabled children. We very much welcome families with children of any age – they also have one on one classes or activity sessions with specially trained teachers. 

One on one Spanish with Marvin

Day trip to the beach

Volunteer with us on the equino therapy project

We do currently have a scattering of reservations throughout the year and it does seem as if international tourism is beginning to make a slight but noticeable recovery. It is important to stress that Nicaragua is SAFE for tourists and, in spite of the deteriorating economic situation here for many people, ordinary crime has NOT risen. And please note that the UK, USA and Canadian governments are still advising caution but not against travel here.

Read and pass on our reviews from December 2018 and this year.

https://www.tripadvisor.com.mx/Hotel_Review-g551472-d677852-Reviews-La_Mariposa_Spanish_School_and_Eco_Hotel-Masaya_Masaya_Department.html

La Mariposas SKYPE class initiative has also been going well and kept several of our excellent teachers employed. At $12 per hour they are great value. Contact us on lamariposaspanishschool06@gmail.com for details.

News from Asocacion Tierra and the projects – ALL of our projects are up and running,and we still have 60 employees, though clearly we have cut back on outgoings in general and most are on half time. Chispa de Vida, the equino therapy, the hydro therapy, the community based children’s reading and play centers, the English class project in Panama are all still going strong. We are maintaining the nature reserves and are planning a lot more reforestation in the coming year. The crisis has also had the positive result in pushing us to grow more of our own food – so we now produce more of our own organic coffee, beans, fruit, eggs as well as veggies. We had a huge harvest of mandarins this year.

You will probably all think us crazy – opening a new community based childrens project when we have no money. Two reasons – the need is obvious, around 100 kids and their parents turned up for the opening.
Second, this is in a barrio commonly referred to as El Chirigete which is highly offensive and means ‘dirty’ – it is the barrio everyone else blames for thefts or when anything goes wrong! Ignored in general by the authorites (except the police), the people of San Pedro were very involved in the opposition to the government and the building of roadblocks. Most of the young men fled from this barrio during ‘Operation Clean Up’ and are now in Costa Rica.
So the idea of this project was to contribute to the process of reconciliation – I have been invited 3 times to join the local Council of Reconciliation and have always accepted the invitation with great enthusiasm. But as far as I know, it has never actually met so we decided to go ahead and do our bit anyway.
It seems to have worked – you can see how many kids showed up! A message of hope and a future for the kids of this community.
If you would like to contribute, please donate via www.masmariposas.org

 

Although we have cut back on sterilization clinics, we are still helping animals. A  magnificent two toed sloth arrived at the gate. We normally resist the purchase of wild animals for obvious reasons but sometimes the need of the individual animal takes over. They are in danger of extinction and now rarely seen around here. Our vet Sergio happened to be around and he pronounced her very healthy so she was taken to join our male (as luck would have it) at the Canada Honda nature reserve.
We have also taken in a few abandoned puppies and kittens- below they are being bathed and deflead by Sergio.

On her way to Canada Honda, our nature reserve

We have also undertaken a number of environmental projects including regular street cleaning with the Ministry of Health and building ‘pozos’ in backyards to clean soapy water….we are trying to persuade local people to join us!

Lots of people – students, staff, interns – have helped us enormously to stay alive and keep some employment and hope alive in our community. Too many to thank everyone individually – below is Michelle doing a fundraiser for us.

Wish us all luck and if you would like to help us help the environment and people of our community, especially the children, and our animals then please contribute on www.masmariposas.org THANK YOU!

SUSTAINABLE BUILDING WORKSHOP – Hard Work and Fun!

We were not just looking for a building to house our project for disabled children, Chispa de Vida, but for something connecting our project themes, in this case – providing services for disabled children and their families, using sustainable building techniques, situating the project in our nature reserve so that the kids can enjoy and learn from nature and –not least – involving students from ‘the developed world’.

Below – bringing in the recycled tires for the playground, stomping down the straw in the walls and nailing the wooden frame together

A group of women friends and their kids from Portland, Oregon came and helped with the building, learnt about our techniques and contributed their own ideas. Such was the energy and enthusiasm generated between the group and the Mariposa construction workers that progress was remarkably quick. There was a lot of mutual learning. And a lot of fun was had by all!

Below – The Chispa de Vida help out painting tables and seats made from recycled tires, the education building begins to take shape and Heidi and Erika after a hard days work!

