Rancho Cotate Nicaragua Summer 2016

Start Date: Jun 6, 2016 11:00 PM
End Date: Jun 15, 2016 11:00 PM

TRAVEL.
Traveling with GSE means working alongside our Nicaraguan peers, hiking up a volcano through the mist of Lake Nicaragua, and visiting beautiful colonial Leon, a center of culture and history with many beautiful murals and cathedrals. Students experience Nicaragua through discussions about the countries social and environmental history. GSE Nicaragua staff and students welcome groups to their community and share their experience working on their school farms. Participants sample delicious local cuisine served at family farms, at local restaurants, as well as meals specially prepared for us and brought to our hostel.

LEARN.
Hands-on service-learning projects and cultural exchanges provide students with life changing learning opportunities. Students develop organic farming skills, practice Spanish, and participate in grassroots international relations while building crucial 21st century skills such as cross-cultural communication and collaboration.

IMPACT.
Last year students helped to build an irrigation system for a 1.5-acre school farm, a 10 x 15 meter greenhouse, and two medium-sized school gardens. The overall focus is on expanding production, building new garden sites, and developing a capacity to harvest plots year round by installing water tanks and well systems which will increase the number of harvest cycles by 40%. 100% of the produce grown will go to feeding hundreds of local students. Crops grown include: mangos, bananas, yuca, corn, tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, and many others.

GROW.
Plants aren’t the only things that grow! International travel facilitates profound transformation for students. Students return home with an understanding of a new culture, with new friends, and an inspiration to make change in their local and global community.