Comunidad Connect: Cultural Connections Trip- Winter

Live, work, and volunteer deep in the coffee-growing region of Nicaragua. Learn about Comunidad Connect and our work in sustainable community development by participating in it first-hand!

Itinerary:

Saturday December 2nd, 2017:
PM: Arrival, check in and orientation

Sunday
AM: Travel to Los Robles, Jinotega, where the group will stay at Finca El Peten, an organic coffee farm overlooking a pristine mountain lake.
PM: Tour the coffee farm and the mill at Finca El Peten. Learn about Comunidad Connect projects.

Monday
AM: Participate in the local coffee harvest alongside farmers, seasonal pickets, and millers.
PM: Volunteer with Comunidad Connect building improved stoves or ovens, whitewashing walls, or building cement floors with rural residents. These projects are meant to prevent respiratory and contagious diseases.

Tuesday
AM: Continue with volunteer building projects in the community.
PM: Travel to a model organic coffee farm with some of the best coffee around, to join the owner on a farm tour and discussion. Coffee cupping (or tasting) at a fair trade coffee cooperative.

Wednesday
AM: Continue with volunteer building projects in the community.
PM: Take a light hike to a waterfall or enjoy a cup of coffee and a spectacular view.

Thursday

AM: Continue with volunteer building projects in the community.
PM: Speak with a small farm owner in the rural community of Los Robles to learn about his family’s history in farming, the techniques passed down through generations, and compare the differences between large and small scale coffee farms.

Friday
AM: Travel to the colonial capital Granada, a 500-year-old city which was the entry point to Latin American for the Spaniards.
PM: Wander the streets of Granada on a guided city tour to visit beautiful cathedrals, bells towers, art galleries, and a museum with pre-Colombian artifacts.

Saturday
AM: Tour the tree canopy on a zipline and visit to an organic coffee farm with a non-profit foundation on the slopes of the extinct Mombacho Volcano.
PM: Spend the afternoon relaxing, swimming, and kayaking at a beautiful crater lake and nature reserve with breathtaking views.

Sunday
AM: Departure from Nicaragua.