Familiar Faces: Emilio Alonso Martinez Gutierrez

Alonso has worked as a tour guide for his community since he was young.

Alonso Martinez is well-known by visitors of El Sauce's Los Altos de Ocotal for his advanced English skills and welcoming smile. A recipient of The Friend's Project's education scholarship, Alonso has finished his secondary school and is now studying English at UNAN León. We sat down to interview Alonso about his plans for English and development in the community of Ocotal.

When we asked Alonso what his childhood was like, he expressed that his English studies were a prominent part. "It was good because I could study in my community. It was easier for me [than for some other children studying in Ocotal] because I didn't have to walk a lot to go to school. My childhood was happy because my whole family helped me with my studies."

Alonso and his classmates of Las Minitas

Alonso shared with us that he decided to study English because it is an important part of his life and a way to help his family. " I want to get a job that uses English, and make some money to support myself and my family." He thinks that English will help him in his future career because it will allow him to "talk to American people and to work as a tourist guide here in the cooperative."Alonso thinks that English will help his community in Ocotal because people like himself who can speak in English will be able to translate for the visitors from places like the United States. He also thinks that he could possibly become an English teacher for some of the children in Ocotal.

When asked about his studies in the university, Alonso responded, "that is a long story because when I was in my second year of high school, I did't like the language or the career, but little by little I grew to like it more. It is currently my favorite subject. I am in my second year of studies in the university and I also study here in my community."

Alonso shared with us that although he sometimes finds it difficult to communicate with English speakers due to the speed at which they speak, he is gradually getting better at understanding them. Alonso is the son of Emiliano Martinez, a local coffee farmer of Ocotal. As a member of the Los Altos de Ocotal cooportive, the family opens their home to visitors and students as a host family. "When some Americans stay at my house, I talk to them and they feel more comfortable because they can have at least a short conversation with me and ask questions about my family and tell me about their families."

Enlace Project English School is very proud of Alonso and his progression with his English studies. His story, alike that of  many others who study at the Enlace Project English School, represents our growth since our doors opened in 2009. His new found appreciation for the English language and new cultural experiences reflect the hopes we have for our English students today. With graduation from both our program and the university in Alonso's near future we congratulate him on all of his accomplishments and encourage him to keep up the good work.

--Written by Bethany Nelson, Enlace Project Intern

English Students Write About Their Experiences, Part I

Since the English classes were divided this September, the Enlace Project English School team has been working hard to meet students' needs, adjusting their lessons and activities to help the students advance and provide them with professional English skills.

More recently, the teachers asked students to write about their experience with Enlace Project in order to better understand how the English class helps them meet their own goals. Below, you will find some excerpts from the students:

"My experience here in Enlace Project has been very nice and I have learned a lot... I've learned to capture the sounds of the language [which] is the hardest thing for me. It has been interesting to me [to] interact with foreign people who come to help and... develop our language learning which is of great importance... [I want] To develop myself intellectually with better quality since it will help my career studying and socially in my relationship with teachers and classmates..."

-Keyslor José Calderón Conteno, Second Level

Students in the intermediate class, including Nelson Israel [front right]

"When I started to study English in Enlace [Project]... [it] was hard to understand... [Now] I understand better... the experience has been really good. Studying here helped me to get a job and now I'm working teaching English. I feel good about that and I hope to continue to study here because I like the methodology that they use."

-Nelson Israel, Second Level

"...Many doors have been opened for me since I started studying English, opportunities that were not only given to me for my profession, which is why I would like to thank my teachers and the Enlace Project team for giving me the opportunity to study English, share their experiences and teach us many important things about American culture"

-Henry Chévez Garcia, Third Level

Keyslor [front-left] and Geovanni [front-left].

"My goals in English are to be able to have a good job and to help my family... I would like to be able to become a teacher... [and] travel to another country. [English] is very important in my life, I think that learning English is something that will always be important, and I hope that at the end [of my studies] I will find a job where I can make some good money."

