Wednesday, September 08, 2004
People I have met
Here is a list of people so you can not feel confused when I talk about them later
UNICAM: organization working with farmers through the university on development projects
UCA Miraflor: Union cooperativa Agropecuaria, Heroes y Martires de Miraflor. A cooperative of familes in Miraflor that pushed for it to be created as a private reserve. They run it with MARENA, if you can say anyone really runs it. Its all very messy and confused. Land is owned privately and independently, but the run a cooperative milk industry, and cooperative coffee market. They had a microfund program whihc no one is paying back and is threatening to bankrupt the UCA, and they have a fledgling ecotourism office, which is treatened by a rich guiy who is going to build a big tourist center in Miraflor, with help from FORO, so UCA needs to get on the ball. Maggie Jo, an English woman, started an English language and capacity building program to help develop the ecotourism offcie, but everything is still a bit of a mess.
MARENA: Office of the environment sn parks in Nicaragua. They manage the natural resources of the reserve, but not the privately owned labnd, but you need to get permission from them to clear land, it doens even seem that they know what they are in charge of.
FORO: another cooperative working in miraflor, a bit of competition for the UCA. They seem a bit better organized, and are trying to get in on the ecotourism stuff.
Fundacion Cocibolca: My nicaraguan counterpart, they run Reserva Momobacho outside of Granad and Reserva La Flor. Jose Manuel works there, is an ornithologist, and the one who helps me with everything.
ALAS: Alianza para Areas Silvestres. The conservation organization that Salvadora Morales started. She was my inital contact in nicaragua, and a good ornithologist.
Dona Corina: runs Posada La Sonada en Cebollal, a community in miraflor. I lived there for a month intially. She is a n awesome independent Sandinista woman, and fantastic.
Don Antonio: runs a posada in cebollal as well, just as nice, if not niceer, and cheaper than Corinas, and is always complaining about her and how everyone is sent there and its unfair. A big whiner, and owes a HUGE amount of money to the loan program.
Chico Javier, Alex, Marlon: Guides that have worked with me. Marlon is also president of the Oro Verde cooperative in Sontule, and is not actually part of the UCA cooperative, buyt stuill works as a guide.
Henry, Juan Carlos, Edwin, Arlen, Elder, Yoder: Guides whom I know but never had the chance to work with me.
Robert, Marta, China, Jake, Hillary, Jane, Patricia, Deborah, Martin: English teachers, of which Jane, who was in Sontule, became a really good friend. and I was quite fond of Martin. He was a writer, and played very much the part of a English writer who trraveles the world and makes quite funny observations. Says he wrote a poem about someone obsessed with birds and used my story of how to mercy kill small birds as an inspiration
Francisco (Chico) Munoz: acting director of UCA, all around great guy, and self taught ornithologist
Erica, Nancy, Albertina, Isreal: All work in the UCA-miraflor office and all are super nice to me
Santiago: Guy who drives the early morning lechero (milk truck) that passes by Sontule
Pueng: Swiss guy of Cambodian origin who speaks seven languages and works with UNICAM. He was always going out, and whenever I saw him he was with differen people. Great guitar player.
Kristin: american girl interested in sustainable development who was taking a Spanish course there. Never got the chance to really talk to her, but we always planned too. Hope we do in the future.
Tania: Another cool American girl, also from Oregon, who works in botanical medicine and keeps coming back to Nicaragua
Dona lucia dn Don Rogelio: Marlons parents
Mayra and Marlon Mauricio: Marlons wife and kid.
Nelson: Marlons borther in law and best friend who worked with me and is amazing and helpful and is a super fast learning, and loves the work.
Ivan and Daniela: Marlons brother and his wife, I got to be pretty good freinds with her, and dint get to say goodbye, which wasa bummer
Dona Teres: Woman who runs the great hotel Gabrinma in Managua where I always stay. She is great and stil does yoga and is very socially conscious and essentially raised her kids on her own, and I met her son and his friend from Spain.
