Project Bona Fide

Blog and photos from Matthew C

Hello from Ometepe, Nicaragua!

I’ve spent the last 2 months or so here on Ometepe island in Lake Nicaragua volunteering at Project Bona Fide, a permaculture farm based in the small community of Balgue. Each day starts at 6:45 here on the farm, when all the volunteers meet in the communal kitchen areas and break off into different groups going to work in different places on the farm. The options include taking care of the chickens, helping make breakfast, and watering plants. I usually opt for the field, or watering plants for the first hour of work. After a break for breakfast, everyone goes on to work either in the field, nursery, kitchen or garden. Again, I usually choose to work in the field, which entails things like harvesting fruits, helping build new structures and taking care of trees in the “zone 5” areas of the farm, or those lesser-used areas. After lunch at 12 noon, the rest of the day is free. After work, I enjoy hanging out in town, hiking to an amazing view point on Volcan Maderas or just relaxing in a hammock.