The project itself will consist of rooms and patios for physical therapy, educational support, a kitchen and dining area (to be completed in stages) as well as a mini house where kids can learn household skills such as making their own bed. A playground and specially designed garden are also underway. Hopefully, we will have sufficient funds to employ a third worker to help Margene and Marisol.

Below – Hopscotch, trying out the play horse and a colorful bird

Walls are constructed from straw stuffed into wire cages, sewn together and then covered with homemade adobe. All the materials are, as far as possible, sustainable and recycled – we incorporated a couple of old cartwheels for a fun child height window. The playground emerged from the combined imaginations of Mauricio (a director of Asocacion Tierra) and the Portland kids and was great to see. Ideas on using recycled tires seemed to multiply daily – discarded bicycle tires became pretty birds!

Below – Fun windows at child height, a passing horse nibbles the walls! but the building continues to progress

The group process was as wonderful as the building progress. Initially there was some nervousness amongst the women that La Mariposa building team would live up to the macho image many have of Nicaraguan men. Instead, there was a tremendous sharing of ideas and techniques as well as humor and life experiences. The head of our team, Pablo, laughed and smiled much more than is his custom and the group shared an emotional moment or two on their last day, as well as a large cake! Lori, one of the women, said to me “Did you hear what Pablo shared during our closing circle? He said that our group ‘brought something out of’ the Nicaraguan workers. His comment made us all tear up and I’m pretty sure it was mutual”.

Below – Tina and Gabriel working side by side and Erika sewing up the walls

And Tina commented “Our experience at La Mariposa was profound. It was a reminder to me that anything is possible when in community. I feel so blessed to have had my daughter, new and old friends together in a space of creativity. This was one of those experiences that will be remembered for many years to come”.

Below – the closing circle with Melissa (who organised the group of women and kids) in the blue Tshirt

This, perhaps, was the most significant part of the whole workshop!

Weekend in Tola – Hurricane Update

 

These days Tola is normally associated with south Nicaragua’s stunning beaches, internationally famous for surfing. Hurricane Nate hit hard and we got an SOS from a Mariposa ex intern. We responded as fast as possible, collecting both financial help and asking local people to donate whatever they could (bearing in mind that we also suffered badly from the hurricane). Many local businesses were super generous, and we filled the pick-up truck and part of a truck with food, clothes, cleaning tools and – on top of all that – several volunteers.

Loading Up

And Away We Go

Saturday afternoon in Tola was spent dividing everything up into family size packages, to be delivered by Fundacion Medical Para Ninos, a local NGO, to the more remote communities who have so far received little help. Sunday the Mariposa volunteers really got to work helping to clean out some of mud from houses – distressing to see houses without walls, ruined school supplies, mattresses and clothing hung out to dry still wet nearly a week after the rains, and talk to people who had everything swept away by the current. Driving past, we could see how high the mud and water reached on the still wet and dirty walls of houses and schools. One family lost two calves and several of their pigs. There are fields that used to be of corn and platanos completely drowned in a sea of mud.

Houses and fields covered with sticky mud

Ruined school supplies

Everything hung out to dry

 

It is not just a human disaster but an ecological one too. Innumerable trees came down which of course will only make extreme weather even more probable in the future. The vast quantities of mud deposited by the swollen rivers came not just from the river beds but from the eroded fields higher up. The surrounding hills have been clear cut for small crop patches but also there are large cattle ranches which bear a great deal of the responsibility – leaving no vegetation to hang on to the soil. Exactly what is happening around La Concha!!!!

Ending on a positive note…..we returned to La Mariposa tired but pleased with our accomplishments. We plan an extra trip this Thursday to take down more supplies. And on the home front we have visited all of the damaged houses in Palo Solo (the community near our nature reserve, Canada Honda – we estimate about one fifth of which was badly damaged) and will be spending about $2000 on supplies for repairs.

Just remains for me to THANK EVERYBODY EVERYWHERE who has donated.

 

Huracán Nate

Hoy sábado 8 de octubre leí sobre el huracán Nate por primera vez. Ya entrando en la boca del rio Mississippi. Aquí en Centroamérica hemos estado sufriendo los efectos desde la semana pasada. El gobierno de Nicaragua normalmente se regocija a si mismo (exactamente-yo estaba aquí en 1989 para el huracán Juana y experimenté con mis propios ojos la eficiencia especialmente del ejército en evacuar a la gente) en respuesta a los desastres naturales, pero esta vez no hubo previo aviso y el presidente ha brillado por su ausencia ante los medios. Aunque hubiera perdido algo ya que he estado sin energía hace cinco días.

