“Pangea Proxima visits a genuine organic coffee farm in Nicaragua: Finca Java”

Introduction: A very brief history of coffee:
·850: First known discovery of coffee berries. Legend of goat herder Kaldi of Ethiopia who notices goats are friskier after eating red berries of a local shrub. Experiments with the berries himself and begins to feel happier.
·1100: The coffee first trees are cultivated on the Arabian peninsula.  Coffee is first roasted and boiled by Arabs making “qahwa” — a beverage made from plants.
·1475: The world’s first coffee shop opens in Constantinople. It is followed by the establishment of two coffee houses in 1554.
·1995: Coffee is the world’s most popular beverage. More than 400 billion cups are consumed each year. It is a world commodity that is second only to oil.
   You may drink coffee everyday, but do you know where and how your coffee is produced? Is the coffee you’re drinking organic coffee or is it produced with poisonous pesticides and fertilizers.
   I (Trevor, owner/lead consultant of Pangea Proxima) can tell you that, now after my long weekend stay at Finca Java (FJ) in Nicaragua, when I look down into my daily mug of coffee it appears quite different and there is a an interesting story to be told below the rich blackness.
   I was introduced to Jon Thompson through his one of his inspiring community programs (Comunidad Connect) that he initiated in Southwestern Nicaragua. After discussing our interests in community development, he invited me up to Finca Java, where he is an operator and partial owner. Another owner and founder of the organic coffee farm happened to be another mutual friend of theirs, Chris Robertson (owner of Finca Las Nubes).
   Finca Java, is located about 20 minutes away from the town of Jinotega and is about a five hour drive North from San Juan del Sur, nearly spanning the entirety of Nicaragua. Finca Java is operating in the gorgeous Apanas Lake region, located 80 miles north of Managua Capital city. The lake is at 3,000 feet elevation and the mountains around it rise up to 7,000 feet. It was created as an artificial lake to provide hydroelectric power to the area. 
Panoramic view from the guest cabins at Finca Java
   The area enjoys a wetter climate than much of Nicaragua, and stays green year-round. It is ideal for growing coffee. Many of the farms that they are acquiring currently have organic coffee on some part of the land. Coffee is the most viable cash crop; although all manner of vegetables and fruits can be grown in the region. Annual agricultural returns of up to fifty percent on investment are feasible. A model prospectus is included herein. This area is poised for the development of bed and breakfasts, hotels, lake front restaurants, recreational facilities, as well as building lots and homes to serve the eminent arrival of baby boomers looking for the ideal spot to retire in. The potential for return on this level is unlimited.
Panoramic view from inside the shared dining facilities at Finca Java

Andruw overlooking Finca Java's organic garden
   Finca Java, S.A. was created to provide a vehicle for responsible development. It is creating opportunities for land ownership that are socially, and ecologically responsible, benefits not present in traditional investments. The land would actually produce a positive return on agricultural production alone. They are committed to organic systems which protect the environment and our health. Too many of us are witnessing loved ones dying from cancer due to chemically contaminated food production.
Medicinal Plants at the organic vegetable/fruit garden













These systems also support and protect the eco-systems our grandchildren will depend on. They are also committed to building a social infrastructure that would support increased productivity in a climate of cooperation. Its group of investors includes some of the most visionary and accomplished ecological land use professionals, agronomists and agricultural experts available anywhere. They are all committed to this long term, successful business strategy.
One of many old growth trees on the farm
   FJ grows organic sustainable shade grown coffee. Sustainable coffee is produced on a farm with high biological diversity and low chemical inputs. It conserves resources, protects the environment, produces efficiently, competes commercially and enhances the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole. We are dedicated to a system that enfranchises all involved. Their first concern is for the people for they are the true treasure of Nicaragua. FJ employs a polyculture shade system. This means that we have large shade trees of many varieties at the highest canopy level and banana trees at a lower level. This not only maintains the biodiversity of the forest but also the habitat of the birds and animals.



