Hellooo everyone!
So we had another great day in Nicaragua. The day started off with breakfast in the hotel with the students from Universidad Americana who are working with us on our projects. There are 3 of them, Roger, Richard, and Josue, who are all business majors at the University here. It was great getting to know them and hearing their unique stories. I think everyone was very excited to finally meet the students we had been hearing about for so long. What was even better was that all 3 of them had crazy stories; from living in Sri Lanka to being a US Marine Corp stationed in Iraq.
We spent the next few hours working on our presentations for Opportunity International as well as discussing what we can do for entrepreneurs we are working with. This was very helpful for my group because Roger (who was paired up with us) had a lot of information on what doing business in Nicaragua is like. He had a lot of insight into the legal and cultural differences between doing business here that we would have never thought about. Also, he had met Roxanna, the woman we are consulting for in San Juan. He was able to give us a lot more information as well as show us pictures of Roxanna’s business.
After all the groups wrapped up, we headed to the Hilton for lunch. Lunch was buffet style and we got to further get to know our group as well as bond with the Nicaraguan students. My favorite part about the lunch was the delicious chocolate dessert.
After lunch we headed to the Frontera bookstore to hear from a number of speakers in the microfinance field. First, two speakers from Esperanza Accion spoke about the work they did in Nicaragua. One of them was an American women with a lot of interest in helping the poor in the country and the other was a local Nicaraguan who has always been involved in volunteer work. The organization is very small and works with/lends money to artisans all over Nicaragua. Something unique about the organization is that there is 0% interest on the loans that are given out. This was the first time I had heard of a microfinance organization that requires its clients to pay back solely the principal amount. Also, the company conducts all sorts of training for the entrepreneurs to help them grow and create successful businesses. Examples of training programs include how to calculate fair prices, how to market and how to save. In addition, EA also exports products for artisans to customers abroad as well as sells some products at a store in Managua. Another aspect of technical assistance that they provide is advice on what sorts of products to sell and how to adjust the artisan’s products to meet market needs.
Next, Jaun Paulino (an adorable Nicaraguan man, known for his excellent pottery), spoke to us about what being an artisan is like. Juan Paulino took advantage of all the great programs EA offers and has made himself a successful entrepreneur. He spoke about how important it is to learn and make changes based on what you learn. He also talked about how important it is to alter products for different customers; (he started making décor with cats just because an American woman had told him to). He was an extremely nice man and I am looking forward to visiting his pottery factory to see more of his work.
After that, David, the Executive Director of Opportunity International (the microfinance organization we are presenting to) spoke to us about his organization. He is a graduate of University of Alabama who knew he wanted to live in Central/South America post graduation. OI is an asset based organization that focuses on not only lending money out, but community development. OI is split into two different parts- Nicaworks and Ojala. Nicaworks is the lending aspect of OI while Ojala has programs to support the entrepreneurs OI works with.
OI focuses on “co-investment” so both parties (OI and the small business owner) have a stake in the business. Some themes that came up a lot in David’s presentation were relationship building and sustainability. He stressed the importance of getting to know the people and working with people who you can truly trust. OI does a background check on the entrepreneurs, makes sure everything is coexistent as well as sets collateral before letting anyone borrow money. Another point that was stressed was sustaibility. In order to create lasting change, the first step to change is community buy in. Without the community truly believing in a cause, any efforts from outside sources will not last. We learned a lot more from David and his passion for the mission of OI was evident. One of his projects that I was especially interested was a school he is starting in Nicaragua. The school is for high school students and teaches the students the typical high school curriculum as well as a trade. For example, some students are going to be learning how to farm so wen they come out of high school they already have internship experience under their belt. In addition, the school is going to sell the products of the students so it is completely self sustainable. All of the money made from sales goes right back into the school. I thought this was a very cool idea and should be started in developing areas all over the world.
The next stop was the chocolate factory. Mombotombo chocolate is a luxury brand of Nicaraguan chocolate that is made in a small factory in Managua. We had the chance to get a tour of the facility (in our fancy blue hairnets) as well as learn what the process to making fine chocolate is. The best part about it was the FREE SAMPLES. The taste of the chocolate was pretty interesting. I usually don’t enjoy dark chocolate very much but the orange flavored chocolate I had was delicious.
From the chocolate factory we headed to the restaurant we were eating dinner at. We got there early so decided to spend some time walking around the area and checking out the streets of Managua by foot.
The dinner was probably my favorite meal so far. There was so much delicious, authentic Nicaraguan food served on one large plate, for 3-4 people to share. I had rice, beans, plantains, friend cheese, tortillas and a very yummy corn soup like dish. I personally ate so much that I was entirely too full to try the fantastic looking desserts. The restaurant was Nicaraguan themed with waitresses in authentic dresses and a guitarist playing Spanish music for us at dinner. During dinner we also got to witness street dancers. Children, some dressed in giant masks, danced and acted out funny scenes while others played music in the background. The dining experience was very memorable.
After we got back to the hotel, some of us students along with Zaida and Lily sat around the pool and chatted while annoying the great weather. It was a fun time. I cant believe we’ve only been here for 2 days! I cant wait for Granada tomorrow!!!