Ahora, lo que hemos sufrido no tiene la mínima comparación con lo de las islas del caribe y florida – pero algunas partes de Nicaragua han sufrido más daño que nosotros. Empezó con tres días y tres noches de lluvia incesante – la comprensión y tranquilidad de los huéspedes era notable a pesar de que hubo un impacto negativo en sus estadías.

La noche del jueves fue la peor. Estuve la mayor parte de la noche con Chepe, uno de nuestros guardas que llego a ayudar a salvar mi casa de la inundación. Un fallo en el diseño (¡el mío!) significa que la lluvia de la parte del techo se recoge en la terraza y de ahí va directamente a los dormitorios. No es bueno (como diría Donald Trump). Recipientes y cubos tenían que ser vaciados cada media hora…en el jardín que ya tenía algunas pulgadas de agua. A la media noche caí en un profundo sueño dejando a Chepe y a los perros que me protegieran. Me desperté la mañana del viernes ante una escena de devastación total. Comprendía de lo que podía pasar a causa del viento mientras dormía, pero el daño era increíble. Había arboles caídos por todas partes, mi precioso jardín de mariposas se destrozó en pedazos.

Abajo, los restos de mi roble (Oak) que perdió completamente su copa debido al viento.

Después en La Reserva – un enorme árbol de cedro tumbado al otro lado del jardín de Jan y Alan y cerca de veinte más estaban esparcidos. Afortunadamente los daños estructurales en los edificios fueron leves, un agujero en el techo de la cabaña de Carol y algunos daños menores al centro de estudio. Tengo que decir que los edificios de paja sobrevivieron muy bien a la prueba.

Abajo, este ERA el jardín de Jan y Alan…..

 

Pero algunos de los trabajadores de la Mariposa fueron menos afortunados. No hubo ningún herido aquí, sin embargo hubo dos niños ahogados cerca de Diriamba. La mayoría de ellos tuvieron problemas de inundación y también daños en sus techos. Así que el viernes por la mañana hicimos una reunión de emergencia, dividiendo a los trabajadores en grupos para reparar las casas de los demás (La Mariposa pago los materiales necesarios – ¡la cuenta sigue subiendo!).

Jimmy, uno de nuestros maestros, vive con su familia en una casa muy pequeña donde el tanque séptico está justamente afuera de la cocina. Colapso con la lluvia, así que los trabajadores de la Mariposa corrieron para llenar el apestoso hoyo. Uno de los muchos problemas con la instalación de inodoros en situaciones de “Tercer Mundo”.

Abajo, Jimmy inspeccionando su tanque séptico colapsado y un grupo de trabajadores de la Mariposa ayudando a salvarlo.

   

Uno de los momentos más tristes fue ver el árbol de Panama caído afuera de la casa de Marlon. Era el último de su especie en esta región y estábamos tratando de cuidarlo…construyendo un muro de retención para proteger sus raíces y también usando abono. No fue suficiente, las raíces simplemente no resistieron la cantidad de humedad en el suelo (esto es lo que hace que los arboles caigan) y luego el viento fue demasiado. Cuatro aracaríes (pequeños tucanes) tenían sus nidos en este árbol… ¡solo un poco más de perdida de hábitat!

Abajo, el gigante caído

Dado el nivel de deforestación en general en Nicaragua no nos podíamos dar el lujo de perder estos preciosos árboles. Y la respuesta oficial, por lo que puedo decir, ha sido podar y cortar los árboles que están en pie en el área urbana, limpiar el lodo de las caminos (arrastrado por las lluvias de las áreas cercanas sin protección de vegetación) y fumigar, explotando las casas con una mezcla de diésel y supermetrina (supuestamente para matar los mosquitos). Algunos de los campesinos también están cortando los restos de cualquier árbol al menos que sea aguacate o mango.

Igual de deprimente ha sido la respuesta de la gente con la que he hablado hasta ahora. Algunos de los que viven en las áreas urbanas menos afectadas vieron esto como un videojuego. Un evangélico me aseguro que significa que el fin del mundo está cerca – ¡pero eso también había sido predicho para el 21 de septiembre! La reacción más común, después de habernos ayudado unos a otros, fue que no podemos hacer nada excepto seguir como si nada.

Bien, estoy de acuerdo con eso hasta cierto punto. Vamos a replantar los jardines, reparar los techos, y hacer lo mejor para ayudar a la vida salvaje amenazada.

