LUNA ESTELI  International Hostel

CURRENT PROJECTS

Luz Verde is our active social project office. We work facilitating and consulting with local communities and organisations in the Esteli and Miraflor region.

Library & mobile library project/Bibilioteca Movil

A new initiative, looking for funding opportunities to provide the opportunity to lend books to very rural communities in Miraflor and communities to the south of Esteli.

Working in a FORD E350 small bus, designed to work with a diesel engine consuming refined vegetable oil, therefore remaining 'carbon neutral'.

Already with a generous donation of 200 Spanish books from Solidaridad Espana, we plan to extend our library.

2011 We have won funding from Trocaire, Ireland and Foro Miraflor to cover most vehicle and repair costs with some to help set up the materials and books. Working with Foro Miraflor, we will be working with local volunteers workers and employing women to become the team running the community work. The bus intends to run short tours for our guests some of the week to support and sustain its social visits the remainder of the time.

This, as well as further wonderful funding from Stacey Clarke and all her friends in the US, who have supported us, we will be able to buy the books and materials needed through national initiatives subsidising appropiate books and materials, fantastic.

Also a small grant from ENCA UK, who are supporting multimedia materials for environmental education for the local youth group leaders and school teachers when the mobile library arrives in each community.

 Further funding is still needed to support our library workers, and the contining need for lending resources.. Contact Us!

Kitchen Gardens, organic and sustainable / 'HUERTOS'

Please visit our sub-page on the index list at Luz Verde.

WIth the cooperation of friends in Ireland, we are initiating a new self-sustainable, non-profit project with small kitchen gardens in poorer rural communities.

This will provide Cafe Luz with organic vegetables, and provide a whole lot more for the small producers. A seed bank, technical training, culinary workshops to improve nutritional options, food security, greater diversity in times of climatic changes, and life-development skills along with economic opportunities for new entrepeneurs. 

Volunteers and organic gardeners are welcome to contact us with advice, support and asking for volunteer options.

We accept donations to help develop any of these programmes.

Primary School project, El Sontule, Miraflor.

We continue to work in the "Vicente Talavera" primary School of El Sontule, Miraflor, Esteli. Our continued work over 5 years with the Miraflor Foundation and further collaborations has seen the rebuilding and partial re-construction of the poorest community school across all of Miraflor.

 Further help is still needed for furniture for the children, a playground, books, and writing and play materials, which are non-exsistent, plus reforestation & garden project for the school grounds.      www.miraflor-foundation.org

Volunteers Needed: Environmental educators, fluent in Spanish, are needed to help develop community awareness and to teach the local educators, all as requested by the community of El Sontule.

Red de Jovenes, Miraflor 

Currently we are co-facilitating a locally inspired vision to  develop a Youth network "Red de Jovenes" for all the youth across Miraflor. The vision is to see model projects and farms run by, used by and developed by the dynamic young people across the protected area of Miraflor.

This includes youth training & empowerment, social development, community development, educational opportunites, leadership development, horticulture, tourism and hospitatility, life-skills development, arts and culture, food security, micro-financing, earth stewardship and economic growth.

Collaboration and support of existing rural development groups and structures will ensure sustainability.

We are looking for financial support in the earlier stages. Please contact us for advice and your support regarding this dynamic project

Contact us for volunteer opportunites

We are continually updating this page. Please stay in touch.

MIRAFLOR EMERGENCY FUND

DUE TO THE EXTREMELY HEAVY RAINS IN OCT 2011, WE LAUNCHED AN APPEAL FOR FUNDS TO SUPPORT RELIEF WORK FOR THE AFFECTED AND MOST IMPOVERISHED FAMILIES.

PLEASE CHECK OUR COMMUNITY PAGE ONCE LOGGED INTO FACEBOOK, see the photos.

LUZ Verde Social Projects

UPDATE.

Nov 2011

The rains have receded and the conditions are much improved although roads are severly damaged.

The emergency fund is working in coordination with Foro Miraflor, Marena, and other local NGO's to best spend the generous funds you have donated. We plan to help fund the rebuild of several homes of the elderly and most disadvantaged families, with new roofing, wood sourced locally, remove plastic walls, and improve drainage and future risks to these fmailies. Further spending is also on the medications immediately needed by the 2 central health centres, supported by MINSA.

Plans to improve the outside toilet systems in Puertas Azules where it overflows and contaminates all the local water sources.

We have now closed the appeal and thank ALL our supporters and generous donors for their dedicated help for the most needy people in Miraflor.

If you need to contact us about our projects then please email us

info@cafeluzyluna.com

LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS 2010, minimum 3 month stay.

Volunteers needed for project work, from January 2012 onwards, based in Esteli but working with rural communities. Intermediate Spanish a minimum requirement, working on own initiative, with grass roots development projects. Guidance given.

To work in Miraflor, or other communities to teach English. All volunteers need to provide their own funding to cover room, board and travel.

From 2011 English and Spanish speaking volunteer/s required to help host tourist information office at Hospedaje Luna. 3-4 months and varied project administration.

If seriously interested, you have funds and can speak intermediate Spanish, then please contact 'Juanita' on our contact page. Give as much relevant information as possible.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR ALL VOLUNTEERS

We should emphasise that here, especially in northern Nicaragua, we are seeking volunteers who are financially independent or those who have raised other funds to sponsor their work, stay and food while offering to "volunteer" in Nicaragua.

Unfortunately we are limited to be guaranteeing payment or in offering full board and lodging to "volunteers". We can make arrangements for full-time workers/volunteers, within certain guidelines.

Ethically, we would rather be paying local Nicaraguans who are in greater need for the employment and opportunity than foreign travellers who are running out of money, sorry!

Therefore when applying for interest this will be the case for all volunteers across the region, and if you do not agree ethically, perhaps you should rethink your motives or learn a little more about Nicaragua first!