By Kathrine Vogn, UCA San Ramon

In the fresh and green mountains of Northern Nicaragua lie the communities of La Pita, El Roblar, La Reyna and La Corona in San Ramón, Matagalpa. Four different communities when it comes to size, altitude and charisma, but who share a similar history.

Originally the Germans came to Nicaragua because of the promise of gold. They exploited the ground and the people. However, along the way, they found that the cooler climate in the mountains where ideal for coffee. And so began the coffee production that started with big fincas owned by foreigners but during the Sandinista period developed to cooperatives owned, run and profited by the Nicaraguans themselves.

It’s in these strong communities you have the opportunity to stay, either just for a tour around the beautiful mountains and a talk about the culture, coffee and fair trade; for a couple of nights with one of the host families where you can help out with the cooking and try your coffee picking skills or as a volunteer for a longer period of time.

It’s an extraordinary experience to meet and live with these farmers and the best way to get to know the real Nicaragua. The family will teach you about their traditions and show you, among other things, how to cook and the guides will let you in on the secrets of the land and farming. And after a day of picking coffee, you will suddenly appreciate your cup of coffee so much more because you know how long it takes to pick enough for it and how long a process it is to get the little bean sowed, harvested and roasted.

San Ramón Union of Agricultural Cooperatives

Unión de Cooperativas Agropecuarias “Augusto César Sandino” (Union of Agricultural Cooperatives), or simply UCA San Ramón, is the primary organisation in this rural community agroecotourism project. It’s an organisation that consists of 21 agricultural cooperatives in the municipality of San Ramón and works to improve the conditions and knowledge of its 1,080 farmers.

Five of the cooperatives in four communities are a part of the tourism project. It means that the guides are young people from these four communities who therefore know everything worth knowing about this part of the country: the flora, fauna, landscape and agriculture around their community in particular.

Because it’s locals who act as the guides and their family as hosts the money paid goes directly to the farmers themselves and ensures a secondary income for them. In that way you can rest surely that those who profit are those who do the work as well as it ensures the most authentic experience for the visitors.

The Coffee Crisis

In 2001 international coffee prices fell to historic levels. This of course affected the Matagalpa area severely because the main production is coffee. In order to try to strengthen the economy for the farmers the North Central Cooperatives (CECOCAFEN) and UCA San Ramón started the agroecotourism project in 2003. In this way, the producers could diversify their income and at the same time strengthen the relationship between the consumers in the North and the producers in the South.

That is the general background and aim of the agroecotourism project.

To learn more about the project, see www.agroecoturismorural.com or contact info@agroecoturismorural.com, phone +505 2772 5247 / +505 8927 9066

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