Pero esto es cambio climático. Doce años en Nicaragua y nunca he experimentado lluvia como esta. Esta área normalmente no es directamente golpeada por huracanes. Como dijo el presidente de Antigua y Barbuda, Gaston Browne con respecto a Irma….

“La ciencia es clara. El cambio climático es real en el caribe y estamos viviendo las consecuencias de este. Es lamentable que hay algunos que lo ven diferente”.

Mi propia opinión es que no podemos dejar esto a los políticos. No hay tiempo, aun cuando ellos tengan buenas intenciones. Todos tenemos que actuar y rápido. Plantar arboles donde sea posible – reducir cosas que sabemos que contribuyen al calentamiento global como los viajes, consumo de carne y aceite de palma. Comprar menos, consumir menos de todo – ropa, carros, computadoras, Ipads….si no lo hacemos con voluntad, pienso que seremos forzados a hacerlo – ¡A este paso seguro que pronto no habrá un lugar para viajar!!!

Terminando con una nota de esperanza….Los trabajadores de la Mariposa replantando un árbol de Capulín desarraigado – ¡Este es una importante fuente de comida para aves y vamos a hacer todo lo que podamos para salvarlo!

 

Hurricane Nate

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Today, Sunday 8^th October, I read about Hurricane Nate for the first time. As it enters the mouth of the Mississippi River. Here in Central America we have been reeling from the effects for the past week. The Nicaraguan Government normally prides itself (rightly – I was here in 1989 for Hurricane Joan and experienced firsthand the efficiency especially of the army in evacuating people) on its response to natural disasters but this time there was no prior warning and the president has been conspicuous in his absence from the media. Though I could have missed something as I have been without power for the past 5 days.

Now what we have suffered is of course nothing compared to the Caribbean islands and Florida – though parts of Nicaragua have had it far worse than us. It started with 3 days and nights of incessant rain – our hotel guests were remarkably understanding and laid back as it had quite a negative impact on their stay with us.

Thursday night was the big one. I was up most of the night together with Chepe, one of our night guards, who came to help save my house from flooding. A design fault (mine!!!) means that rain from part of my roof collects on the patio and from there goes straight into my bedrooms! Not good (as Donald Trump might say). Bowls and buckets had to be emptied every half hour…..into a garden already inches under water. At midnight I fell into an exhausted sleep leaving Chepe and the dogs to protect me. I woke Friday morning to a scene of utter devastation. I had been aware of some wind whilst asleep but the damage was unbelievable. Trees down everywhere, my lovely butterfly garden smashed to bits.

Below, the remnants of my roble (oak) tree which was completely beheaded by the wind

Then on to La Reserva – a huge cedro tree lying right across Jan and Alan’s garden and about 20 more fallen scattered about. Fortunately structural damage to the buildings was light, a hole in the roof of Carol’s cabin and some minor issues at the group study center. I have to say the straw builds survived the ordeal remarkably well.

Below, this WAS Jan and Alans garden……

But some of La Mariposa workers were less fortunate. Noone here was hurt though two boys drowned in nearby Diriamba. Mostly they had flooding problems but also some roof damage. So Friday morning we called an emergency meeting, divided the workers into groups and off they went to repair each other’s houses (La Mariposa paid for the necessary materials – the bill has yet to come in!).

Jimmy, one of our teachers, lives with his family in a tiny house where the septic tank is just outside the kitchen. It collapsed with the rain so La Mariposa workers rushed to help fill in the stinking hole. One of the many issues with installing flushing toilets in “Third World”  situations.

Below, Jimmy surveying his collapsed septic tank and a group of Mariposa workers helping to make it safe.

Jimmy surveying his collapsed septic tank

Mariposa workers helping to fill the septic tank

One of the saddest moments was seeing the fallen Panama tree right outside Marlon’s house. It was the last of its kind in this region and we were attempting to care for it…building a retaining wall to protect the root system and putting in compost. Not enough, the roots simply could not withstand the quantity of moisture in the soil (this is what brings a lot of trees down) and then the wind was just too much. Four aricaris (small toucans) had their homes in this tree….just one more bit of lost habitat!

Below, the fallen giant

Given the level of deforestation in general in Nicaragua we could ill afford to lose these precious trees. And the official response, as far as I can tell, has been to prune and cut any trees left standing in the urban area, clear the mud from the roads (swept in by the rains from surrounding fields which have no protecting vegetation) and fumigate, blasting houses with a mixture of diesel and supemetrina (supposedly to kill mosquitoes). Some of the campesinos too are cutting down any remaining trees unless they are avocadoes or mangoes.