There are more, but my fingers are tired
love
me
UNICAM: organization working with farmers through the university on development projects
UCA Miraflor: Union cooperativa Agropecuaria, Heroes y Martires de Miraflor. A cooperative of familes in Miraflor that pushed for it to be created as a private reserve. They run it with MARENA, if you can say anyone really runs it. Its all very messy and confused. Land is owned privately and independently, but the run a cooperative milk industry, and cooperative coffee market. They had a microfund program whihc no one is paying back and is threatening to bankrupt the UCA, and they have a fledgling ecotourism office, which is treatened by a rich guiy who is going to build a big tourist center in Miraflor, with help from FORO, so UCA needs to get on the ball. Maggie Jo, an English woman, started an English language and capacity building program to help develop the ecotourism offcie, but everything is still a bit of a mess.
MARENA: Office of the environment sn parks in Nicaragua. They manage the natural resources of the reserve, but not the privately owned labnd, but you need to get permission from them to clear land, it doens even seem that they know what they are in charge of.
FORO: another cooperative working in miraflor, a bit of competition for the UCA. They seem a bit better organized, and are trying to get in on the ecotourism stuff.
Fundacion Cocibolca: My nicaraguan counterpart, they run Reserva Momobacho outside of Granad and Reserva La Flor. Jose Manuel works there, is an ornithologist, and the one who helps me with everything.
ALAS: Alianza para Areas Silvestres. The conservation organization that Salvadora Morales started. She was my inital contact in nicaragua, and a good ornithologist.
Dona Corina: runs Posada La Sonada en Cebollal, a community in miraflor. I lived there for a month intially. She is a n awesome independent Sandinista woman, and fantastic.
Don Antonio: runs a posada in cebollal as well, just as nice, if not niceer, and cheaper than Corinas, and is always complaining about her and how everyone is sent there and its unfair. A big whiner, and owes a HUGE amount of money to the loan program.
Chico Javier, Alex, Marlon: Guides that have worked with me. Marlon is also president of the Oro Verde cooperative in Sontule, and is not actually part of the UCA cooperative, buyt stuill works as a guide.
Henry, Juan Carlos, Edwin, Arlen, Elder, Yoder: Guides whom I know but never had the chance to work with me.
Robert, Marta, China, Jake, Hillary, Jane, Patricia, Deborah, Martin: English teachers, of which Jane, who was in Sontule, became a really good friend. and I was quite fond of Martin. He was a writer, and played very much the part of a English writer who trraveles the world and makes quite funny observations. Says he wrote a poem about someone obsessed with birds and used my story of how to mercy kill small birds as an inspiration
Francisco (Chico) Munoz: acting director of UCA, all around great guy, and self taught ornithologist
Erica, Nancy, Albertina, Isreal: All work in the UCA-miraflor office and all are super nice to me
Santiago: Guy who drives the early morning lechero (milk truck) that passes by Sontule
Pueng: Swiss guy of Cambodian origin who speaks seven languages and works with UNICAM. He was always going out, and whenever I saw him he was with differen people. Great guitar player.
Kristin: american girl interested in sustainable development who was taking a Spanish course there. Never got the chance to really talk to her, but we always planned too. Hope we do in the future.
Tania: Another cool American girl, also from Oregon, who works in botanical medicine and keeps coming back to Nicaragua
Dona lucia dn Don Rogelio: Marlons parents
Mayra and Marlon Mauricio: Marlons wife and kid.
Nelson: Marlons borther in law and best friend who worked with me and is amazing and helpful and is a super fast learning, and loves the work.
Ivan and Daniela: Marlons brother and his wife, I got to be pretty good freinds with her, and dint get to say goodbye, which wasa bummer
Dona Teres: Woman who runs the great hotel Gabrinma in Managua where I always stay. She is great and stil does yoga and is very socially conscious and essentially raised her kids on her own, and I met her son and his friend from Spain.
There are more, but my fingers are tired
love
me
