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Solar electricity – keeping people connected
It’s coming up to seven years since we installed the first solar kit in one of the rural communities near Masaya which don’t have electricity. Our original volunteer engineer, Marc Ricart (from Barcelona – centre in photo), left installers like Norman Padilla (right) with the skills to continue the scheme. ‘Proyecto Sol’ has now brought…
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The Masaya Volcano’s amazing butterflies
Here are some slightly surprising figures. In the whole of the British Isles, there are currently 59 known species of butterfly. In the national park that covers the Masaya volcano, the edge of which is a kilometre or two from our farm, so far over 180 species of butterfly have been identified. The park covers…
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Book Review: Sandinista: Carlos Fonseca and the Nicaraguan Revolution by Matilde Zimmermann
Living in Nicaragua I’m keen to learn all I can about its history and particularly that of the Sandinista revolution. I’ve always been interested in Fonseca’s role as the political inspiration for the Sandinista party and – within the party itself – its most respected figure, even though he died before the ‘triumph’ of 19…
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Palo Alto gets connected
Following a substantial grant from the British Embassy in Costa Rica (which also covers Nicaragua) towards Proyecto Sol, and a new donation from Midland Heart, the Birmingham-based housing association, we were able to extend the solar panel project to yet another community. It’s in the very isolated area between Nicaragua’s two big lakes, called Palo…
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A predictable election
The right-wing cynics were trying their best in the run up to Sunday’s election in Nicaragua. Correctly foreseeing victory by the incumbent President Daniel Ortega (he won with 64% of the vote), they were arguing that at the least sign of electoral manipulation the US should put its foot down. For example, only a few…
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Why Ortega Won
Right-wing cynics were trying their best in the run up to Sunday’s election in Nicaragua. Foreseeing victory for the incumbent, President Daniel Ortega (he won with 62 per cent of the vote), they argued that at the least sign of electoral manipulation the United States should put its foot down. Robert Callahan, the US ambassador…