Equally depressing has been the response of people I have talked to so far. Some of those who live in the least affected urban area seemed to view it all as a kind of video game. One evangelical assured me that it means the end of the world is nigh – but that had also just been predicted for the 21^st Sept! The most common reaction, after helping each other out, was that there is nothing we can do except carry on as normal.

Well I am in agreement with that up to a point. We will replant the gardens, fix the roofs, and do our best to assist threatened wildlife.

But this is climate change. 12 years in Nicaragua and I have never experienced rain like this. This area normally does not get direct hits from hurricanes. As the President of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, said in relation to Irma………

“The science is clear. Climate change is real in the Caribbean we are living with the consequences of climate change. It is unfortunate that there are some who see it differently.”

My own opinion is we cannot leave this to politicians. There isn’t time, even when they have good intentions. We all have to act and fast. Plant trees wherever possible – cut down on things we know contribute to global warming such as travel, eating meat and palm oil. Buy less, consume less of everything – clothes, cars, computers, IPads……. If we don’t do it voluntarily I think we will be forced into it – for sure at this rate pretty soon there won’t be anywhere left to travel to!!!!!

Ending on a hopeful note….Mariposa workers replanting an uprooted capulin tree – this is an important source of bird food and we will do all we can to save it!

 

Project Update – May 2017

This is a summary of the projects currently being undertaken by La Mariposa and Asociacion Tierra – if you would like to donate, please go to our main website and scroll down the homepage to the Mas Mariposas ”Donate” button.

There are six categories of projects, although they don’t have rigid boundaries since we try and be as holistic as possible. Please note that the core project of La Mariposa (and indeed the reason for our existence) is to assist the local community through providing as much sustainable employment as possible, using the income earned through the Spanish school and eco hotel. There were 10 employees when we opened, there are now around 70 though not all full time. The projects listed below not only provide help in the way described but also through providing additional employment. As we say in our Responsible Tourism policy – we aim to “Maximize employment…teachers, guides, admin, kitchen, cleaning, building maintenance and construction, gardens, animal care, project staff. We do not pay high wages to a select few but pay above minimum wages to as many workers as possible, thus assisting as many local families as possible”.

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  Children’s projects: One of them (the Ruben Dario project) is currently situated in a school, with a library and a paid worker to help children with the basics of reading and writing – the project worker also organizes holiday play schemes based more on having fun. She has planted a surrounding garden with our help and other schools are interested in following this model. Normally around 30 children use the project daily. 3 children’s projects (La Soya, Karen’s Cultural Center and Los Martinez) are situated in community based locations and in addition to the above services we offer folklore dance classes and will be offering English classes in the future. Around 70 children currently attend the 3 projects. There is in addition a small project in our own nature reserve – La Reserva.

Costs – Each of these projects costs between $150 and $200 per week – this covers the “ayuda” for 2 workers and provision of extra materials – most of the play, art and reading materials are donated by La Mariposa students. It does NOT cover one off costs such as building a covered patio area in Karen’s Cultural Center

• Our newest project, opened in April 2017, is the Panama project — this one specifically focuses on offering English classes to younger children. Panama is one of the poorest barrios in La Concha so the idea is to give these children a head start with a basic knowledge of English classes (in general it is only taught in secondary schools). It also allows us to offer additional work to our Spanish teachers who also speak English — especially important during the low months! Currently there are 5 teachers working there.

Costs – Including teachers’ pay, transport and some materials (again the majority is donated) – around $250 per week. The costs of constructing the space were $1350 plus $470 for tables chairs shelves and basic materials

• Finally, we have the disabled children’s project. We employ 3 workers who provide a variety of educational opportunities and physical therapy. We also provide equino therapy (on our rescued horses) and hydrotherapy. Recently we started with a small employment project for some young disabled people working in the organic veggie garden. Currently there 28 children and adults registered.

Costs cover salaries for the teacher, the physical therapist, and materials, transporting the children and young people to and from the various parts of the project, payment to a local swimming pool for hydro therapy, salaries for the workers who care for the horses taking part in the equino therapy sessions. We also provide the neediest families with help for the purchase of medicines, nappies, milk and food. The total is over $600 per week – $80 is the weekly salary cost for half time (the workers will return to full time in a few months).

