Nicaragua Mission Trip 2017 - Part 2 El Porvenir

 Nicaragua Mission Trip 2017 is complete! 

We had a wonderful visit and mission exchange with our friends at El Porvenir.  I'll be posting photos and info from our trip in parts over the next several weeks so check back for more! 

Also, for some background and more info on our partnership with El Porvenir please check out the June edition of the church's newsletter, Sixth Sense.

The mission team: Our group of six included David Rothenberg, Sara Berg, and Jenny Newman (that's me!) from Sixth Presbyterian Church.  Also along for the journey were Jennifer Novelli, Executive Director of Building New Hope, and her son, Alessandro.  Mark Swift, a member of First Presbyterian Church in Washington, Pa., also was along for the adventure. We were excited to be joined by Building New Hope board member Therese Tardio during our time at El Porvenir. 

Nicargua Mission Trip 2017:
Part 2 - El Porvenir

  The journey up the mountain to the El Porvenir cooperative is quite an adventure. Besides walking, the blue tractor pictured here is the main way the cooperative members travel to and from the towns below. In the picture below, is the 4x4 truck we rented during our trip in order to help transport our group and have emergency transportation if needed. We were able to help the leaders of coop while we were there by using the truck to run some much needed errands and get parts and supplies for the community. The roads from Leon to the community are steep, rocky, and often flooded in the rainy season.  

Above is the view from the porch of the main structure in the center of the community. At right, David Rothenberg takes a rest on the porch. Below you can see our sleeping arrangements. The wooden beds were made by the community members from a previous donation from Sixth Presbyterian church. They are used to accommodate guests who come to visit. (Thanks Brenda Flores for the mosquito nets!)

During our visit we spent a day working with the teams from the coop. We learned about the growing the coffee plants, how the cooperative works, and helped spread compost on new coffee plants.  



At right, David helps carry a bucket of compost. Cooperative residents do their work in teams and everyone is paid equally, including the leaders and elders of the coop. Pictured below with David and Sara Berg is Renee, an elder and manager of the cooperative. 

The worm compost at the cooperative used to feed and fertilize the coffee plants is carefully made and monitored by the coop residents. 

Pictured here are some of the buildings used for the coffee production at El Povenir. 

Another project we helped with at El Porvenir during our visit was painting the porch railings and newly installed railing on the steps. 

The railing on the steps was built with donations from Sixth Presbyterian Church and helps to make the way down to the bathing area and outhouse safer for visitors to the community.

We ate wonderful meals together around the table at the home of Renee and Inez. Inez makes use off all available resources to cook delicious food.  The rooster above fed out group and five other family on the cooperative during our visit. 

Check back soon for Part 3 which will include pictures of our visit to the school at El Porvenir and details about our church's support and donation to the community and how they are used.