Responding Generously to Nicaragua's Hospitality

The town of El Transito is the closest local community to the Montecristo Beach & Golf Resort. Jorge and I feel very strongly that the local community should benefit from the development of the surrounding area. We have initiated a number of projects, in collaboration with the local community, to help improve various aspects of life in the town.

Donations of building materials have helped with some construction needs, including a campaign to fix the roofs of homes in the town. We have also focused on providing educational opportunities such as the scholarship program at UNICA (one of the local universities) where we are currently sponsoring 26 students.

Health care needs are also a priority and a medical doctor was recently hired to visit the community three times a week so that local residents no longer need to undertake the journey to the capital for medical assistance.

One of the most recent initiatives is to support local businesses in El Transito with grants and small loans. A group of women from the town approached us requesting assistance for a new start-up hen framing and egg selling business. Chicken and eggs are popular mainstay food items in the local menu and the women feel that their projected income will allow them to better support their families, including educational needs for their children.

A revolving loan fund was set up to allow the group to begin breeding hens in order to sell eggs to the local community. The total amount of the loan was divided between the 23 women in the group. The total loan will need to be paid back (interest free) and once repaid the funds will be reinvested in another local business identified by the local community. In this way, the initial loan can continue to support new initiaives after the first project has become independent. As all the women in the group are relying on each other to repay the loan, the project has generated a real sense of community and support as well as extra income.

We look forward to letting you know about future projects in the El Transito area. If you would be interested in finding out more about our local projects or in donating to a specific project or to a general fund to be used for improvements in the town, please contact me at Lori@MontecristoBeach.com or via Community REfund where you can also see news and updates regarding our projects.

Association of Nicaraguan Investors and Developers (ANID)

Jorge is a member of the Steering Group of ANID which was founded in 2006 as the main organizational initiative of developers and investors involved in the real estate industry in Nicaragua.

The members of the organization share a vision of growing as a business group and contributing positively to the country of Nicaragua. Jorge is often a spokesperson for ANID in the local and national media.

Lori manages the ANID administration and co-ordinates ANID events such as workshops, conferences and fundraising events. Please feel free to contact Lori for further information about the activities of ANID at Lori@MontecristoBeach.com.