Nature reserve

• Environmental projects: This includes donation of eco cookers to the poorest families (so far over 750 at a cost of $12 each), and purchase of land threatened with monoculture or development to create nature reserves and preserve local sources of water. It also involves working closely with local communities eg Palo Solo to assist with their immediate needs in return for helping with conservation efforts. In the case of Palo Solo we deliver a truck load water per week to supplement the municipal deliveries and are planting 6 acres of trees specifically for firewood for local people on the Nature Reserve. We also do reforestation on our land and in the communities (to date we have planted over 25,000 trees). This category also includes our ecobuilds, use of solar power, recycling, water reuse, growing vegetables organically, establishing a medicinal garden, minimization of trash……

The costs of reforestation etc are difficult to estimate but we can itemize the following. Purchase of Cañada Honda (in the community of Palo Solo) was $97,000, the land for La Reserva was $100,000. We employ 5 park guards specifically to look after the land – $400 per week. Provision of water costs $130 per week to 2 communities.

• Health Projects: We assist the local health clinic in La Concepcion with volunteers and donations of supplies. To help out the volunteers need a medical qualification but we can also set up observation placements. Recently we have started to work with their Natural Health Clinic – they can take volunteers with experience in massage etc. We also provide them with medicinal plants for their garden.

No ongoing costs are involved here but we do respond to one off request for help – eg provision of medicinal plants at a cost of $75.

• Animal projects: We care for rescued dogs, cats, horses, parrots, and monkeys, and return many others to the wild. Over 1500 dogs and cats from the community have been sterilized. We also support the very little wildlife that still exists in this area… that includes birds, insects, reptiles, and some mammals.

Costs for food for horses (higher in the dry season when grazing is limited), dogs, cats, monkeys, parrots, rabbits etc – around $500 per week. Plus purchase of bananas and other fruit to maintain local wildlife. Plus vet bills – $50 to $200 per week.

• ”One off” projects: The bakery, eco builds, are examples of projects with definite end points! We also help individual families with medical needs and, in the case of several disabled children with very poor families, with food etc. In one case we repaired the house of a disabled boy.

Examples – the bakery – $10,000. Jader’s operation (not included in section on Disabled Children) – over $4000. (You can read Jader’s story here). 

PROJECTS PLANNED FOR 2017:

• Building a center for the disabled children’s project. It will be built from sustainable materials – such as straw from the rice harvest and adobe. It will have rooms for physical therapy, education and occupational therapy for the older children and adults. Its location is in a corner of La Reserva, close to the road and very accessible for the people of San Juan who use this project, but surrounded by trees and other plants. We will plant a special garden and create a sustainably built playground. Though designed for disabled children, the children from other projects will also use this facility thus encouraging more interaction between disabled and non-disabled children. Cost will be in the region of $15,000 — we have already raised $10,000 towards this.
• Working more intensively with the community of Palo Solo (where Cañada Honda is situated) to improve their access to water (currently no houses have running water) and firewood (see section (4) above). WE will use a small accessible area of the reserve to build a storage space for local peoples dragon fruit harvests (this does not include those responsible for large monoculture farms) and a “comedor infantile” – a communal eating area for children. Costs of construction will be around $5000 and we are also looking for a sponsor to help provide the food on a long term basis.
• The Los Martinez Children’s Project needs an extension on its patio to accommodate the high numbers of children who attend. Cost will be $1500.

El Mural de La Mariposa

 

En los cerros alrededor de La Concepción está pasando igual lo que pasa en muchos países del mundo, especialmente los países pobres. Lo que pasa aquí refleja la situación mundial del cambio del clima, destrucción de los océanos y deforestación. Nuestros bosques desvanecen mas y mas para sembrar, en nuestro caso, pitaya (dragon fruit) para exportar a los Estados Unidos y Europa. Dragon fruit actualmente es la fruta de moda especialmente por su color llamativo.
La foto muestra áreas de despales recientes, áreas ya sembradas con pitaya o piña y áreas todavía con unos pocos árboles.

Este tipo de monocultivo generalmente no beneficia mucho a las comunidades pobres. Provee algunos trabajos, por cierto, pero son temporales y mal pagados. Y la comunidad ha perdido mucho, incluido sus fuentes de agua que han desaparecido con los bosques. Y además donde no hay árboles llueve menos. Aquí hemos tenido 4 años de sequía. Este cerro también es importante porque forma parte del abastecimiento del agua para Managua.
Otro impacto muy preocupante es la pérdida de biodiversidad. Un ejemplo bien conocido y tan crucial para la sobrevivencia de los seres humanos – es la devastación de las abejas, otra vez al nivel global. Sin flores y montes, con muchos químicos (pesticidas etc) sus números están cayendo dramáticamente.