Chickens contribute to sustainable aspects of the farm
   Coffee (Coffea sp.) is a small understory tree or shrub, and has traditionally been grown amongst forest trees, in the shade.  Coffee grown in the shade, takes long to ripen, and is often thought to taste better because the long ripening times contribute to complex flavors.  In order to produce faster, higher yields and prevent the spread of coffee leaf rust (Hemileia vastatrix), many coffee plantations have begun to grow coffee under sunnier conditions. The fewer shade trees that are in coffee plantations, the less biodiversity there is in those plantations.
The various levels of shade components are seen here: Hardwood trees and banana plants rise above the coffee shrubs
   This loss of biodiversity, especially in birds, has led conscientious consumers to look for “shade grown” coffee.  However, coffee is grown under a continuum of conditions, from rustic or traditional, to full sun, and these “shades of shade” are not all equal when it comes to the health of ecosystems. Unfortunately, there is no official definition of “shade grown,” so coffee so labeled may be grown under what are technically shady conditions, but which are little better than full sun.
Jon inspects coffee berries from this year's harvest
Luscious coffee berries at Finca Java
    



















It is important to understand the various levels of growing coffee under shade.  This lists the five most typical categories, from the most desirable, traditional growing method, to the least diverse, most modern and technified method.
·         Rustic. Often used on small family farms. Coffee is grown  in the existing forest with little alteration of native vegetation.  Shade cover = 70-100%.
·         Traditional polyculture. Farmers plant particular tree and plant species, including fruit and vegetables both for the farmer and for market, fuel wood, medicinal plants, etc. Common tree species under which coffee is frequently grown include Inga, Grevillea, Acacia, Erythrina, and Gliricidia. Shade cover = 40-70%.
·         Commercial polyculture. More trees removed in order to increase the number of coffee plants.  Sometimes involves use of fertilizers and pesticides due to the lack of vegetative cover which helps prevent loss of soil nutrients, etc.
·         Shaded monoculture. Dense plantings of coffee under an overstory of only one or two tree species, which are heavily pruned.  Shade cover = 10-30%. As you can see, coffee grown in a shaded monoculture could technically be labeled “shade grown,” but it would probably not be what the consumer, concerned about biodiversity, is looking for.
   Good Nicaraguan coffees are considered a “classic” cup: great body, clean flavor, and balance. They are unique among Centrals in the fact that the highest grown (SHG grade: Strictly High Grown) do not develop the pronounced and sharp acidity of other Centrals.

Wet and dry mills are critical to the processing of coffee. FJ’s wet coffee mill is located on site and is the place where the ripe coffee cherries are classified by density, and the pulp layer removed by a wet milling machine.
The resulting beans in the parchment are then placed in fermenting tanks for a period that can go from 14 to 40 hours, depending on the relative temperature and climate conditions.
   FJ’s dry mill is located off-site about 30 minutes away and is shared by other smaller area coffee farms. A dry mill or “Beneficio,” as it is called in Spanish, is the plant where the coffee is sun-dried, spread out in concrete or well paved patios for some 10 to 12 days.
Finca Java's Beneficio is shared by other small independent coffee farms and is located off-site
The coffee is then placed to rest in well ventilated warehouses for a period of 45 to 60 days until the beans’ relative humidity is homogenized on the entire lot. This rest period, prior to de-hulling allows for the bean pores to close, which will give it great consistency and hardness that will enable its quality to last longer prior to and after its roasting.
Machines that separate the various sized of beans
Food stand at the beneficio
Coffee beans drying out at the beneficio


















A few important questions are answered below about your choice of coffee:

Why drink organic coffee?
   It is well known that many of the chemicals used on coffee farms are highly carcinogenic and banned by industrialized nations. The World Bank and USAID promoted high tech sun-grown coffee. Farmers were taught to increase the yield and ripen their cherries faster by cutting down the shade trees. Many farmers had no choice because often that was the condition to get bank credit. Cutting down the shade trees reduced the habitat for the birds that controlled pests. So farmers had to use synthetic pesticides. This required the increased use of synthetic fertilizers to give the extra energy taken up by the pesticides. Also, without the shade, the weeds increased and became difficult to control, so the farmers had to use synthetic weed killers. Coffee is one of the most chemical intensive crops. The farmers do not know how to use the chemicals safely and many suffer from health problems caused by chemicals like DDT. Groundwater is contaminated causing further environmental problems. The pulp of the cherries, which constitutes about 60% by weight, is removed to get the coffee beans. This pulp is then thrown into the rivers, which reduces the pH of the water and kills the marine life. Organically grown coffee goes back to the age-old method where coffee is grown under shade trees and pests and weeds are controlled by natural means. One of the greatest ways to use the pulp is to transform it into fertilizer using redworms. This is successfully done at many organic farms. We take the pulp and place it in bins where the worms eat it and turn it to worm castings. We then soak it in water, which is then sprayed as a foliar fertilizer over the plants. Sadly, many businesses use organic labels on products that are not organic. The new certification laws will hopefully reduce this problem. It is believed that coffee roasted at very high temperatures loses all the toxic chemicals, so the use of those chemicals may not be directly harmful to the consumer. Coffee farmers have suffered. We can help them live healthier lives and support our environment by using certified organic products.
Fair Trade coffee bags

Why use Fair Trade Coffee?
   Refer to the section on the plight of coffee farmers. The industry has long taken advantage of poor farmers and farm laborers. It is time to step up and be fair to people who produce the product we love so much. Fair Trade is an international organization that certifies farmers and their cooperatives without any cost to them.
The sellers of their products get to use the Fair Trade seal by paying a certain amount per pound. This money is then diverted to marketing of Fair Trade certified farm products and policing honest use of the seal. By using the Fair Trade seal the seller assures that the farmer is paid at least a minimum base price established by the Fair Trade Organization. This will assure that the farmers can live a dignified life. Fair Trade also makes sure that such farmers and their coops carry out community projects such as schools and health care, and that the farm labor is treated properly. The cost associated with coffee is only $.15/lb, which is less than half a penny per cup of coffee. The time has come to do a little something to help the farmers live a dignified life. Fair Trade Seal.
Beneficio workers (allowed one 15 minute break for every hour worked)
Organic crops at Fica Java
What is Shade-Grown coffee?
   Traditionally, coffee was always grown in the shade under the forest canopy. It was in the 1950s that the World Bank and USAID promoted high tech coffee, the farmers were asked to produce sun-grown coffee in order to increase production. The shade trees were therefore cut down. When the trees were cut down the birds lost their habitat. Without the birds, the worms were not kept under control, farmers had to rely on pesticides.
The coffee plants were stressed from growing in the sun and from the pesticides, to counteract this, chemical fertilizers had to be used. The sun also caused increased weed growth, necessitating use of chemical weed killers. The coffee cherries ripen faster in full sun, the quality of the coffee also became questionable. It is now generally believed that it was a mistake to cut down the trees, and we are now asking the farmers to go back to their age-old shade-grown coffee. The Smithsonian Institute certifies farms as Bird Friendly. The cost of certification is paid by roasters on charge per pound of Bird Friendly certified coffee sold. There are many farmers now growing shade grown coffee but they may not yet be certified.


2009 Presidential visit and speech at Finca Java
   President Daniel Ortega visited Finca Java in 2009 and gave a speech on self-sustainability and organic agriculture. The president called the farm a “fantastic model of diversification”. The theme was women in agriculture and self sufficient food production for Nicaragua. The minister of agriculture had gone looking for model sustainable farms in northern Nicaragua and found Finca Java to be the most impressive. Ambassadors from Switzerland, Taiwan, Luxembourg, ministers of agriculture, education, rural development, etc. and the heads of some UN delegations participated first in a discourse on how to more efficiently help poor farmers. Below is a video of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s visit to the farm in order to promote the importance of organic farming throughout the nation:

Pangea Proxima is in gratitude to Jon Thompson, Chris Robertson and the others at Fica Java for their hospitality and the depth of knowledge shared about their organic farming techniques.
To learn more about Finca Java, its farming methods and investment opportunities please visit www.fincajava.com

Oh yeah...and if you didn't think this place was special enough, where else can you see a white-faced monkey riding goats on a daily basis?
Finca Java's resident white-faced monkey lives with the farm's goats (free to roam) on a full-time basis. The goats consider him to be one of their pack. He ascended to leader of the herd quickly by not only riding the ram (seen pictured), but also by climbing trees and feeding the goats fruits and nuts that he finds. 

“Sprayed by the firehose of wisdom at Fica Las Nubes”

   While living in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, Trevor Stine (owner/lead consultant of Pangea Proxima) was connected to Chris Robertson (owner of Finca las Nubes) through Austin Drill (mutual friend and the owner/operator of Casa de Tierra). After a couple hours of chatting with Trevor and Andruw Russell (a carpenter and organic farmer from Vermont), Chris invited them to his organic farm located in the hills above town, where there are protected valleys for farming and large open pastures for grazing animals surrounded by natural forest with creeks and waterfalls. Also, there is abundant wildlife including three types of monkeys, sloth, deer and many bird species that may be observed while walking around the farm’s property.
Panoramic view from Finca Las Nubes
   Finca Las Nubes (FLN) is an intentional community. The intent is to create a sustainable lifestyle through partnership with local community. Its goals are to preserve nature for future generations while creating a continually improving, sustainable, self-sufficient and low impact community. Emphasis on stewardship of the land while developing full range of farm products through various sustainable technologies. Everything is made on the farm. It is a certified organic farm, which employs organic permaculture principles to produce a large variety of fruit and vegetables. Partnership with their neighbors is key to the long-term success of the project.
Finca Las Nubes overlooks San Juan del Sur
   FLN strives to learn humility, graciousness and indigenous knowledge of plants and nature from its local neighbors. They hope to inspire and empower others with knowledge, experience and resources to create a better model of how to live on the planet together. Respect is the most important part of all, respect for people, respect for nature and a healthy respect for the rights of future generations. FLN goal is to leave this place a better place than they found it.
Hydroponic gardens
Using fish castings for compost
   FLN is against development that denudes the land, leaves the locals landless and provides no employment for them. It is a recipe for disaster. They are first and foremost dedicated to preserving the environment and helping others do the same, then, to producing all of its own food. They have built a store to bring our healthy organic produce to their neighbors. The people involved with its project are devoted to helping others. They support the development of sustainable farming techniques and the promotion thereof. This totally private farm features hundreds of acres of indigenous forest which are enhanced by their annual planting of thousands of precious hardwood trees. Preservation and reforestation are a priority to creating an abundant future. The wildlife is healthy and protected within it. They have planted fruit orchards with dozens of varieties of citrus, mango, avocado, cashew, banana, papaya, coconut and many other exotic local fruits along with coffee and cocoa. Organic vegetable gardens supply their needs. At the nursery they start from seed and cuttings all manner of fruit, and hardwood trees, ornamental plants and vegetables. FLN imitates nature, while most farmers fight nature. Nature always wins. FLN makes organic microbial soil from worm castings fed from the wood shop shavings, cow and chicken manure and other organic waste. Compost and soil regeneration are key to a healthy farm. FLN employs mulching, composting and water saving techniques through the use of companion plantings, live and dead barriers, nitrogen fixers, organic fertilizers, organic disease control, biological pest control and plants that attract beneficials. There are chicken and turkey pens for organic eggs and meat. FLN has herds of cows, pigs and pelibuey (goat/sheep cross) to provide organic milk and meat. They do not intend on dying from eating chemically tainted foods. FLN has bee hives for honey and pollination. Oxen pull carts to move produce around the farm. The FLN farm crew is like family.
Milled wood from FLN for wood-working projects
   FLN intends to provide for all of its needs. They process all of our their timber for construction and their furniture in its own wood shop. FLN carpenters can produce any imaginable design. They frame their buildings, roof them with incredible tile and make all the cabinets and furniture designs that can be dreamt up. All hardware and metalwork are fashioned onsite. Almost everything is hand-made onsite, butcher, baker, candlestick maker…FLN has a fantastic construction crew building some beautiful and very permanent, stained concrete buildings with gorgeous wood sliding glass doors and windows.
One of the spectacular views from Finca Las Nubes
  In addition to its organic sustainable concepts, FLN has expanded its social sustainable nature by building and staffing a clinic to serve the community without charge. It provides clinic monitoring, medications for the month, nutrition counseling, an exercise session and a visit with our doctor. FLN has  also established a new clinic in a community called Baston. We have done this through a partnership with the Puesto de Salud run by the Ministry of Health (MINSA) and began enrolling diabetics from the surrounding rural area. Finca Las Nubes is designed to provide a base of operations for these projects.
   Pangea Proxima is thankful for its personal invitation to the farm and was truly inspired by the sustainable concepts that Chris Robertson and the inhabitants of Finca Las Nubes have in place and are practicing on a daily basis.
Trevor and Andruw at Finca Las Nubes
Chris Robertson and his granddaughter
