-Geovanni Quiroz, Second Level

There will be more stories posted in the future, keep looking for them!

Familiar Faces: Mauricio Martinez

For many people, Don Mauricio Martinez is the face of Ocotal. As the patriarch of the beautiful and ample mountain community, Mauricio cares for the land and often refers to the environment as if it were a lifelong friend of his. We sat down for an interview with Mauricio to find out more about his life and the community:

Sean: Thank you for speaking with me, Don Mauricio. Were you born in Ocotal?

Mauricio: No, I was born in El Jicote, a community about a kilometer from here. When I was growing up, no one lived in this area. I built a house here when I was around 30 years old. The guy who owned this land hired me to work in the community as a farmer, so I built a house here.

Mauricio during the construction of El Ranchón, the mountain's restaurant.
This land was donated courtesy of Mauricio.

S: What was your youth like? How would you describe Ocotal in those times?

M: My youth was healthy and normal; I never had problems or fights with anyone. I had two cousins who I lived with, and we spent time learning how to play the guitar, the mandolin. We would spend entire nights just playing music. I worked a lot, mostly as a farmer, harvesting sugar cane, corn, coffee, and beans. Ocotal, at that time, was suffering because many pine trees were affected by a disease. The trees were all dry, and many were falling. There was a lot of deforestation by lumber companies, both legally and illegally. That’s why we decided it was important to care for the forest. We've been protecting and caring for it for more than thirty years now.

S: What are the best qualities of Ocotal? What does Ocotal have that other areas in Nicaragua do not?

A beautiful view of part of Ocotal's pine forest.

M: The pine needle forests are truly amazing. We have amazing nature all around us, and they are important to take care of. The environment is what gives us life, water, and the air we breathe. We started to care for the land  with of the help of the Danish Development Project "Manuel Lopez" (which years later helped formed the Coffee Cooperative "Manuel Lopez"), who came an gave us tools. Now we are lucky enough to have the Los Altos de Ocotal cooperative, so that we can show others the beauty we have around us. The members of the cooperative are good people, and also care for the environment.

S: What are some difficulties that the community of Ocotal faces?

M: Some people still do not recognize the need for working with the environment instead of against it. Much of the mountainous area that is closer to the city is damaged. We also need to focus beyond plant life, to animals too. We have a lot of beautiful wildlife to be seen. There are many types of birds and animals in Ocotal.

Sean and Mauricio together in 2013.

S: What is your vision for the future of Ocotal? 

M: I hope that one day we can all be responsible for taking care of our community, that we can work together to live with the environment, because in the end it is what protects us. I also hope that the tourism cooperative will be able to show others the beauty of Ocotal and that they too can learn to value the natural environment. Too often, it is believed that we as humans should be separate from the wild when really we are just another part of it.

New English Schedule Encourages Progress and Participation

Students in Enlace Project's intermediate class, a full classroom!

Enlace Project's English School is working to meet the growing needs of a range of English students. As more students pass from the beginner's class, the advanced students have been divided into two groups. Formerly, students who passed their level one exam would move to the advanced class, which covered levels two through six, and was taught in English by a native speaker.

The new intermediate and advanced classes are both taught completely in English, but aim to focus more on the specific needs of students. The intermediate class covers levels two and three and focuses on conversation, pronunciation, and major grammar tenses; the advanced class focuses on more advanced and professional skills such as reading, writing, and syntax.

The goal of teaching English at Enlace Project is to help Sauceños develop a skill that they can use in job seeking as well as in their personal lives. When the program started five years ago, there was a huge desire in El Sauce for a convenient and affordable English class. The low price (an equivalent of $6/month) and class schedule (at night, so that those who work can study) allows for a variety of students to enter and participate in the class.

Luzvelia Sevilla, from the advanced class, teaching students from the
intermediate class.

The new class schedule hopes to appeal to all the students, allowing for a more specialized curriculum. Students study at their own pace through a series of books and arrive to the class for practice, review, and activities. Those who have just passed from first level to the intermediate class will find the activities more difficult, but easy to adjust to; the same applies for those who pass from the intermediate to the advanced class.

