My Trip to Betania's Finca

My trip to Betania:

On Wednesday, October 6^th I was able to make a trip out to Betania’s finca (farm).  I had told them I would be there the day before, but the truck I was going to drive broke down, so I was a day late.  I got up early, filled the truck with gas, (which is extremely expensive down here especially considering how bad the gas is), picked up my translator John, and then began the hour long drive to Betania on the horrid Nicaraguan dirt roads.  We arrived in Betania around 8:00, parked the truck next to the house of one of our friends from the church, and went to find Nestor, the Wista (judge/leader of Betania).  We found him at his house getting a hair cut from his son, and we were able to bargain that if he took us to the farm, we would give him a ride to Puerto Cabezas.  We began the fifteen minute walk to where the Kayukos (canoes) were waiting in a small river/creek; from there we loaded up into the kayuko and headed out to the farm.  It was about a twenty minute trip in the boats to the first farm location, when we arrived we unloaded and climbed the steep bank to where the Yucca area was located.  All of the yucca had lodged (fallen over) from the recent storm, and they explained that they get some sort of root rot when this happens, which is devastating because it is a root crop.  At this site we ate some fresh cocoa and I got attacked by a swarm of mosquitoes.

The next stop was across the river, about a five minute trip in the canoes; here we found more yucca and a rice field.  At this site they explained to me some of their crop rotations:

1)      1)Slash and burn a section of the forest.

2)      2)Plant beans (not till).

3)      3) Harvest beans and remove all organic matter.

4)      4)Plant rice (no till).

5)      5)Harvest rice and remove all organic matter.

6)      6)Plant a root crop and then go clear a new area to start the cycle over.

They also told me about some of their pest problems, and they told me they are able to get three bean crops per year and one rice crop, two if they are lucky.  I think they were confused when I was asking them when they plant and harvest, because they have such a large window for planting due to the consistently hot and wet weather.  I got to eat some fresh sugar cane, which is delicious, and they gave me some Philipita bananas to take home.  The biggest problem they have in their production system is access to a consistent supply of seed to plant new crops; they try to save some of the previous crop to use in the next planting, but when people start going hungry it is hard to tell them not to eat the seed.

When we returned to Betania, Nestor offered John and I lunch; which turned out to be awesome. It was basically the same dish we always get: rice, beans, and a little piece of chicken, but they cooked the rice in fresh coconut milk, and it was probably the best rice I have ever had in my life.  I gave Nestor and his family some extra soft drinks that I had in my bag and the tuna and crackers that John and I had planned on eating for lunch.  Shortly after we finished eating we hit the road and got back to Puerto Cabezas around 3:00.  Nestor told me I can come back any time to go fishing, and he also invited me to their big Miskito festival; unfortunately I was not able to make it to the festival, but the invitation shows that we have established a good relationship.  I plan on going back sometime this week just to keep myself visible in the community; I found out that they will be harvesting rice later this week, so I hope to experience that.  They will be planting beans in November, and if nothing else, I have a hand planter I can give them which should speed up the process.  I am working on getting them some improved varieties of rice from CIAT, a nonprofit company that does research and breeding in beans, rice, and other tropical crops to help reduce poverty and hunger in impoverished areas.  The only worry I have about doing this is that if they have a bad year or eat the entire crop, they have to go back to what they were using before.

Above is a picture of lodged yucca

Above is a picture of John, my translator, holding a cocoa fruit

Rice field above, and up close shot below

Bananas, sugar cane, weeds

The Miskito culture is fascinating, and I definitely will not have a problem finding enough information to write my undergraduate thesis on their life style, history, and farming techniques.  I want to do everything I can to help them, but it is going to be difficult, especially since I will not be here for an entire crop cycle.

P.S. Sorry for the lack of updates in the last ten days, I have been busy with school work and all my daily activities; I will do my best to keep the information coming.