Blogs

Esperanza en Accion is in need of a volunteer to coordinate a new volunteer program in the US. The time commitment is minimal, basically it just involves some emailing and sending information to folks as well as updating a facebook page. If you are interested please send an email to emily@esperanzaenaccion.org

Jennie Brown was a volunteer in Nicaragua with Esperanza en Accion for the month of May, 2010.  As a volunteer with 10,000 Villages in Atlanta, GA, Jennie was no stranger to the idea of fair trade, but left Nicaragua with a new appreciation for fair trade after seeing the challenges that artisans overcome to access fair trade markets.

Saturday, May 8th was Fair Trade Day, an international event that is dedicated to celebrating and recognizing the importance of Fair Trade. Esperanza en Accion put out a newsletter with lots of ideas of how to spread the news about fair trade through movie screenings, games and events that can help to promote global awareness.

If you want to stay updated on Esperanza en Accion's work please 'friend' us on facebook. Through our facebook page you can see pictures and hear about the latest news first. You can read artisan stories and more about Esperanza en Accion projects. If you sign up during the month of May you will have the opportunity to participate in a raffle for a beautiful piece of Nicaraguan artwork.

Esperanza en Accion's training took place in Managua the 22-24th of February with 25 artisans in attendence. This training was given in collaboration with IMPYME, a local government branch that tailors it's services to small and medium business owners in Nicaragua. Artisans spent two days learning about quality control, product promotion and how to create a saving plan in addition to sharing information about their lives and their work.

One representative from each of the 25 artisan groups we work with will be attending a training in Managua sponsored by Esperanza en Accion. The training will cover the topics of How to Promote a Product, Quality Norms in Nicaragua as well as information about Production Costs. This is the first training of 2010 and we are excited to share the outcome of this training series.

Today we made a loan to the Expoventa stone carvers group. It was our largest yet, a total of $600 that will allow them to travel and mine more stone to work with.

Esperanza en Acción was mentioned in the "Lansing State Journal", a Lansing, Michigan newspaper. Esperanza en Acción was the inspiration for Gail Catron to open her small fair trade store in the heart of Lansing. Read the article: http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20100111/NEWS03/1110325/1004/NEWS03

I am writing to you from atop a mountain in northwest Nicaragua. If you look to the north 3 or 4 mountain ridges away is Honduras. And to the west you can see San Cristobal volcano and a glimmer of the sunset sparkling off the Gulf of Fonseca. They say that on a clear day (or if you use your imagination!) you can see El Salvador on the other side. The indigenous people call this mountain Oroquina. The primary tribe here is the Chorotega and their language is Nahan.