La Mariposa - La Concha

We left Leon feeling a little hot and bothered and arrived at a little sanctuary of a place, in the cool of the hills and booming volcanoes of Nicaragua. Our first impressions as we drive to La Mariposa are that we’ve made a great decision, as there is coolness in the air, and the surroundings are absolutely stunning, with nothing but endless hills, valleys and volcanoes, the landscapes covered with what we now know are pineapple and dragonfruit plantations.


La Mariposa combined two things that we planned to do on our travels; Spanish and volunteering, and this place ticked both boxes perfectly. We attended a Spanish school in the morning, in exchange for a few hours of easy volunteer work in the afternoons, which was not only rewarding, but taught us so much about Nicaragua and its people. During our time we worked with rescued animals; in the paradise of the beautiful organic garden; helped in the local school with children requiring a bit of extra attention;  and delivered food, medicines and basic supplies to those families that really needed help. We made a delivery to one family whose son had special needs, and in Nicaragua, there is no support at all for families, and with very basic living conditions (a few bits of corrugated panelling with no running water and only dry earth as their floor) the package was very gratefully received. This was certainly a tear-jerker for me, alongside many other moments during our time here. 


One of the areas purchased by the La Mariposa project is an area of land now protected from the deforestation that is taking place in the vicinity of the active volcanos. The largely pineapple and dragonfruit being the only fruit able to be cultivated due to the high sulphur levels. These farms produce 81% of the world’s dragonfruit is produced, but at a cost of huge deforestation, with the obvious consequences. Most of the produce is sent to Europe and the US. These ingredients are now firmly off my shopping list from now on!

Sadly the government is actively supporting the industry as it is throughout the country and in partnership with Chinese corps who are trading much needed modern infrastructure for Nicaragua’s timber and gold.


La Mariposa comes with a wonderful story, as it is a huge area of land purchased  by a British woman that moved to Nicaragua after adopting a 2 year old Nicaraguan girl after she lost her entire family in a conflict in the 90’s. The reserve was set-up with multiple objectives, all of which to improve the lives and surroundings of the local people, with all profits from accommodation just about keeping the project going. The project is truly one of the most inspiring places we’ve visited, akin to the AK Tenemit project in Guatemala, and we will continue to remember these places from here-on, and really hope to support them in some-way in the future. Link:


https://mariposaspanishschool.com/history-of-la-mariposa/



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