The most advanced members of the class are aiming high; all of the students in the new advanced class (and a few in the intermediate) have found jobs that require knowledge of the English language. The new classes give these students motivation to continue advancing and encouraging others to do the same.

Other events such as cultural celebrations, held twice a year to give the students a chance to use their English in the form of skits and songs, encourage students to have fun while learning. Students in the advanced class are also given the opportunity to prepare a lesson for the intermediate students, designing materials and activities to teach. By doing so, they are given the chance to develop professional skills that could serve them in their search for employment. As the advance class develops, students will also have the opportunity to develop additional skills, such as translation and interpretation.

--Written by Sean Conner, Enlace Project Intern

Students from Enlace Project English school perform a skit about Nicaraguan culture for
friends, families, and guests from SUNY Geneseo's Service Learning Program.

Ocotal Cabin Welcomes Guests, Growth For The Cooperative

The new cabin, to the side of El Ranchón.

In September 2014, hundreds of people from around the municipality of El Sauce–and some from even farther–gathered in El Ranchón, the "home base" for the Los Altos de Ocotal (LAOS), to celebrate the inauguration of a new cabin. With traditional food and coffee, speeches from local figures and members of the community, and traditional dance and music, the celebration was a bright sign of what the future holds for the cooperative. In addition to the mayor and other local officials, members of the local media, tourism promoters, and Canadian delegates were present.

Don Mauricio (right) is the patriarch of the Ocotal community.

The cabin's construction was funded by PIMCHAS, a Canadian project, and executed by El Sauce's municipal government in order to help the cooperative as they hope to reach new audiences and increase the flow of tourists to the destination. Likewise, LAOS has been working with UPOLI, ViaNica, and INTUR, the National Institute of Tourism, to develop a plan for the cooperative's development, including promoting Ocotal as a tourist destination. Marino Valdivia, leader of LAOS, commented, "Not only are we organized, but we are strong. We are being recognized all over the country."

Enlace Project began working with the mountain cooperative and their partners in the Manuel Lopez Coffee Cooperative and Fuente de Pino cooperative in 2006. The Entrepreneurial Development Program, which is now in charge of consulting and providing assistance to the cooperatives, is exited about the process the cooperatives have made. Since the inauguration, many local visitors have climbed the mountain to stay in the cabin; however, the cooperative hopes to attract international visitors as well.

Enrique, top right, of the Entrepreneurial Development Program, meets with
members of LAOS and INTUR.

In a meeting in mid-October, Enlace Project, UPOLI (Universidad Politécnica de Nicaragua), and LAOS met to discuss the future of the cooperative. Now, LAOS is working to develop the type of tourism that they want to see in their community; they are focusing on protecting the environment, something that is very important to them, ever since the cooperative was formed. They take pride in showing visitors the lifestyle in 'el campo' and showing them the natural beauty of the landscape–including one of the only pine forests in the department of León.

Plans for the future include converting an area of the community into a protected ecological zone. Look out for updates on the tourism cooperative's projects.

-Written by Sean Conner, Enlace Project Intern

Student Testimonial: Tamara Kurek

Tamara at a health post with the local doctor and nurse.

Tamara Kurek, a junior Biology at SUNY Geneseo, traveled to El Sauce in June of 2014 to participate in the school's Service Learning class, supported and run by Enlace Project. Here's what she had to say when reflecting on her experience:

I spent a month in El Sauce this past summer completing a Global Service Learning course through SUNY Geneseo. The bulk of my time was spent shadowing doctors and nurses at rural health posts, helping teach English classes at the Enlace Project English School, and traveling around different parts of Nicaragua. I learned about my future profession as a physician, a new culture, and about myself through the wonderful people I met.

Tamara (second on the left) watches the English students perform skits.

