Planting seeds of friendship

Published 7:00 am Wednesday, October 4, 2006

Drought-weary Nicaraguan delegation inspired by Bainbridge farms.

After nearly two weeks of new places and faces, Nicaraguan coffee grower Santos Lopez felt right at home on the the island’s farms.

“The way people work here, I can see their dedication,” he said, while strolling the vineyards and greenhouses at Day Road Farm last week. “The farms are small and there are not many here, but what I have tasted is excellent.”

Lopez was one of 15 delegates who visited the island last month to commemorate a 20-year relationship between Bainbridge and the island of Ometepe, in Lake Nicaragua.

Sponsored by the Bainbridge-Ometepe Sister Islands Association, the trip included tours of island schools, home stays with local families, excursions to Seattle and numerous get-togethers and parties celebrating the various ties between the two islands.

The delegation included teachers, doctors, nurses, students and a former mayor who was particularly fascinated by the winemaking machinery at Day Road Farm.

“This machine, it is like what we use to get the husk from the coffee,” said Alcides Flores, the former mayor of the town of Altagracia, as he watched island winemaker Gerard Bentryn demonstrate how Bainbridge Island Winery processes grapes.

“It was an amazing, whirlwind experience for everyone,” said BOSIA founder Kim Esterberg of the delegation’s time on Bainbridge. “I think the experiences of these people will not be forgotten for the rest of their lives.”

Lopez won’t forget. He’s been taking notes and may bring a little bit of what he learned back to Ometepe.

“The tomatoes here are very big and very good, and the little ones are very sweet,” he said of the produce grown by the island’s Butler Green Farms. “On Ometepe, not many vegetables are grown for sale at the market. We have rice, beans, corn, coffee, but not tomatoes. But what I have seen here I think could work for us.”

Lopez was especially intrigued by the Butler Green greenhouses, constructed out of plastic tubing and clear tarp.

“Our (crops) droop and die from insects,” he said, letting his shoulders and arms sag like an ailing plant. “Maybe this method (can help) prevent that.”

Butler Green’s owner Brian MacWhorter said he’s ready to help.

“I would love to go down there to Ometepe and help,” said MacWhorter, whose daughter, Alana, has twice traveled to the Nicaraguan island as a student delegate. “I’d even like to work with them to maybe (import) more of what they grow up here to Bainbridge.”

Diversifying the largely agricultural island’s range of marketable produce is already in the works.

Storms and drought have taken a toll on Santos’ Finca Magdalena coffee cooperative. Production will likely fall by over one-third next year, according to Lopez.

“It is very dry and all crops are having a bad year,” he said.

A typical year yields about 30,000 pounds of coffee for export, much of which fills bags of Café Oro de Ometepe familiar to regular Town & Country Market shoppers. Sales from the fair-trade, organic coffee benefit various projects on Ometepe – from building clean water systems to literacy programs.

Despite the drought, Esterberg assures local coffee drinkers they’ll still get their fix.

BOSIA regularly relies on other organic growers on Ometepe to supplement the cooperative’s output and meet domestic demand.

“We will grow less, but we will grow it better,” Lopez said. “It will put more intention into our organic principles.”

These principles, Lopez found, are shared by island growers, including MacWhorter.

“They have made the decision here to grow organic because they also care for the soil and the health of their children,” Lopez said.

As the manager of Finca Magdalena, Lopez is spearheading a one-acre demonstration vegetable garden at his cooperative.

“We want to sell this to Ometepeans,” he said. “We hope it will encourage more people to grow organic.”

The connections between the two island’s farms is just one of many Esterberg says is a great source of pride for all those who have been involved with BOSIA over the last two decades.

“Looking back, it’s just so amazing,” he said. “The vitality of these relationships, and the many different people that have taken part…really, it just feels wonderful. I hope it continues to grow.”