Jinotega is a city of about 50,000 in the province of the same name in the north central part of the country about 100 miles northeast of Managua. Jinotega nestles in a valley at the base of the Isabelia Mountain Range surrounding the town. About a 15-minute drive to the north is Lago de Apanás, one of Nicaragua’s largest lakes. Jinotega rests squarely in one of Nicaragua’s premier coffee-producing regions. The province accounts for nearly 80% of the country’s coffee production. There are a few internet shops that cater to locals, clothing and small food stores, vegetable and fruit markets, and one large grocery store. The views in are breathtaking, the people tranquillo, warm and welcoming.

Your home base is a large house in Jinotega. There are gender-separate rooms with bunk beds and cotton mattresses. You’ll bring a pillow, twin sheets, and a sleeping bag. You’ll have a cubby for your personal stuff and handy access to bathrooms and showers.

Five days a week, after breakfast, you will head off to work on your chosen project for the day. We typically work a five-hour day with a break for lunch. A rotating group of three or four students and one staffer may stay back from projects each day for what we call "home base.” The crew tidies up and cleans our living space, collects the mail, goes to the market for the day’s shopping, prepares lunch, and helps our cook with dinner preparations and clean-up afterwards. Home base crew might join another work crew later in the day. 

After work we make time for activities, such as playing soccer with neighborhood kids, listening to music, showering, and just relaxing. Several evenings each week after dinner, we set aside time to meet as a group of volunteers. This is a slow-down time to speak and listen to each other, share our reactions to the day or iron out occasional issues together. Once a week, everyone has the opportunity to call home.

There will be constant opportunities to explore and learn about Nicaragua’s culture and to mix and mingle with the community. You will go in pairs for day-stays once a week with a local family where you will practice your Spanish and experience the rhythms of daily life. We will have salsa dancing lessons, visit a nearby pottery village, have karaoke evenings with our friends. You’ll work side by side with Nicaraguans who don’t speak English but who, nevertheless, want to communicate with you. They will encourage you to try your Spanish language skills.

On weekends you will visit nearby Lake Apanas, a huge sparkling body of fresh water great for swimming and fishing. We will travel to Reserva Datahli and Reserva Silvestre El Jaguar that feature beautiful hikes and wildlife viewing. We will tour a coffee plantation and take an overnight trip to Esperanza Verde, an award-winning eco-farm. We visit Managua and Granada, the oldest colonial city in Central America, with tree-lined plazas, an ornate central square, cobblestone alleys and beautifully restored colonial-era homes. We’ll be sure to tour Masaya where the Mercado Viejo artisans’ market displays wares from across the country, and where we'll see the music and dance performances.