Who are they?
The Association of Women Environmentalists in the barrio Boris-Vega of Esteli, Nicaragua was born in 1996. They are a group of women deeply concerned for the health and safety of their children. Lying in the lowest part of the valley was a stretch of vacant land used as an illegal dumping ground by locals, who dumped everything, including dead animals in a festering heap. Trash filled the creek and chemicals leached into the stream that winds the around edge of the property. Detesting this, the women began to take measures to clean up the three acre lot to make it safe for their children once again. Along the way someone suggested that they separate the garbage and recycle it. Once the land was cleaned and cleared they turned to recycling paper and the organization was born. The original group of about fifteen women drifted apart and ceased to function. Later a smaller group re initiated the project in a more focused direction. Through a government grant the city of Esteli, built the buildings and and provided the equipment to begin the recycling of paper.
What are some of the things they do?
The women have been reprocessing organic waste, using traditional and vermi-composting
methods. They have created an ornamental and forest plant nursery.
The central core of their work is recycling paper mixed with plant-based waste such as banana stalks, corn husks and coconut shells that they artfully craft into beautiful greeting cards which they sell in their own store and in cafes around town.
What else?
They have initiated activities that are improving environmental conditions in their neighborhood, promoting among the local population both the use of their ecologically sustainable products and the habit of separating household trash. They have shared their experience with other local and national initiatives, directing educational campaigns and implementing small environmental projects in conjunction with several non-governmental organizations. These include, Casa del Tercer Mundo, SINSLANI, POSAF-Marena, Grodema, the Environmentalist Group of Barcelona, and NOV-Barris, their sister neighborhood in Barcelona, Spain.
The project is currently made up of
five women who have been able to develop their abilities taking on important
roles and responsibilities in their small enterprise. In recent years they have
promoted environmental education by hosting training sessions and by organizing
a club of young ecologists called Eco-Kids, made up of children from theirs and
other neighborhoods.
Today these women are well known for their project and its important work.
By welcoming young foreigners who come to volunteer in their project, they have grown and benefited from the talents and ideas each visitor brings to the project.
The primary means of support and survival of their families and is wholly based on the sale of their ecological products, such as: