Coffee Beans and Other Things

We left on Friday to spend the weekend at El Porvenir organic coffee cooperative in the mountains. The trip there consisted of a four hour bus ride, most of which was on a bumpy dirt road, and then a 45 minute drive on a tractor up the steep incline to El Porvenir. Most people stayed on the trailer and held on to the luggage, while a few others decided to make the hike on foot. The hike was challenging, hot, sweaty, and buggy, but it was also an accomplishment, and it felt great when we finally saw the red roof of El Porvenir.
El Porvenir has no electricity or running water, which made the stay there a first-time experience for most of us. We bathed using a barrel full of water and a bowl, and we slept outside on a porch in hammocks, which many people thought were uncomfortable. However, the view from the porch was beautiful, looking out onto fields and mountains. In the morning, the roosters quite annoyingly woke us up at the crack of dawn with their incessant crows, but watching the rising sun come up over the mountains could not have been more peaceful.
The first day there consisted of getting an orientation from Rene, the Vice President of the cooperative. We got a little tour and hiked out to a gazebo with the most beautiful vista, overlooking both Nicaragua and Honduras. We were peacefully enjoying the scenery and taking pictures when some agitated wasps began attacking people. Three of us got stung, and the rest of us ran away in time to avoid a sting. For the rest of the weekend, everyone tried to avoid wasps as much as possible.
On the second day, we were put to work in the coffee fields. Our job was to carry bags of compost fertilizer to holes that had been dug in the field and fill them in with two scoops each. We battled the heat, ants, mosquitos, and dirt, but it was a great experience. Our mere 3 hours of work gave us a glimpse into the hard lifestyle and grueling work these people put into making coffee for us every day. I think we all appreciate organic coffee much more now that we've seen where it comes from. After work, we toured the coffee processing plant and saw a vermaculture system where they make organic fertilizer usin red worms.
Overall, El Porvenir was a tough but valuable experience. On the way back, we stopped in Leon for a few hours for lunch. Leon is a beautiful city with large cathedrals and beautiful murals depicting political messages and Nicaragua's political history. We explored and had some lunch adn returned to JHC.
On Monday, we listened to a talk about the No Pago, Si Pagamos movement, which has to do with microlenders extorting their interest rates and people not being able to pay back their loans and losing their land. Afterwards, we went to a rally of the Movemiento del Norte, who were protesting the usury of banks and microlenders and their unwillingness to negotiate with the people. The rally was exciting and let us feel the passion of political beliefs here. After dinner, we had a concert by Luis and Martha of the group Guitarra de Madera Azul. Everyone had a great time listening to their songs and singing and dancing along.
We're all learning a lot here in Nicaragua, and we're having a great time! We will update as soon as possible.