by Janet and Derrick Gee

The Story So Far …

If you are new to our projects, here is a bit of background. The Richland Center community has been paired as a Sister City with Santa Teresa in Nicaragua. In 1997, then mayor José Martinez asked us to help with the Chacocente Wildlife Refuge communities because they were the poorest part of his municipality. The families were mostly subsistence farmers trying to survive in the tropical dry forest of a nature reserve and adjacent to a Pacific beach which is a world-famous nesting site for the olive ridley and leatherback sea turtles. The local population, and many outsiders, were supplementing their meager income by selling turtle eggs. In addition, some of their farming practices were detrimental to the dry forest remnants within the Refuge. Since our work in Chacocente began in 1999, our mission has been to develop a more sustainable way of life for the villagers with better health care, education and income sources while preserving the habitat and its wildlife for future generations

by Linda Stadler

I have been an RN for 30 years, with most of my experience in the hospital setting.. This was my first trip to Nicaragua, although I spent three years in Guatemala with the Peace Corps and visited other Central American countries in the past. The people we visited and stayed with in Nicaragua were delightful, generally optimistic, and anxious to continue work on the projects. The Natural Medicine and Health Care centers in each village were clean, well-organized, and someone was able to explain how they gathered and prepared the herbal remedies that they use.

Promotora Ivania Zamora learns to use a stethoscope

by Jane Furchgott

I love the typical Nicaraguan cheese. It's white, crumbly, and salty. It is not aged. It seems easy to make. When I visited La Poma and the home of Juana Cano and Ramiro Medrano, who often make it, I asked for instructions.

With a twinkle in his eye, Ramiro mentioned the "suero" or serum needed for coagulation. He wasn't sure how I'd get the active ingredient – armadillo stomach! He showed me a bottle of this starter at his mom's house: sour milk with pieces of the stomach floating around in it. Well, maybe I can try their recipe using rennet, which comes from a calf's stomach.