Happy New Year! Let’s pray that 2019 is less tumultuous than this year has been, not just in Nicaragua, but throughout the world.
Granada is slowly coming back to life. Many restaurants and hotels are reopening and travelers are reappearing on the streets. Thousands of Nicaraguans are still without jobs, though, and families are stretched. We are trying to do our part to employ locals whenever we can.
Our next project is a cabin on stilts, kind of like a tree house (we’re working up to a real one). A team from Leon spent a week camping on our property while building a structure from eucalyptus wood and then thatching the roof with palm fronds. We will build our cabin into this structure, eight feet off the ground, with floor, walls and loft made from our own timber. We are going to have plenty of help: daughter Brett and partner Mark will be spending January and February with us and during that time his folks, uncle, and some friends will come join in the fun.
Our 15 acres are covered with precious lumber trees, many different types. Last year’s tropical storm brought down a number of them. No waste though, we hire a local expert to saw trunks and large limbs into boards and then we stack them with spacers for drying. We use the fallen tree limbs to edge our paths and the small sticks are used for mulching. Fruit trees and shrubs are getting their yearly dressing as our giant bins of manure (we buy from neighbors who deliver it in horse-drawn carts throughout the dry season) has aged and leaves are on the ground. ViVerde is blessed with a wealth of organic material.
Gerard just finished a solar kiln to speed up the wood drying process. Built with wood recycled from our former storage shed, it features two internal fans and adjustable openings to help the warm air circulate. Drying time is reduced from months to weeks.
We cannot seem to get to our ripe papayas before the Aricaris (local toucans) do. We find it a small price to pay, though, to keep these beautiful birds around.
Life here has its challenges, like anywhere else, but Nicaragua has so much to offer: we live outside year-round on our own piece of paradise, we are constantly learning and trying new things as we develop our educational retreat center and food forest, we get together with good friends, and are often blessed with visiting friends and family. Maybe 2019 is your year to visit ViVerde.