En nuestro región estamos perdiendo muchos especies de árboles, de plantas, de aves, de reptiles, de insectos, de animales. No solo es triste por el paisaje, puede ser un amenaza muy grande para nuestro futuro.
En este desierto los que pueden sobrevivir son los carroñeros – los zopilotes, los ratones – irónicamente los que no le gusta para nada a la gente!

En el mural se ve muchas cosas de la naturaleza que ya están desapareciendo – el guanacaste por ejemplo, un árbol muy grande, magnífico, está siendo cortado mucho para la madera que es bueno para hacer muebles. Los hoteles tienen mucha responsabilidad por eso! También la iguana ya es un animal en peligro por pérdida de su ambiente y la caza.

Cañada Honda es la reserva natural de La Mariposa – tenemos más o menos 100 manzanas (140 acres) donde hay bosque, flores y mucha vida salvaje! También hay dos manantiales que preservamos para ayudar la comunidad, Palo Solo. Hemos sembrado muchos árboles para reemplazar el bosque. Las ranas, las boas, las arañas, las abejas, los grillos, los monos, los cusucos, los árboles de cortez, la heliconia – todo tiene protección contra el fusil y la motosierra.

Vamos a iniciar describiendo de la esquina de la derecha hacia abajo y alrededor:

La rama es del guanacaste – un árbol nativo de regiones tropicales y fue común en el bosque seco del región del Pacifico. El nombre viene del idioma nahuatl – guauh = árbol y nacastl = oreja por la forma de la semilla que parece una oreja humana. Este árbol puede alcanzar 30 metros de altura y hasta 4 metros de ancho. Ahora está amenazado porque está siendo cortado por su madera que se usa mucho en muebles artesanales – actualmente muy popular en los hoteles turísticos.

Sentado en la rama hay un guardabarranco – el ave nacional de Nicaragua y también de El Salvador. Tiene una cola muy rara que parece una raqueta que ellos mueven de lado a lado. Solo se encuentran en los bosques tropicales de las Américas. Comen frutas e insectos y hacen sus nidos en barrancos (por eso su nombre!).

A la derecha se ven varias flores diferentes de heliconias. Ahora son muy popular como plantas del jardín pero están desapareciendo en las áreas silvestres otra vez por el despale de los bosques. Nicaragua es uno de los diez países donde el despale es lo más fuerte.

La rana ojos rojos (no es venenosa) está amenazada por la pérdida de su hábitat natural, contaminación de las aguas y masiva captura para ser exportada al comercio de mascotas.

Las mariposas (una malachite y un simple checkspot) hace unos años fueron muy comunes pero se ven menos y menos cada año. Los insecticidas han destruido muchos insectos incluyendo las abejas que son muy importantes para polinizar las plantas.

La iguana verde podemos ver normalmente en las ramas de los arboles cuando hay sol. Les gusta calentarse! Ahora están perdiendo su hábitat rápidamente. También sufren mucho por la caza ya que hay gente todavía a quien le gusta comer su carne.

Un ave que es muy abundante en todo el país es el zopilote (este es el zopilote negro) y a menudo viven en grupos grandes. Comen la carne podrida y son muy importante para mantener el campo limpio. Otro animal que en general no es muy popular con la gente es la araña! Pero otra vez nos ayudan mucho – en este caso a cazar los insectos como los zancudos.

Hay muchas variedades de colibrí en Nicaragua pero la mayoría están amenazados por la destrucción de su hábitat.

La flor amarilla es del árbol cortez que fue muy común aquí pero ya casi no se ve.

Y finalmente la boa magnifica!  Esta serpiente puede alcanzar hasta cuatro metros de longitud. Come más que todo ratones y es completamente inofensiva para los seres humanos. Pero mucha gente tiene miedo, está asociado con espíritus malos, y por eso se mata mucho. También está sufriendo la pérdida de su hábitat natural.

 

Nature Reserve, Cañada Honda, Update

Some good news and some not so good!

