Nicaragua Blog Post
By: Lauren Cloward
After weeks of combing through literature to form survey questions that would address food and water security, coping mechanisms to environmental hazards, and gendered livelihoods, the much-anticipated day had arrived. Claire, Kim, and I stepped off the plane 
into a humid Managua night. The following morning, we were on our way to Esteli, a highland “city of murals” in the north of the country situated between lush green hills. To our surprise (and relief), the air was noticeably cooler in this region. This initial impression was accompanied by an incredible lunch of homemade bread, cheese, and yogurt and an introduction to our welcoming homestay hosts.
While I have traveled abroad in the past, each trip that I take and each place that I visit is unique in its own way, and the next ten days in Nicaragua were no exception. We met the
employees of ASDENIC, a Nicaraguan nonprofit organization that focuses on food security, water access, social entrepreneurship, and research. The organization has cooperated on projects in the past and they provide a crucial link to the coffee-growing communities in Esteli. Three SCU students from the Global Social Benefit Fellowship were working with them as well to assess the viability of water filters in rural and urban areas, and we got to hear about their project too. It was exciting to see the connections between Santa Clara and grassroots efforts in Nicaragua and the way that two cultures can be united by the same passion.
I learned what it means to participate in community action research, and the impacts this kind of research has on the members of the community and the researcher. When we were 
meeting with community members in Cantagallo, they inquired about maps and climate change findings that they were promised from the previous year’s work. Each step of the way, Chris asked the community leaders and the partner organization, ASDENIC, for suggestions moving forward and took note of the deliverables they wanted in return for their time and commitment to the project. In this way, a strong reciprocal relationship was formed between the two parties, with both sides holding the other accountable. Chris’s research was improved because he took into account and incorporated local suggestions and knowledge that nuanced the research approach. No one knows these communities better than the locals, so inviting their input ensures a more accurate representation.
On the other hand, the community members were benefitting from the research as well. They received information that they could use for improving the community. Far too often, researchers do their work and are never heard from again. One of our homestay hosts told us a story about a woman who came and stayed with them. She was researching diabetes, which is a large problem
in Nicaragua especially because of the ignorance behind thedisease and the lack of discussion the topic receives. Our homestay host benefitted from this researcher coming to stay with her because she learned a lot about the issue that she herself faces. However, while the woman returned results of her research to the community she was primarily involved with, the information did not get disseminated to all of the involved parties, including our homestay host. She was left wondering about the study’s impacts. This example demonstrates a disconnection that can exist between people and researchers. During my time in Nicaragua, I saw time and time again the dedication to ensuring this never happens by forging important and beneficial partnerships and collaboration with multiple stakeholders. What good is the research if it doesn’t help the community it sets out to study?
One of my favorite pa
rts of the trip was listening to the focus groups and hearing the opinions of men and women from different communities. You can read about a region all you want, but listening to people’s stories helps you grasp the true realities. In Cantagallo, the farmers described the shocking impact of La Roya by discussing the number of coffee truck delivery trips that they made to PRODECOOP. In previous years, they’ve been able to work all seven days of the week and send two truck trips to PRODECOOP with 250 quintiles of coffee each. In 2013 and 2014, they were only able to send one truck with 60 quintiles. This year, some improvement has been made; they’re planning on sending two trucks with 150 quintiles each. This description was a unique way of illustrating and quantifying the problem that helped me understand the true impact and devastation of La Roya.
Along with participating in the focus groups, we were involved in collecting stream data, 
something I had never done before. On a cloudy day up in the hills, we enjoyed a bumpy ride up and down the narrow unpaved roads, a memory I will always cherish. Breaks in the greenery revealed magnificent hills. We gawked at the cultivated areas on the steep slopes and questioned how planting on a near-vertical 
surface was possible. A cooperative leader shrugged with a smile, saying that it was their way of life. You get used to it. I don’t think I will ever have the spiderlike skill to complete such a task, and needless to say, I was more than impressed at the adaptation measures people can take. This was their land, their livelihood.
As our stay in Nicaragua drew to a close, I was sad to leave behind the delicious beans, rice, and tortillas (enjoyed at almost every meal); “Nicaraguan time”, which put my own
lack of timeliness to shame; the incredibly warm and hospitable people that we met, most of all our homestay hosts who shared their home, their contagious laughs, their constant music, and their adorable brand new puppy; and the type of rewarding and impactful research that I can only hope to pursue myself in the years to come.