A visit to projects supported by ELCA World Hunger partner Lutheran World Relief in Nicaragua.
Date(s): January 9 - 16, 2008. Album by ELCA World Hunger Appeal. Photos by Jennifer Barger. 1 - 24 of 24 Total.
enlarge 61KB, 640x480 1 Orientation at SOPEXCCA cooperativeEdit Lutheran World Relief, one of the key partners of ELCA World Hunger, works with several coffee farmers' cooperatives in Nicaragua to help build relationships with consumers, support efforts to improve quality and production, and support community development initiatives of the cooperatives.Edit
enlarge 47KB, 480x640 2 XavierEdit Xavier, an expert "cupper" (think "coffee sommelier") at age 21, received vocational training through SOPEXCCA. He discovered his natural talent for judging coffee, and has trained and participated in competitions internationally. Though he has received job offers from coffee companies abroad, he prefers to stay with his community in Jinotega, Nicaragua. The farmers of the cooperative helped him attend school and vocational training, so he wants to stay and put his skills to work helping the farmers continue to improve the flavor and quality of their coffees.Edit
enlarge 82KB, 640x480 3 LWR Study TourEdit Bill Weaver (center, blue shirt), LWR Regional Representative for Central America talks to an LWR study tour group during a visit to the Rodriguez family farm. You can learn more about travel opportunities at www.lwr.org/study.Edit
enlarge 73KB, 480x640 4 Francisco JavierEdit Fair Trade and sustainable agriculture helped Ventura Rodriguez and his sons save the family farm when the coffee price crisis challenged farmers across Latin America in the 1990s. Francisco Javier, age 20, gave us a tour of the farm when we visited. He has great respect for his father and all the hard work that Ventura has done to improve the farm. "I've learned a lot from my dad," says Fransico Javier.Edit
enlarge 106KB, 640x480 5 BiodigestorEdit Fransico Javier recently helped his father install a biodigestor on their farm. They built a concrete tank that holds cattle manure and other organic material. The tarp and piping collects methane and directs the gas up to the house where it fuels a cookstove, providing several hours of cooking gas each day. It costs about $450 to build a biodigestor, and the cooperatives assist farmers with securing the materials.Edit
enlarge 52KB, 640x480 6 IMG 1241Edit Francisco Javier demonstrates the cookstove powered by the family's biodigestor.Edit
enlarge 99KB, 640x480 7 IMG 1262Edit Wilmar demonstrates how to use his new eco-friendly wet mill for coffee. Hundreds of coffee farmers in Nicaragua—organized and assisted by Lutheran World Relief, an ELCA World Hunger partner—are building mills that save water and reduce pollution. The mills save 600 liters of water with each use, and have been built by farmers who previously had to travel long distances or pay fees to mill their coffee beans at facilities owned by others.Edit
enlarge 43KB, 640x480 8 IMG 1263Edit Inside the herbal medicine production facility run by a women's cooperative in La Dalia. The women grow and harvest the herbs, mix the creams, salves, and teas, and sell the products at local farmers' markets. Lutheran World Relief helped to build the processing facility you see here. LWR staff note that through the process of building this business many of the women have significantly strengthened their self-confidence and sense of hope and purpose for the future.Edit
enlarge 114KB, 480x640 9 IMG 1286Edit Nilda, an nature guide for the eco-tourism project of the coffee farmers' cooperative in La Reyna. Nilda grew up in the community. She and 8 other young adults not only lead tours for visitors but also conduct biodiversity surveys of the community land and develop environmental education programs for children in the community.Edit
enlarge 96KB, 640x480 10 IMG 1294Edit Families sort through the mornings' harvest. The coffee harvest season coincides with winter break in the school system, so children tag along with mom and dad and help out as they are able. We noticed that the kids spent most of morning running, playing, and eating oranges!Edit
enlarge 75KB, 640x480 11 IMG 1265Edit Tallying up the day's harvest...Nilda, our guide during our visit to La Reyna, taught us how to harvest coffee. We discovered that it really requires some skill--skill we were lacking! Six of us visitors together picked only $1 worth of coffee!Edit
enlarge 73KB, 640x480 12 IMG 1270Edit "Cleaning" the coffee...sorting out any bad beans.Edit
enlarge 91KB, 640x480 13 IMG 1275Edit A cooperative member discusses the year's harvest...not as good as last year, but not too bad.Edit
enlarge 92KB, 480x640 14 IMG 1278Edit Cleaning the coffee after the wet milling process.Edit
enlarge 114KB, 640x480 15 IMG 1281Edit A new school built by the Danilo Gonzalez coffee farmers' cooperative in La Reyna.Edit
enlarge 92KB, 640x480 16 IMG 1314Edit The site where organic coffee is dropped off by farmers for drying and processing at the CECOCAFEN cooperative. Each bag of coffee is tagged with specific information including the name of the farmer, the location of the farm, when it was harvested, and the date it was delivered.Edit
enlarge 64KB, 480x640 17 IMG 1324Edit Each of these bags weighs 100 pounds--this is hard work!Edit
enlarge 57KB, 480x640 18 IMG 1325Edit CECOCAFEN is a partner through which LWR helps to organize coffee farmers' cooperatives and find Fair Trade buyers for the coffee.Edit
enlarge 75KB, 640x480 19 IMG 1311Edit Bagging up dry coffee at SOLCAFE, a Fair Trade-certified processing and exporting facility that partners with Lutheran World Relief.Edit
enlarge 42KB, 640x480 20 IMG 1345Edit A SOLCAFE coffee promoter.Edit
enlarge 66KB, 640x480 21 IMG 1349Edit LWR staff outside the Casa Luterana--the offices of LWR and LWF in Managua.Edit
enlarge 74KB, 640x480 22 IMG 1353Edit Nicaraguan Lutheran Bishop Victoria Cortez (in purple) with leaders of the "Youth to Youth" program to promote HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.Edit
enlarge 46KB, 480x640 23 IMG 1355Edit Jose Luis shows off his T-shirt--these were made for a street fair organized by young adults at ILFE (Lutheran Church of Faith and Hope) to reach out to university students and neighborhood youth. Over 1,000 people turned out!Edit
enlarge 45KB, 640x480 24 IMG 1379Edit Adventure tourism at the top of a volcano!Edit