At the beginning of June the heavy rains started to come in – excellent for all of the tree cuttings and saplings planted last year. We are noting which species are doing well (coppel, madero negro and sacuanjoche – the Nicaraguan national flower – are all flourishing) and in which area. The valleys are suitable for trees which cannot withstand the volcanic gases such as aceituna and cedro. We are also taking full advantage of the rain and doing yet more reforestation, we have already had one group of volunteers from New York out there!

 

 

A wonderful discovery in the dry season has been the amount and variety of wild flowers, which also attract bees and butterflies and other insects.

 

The reserve has had several visits from groups of University of Nicaragua students who have taken inventories of the birds (some 60 plus species), reptiles and the different eco systems. The latter is particularly impressive – there is a wide range of environments, partly due to the fact that we do not grow coffee. This means that the underlying vegetation is relatively undisturbed and allows for a lot more plant life.

It does however mean that as yet there is no income from this land – maybe tourism will, in the future, provide support.

One of the biggest problems is the continued, relentless deforestation in the area. Just last week another 5 acres or so was burnt down, all of the trees and vegetation destroyed, in order to plant more dragon fruit. And this, let us be clear, is not income for poor local farmers – it is for export.

 

The saddest event was the hunting and killing of a largish wild cat which we are pretty sure was an ocelot. He had been sighted several times in the reserve by the caretaker. The two hunters – brothers from another community – were tracked down and confronted by Paulette and the police. One of the most upsetting aspects was the mother quoting from the Bible – that God had sent her sons this animals to hunt!!! Answer that one!!!

The police held a mediation session and the outcome was that the boys did community service work on another of La Mariposas reserves. Pineapple farmers since childhood, they considered everything but pineapple to be better out of the way! But with us, they did remarkably well and learnt a lot about the importance of conservation and protecting biodiversity.

In an extraordinary coincidence, a tiny wild cat kitten (maybe ocelot, maybe magay – hard to tell at this stage) appeared on our doorstep in a shoebox! Named Leo, he currently lives in the office where he gets lots of attention, raw meat 3 times a day and access to the Managua vets if necessary. He will undoubtedly be too tame to release but the hope is that one day he will be able to live in semi freedom up on the reserve.

 

Of course in true Mariposa style we have been working closely with the community surrounding Cañada Honda, Palo Solo. At the first meeting we had (almost all community members participated!), it became clear that the most important issue for all of the families is lack of access to water. The municipality of La Concha delivers a barrel of water (there is no connected water supply) to each family per week – this is for drinking, cooking, washing – everything! People used to rely on local spring water but due largely to massive deforestation in the area – to grow dragon fruit for export – this source is rapidly disappearing.

 

We have responded immediately by sending up additional trucks of water, repairing a water storage tank in the reserve which will collect water now the rains have come in. A somewhat longer term project is to provide every family with sufficient barrels and roof gutters to collect rainwater.

In return we are hoping that close cooperation with this community will result in a high degree of investment in helping us protect the precious flora and fauna which exists there.

If you would like to help us with these initiatives please check out out gofundme campaign  https://www.gofundme.com/ocelot-kitten

 

Trees of Life – Combating deforestation

Jadelina & Gabriel carrying estacas of jinoguabo

Yesterday I went out to Cañada Honda to see how our tree planting is going. Half of the Mariposa staff were out there – some lugging around what appear to be nothing more than bunches of large sticks……but which are actually “estacas”, branches which grow into trees once planted.  Others carrying what are more obviously young tree saplings in plastic bags. Still others were wielding shovels and planting. Hazel, one of our admin team, planted over 40 trees just in that one morning!! And Guillermina of course also did her bit. The energy and enthusiasm of the team was amazing. We have now planted over 5000 trees, with 5000 more to go.

Guillermina doing her bit!

Gazing out over the ridges, the presence of rain clouds over the wooded bits and nothing but clear sky over the pitaya plantations reinforced our determination. And the New York Times agrees with us!

http://www.nytimes.com/…/su…/deforestation-and-drought.html

Luckily, the last week has seen a fairly steady amount of rainfall so most of the plantings are surviving. We have to be careful what we plant where and concentrate on species which we know will do well in this particular environment.

On the way back to La Mariposa for lunch, I spotted some illegal logging on a neighbouring pice of land. I went out to investigate on horseback and we took some photos of the devastation. We informed both the local police and the environmental department at the town hall…we will see what results that brings!

Bare patches being illegally deforested as I write…

Close up

Meanwhile the government of Nicaragua continues to buy more “trees of life” to adorn Managua at night!! It sure is a surreal world we live in…..