 At the health posts, I quickly became friends with the nurse and doctors who rotated through during the week. They were more than willing to teach me about their daily tasks and train me in a few of them so that I could help increase the number of patients they saw in a day. They were equally as open to just chat about their lives and what it was like to work in healthcare in Nicaragua. The tasks that I was assigned to were weighing patients, taking blood pressures, and writing out scripts for medications. These tasks, while simple, were endlessly exciting to me as a Biology major on the Pre-med track. Simply watching the doctors attend patients, too, was a great learning experience. 

Participating in the English classes was one of many activities that contributed to the overall experience of getting to know the people of El Sauce. During those afternoons, I was touched and endlessly impressed by the students’ persistence and positive attitudes in learning the English language. The young adults in Juan’s level one class advanced in skill each week I was there, and they took our criticisms gracefully when we worked with them on their pronunciation. On our weekend trips we got to see cities like León and Granada and learn about the country’s history. While we were in León we went to an art gallery that featured many Nicaraguan artists’ work, and that visit inspired me to choose Nicaraguan art in the 20th century as the focus for an art history paper that I am to write at Geneseo this semester.

Tamara (right) in Granada with the other Service Learning students.

I kept a journal all throughout the month I was in Nicaragua, and the last entry, written on the plane from Managua to Miami, was this:

“I’ll remember the people that I met on this trip forever, even once I forget the details of what I saw and did”. 

I know this is true, and I hope to keep in touch with the people I met there and with Enlace Project for years to come.

Benefit Dinners Help Enlace Project and its Partners to Support Rural Education

Enlace Project Geneseo students prepare by hanging a 'welcome' sign.

Enlace Project is extremely lucky to have partners in the U.S. that go above and beyond in their fundraising (and cooking) efforts. This September, both Avon for Nicaragua and Enlace Project Geneseo (EPG) worked to raise money for school constructions in the communities around El Sauce, Nicaragua. The school construction projects, part of Enlace Project's community development services, have occurred once per year in the past; however, with the expanded efforts of Enlace Project's partners, 2014 is the first year that two schools have been built.

Avon for Nicaragua displays information on the project.

Avon for Nicaragua's Spaghetti Dinner, held on September 26 at the local high school cafeteria, brought together members of the group and community to celebrate the value of education. Many volunteers had traveled to Nicaragua on a trip in February 2014 in order to see their funds in action; the group helped local construction workers and the Enlace Project team as they built the school up from the ground in Buena Vista. The group reflected fondly on the experience, gaining appreciation for education and Nicaraguan culture.

The group, with old and new members, plans to return in February 2015 for another construction, and possibly again for the second later that same year. In addition to the Spaghetti Dinner, Avon for Nicaragua hosted a raffle and has talked with the local rotary club about the school construction, all of which have proven effective for fundraising and increasing support of the construction project.

Enlace Project Geneseo has also grown in size and enthusiasm, as the club became officially recognized on the SUNY Geneseo campus this year. New members, many of whom participated in Enlace Project's study abroad trips during the summer of 2014, joined the club's founding members to host a traditional Nicaraguan dinner at the Interfaith Center on September 28with the help of Juan Mairena, Enlace Project's Academic and Volunteer Trip Coordinator. Geneseo Professor Glenn McClure was also essential in planning the menu for the evening.

EPG worked with other student organizations to make the dinner successful.

The Geneseo club decided to raise money for Enlace Project's school construction in San Cayetano, which is currently underway. EPG also sold baskets from Fuente de Pino, spreading the word about the women's cooperative and life in El Sauce. Last year, the club also helped to bring coffee from the Manuel López cooperative to campus, and are now looking to other projects for the upcoming year.

Between the two fundraisers, the groups raised over $1,500 towards the school constructions, which will help children in rural communities be able to attend schools without walking several miles to other communities' schools. The school construction program works with the El Sauce mayor's office and members of the communities to make the project as effective as possible.

Additionally, the schools are supplied with learning materials to motivate students. Click here to read the story of Las Minitas.

--Written by Sean Conner, Enlace Project Intern

Ella and Kirk Vanderbilt at the Avon for Nicaragua dinner.