Women Take First Steps Toward Economic Security with Community Banks

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Women in rural Nicaraguan communities have many skills, including sewing, cooking and more. With CEPAD’s community bank program, they learn to turn those skills into businesses so they can make money for their families.

For many this will be the first time they have earned money for their families and represents a transformational shift in their self-esteem.

CEPAD is working with 35 women from seven villages near Matagalpa, to set up a new community bank in each village. CEPAD funds the bank, and the women run it to ensure accountability and a productive use of the funds. The goal is for every member of the bank to start a small business, such as selling food, tailoring clothes, or setting up a small store to sell household goods.

Each woman starts with a small loan, between $20 and $100, and pays it back over four months. With time, the size of the loans will increase to match the capacity of her business. Read more

News Roundup: The Nicaraguan Interoceanic Canal

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As news of the Nicaraguan Interoceanic Canal begins to get more international attention, we know it can be difficult to keep up with every update. Between conflicting environmental reports, news of protests, and potentially positive indicators about the economy, there is much news to follow. And, soon we’ll have more information for you on how the canal is impacting CEPAD’s work in southern Nicaragua. We’ve already had to cease work in one village in Nueva Guinea because the people there were unwilling to work with outsiders after negative interactions with government employees related to the canal. As a non-political organization, CEPAD’s work does not directly address the canal, but we are aware of its impact on the people we work with.

Here, we’ve compiled 10 English-language articles that examine different political, environmental and cultural questions about the canal. We hope this will be a resource you can look to and share! As always, we’ll post major news about the canal and other events in Nicaragua on our Facebook page, and we look forward to having more information from the Nicaraguan government and HKND about the feasibility and environmental studies they have conducted, as well as official plans.

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Calling all Donors to Travel!

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We are excited to announce the opportunity for supporters of CEPAD to travel to Nicaragua to see, first-hand, the programs you make possible. Click the link below to download a brochure to learn more, we hope to see you soon! Donor Trip 2015 Brochure

WE’RE HIRING! CEPAD Is Seeking A Communications Intern

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After two years, our communications whiz Audrey White will be leaving the position. We’re seeking someone with strong writing skills and a passion for sustainable development in Central America for a one year commitment to CEPAD. The intern will be based in Nicaragua and receive a stipend of $5,000 per year (plus support to fundraise additional money).

CEPAD is a Nicaraguan NGO dedicated to providing sustainable solutions to farmers, families, women, youth and pastors in rural communities around the country. In 43 years, our work has adapted to the changing needs of Nicaraguan people and currently uses a 5-year accompaniment model. Read more about our programs here.

The position offers a truly transformative experience with opportunities to contribute to many areas of CEPAD’s work and build deep relationships with people all over Nicaragua. It’s a one of a kind opportunity for a young Read more

Emergency Drought Plan Offers Relief to Parched Farms

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After a year of record-breaking drought, CEPAD and our partners ACT Alliance and Episcopal Relief and Development have taken further steps to help Nicaraguan farmers who lost crops and are struggling to feed their families.

“We haven’t had a good harvest in two years, and we couldn’t have survived without CEPAD,” said Hermelinda Urbina of the community Nacascolo. “We need water more than anything, and now thanks to CEPAD we have food to eat until it starts to rain in May.”

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All of This is in the Reach of Our Hands

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Thanks to Sara Delaney and all our partners at Episcopal Relief and Development for this wonderful story of CEPAD’s work. ERD partners with our farming programs in Nueva Guinea and San Francisco Libre to help provide training and support for families and farmers there.

Over a hot, humid, rainy week in Nicaragua recently, I spent some time with our partner there, the Council of Protestant Churches of Nicaragua (CEPAD). This was my third visit to see their work, and I’ve written in previous years about the amazing mega-gardens that small farmers have created around their homes.

This time, I wanted to see for myself how CEPAD works to share ideas on the management of these gardens with farmers. So I attended a two-day exchange workshop that brought together about 40 participating men and women from the surrounding area. It was one workshop in a whole series that farmers go through over a three-year period, and this one featured techniques for making natural fertilizers and pesticides using local ingredients.

 Read the rest of the story at the Episcopal Relief and Development blog.

Leon High School Celebrates 36 Graduates

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Join us at CEPAD in celebrating 36 graduating seniors from the Instituto Marcos A. Mendieta in Leon, Nicaragua! We are so proud of these young people who worked hard to complete their high school degrees.

CEPAD founded the institute 25 years ago in response to a crisis of education after Nicaragua’s brutal civil war. Many adults had never been able to finish school, so CEPAD created distance learning opportunities so people could earn their degrees after the war. Today, the institute’s graduates are a mix of distance learning students and those who attend the school daily. The school is entirely self-funded but remains closely connected to CEPAD’s programs.

“We feel proud to be presenting 36 new graduates to the community of Leon,” said María Cristina Espinoza, the institute’s principal, during the graduation ceremony. “We hope you will join us in the honor of helping them continue in their development and education.”

Most of the students are continuing to pursue a technical or university degree. This week, they celebrated during a ceremony with music, performance and the presentation of their high school diplomas.

“We are so thankful to our parents, teachers and to God for helping us reach this point,” said Tercero Alfonso, one of the graduates. “I wish blessing for all of us so we may become great men and women.”

Happy Thanksgiving From CEPAD!

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Strategic Planning Workshop Transforms Dreams Into Skills

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Unity. Strength. Forward Movement. Love as a family. Love for God. Deep thankfulness. Hope for the future.

These are a few of the things CEPAD community leaders said they felt after a two-day workshop where they learned how to solidify their visions for their cooperatives and associations and spring forward into success.

Inocente Ramos Hernandez, the president of the community association for seven communities in the Matagalpa region, expressed his sincere thanks to the U.S. donors and friends who made the workshop possible with their donations to a special campaign in September. “Thank you so much for this gesture, we are so energized after these two days,” he said.

“It was an excellent opportunity to develop a plan we can implement,” Inocente said. “Our association focuses on training our associates in farming techniques and commercializing our products, and now we understand all the elements that will go into making that happen.”

Inocente believes ASOCAD will transform the seven communities in Matagalpa where CEPAD began work in 2009.

Inocente says ASOCAD will transform seven communities in Matagalpa where CEPAD began work in 2009.

With guidance from CEPAD staff, participants outlined goals, set mission statements and developed action plans that will allow their six community organizations to bring better financial opportunities to all 43 communities where CEPAD worked from 2009-2014. Read more

Communities Celebrate Five Fruitful Years

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At a celebration in San Francisco Libre, community leaders gave a gift of squash, corn, plantains and limes to CEPAD staff. It was a beautiful gesture from families who are facing a difficult crop year because of record drought. And the gift held even more meaning because they learned from CEPAD how to grow a diversity of produce that didn’t exist in their communities before 2009.

“CEPAD has taught us to fish for five years, and today they are entrusting us with the fishing rod,” said Jose Reyes, a community leader from San Benito Uno.

He and others said they are ready and excited to take what they learned from CEPAD and continue to strengthen their crops, families, and businesses. In their testimonies, community members shared the ways CEPAD had changed their lives. After five years, farmers were producing a greater diversity of foods and higher quality products. Danilo Espinoza, who worked with the youth leadership and family development program, said CEPAD gave him a new lease on life after an illness badly damaged his eyesight.

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