NicaraguaStudy Abroad Trip

2009

The site that we went to is an orphanage with sixteen boys.

Volcanic winds prevent most plants from growing.

Walls keep people out of the orphanage and goats in.

The orphanage has a small goat herd that they hope to improve.

The goal is for the goats to benefit both the children and the surrounding community.

We chose a location that had protection from the wind and a gradual slope for drainage.

We started the project by building a fence to keep the goats out.

Once we got about six inches down we had to use picks to break up the clay.

We set all of the fence posts with the help a church group from Arkansas.

Once the fence was put up we had to treat it with termite deterrent because they said wood only lasts about three years if not treated properly.

We removed the weeds on our first day at the site so that they wouldn’t be as much of a problem when we wanted to plant.

With the constant wind, once the ground was turned the weeds quickly began to die.

Here we formed rows and added fertilizer as we went so that it didn’t all blow away.

We brought in tires to prevent erosion and to alter the drainage of the site.

At the top of the site we built rows and at the bottom we built mounds for different plant varieties.

We stacked the tires which will allow them to catch water and planted inside them.

With some extra posts we built a flower bed for the director

To fill the flower bed and tires we had to bring in dirt from another part of the yard.

The termites had eaten the base of the playground so we dug it up and a group the next week replaced it.

The water supply at the site isn’t always steady so they collect rain water for showers and it can also be used for the garden when it doesn’t rain for a while.

The orphanage is next to a public school

The kids were interested in the tools that we brought to the site.

On the last day the kids and team had a water fight before saying good bye.

The old coffee plantation that we stayed at is called “In the clouds”

There were monkeys that howled around the cabins.

There were several types of fresh fruit available at the hotel.

We saw different bugs that resembled ones back home.

Bananas on the side of the road going to the lake.

The mountains are steep. We climbed to the top of a ridge and it dropped off to more rain forest on the other side.

This is the inactive volcano we visited. There is a resort along the shoreline.

At this live volcano the clouds are made of sulfuric gas.

The group in the rain forest before we left.