Day 11: In praise of Francisa...(Jiquilillo)

One of the great things about Rancho Esperanza is the contribution it makes to the surrounding community.

As well as employing many local people, it provides a source of income for them by arranging activities for visitors such as fishing trips, cheese making and even coconut tree climbing classes.

This is how I found myself in the little outdoor kitchen of Dona Francisa trying, and mostly failing, to make traditional Nicaraguan tortillas.

Francisa lives right next door to the Rancho, so we had a little walk to her house, during which she told me she had eight children and that one of her daughters worked at the Rancho and her sons were fishermen and crabbers (she spoke only in Spanish, so some of what I learned in Esteli has clearly stuck, yay!)

We spent a hour together, mixing maize flour with water, making little patties, flattening them on a round plastic sheet, pressing down with four fingers and using our other hand to smooth the edge.

Francisa had to rescue many of my tortillas as the dough was so thin it kept splitting, I have a way to go in my tortilla making career I think!

They don't have ovens in Jiquilillo, so we cooked our tortillas on a large metal plates on Francisa's wood burning fire.

At the end of our sessions, we sat together and each ate one of the tortillas with some cheese - they were delicious!

It was great to spend time with Francisa and to get to know her. I got the impression she leads a happy life in Jiquilillo, but I think it's important not to romanticise some of the aspects of her life and that of her community - her home was a little place made of sheets of corrugated iron, the kitchen and living space were all outdoor and I only saw two structures which could have been rooms, so it must have to been tough to raise a family of eight children there.

Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries in the world, and in my limited experience, poverty seems to be amplified outside of the cities. This is why the community projects of Rancho Esperanza are so important.

Tourism, developed in a respectful and truly collaborative way with local people, can make a hugely positive difference to people's lives through partnerships and small enterprise. And of course, visitors have truly enriching experiences as well :-)

Travel tips:

You can arrange the tortilla making class through Rancho Esperanza for about $4 a person.