ABOUT
FINCA ESPERANZA VERDE
An economic development project of Sister Communities of San Ramón, Nicaragua
run by Nicaraguan staff
Description | Announcements | Accommodations | Meals and drinks | Coffee farming | Butterfly farming | Bird watching | Climate | Solar energy and water | Video | Directions to Finca Esperanza Verde | Contact information | Map of Nicaragua
Special Announcements
We are very pleased and honored to announce the publication of Case Study. Finca Esperanza Verde: Creating Employment Through Sustainable Tourism" by Kim Jessen and Lendell Foan of the SEEP Network. October, 2008. http://www.seepnetwork.org
Finca Esperanza Verde wins Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Award for small hotel category. Award presented in ceremony in London Nov. 14, 2007.
- New! Reservation form and credit card payment options.
- Tribute cards: Choose a meaningful gift this holiday season from our Alternative Gift Catalog. Your gift will make good things happen in San Ramon, and you can print out a beautiful card to send to the friend or family members in whose name the gift is made.
Finca
Esperanza Verde (Green Hope Farm) Ecologde, Organic Coffee Farm and Nature
Preserve, is a cool, green and tranquil paradise located in the lush mountains
of central Nicaragua (1,200 m/ 4000 feet elevation - see
map). You will find beautiful sunsets, peaceful moments, delicious
food, as well as educational and recreational activities. The farm, ecolodge
and nature reserve run by local staff offers comfortable lodging for 26
guests, shade-grown organic coffee, rainforest walks over well marked
trails and other natural wonders. Finca Esperanza Verde is a sustainable tourism
project owned by
Sister Communities of San Ramón, Nicaragua, a non-profit 501
c 3 organization run by volunteers in the U.S. All income stays in San
Ramón, providing an environmentally-friendly source
of income for local people and financial resources for community
projects.
While supporting a rural Nicaraguan community, you can enjoy:
- A butterfly house & breeding project
- Organic shade-grown coffee cultivation
- Solar-electricity and hot water
- Waterfalls and interpretive hiking trails
- Over 150 species of birds, numerous orchids and medicinal plants
- Jungle treks to see howler monkeys
- Majestic 100 km. mountain views
- Spring-fed, certified, potable water supply
Finca Esperanza Verde was founded in 1998 by Sister Communities of San Ramón, Nicaragua, a non-profit organization based in Durham, North Carolina (USA). Its mission is to strengthen friendship and cooperation between San Ramón, Nicaragua and Durham, North Carolina through people to people exchanges and social and economic development projects which support justice and our belief in an interdependent, one-world family.
Enjoy the
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The beautiful lodge and cabins built of hand made brick and other local materials accommodate up to 26 people. The lodge and cabins are equipped with solar powered electricity, flush toilets, sinks and showers. Each cabin sleeps 6 in sturdy bunk beds. In addition, there are three double rooms with private bath. A camping area offers pleasant conditions for campers with three campsites and a covered shelter. During your homestay in the town of San Ramón, enjoy time with a typical Nicaraguan family. The homes of the host families have flush toilets, sinks, showers and electricity. |
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Meals
and drinksDelicious local food is prepared and served in our “lodge with a view”. The farm serves a variety of healthy, delicious Nicaraguan dishes made with fresh local meats, fruits and vegetables. Vegetarian and other special diets can be accommodated with advance notice. Cold soft drinks, freshly made fruit drinks, beer and wine from our solar-powered refrigerator are available.
When
purchased in 1997 Finca Esperanza Verde was an abandoned coffee farm on
a muddy track. Since that time Sister Communities of San Ramón, Nicaragua has renovated and replanted the coffee,
rebuilt the road, built an ecological coffee processing facility and built
a ecotourism lodge for 22 guests mostly on the income from selling Café
San Ramón™ in North Carolina. When visiting the farm you
can learn all about growing coffee in an environmentally responsible way,
by participating in the care of the coffee bushes, making compost and
during the coffee harvest season, November through February, picking,
processing, and sorting the green coffee. If you desire, you can follow
the coffee to Matagalpa where it is sun dried, sorted, graded, cupped
and exported. The farm's all-Nicaraguan staff enjoy teaching visitors
about coffee and are proud that their care of the farm makes it a home
to hundreds of species of birds, butterflies, mammals, trees and orchids.
The 220-acre certified organic farm has 28 acres (16 manzanas) of arabica coffee that flourishes under the shade of the farm's extensive tropical forest canopy. Coffee production has doubled each year for 3 years and we will soon be producing 5-10 tons of rich, high quality coffee annually. The farm is a leader in the local, small, organic coffee growers cooperative where it has organized educational events and developed important markets for San Ramón's shade grown, organic and fair traded coffee in North Carolina and the southeastern US with our partners Counter Culture Coffee and Inter-American Importers.
