Our kids learning a bit about farming.
Soon after the foundation of our children’s project, we were also lucky to acquire approximately 25 acres of farmland about one mile outside of town. Some of our program’s adolescents work on the farm to develop their farming skills and future leadership opportunities in the area of reforestation. Though slow going, we have been developing this area as a vivero (nursery), with the long-term purpose of creating a reforestation project for the community of Camoapa.
Camoapa is one of the biggest cattle production areas of Nicaragua, and because of this, 95% of its land is deforested. It’s so bad that the streams run completely dry in the dry season and the price of milk skyrockets because the cattle grow thin for lack of grass to graze. The cattle are moved to higher, more mountainous areas and so deforestation has been continuing up into the mountainsides. Our long-term idea has been to develop a vivero as a training center for sustainable pasture management and sustainable agriculture, incorporating crop farming, which could lead to alternatives to cattle production and ultimately less deforestation.
A recent crop of Ayote, a type of squash native to Nicaragua.
We have had success in large crop production with red silk beans, black beans, white corn, grain sorghum, yucca and rosa de Jamaica. We have also had success with various types of Nicaraguan squash, green peppers and passion fruit in small quantities. Within the 6 years that we have owned the land, we have planted over 1000 trees, including mango, avocado, coffee, cashew, lime, orange, papaya, oak and mahogany.
The farm has a significant amount of wind and sun, as we are set up much higher than the rest of town. There is also a small pond that retains water year round. We continue to explore alternative energy options for future development.
