Misty Trees and Trickling Streams
By: Claire Smoker
My two weeks in Northwestern Nicaragua were filled with warm tortillas, green mountain ranges, midday rains, and freshly picked tree ripened mangoes.
Upon arriving in Nicaragua, we were warmly greeted in the capital of Managua by Chris Bacon and a few of his family members. From there, we piled our suitcases on top of a SUV, which towered over the mopeds and bikes on the streets of both rural and urban Nicaragua, and we each assumed our positions for the 3 hour ride to Estelí. We drove past Lake Managua, through a couple of towns and by many cultivated fields, including rice paddies. After indulging in homemade papaya yogurt, homemade bread served with cheese, cucumbers and tomatoes on a miniature cutting board and lemongrass tea at a restaurant along the way, we arrived at our homestay. Magda and Yolanda opened the door with great big smiles, “bienvenidos” they expressed graciously.
After setting our bags down, Lauren, Kim and I set out to wander the streets of Estelí to orient ourselves. The houses were low standing, brightly painted inside and out, and had screen doors with open living rooms. In Magda and Yolanda’s neighborhood, and throughout the city of murals, residents sold produce and goods right out of their front door. Magda and Yolanda explained, in Spanish of course, that it was common for Nicaraguans to buy produce and products directly from their neighbors and on the street. As we know in the US, a trip to the supermarket is usually on the to-do list, but in Estelí the high price of goods 
in the supermarket and the inconvenience of there being only one store in the town make it far less popular. The specialty market style that exists in Nicaragua is extremely convenient, sustainable and builds community relations; mangoes can be bought a block to the left, you can bring your own jar to fill up with honey three blocks away and if you’re not prepared to cook dinner, pupusas and handmade corn tortillas are freshly prepared and sold not too far away.
Our time in Nicaragua was split between working at ASDENIC in the city and traveling to the rural villages of Cantagallo, Bramadero and Darali, all roughly two hours northwest of Estelí. The newly paved, winding roads to these villages were surrounded by misty green mountains. When we arrived in Cantagallo, Otilio, Misael and Maximino greeted us and then we dove right into business. These men explained a bit of background on the co-op, along with the struggles and successes in the fields over the past few years. As involved leaders of the co-op, each of the men have contributed to create the more efficient
model the co-op now operates. Their efforts have improved the transportation system of coffee beans from individuals transporting their coffee harvest via bus to a large communal truck full of labeled bags of coffee beans. Their partnership with PRODECOOP has significantly increased crop security by teaching farmers various agroecological processes to apply in the field. And their commitment to ASDENIC has helped to maintain communication between the farmers, the co-op, ASDENIC and Santa Clara University.
It was evident in the way these men and Chris shared chuckles amidst the serious discussion that they have known and worked 
with each other for years. This sustained relationship has helped fuel the accountability they share with each other. Watching the way Chris, ASDENIC, the PRODECOOP and the co-op members interacted made me certain that this research already is and will continue making strides towards our goal. The mere action of planning a focus group for people to gather, share experiences, and listen to one another fosters a collaborative environment. Each community we traveled to helped to fuel the study by serving the focus group attendees a warm plate of gallopinto – a Nicaraguan special of beans and rice, tortillas, chicken, yucca root, avocado, coffee and more for lunch. Each and every individual we met had something beneficial to add to help fuel this study on food and water security.
At the focus group in both Darali and Cantagallo, I was able to present graphs showing flow and contaminant levels in the stream, tank and household sources from data that members of the community have been collecting over the past 10 months.
The hombres y mujeres were able to explain why there were dips or peaks from their memory. They recalled broken water pumps, lack of funds, infrequent rains etc… Without this collaboration, our research team would not have been able to pinpoint the causes behind the flow of the graph. After a focus group in Cantagallo wrapped up, we listened to the mid-day rain patter on the tin roof while we discussed the number of seasons in Nicaragua vs the US. In Nicaragua, they have a rainy season, invierno and a dry season, verano. The women found it fascinating that we have four seasons in California where the sun shines year round. Even though Kim had to translate this for me, it was engaging to watch the women and men speak from their heart and present with pure confidence.
This dependable team of academics, farmers, community leaders and members rely on each other to excel. Having the opportunity to travel to these communities has provided more context, importance, and meaning towards my work in preparing maps and analyzing survey data. Even though I am now working 3,429 miles away, I can picture the farmers who will be able to use the maps in the near future. As I continue to work on this project, I look forward to travelling back to visit our counterparts and amigos at ASDENIC, to the communities to see the progress they have made over the course of a year and to Magda and Yolanda whose constant cheer and excellent mango cutting skills surely brightened every day I spent in Nicaragua.