This is our second
week, and we are still sweating!
We have being
learning more about MicroConsignment
and what is it about. MicroConsignment
focus empowering people by educating them on how
distribute the products. Also, MicroConsignment focus
on reducing risks for social entrepreneurs by allowing them to take products on
consignment that will improve the lives of people in the communities. For
example, myopia is a problem among elders in many rural communities of
Nicaragua and other developing countries. With right pair of eyeglasses, the
lives of these people can improve significantly. So we train a local person, a
Social Entrepreneur, and they go the communities to educate them about the
issue they face. Then, we provide them with the product, in this case the eyes
glasses, so they can bring them to the communities. This way the people in the
rural communities can get the glasses from her or him at a much lower cost than
they would in the city. Sometimes it is not even about the lower price, but it
is about them not knowing about the eyeglasses. Therefore, the Social
Entrepreneur has to do the presentation and the eye exams before offering the
eye glasses, those who have myopia can get the eye glasses right there. Those
who present other issues with their eyes, they get a referral to other clinics
or hospitals. From all the eyeglasses they sell, they get a percentage and the
rest of the money goes back to organization to be invested again in the same
product or a different one. There are also other
products, such as water filters and cook stove that maintain the heat better,
reducing the amount of wood they use to cook. There is going be the
introduction of solar lamps to communities without electricity this summer. (I
will let you know how it goes, later.)
On a less serious
note, we finally had some free time to go out this weekend. We went to La
Laguna de Apoyo, which is in between Masaya and Granada. We also visited Los
Pueblos (the White Villages) Niquinomo, Diriomo, Diria, Catarina, and San Juan de Oriente.
They call them Los Pueblos Blancos because the house used to be
made of clay. They would paint the houses with quicklime, so they would look white. It is said
that in the villages was practice witchcraft; therefore, sometimes it is called
villages “of the witches” as well. Now, the cities are known for their intense
artisanal production of pottery. We had the opportunity to go to a ceramic
shop, and we try (emphasis on TRY) to do some pottery and fail miserably.
Nevertheless, it was really fun. They explained us that they bring the clay
from mines, which are about two kilometres from Catarina. Once at the shop, they
mash the clay dancing bare foot for about three hours because this way they
give life to the clay. Then, they proceed to make the different ceramic. They
also use different seed, sea rocks, and bamboo to polish the ceramic. The
artisanal oven is heated to 900 degree Celsius for the last step on the creation
of the ceramic. It takes about fifteen days to complete a batch of 250 ceramic.
If you want to see more about their ceramic Click Here, they
also ship ceramic to anywhere.
Also, I have been
drinking all kind of natural juice. Lets begin with: Mango juice, Tamarin
juice, Chilla/Chan with lemonade, Ginger with Coyolito home made Ice tea,
Cevada, Linaza with lime (and something else) Ice Tea, Papaya Smoothie, Melon
juice, Passion Fruit juice, Melon juice. I had some tropical fruits too! such
as Mamey, Zapote, Mamones, Guanabena, Guaba, Papaya, Mango, and Coconut. I have
been enjoying all the fruits and juice here. All the host families that we are
staying with have been AWESOME with us. They have been taking care of us,
giving us tours of the city, and helping us with everything we need. 
I will let you all
know more about the night life on my next post.
Hay mucha fiesta!