In
January 1999, a delegation from Durham, including an entomologist, John
Wallace, and two of his students, visited Esperanza Verde to train several
farmers in butterfly pupa propagation and to build a 600 square foot netted
butterfly pavilion. In only 3 months, the farm was able to successfully
raise several varieties of butterflies, secure transportation and permission
for export and to begin shipping pupa to the Museum of Life and Science
in Durham, N.C.
Butterflies are raised by capturing only a couple dozen wild butterflies
and keeping them in the pavilion where their host plants for egg laying
are cultivated. The pavilion is closely supervised and after the eggs
are laid they are removed to screened cages to protect them from parasites
and predators. After the eggs hatch into caterpillars, they are fed their
host plant's leaves until they pupate. This requires the growing of a
large garden of appropriate plants for caterpillar food. Once a month
the pupa are collected for export. When visiting Finca Esperanza Verde
you may assist in the care of butterfly eggs and caterpillars and the
work of gathering their daily diet of leaves as well as preparing pupa
for export.
The mix of habitats within walking distance and the abundance of species makes the Finca Esxperanza Verde a center for world-class birding. Good trails access most sites, but you should have a local guide to take you those that are more remote. The guides share their enthusiasm for wildlife as well as colorful names and local stories about the species.
Birding groups recorded first official sightings at Finca Esperanza Verde of Yellow Headed Caracara in 2003 and Streaked Xenops in 2004. Come to San Ramón and help us make history crediting our nature reserve with more official sightings. Click here for the full list of identified birds and wildlife species.
San Ramón has 3 climate zones. The farm is located at an elevation of 1,200 meters (4,000 feet) and is classified as "semi-wet tropical" while the town of San Ramón at 750 meters (2500 feet) is “semi-dry tropical” and warmer. Nearby the town are areas classified as “dry tropical” which are much warmer and dryer. Evenings in San Ramón are pleasant and require a sweater or jacket at the farm.
Finca Esperanza Verde is located far from the electrical grid. (You'll marvel at the number of stars you can see without the "light pollution" that "developed" areas have.) We have expanded our solar electricity system, photovoltaic or PV system at the lodge to power a couple of refrigerators.
In 2003, we funded SuniSolar, a Nicaraguan student engineering group at the national university in Managua, to design and build some prototype, low cost, passive solar hot water heaters for Nicaragua. The prototypes were installed in 2004. New solar water heaters were built in May, 2008 by Appalachian State University Department of Alternative Technology students.
Use either of the following links to view a digital video of Finca Esperanza Verde and of our ecotours:
- 56K
modem
- high speed
Directions to Finca Esperanza Verde
Finca Esperanza Verde is 160 km. from Managua, 30 km. from Matagalpa, and 18 km. from San Ramón. By public transportation from the airport: Walk up the road in front of the airport a short way past the local bus stop sign. Wave your hand in a downward position when you see a bus marked "Matagalpa" or "Jinotega". The bus will stop and your suitcase will be hoisted on top of the bus where it will be safe. Pay $3 (approx.) in cordobas or dollars. After arriving in Matagalpa, take a taxi ($.50 per person) to the Guanuca bus station. Take the bus that passes through the center of San Ramón (15 min.) in the direction of Pancasan/ El Jobo. $1.10 (approx.) The last bus departs Matagalpa at 4 pm sharp. Get off in Yścul (45 min. from Matagalpa). Follow the signs in Yścul to FEV, a 1 hour walk uphill. By car : FEV is 45 minutes over gravel roads from San Ramón. In the small town of Yścul, turn left off the main road and follow the signs up the mountain to FEV. Any vehicle with moderate clearance is suitable for travel to FEV. (Small taxis bring guests to FEV on a regular basis.) The road from Yścul is rocky in places and slippery if it is raining. By taxi from Matagalpa or San Ramón: Either call the FEV office to arrange for a taxi to take you to FEV or if you are in Matagalpa, hail a taxi and say "Cuanto cuesta para ir a Finca Esperanza Verde?" The driver will either not be interested or tell you the price which should be around $25-30 for 1-4 people. By car: Finca Esperanza Verde is 45 minutes over gravel roads from San Ramón, by a vehicle with moderate clearance. Once in Yucul, turn left off the main road, following the signs toward Finca Esperanza Verde.
In Nicaragua:
RESERVATIONS fincaesperanzaverde@gmail.com
FEV Manager: Giff Laube
Office in the town of San Ramón: 1.5 blocks east of the Catholic Church
Telephone: 011 505 2 772-5003.
Mailing Address:Apartado 28, Matagalpa, NICARAGUA
E-mail: fincaesperanzaverde@gmail.com
In USA (but not for reservations): info@san-ramon.org,
919-489-1656
Click to view a large map of Nicaragua with the location of San Ramón.