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Nicaragua: Landmines, Coffee and Hope
Anybody out there with a café who wants to give advice to the café in Leon, Nicaragua as far as management, menu planning and prep, or whatever, it would be greatly appreciated. Maybe we could arrange a visit during our annual meeting? Read on below for a refresher on the project, and let Dean know if you would like to get involved.
It has been more than a decade since the armed struggle in Nicaragua resulted in the planting of tens of thousands of landmines throughout the Nicaraguan countryside. The mines were planted by both sides and were meant to maim the population, sending a message of terror to all who worked the fields and traveled the roads of their country. Most mines remain active and buried, betraying reconciliation throughout the land. We set up a café/roasterie (the first in Nicaragua) where all profits support the work of Walking Unidos, a nonprofit clinic that provides free prosthetics and therapy for landmine victims and the poor. Many of the employees are post therapy patients of the clinic, who are normalizing their disability in a good job with high visibility.
In 2001, Deans Beans helped set up a café/roasterie in Leon, Nicaragua that would serve as a source of income for the financing of a local clinic, called Walking Unidos. Despite more than a decade having passed since the end of armed struggles in Nicaragua, thousands of unexploded anti-personal landmines still pepper the countryside and roads across the country. Incredibly expensive and dangerous to remove, they remain active and buried, often having shifted locations underground as a result of mudslides and seasonal flooding. It is a question of when, not if, they will explode, causing injury to farmers and children.
The Polus Center, a Massachusetts non-profit organization, created the
clinic to serve the needs of landmine victims that go unserved due to the limited capacity of this struggling nation. Free of charge, they provided recycled and newly manufactured prosthetics, as well as physical therapy to individuals that have injured. However, they remain dependent on limited grants and donations to keep the operation running. Based on previous successful experience in Guatemala, Deans Beans decided to offer expertise and aid to open a café that would provide an on-going finance source to the clinic. Not only that, but the café is also staffed and managed by previous patients of the clinic, thus providing a visible stance to promote the needs and situation of this often disenfranchised segment of the population.
To learn more about this project, check out Dean's Beans website here