To learn more about Finca de las Nubes please visit www.fincalasnubes.com

“Nicaraguan Potable Water Projects”

   Pure and free drinking water is something that millions of people in industrialized nations all over the world enjoy on a daily basis and take for granted. On the other hand, one billion people in developing nations lack safe drinking water. Every day they risk their lives and health by drinking from contaminated sources.  They are missing out on a basic human right and die from preventable diseases because they do not have local access to free and pure drinking water.
   During Pangea Proxima’s month-long trip to Nicaragua three separate water filtration systems and two different distribution programs were discovered.
   Two of the water filtration systems discovered were being built and distributed throughout the Southwestern Nicaraguan communities by Fundacion Tierra, Newton-San Juan Sister City Project and David St. John. Fundacion Tierra and Newton are organizations based in San Juan del Sur and serve the greater area. David St. John is a retired architect.
Concrete BioSand water filter
   The first water filtration system initiated by the organizations was invented by a Canadian working in Guatemala. His BioSand Filter is a cement box, like a large water-cooler, filled with layers of sand and gravel. Contaminated well water is poured in the top, but as it works its way down through the mass, 100% of the viruses and parasites and 96% of the diarrhea-causing E. Coli bacteria, are trapped and killed. Since 2007 the Newton Workshop has installed over 600 BioSand filters in 30 rural communities around San Juan. The residence report markedly lower levels of illness and the filtered water has a great taste.
   In 2009 and 2010, Fundacion Tierra worked with their colleagues from Newton and NicaCans and established a maintainence program for the hundreds of filters that have been installed over the past 5 years. This program upgrades, repairs and educates the people to insure self sufficient use of the water filters.
    
   The second water filtration system was discovered by Pangea Proxima, coincidentally, when Trevor Stine (lead consultant for Pangea Proxima) traveled to El Encanto (about 2km north of San Juan del Sur) to inspect land that had recently been granted to Pangea Proxima in order to build an experimental straw bale structure. On the same land where the experimental structure is to be built a small workshop exists. Within the workshop a pilot project to manufacture, install and test the efficacy of a new model of BioSand Filter made entirely of lightweight PVC was being inaugurated in the area by David St. John, an architect from the US, and Fundacion Tierra. 
The plans for the newly designed 10-inch PVC BioSand water filter
    The new filter design was brought to the area by David and substitutes a 10-inch PVC pipe in place of the concrete. This design allows for a portable system that may be moved by its users. This is a very important change because the concrete version weighs about 350lbs. Within minutes of seeing and learning about the project, Trevor assisted in building the first dozen filters.
A local volunteer assisting David St. John
Building the first twelve 10-inch PVC BioSand filters for the San Juan del Sur area
   The third filter was discovered by Pangea Proxima, when
Trevor traveled to an organic coffee farm located in small community of Los Robles, located about 20 minutes away from the Northern city of Jinotega, Nicaragua. An organization called Nica Agua is distributing a filtration system utilizes a combination of clay and silver sulfate to filter bacteria and virus from water and is produced by Filtron. This unit is highly portable due to its size and light weight (about 10-15lbs.) 

