*This blog was written last night and is being posted a day late due to our disconnect from the internet for 24 hours for the “Living on $1 for a day” challenge.*
After yesterday’s free day allowed us to sleep in until 8, it was pretty sad to have to wake up at 6 again. We ate a quick breakfast that consisted of a variety of fruits (ma you would have loved the papaya) and headed back to the hostel. We then sat through an hour long seminar on our daily theme (global business) in which we discussed fair trade policies and globalization’s effects on Nicaragua’s economy. With this information in mind, we headed on an hour long bus ride to a small farm town in the Nicaraguan mountains called La Garnacha. Pablo, the man who greeted us, described La Garnacha’s corporate goal as producing crops and products in a manual and eco friendly fashion (no chemicals or machines are used). We then split into two groups and took around the area. My group started by learning about the complex process of harvesting coffee. Once the exterior berry of the coffee plant is hand picked, the farmers use wooden sticks similar to ores to smash open the shell and reveal the coffee bean inside – a job we all got to participate in. Next in the process was the roasting of the beans over a firewood stove (which we also all got to help with); according to our guide, this method allowed the beans to retain their flavor better than mass produced, industrial beans. Lastly, we saw the beans drying out on a large sifting board – some us even chewed on the raw beans (which were surprisingly good). Moving away from coffee production, we next got to feed and hold goats, most people’s highlight of the day. Finally, we learned about the process of creating fertilizer with the help of worms and goat manure. We got our hands dirty and packaged some bags of it just before lunch. After a long morning, everyone enjoyed the freshly prepared chicken and amazing black coffee we were generously offered. After lunch we made a quick stop at the gift shop – to all the coffee loving parents: don’t worry, your son/daughter (probably) bought a bag for you.
Just before leaving the peaceful town, we took a short walk to check out the beautiful land surrounding La Garnacha, however, our day wasn’t over. On our way back into Esteli, we stopped at Ralph’s tobacco factory. A simple and knowledgeable man, Ralph hospitably welcomed us into his home and we were (once again) offered delicious Nicaraguan coffee. He explained his affiliations to fair trade, how he profits from a small home business, and showed us the small rooms behind his house where the cigars are produced.
It was truly an honor to be El Lider del Dia on such an eventful day. Thanks for reading, hope you’re all enjoying the blogs back home.
P.S. Hi mama!! Gracias por comentar en todos los blogs me da mucha alegria. Ya se me fue mi bicho gracias a Dios, aun enferma disfrute ese dia. Me voy a conectar otra vez el jueves, pegate al face. Y ntp, te compre bolsa de cafe para Enero para tomar juntas 🙂 besos te extraño bastante
I am glad to read your blog even it is a day late. Natalia, thank you for posting a group picture in La Garnacha! Everyone looks so happy and joyful. I was curious about your secret message to your mom, so I went to Google translate and read about your sweet words to your mom!
Eric, did you buy some coffee for me? If not, don’t forget to buy one before you depart this country. I would love to sip a cup of authentic Nicaragua coffee every morning with you, hearing more stories about this eventful trip from you. Take a lot of pictures and share your experiences with your classmates and friends after you are back to school.
Take care and have a sweet dream!
Thanks again for another detailed description of your day! Wow the farm trip (no GMO’s !!) and learning about coffee and then getting to sample it-sounds amazing! How did the coffee compare to what we usually drink?
Love to hear more about the living on a dollar a day!
Hola Natalia ! Gracias por escribir el resumen del día even though it was a day late! I missed my late night reading yesterday imagining the Glimpsers day through the post…you know…getting up at 6:00 am has its great advantages, you get to do so much in a day! Wow you made me live each moment of your day with your descriptions…yes, I would have loved to try that delicious papaya ! I can’t wait to hear about all the new perspectives you are all learning through the global business seminars and then put into practice by visiting and learning the local businesses….the visit to beautiful and peaceful place La Garnacha, learning about coffee harvesting, breaking the shell, roasting the beans and even trying the beans and the yummy black coffee (I can smell it ) sounds so exciting, you will never think of Starbucks the same way as before again ! …what a treat to play with the goats and more so to make the fertilizer 😉 …seen and learning about the cigar business must have been also a great experience as well as experiencing the local hospitality…living on a $1/day seems nothing in comparison to the huge experiences you all gained through such a busy day and of course the fresh chicken and coffee throughout the day…loved the pictures! Specially the group pic with the mountain behind, you all look great ! Gracias y hasta mañana!
P.d. Natilla que bueno que ya estas bien, disfruta cada momento! Te extrañamos mucho y ya te queremos ver! Gracias por comprar el café! Será mi primera taza en Enero, TQM! Mama
Hola! Today sounds like a very eventful day from what I read. Honestly, all I know about coffee is the Starbucks menu so it sounds amazing that you guys actually got to see how exactly coffee is made!! You all are definitely experiencing a lot of first times in this trip! Ella I hope you’re having fun but not too much fun that you won’t want to come home even if alameda is hella boring. Benjie and Angelica sends their love, I told them how to get on the blogs but either I wasn’t very clear or they both got amnesia idk.
Yo tambien quiero cafe!!! Jajajaja que padre escribes!!… Siento que estoy viviendo junto contigo esta experiencia increible!!! Te queremos!!!