2007 December, Matagalpa, Nicaragua
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The road from Hondsuras
to Nicaragua through Espinosa is in good nick & winds through great countryside
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We stop for a bite to eat & an ATM machine & catch a mural in Esteli, a scene of fierce fighting during the revolution |
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After Esteli roadworks last until Matagalpa, and we are followed by a biker, into a filling station & he approaches to chat. |
| Turns out he's the vice president of the local Managua/Jinotega motorcycle club & we missed a huge rally last weekend :( |
 Winston guides us to our luxury gaff, through the maze of potholes |
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Selva Negra (black forest) is owned & run by a german family |
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With approx 600 hectares, roughly 200 for coffee, 200 for the hotel/restaurant/staff & the rest left natural. |
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An impromptu tour from the owner shows that this place is switched on ... |
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hardly anything goes to waste, with a worm farm, pigs, cows, fish & everything being used up ... |
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hydroelectric power from the fish ponds, methane from manure used to run the kitchens, sileage being used as fertiliser ... |
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natural ingredients used to encourage the insects to choose nearby trees there for the purpose as opposed to the coffee crop ... (organic coffee) |
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treating waste water from the coffee process to make it safe to release into the streams ... and lots more ... |
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read for yourself, but I thought this was well run & well worth patronising ... |
I've not read the whole web site but the farm sure is impressive from an ecological & social perspective, and could well be a model for sustainability and profitability |
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(we did get drunk on a good bottle of wine in the restaurant :) |
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