For the Curious ones amongst us
Here we explain more clearly what we mean with our words/definitions and we give much more details, for all the nerds, detail-seekers, truth-seekers, people that are inspired by our story or any other reason to dive deeper with us.
Los Comales
The forest
Mining companies
Los Comales is the name of the piece of land that will be bought with our capital. It is located on the top of the mountain, near La Laguna, a little village near San Ramon in the indigenous territory of Matagalpa
The forest is at the border of the Bosawas reserve, which is the largest rainforest of central America, but the forest reserves are exhausting quickly. The forest represents more than the flora and fauna of the area, it is the backbone of the culture of the local protectors of the forest. It is the basis of their rituals, trades, traditions and so much more. The loss of the forest is more than a loss of the bio- diversity but also the culture that emerges from it.
In Nicaragua, the aftermath of the crisis in 2018 has brought on an economic crisis. The crisis has been made worse due to further economic losses caused by the Covid- 19 pandemic.
As a result, mining companies are coming to the indigenous territory in Matagalpa, to convince the local owners of the land to sell their forests, so they can extract gold from these areas. They are exploiting the vulnerable situation of the locals, who have few other alternatives to sustain themselves.
Agroforestry
ag·ro·for·est·ry |
Definition of agroforestry: land management involving the growing of trees in association with food crops or pastures
In our case: This land is a coffee plantation of 8 ha. Now it is filled with coffee that is being grown with chemicals. When the cooperation is able to buy the land, the women will need three years for the land to restore itself and filter all the chemicals out of the soil. These years, the coffee will be sold at the market price of Nicaragua. After that, the coffee will be grown for the
organic brand d’Yasica.
Restore the earth
One of the most important goals is to restore the earth, the mother that feeds all her children, which is corresponding with the way of living of the women of the cooperation. The land will provide space for forest. Because the forest and coffee can grow very well together. The forest provides shade for the coffee, cleans the soil, provides clean drinking water and oxygen. In the ecological and climate crisis that we are now facing, all forests are an absolute necessity.
Other-than-humans
All living creatures and energies which we share the earth with, including animals, plants and fungi.But also spirits and ancestors.
Easy money
If we don't buy the land before February, it can be bought by money seekers!
Revival of Ancestral Traditions
In previous years and as a result of economic poverty, people from our community sold 8 hectares of forest in areas with water stocks. The new owner cut 95% of the trees to grow coffee without shade and with many chemicals.
Now, it is being sold again, completely full of coffee. For us it is a great opportunity to recover the land and re- establish the forest and grow the coffee in an organic way.
At this moment the village is taken over by mining companies searching for gold. By buying the land, we would stop them from entering that territory. Because they need to have the permission of the owner to excavate for the gold and we will not allow it!
Part of their life is to rediscover traditions of their ancestors who lived in, with, for and from the forest. These traditions got lost during colonization, but more and more descendants are rediscovering these traditions. Because they feel that in such times of crisis it is needed, this gives them strength and hope for the future.
By lending your money, you can become part of reviving these traditions, which have gained popularity in the West as well.
Improvement of Women's Conditions
Owning this land will give the cooperation, especially in the future, a lot of security. The coffee prices were very high this year, because of the failed coffee harvest in Brazil. But because they don’t own enough land, it became more difficult for the cooperation to have a profitable business. The security they have by owning their own land, provides independence and autonomy to run their business with ecological methods. This is very important for the women working in the cooperation, who all are being empowered by the cooperation to be independent.
Legally Binding Contract
To ensure a proper processing of your loan we have found a lawyer in Nicaragua to set up the administrative logistics. They will also set up a legally binding contract for both parties.
Our lawyer from Nicaragua: Allan Vega Duarte
The contract will be verified by multiple lawyers.
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Sold
The security for the loan is the land. If the cooperative goes bankrupt, the land will become property of the investors. In the first place the cooperative will try to pay all the money back to own the land, if this is not possible the land will be ours and we will contact everybody with the question if we want to sell the land, give it to the women of the cooperative or keep it to safeguard the land, regenerate the forest entirely and still contribute to the quality of the earth.
Because the future is never predictable, if a dramatic event were to happen, we might lose the land and the repayment of the money cannot be guaranteed.
You do not want to have all your money back.
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There is the possibility of choosing that you do not want to have all your money back. By doing this, we can cover all our expenses like the website, ask for reciprocity for the energy we have put in the project and if it is a lot, lighten the burden of repayment of the cooperative.
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