    



















   Proyecto Nica Agua (PNA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a safe drinking water program into the homes and community of Los Robles, a village in the Jinotega Province of northern Nicaragua. Both community and individual health in this village suffers greatly from the lack of clean drinking water. The mission of PNA is to connect Los Robles residents with the tools, knowledge, and locally obtainable technology (eg. ceramic water filters that can be manufactured locally with local products) so they can provide themselves with clean drinking water on a daily basis, both immediately and in the long term.

User instructions are placed directly on the Filtron to ensure it is utilized correctly

   There is a home and public water component to the Nica Agua program. Twenty households (each typically housing 5-10 people) have been contacted and involved with a pilot program where representatives of NICA AGUA interviews the residents as to their knowledge and capacity to access safe water, test their household water, provide education and information as needed in the household, and provide access to a low tech ceramic water filter. The filter is manufactured locally and may be “earned” by recipients by performing approved community service projects. The children attending the local school have a severe problem with access to safe drinking water. PNA representatives have worked with the school principle and staff and have provided a retrofit of the present water storage system and water filters sufficient for the student population.

Children retrieving water from the larger version which was installed at their school (photo courtesy of Nica Agua)

Community members being instructed on how to filter their well water correctly by Nica Agua staff (photo courtesy of Nica Agua)

Community members receiving their home filter units (photo courtesy of Nica Agua)
   All three of the water filtration systems discussed within this blog are very useful in certain situations. Concrete is normally available everywhere, so this makes the concrete BioSand filter possible in most rural areas of the world. The second BioSand filter, which utilizes PVC piping in place of the concrete, is also very useful because of its portability, but finding 10-inch piping maybe problematic in many rural areas. The last filtration system, is by far the most portable of the three systems, but unless silver sulfate can be obtained locally and the ratio along with the knowledge of how the clay is mixed with the compound and developed into a filter is probably the most difficult of the three to produce from scratch.

To learn more about the concrete BioSand water filter, the Newton Project and Fundacion Tierra please visit http://www.biosandfilter.org/biosandfilter and www.newtonsanjuan.org.

To view the manual for the BioSand water filter please visit: http://www.cawst.org/en/resources/pubs/file/43-pi-for-bsf-manual-complete-english 

To learn more about the Filtron (clay/silver sulfate) filter, and Nica Agua please visit http://www.proyectonica-agua.org.

“David Gullette: Dreaming Nicaragua”

-Excerpt from David Gullette’s new book “Dreaming Nicaragua”
 
“–Surely you’ve heard. They want to build a canal from San Juan del Norte on the Costa Atlantica up the river and across the lake and right out into the blue Pacific, either right here in San Juan del Sur, or possibly up in Brito. With just my luck they’ll run it right down past my house so I’ll have brass bells and steam-whistles waking me instead of drunken poets and farting pigs.
–Ah yes, I’ve heard that rumor, says Jesse. It’s an old dream. Why even Baron von Humboldt used to salivate about cutting a trench between Brito and the lake. So did Louis Napoleon. Old story, ropa vieja. A pretty threadbare dream. I wouldn’t sell my horse for a rowboat just yet.”





   Trevor Stine (owner/lead consultant of Pangea Proxima) met David Gullette (US Professor/San Juan community leader/author) around 7am in the morning on his first morning in San Juan del Sur. David greeted Trevor with a smile/brief handshake and proceeded to guide him in the back of the crowded bed of his Toyota Helix. The double cab had already been occupied by another handful of volunteers. The bed was already occupied by five volunteers who happily made room for Trevor and his friend Andrew who were bound to see and participate in some of the positive community projects they heard about the night before. This particular project was a rural preschool, which was being constructed with natural materials with a combined group of revolving volunteers and locals. And so they went…. 
David Gullette (US Professor/Author/Community Champion)

    Since 1988, David Gullette and his wife Margaret have led the charge of the citizens of Newton, Massachusetts have joined in a partnership with fellow activists in the Pacific Coast town of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua (pop. 18,500). They have built or renovated twenty school houses in remote villages throughout the 250-square mile San Juan school district, constructed model homes for teachers, painted and renovated existing schools, rebuilt playgrounds, sponsored teacher workshops, and supported village pre-schools. They have helped create the Newton Workshop on Appropriate Technology where they build innovative water-purification systems and smoke-free cooking stoves. They also serve as the pass-through for the innovative Free High School for Adults.


….. The ride was extremely uncomfortable, but the destination was worth the discomfort. Upon arriving at San Antonio de Baston, a rural village about 30 minutes north of San Juan del Sur, the truck full of volunteers were warmly greeted by a handful of local women and children. The agenda for the day: sift earth, dig post holes and make compressed earthen bricks. Within minutes of unloading the truck and exchanging greetings the work began. Andruw Russell (carpenter and sustainable agriculturalist) and Trevor were assigned to the post digging group for the first two hours of the morning. The post holes would initiate the outer wall system which would form an octagonal shape. So there we (California and Vermont volunteers alongside a 14 year old and a couple other kids around 11 years old) were at 7:45am digging eight four-foot-deep post holes with a one pick axe, one primitive post hole digger and one long metal lever. We had quite an efficient system in effect by trading off tasks and finished all eight holes within a couple of hours. 

Andruw Russell surrounded by local children volunteering on the project
    After finishing our task we revolved over to the compressed earthen brick-making station. The design for the brick making machine was downloaded from the internet by David, and then fabricators were hired to produce the design from steel. It was quite a simple and efficient machine, which could be operated by women and children . It produced about one compressed earthen brick every three to five minutes (if the sifted sand and clay mix is pre-mixed and ready for use). 
   
Here is the efficient labor system we used to operate the machine:  

1. A mixture  of sand/clay (ratio needs to be tested according to the area's soil content) is packed into the machine's empty rectangular space.

  
    



































                                                                                                                                                             
2. A worker (or a couple small workers) pulls the level to compress the bricks.

 

 
   









   






  




3. A worker flips the necessary moving parts which allows the lever to function and cleans the rectangular space of debris. 
  




































4. The brick is removed and placed with the others and notes the sand/clay ratio being used by engraving the new brick.



   All of the volunteers seemed to enjoy working together to make the process as efficient as possible. The smaller children enjoyed the challenge of pulling the lever down hard enough (most times by hanging on the lever with their full weight) to complete the compression process.
   After a couple more hours of producing bricks we revolved over to the sifting team, which was located about a quarter mile away at a land where we quarried and sifted the clay and sand used to make the compressed earthen bricks. 










 
















    It was truly a process that included all ages and genders from the community and at the same time produce a visible end result, which led to a sense of group accomplishment.
Pangea Proxima is thankful to have shared a wonderful volunteer experience with David Gullette and his group of enthusiastic volunteers.




Community volunteers standing near their nearly completed area preschool (built with natural materials), one month after the post holes were dug.


To learn more about the Newton-San Juan del Sur Sister City Project please visit www.newtonsanjuan.org.

To learn more about David Gullette’s book “Dreaming Nicaragua” please visit http://mybookthemovie.blogspot.com/2011/06/david-gullettes-dreaming-nicaragua.html.
David reading an excerpt from his new book "Dreaming Nicaragua" to an audience at Gato Negro coffee shop in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua